Saturday, December 30, 2017

Meant to be Together

Three yarns for my 2017 Christmas towels came from three different sources. The 16/2 cotton in Natural came as a WEBS mill end several years ago. The 16/2 Bockens cotton in "Dusty Purple" came my way via the free shelf at my weaver's guild. An unidentified person brought several boxes of yarns that had belonged to her grandmother. Apparently none of the family chose to take up weaving and grandmother's stash was of no use to her heirs. The third, variegated yarn came from the estate sale of a former friend and fellow guild member. Although the rather large cone of this yarn is unmarked, I think it is 20/2 cotton. These yarns came to me at different times from different sources. I did not have a use in mind for them when they arrived. But with these towels it seemed clear that they were meant to come together in one cloth.


Large cone of variegated from an estate sale
Bockens 16/2 Cotton in "Dusty Purple" from someone's grandmother's stash
Mill end 16/2 cotton in Natural from WEBS














The time spots of color inside each waffle cell are a little too subtle, probably because that variegated yarn is a bit finer than the other two. The changing colors show far better on the reverse side where they form a surface grid. Even so I find the colors and the arrangement pleasing.


Waffle Weave Christmas Towel, detail


Waffle Weave Christmas Towel, reverse side detail

Using yarns from my stash, especially those that once belonged to other weavers, makes me happy. Perhaps these yarns waited a very long time specifically in order to become part of this very project. It's impossible to know the reason why the original owners had these yarns or what they had in mind for them. In my imagination it is nice to think they would be happy that yarns they held have become useful and beautiful hand towels.

Here's wishing you a very Happy New Year, a year filled with exciting and satisfying new weaving adventures.

Warp On/Weave Off,
RepWeaver

Sunday, December 24, 2017

2017 Christmas Towels

Merry Christmas, everyone!

This year's Christmas towels are a wrap. Perhaps they have been opened already or are still waiting beneath a Christmas tree. By now there isn't much chance of spoiling any surprises.

Waffle Weave Christmas Towels

Using my own 7H version of draft #388 from Carol Strickler's 8 Harness book, these are woven in 16/2 cotton sett at 36 e.p.i. If you think you are seeing a bit of yellow, you are right. Next time I will post a photo of the yarns I used as well as some detail shots so you can better see the structure.

We had a very rare dusting of Christmas Eve snow during the evening so it looks like a White Christmas is in store for tomorrow. Mostly I wanted to write a quick post before I go to bed to send my best wishes. Merry Christmas!

Warp On/Weave Off,
RepWeaver