Waffle Weave – Sample #5

This time of year is always complicated but this particular year has been even more so than usual. 

Since Thanksgiving we have had a week of hardwood flooring repairs and installation. Then Swedish finish fumes sent us out of the house for several days. During that process, our garage-door opener quit working. At 22 years old, it wasn’t a huge surprise but the timing was not optimal. To top it all off, this week I was called to Jury Duty. Fear of a prolonged Christmastime trial evaporated yesterday when I finished my service without being chosen for a pool, much less a jury. Hooray! Finally, it’s back to waffling.

Front and Reverse of Waffle Sample #5
Small swatches on top
Variegated threads make great details on front and reverse sides.

Here is the final sample for this year’s Christmas towels. For this one I used natural and dark teal 16/2 cotton sett at 35 e.p.i. The variegated highlight is 10/2 perle, which was a bit too heavy. The difference made each little cell slightly rectangular. Even so the cloth is light, colorful and textural – a happy result.

One swatch - Two pieces
Left: Machine washed and dried
Right: As it came from the loom

My first weaving teacher, Barbara Doyon, suggested weaving a short sample at the beginning of each warp. Once off the loom, the sample is cut into two equal pieces warp-wise. One is finished, the other left as is. Kept together with written weaving notes, they record valuable information about yarns, structure, shrinkage, etc. I have been a weaver for many years and this is the first time I have followed Barbara's advice. Silly me!

Now I think I am ready to tackle my Christmas towels.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Side by Side Swatches, detail
The little dots of color peeking out from the center of each waffle cell make me happy.