A Closer Look

Here's a closer view of the July Towels with cactus (blue-green) weft.  These are treadled 1 through 8 / 7 through 1.

Further Exploration

I'm having to do a bit more thinking about weft colors with this set of towels.  I started with champagne (yellow) and cactus (blue green) but I wasn't sure what to use next.  I could use the dark green in the weft, but I was afraid it would just cover over all the nice warp colors.  I am still thinking about the light blue, but I picked the brown I used in the warp.  It is a medium brown that is a little reddish.  I like the result, even though it does kind of overpower the warp colors. 

The colors don't reproduce really well in this picture, but it gives the idea.  For this towel, I am weaving as threaded - that is treadle 1 through 8 / 1 through 8 / 7 through 1 / 8 through 1.  This is creating larger more regular diamonds.  I like the way it looks, but I have to think more when I weave this design.

July Towels

I'm making progress on the latest set of towels. I did thread this as an extended point twill on 8-shafts - 1 to 8 twice then 7 to 1 / 8 to 1. This towel is woven with straight treadling. Not sure if it is really visible in the picture. I am weaving the next one to a point. That one is looking pretty fantastic.

I'm not sure which of the warp colors to use as weft for this group. I started with the blue-green called "cactus" and it looks good. Some of the other warp colors, like the gold, are pretty bright and would probably overpower the warp colors if I used them as weft. I might have to experiment with colors I didn't use in the warp for this set. I can always use the brown or dark green that appear in the warp. Using the dark warp colors make a fairly dramatic towel.

24 Plus or Minus Samples

As with last year, I am late again for the Complex Weavers 24 +/- Study Group samples to be finished. I had great intentions last year when I was madly weaving to get the samples finished. I even knew what I would be weaving for this year's exchange. Last year I created a design playing around with the tie-up and created something that looked good to me using a straight point threading.

The plan this year was to use the same tie-up but pair it with a network-type threading. I decided to use 20/2 pearl cotton so that I could have a more complicated threading and still keep the repeat width small enough so that I could give at least one repeat per swatch in the exchange. I used alternating natural and yellow warp threads to make the warp a little more interested and a green-blue (UKI Duck) in the weft. (This picture doesn't look anythig like the true colors.)

I know the picture isn't fabulous, but I am kind of liking the pattern. It has taken me longer to get the beat correct. I think with the finer yarn, it is easier to beat too hard. I threadedthe warp at 32 epi and am trying to beat at 32 ppi. This is made a little easier because coincidentally the pattern repeat is 32 ends.

I am hoping to finish in the next day or so - since they are due this week. Nothing like a little pressure to help get a project finished...

Another Month - More Towels

Now that the holidays are over, I can refocus and start working on another set of "Calendar" towels. This color scheme is inspired by the July picture. I did change the colors used slightly from this original set. I added a little dark green and eliminated two of the yellows. I think they will look pretty good.

My plan is to use an extended point twill for the threading. I am comintuing to use the 1-1-1-1-2-3 twill design for the treadling. This is partly laziness - getting under the loom to re-chain is harder than it used to be - And I do like the result. It's a little more complicated that a regular 2-2 twill but with a smooth texture.

I'm looking forward to seeing how these will turn out.

A Little Diversion

My sister was visiting over the holidays and into January. While she was here, she (with just a little help from me) put together four lap blankets for next year's Holiday Cheer gift. I had been slowly making squares with a Weave-it frame for her to sew together. She made a ton while she was visiting and sewed them together.

They are either all acrylic or acrylic and wool yarn. They are about a yard square - 10 rows of 10 squares each. They should be a warm gift for a home-bound senior next Christmas.