Before We Weave Ahead

My Structures Study Group has moved ahead to another weaving technique. Before we head over there, here are a few more photos of my Color and Weave adventures.

Changing color order in the weft changes the direction of all the little stripes. This swatch is 16/2 cotton sett at 30 e.p.i. The draft is an 8H Shadow Weave, #271 from Stickler.

Here is an experiment using variegated yarns at regular intervals in both warp and weft. The draft is the same. This warp is 20/2 cotton sett at 35 e.p.i. These colors really sing, don't they?

These two photos are another warp of Stickler #271. This time I used 8/2 Tencel in Silver Grey and Hunter. The scarf is hemmed because I always have trouble with scarf fringes catching on things and generally getting in my way. The extra little bit here is woven with the opposite color order. I was sorry that there wasn't enough warp left to weave and entire scarf this way.

Now for the RANT portion of my message:

Why does everything always have to change? I was happy with the old light bulbs, toilets that effectively flushed, detergents that fought grease, so many things . . . There are those who consider change to be progress. I like tried and true. Old is not necessarily bad. If that is too stick-in-the-mud, fine. But it is my opinion and I will gladly stand my ground because it is my ground.

And now Blogger has changed. The old one was fine and even though comments seemed unworkable, I was happy with the old interface. Why do we constantly have to reinvent the wheel?

Okay, I put that out there and I do appreciate your patience with my rant. Fortunately, I was able to revert. Otherwise this post would not be published. It may not even look right when it does. We shall see.

Warp On/Weave Off,
RepWeaver

Crepe Closer 4

Here it is October already. The year is rapidly fading. And this is the last group of photos from my Strickler crepe weave sampler, but it won’t be my last adventure with crepe. It is plain to see that crepe would make especially fine clothing.

Strickler # 41
I chose this one for my study group swatch exchange. It seemed the "crepe-iest". 

Strickler #42

Strickler #43 (Oelsner #826)
I admit it, this is one of my favorites.

Strickler #44

Strickler #45

Strickler #46
Another of my favorites

With weaving there is always more to learn and experience. My guess is one could never exhaust the possibilities. Isn't that the beauty of it all?

One last photo shows the swatches I shared with my study group. It was tough to whittle it down to one of the 24 options from my sampler. In the end I chose #41 because it seemed to be the “crepe-iest” crepe in the lot.

Strickler #41
Study Group swatches show rust colored weft on the left and weft same as warp on the right.

Where to go next? How about taking a quick step back into waffle weave? We'll see.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Crepe Closer 2

A "Box of Chocolates" approach is my thing for sure. Variety definitely appeals to me. Weaving samplers is right up my alley.

Here are the next six 8H Crepe weaves from Strickler. On the first one you will see the number under which it appears in Oelsner.

8H Crepe Weave #29 from Strickler (Also in A Handbook of Weaves by G.H. Oelsner, #803)

8H Crepe Weave #30 from Stickler

8H Crepe Weave #31 from Stickler
Note: The threading in this draft puzzled me. I decided to change it
to treadle as a straight 8 which is what you see here.
It's impossible to tell from the black & white photo in the book which is correct.

8H Crepe Weave #32 from Stickler

8H Crepe #33 from Stickler 

8H Crepe #34 from Stickler

I have still more swatches to show. Watch for the next post and keep weaving.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Crepe Closer 1

Except at close range, the structures of crepe samples woven with 20/2 cotton sett at 37½ e.p.i. are too small to see. Here are a few swatches in close-up to better show detail of the structure. A tape measure appears in the photos to show scale. These are all from Carol Strickler's A Weaver's Book of 8-Shaft Patterns, previously published in A Handbook of Weaves by G.H. Oelsner.

#23 This one is an "interlocking twill"

#24 Another interlocking twill

#25 Interlocking twill

#26 This one is a crepe

#27 This is one of my favorites
They are all rather nice though, so it is tough to choose.

#28 Yet another nice one

Of course, it would be best to see and feel these in person. But that will have to wait for higher technology. Until then, stand by for more close-ups.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Weaving and Wishing for Spring

Wishing for Spring Cotton Towel

This has been a tough winter with more snow, colder temperatures and more freezing nights than I can remember. Added to my Midwest Polar Vortex adventure, spring seems a very long time coming. Yet it is still early March. Guess it’s time for patience. In the meantime, I’ve planted several seed trays indoors. Anticipation grows.

While awaiting spring, indoor color adventures continue. Here is the second warp using the Strickler draft #760. The turquoise 10/2 unmercerized cotton had been on my shelf for some time. With 10/2 perle cotton in Porcelain Green, 20/2 UKI mercerized cotton in Banana and 20/2 cotton in a variegation called Spray I think this is a winning combination.

Wishing for Spring Cotton Towel, reverse side

I don’t usually complain about the weather and a few crocus have been blooming. Patience is a virtue, right? Still, I’m very happy that this winter will soon be over – at least according to the calendar.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

2018 Christmas Towels

Christmas was months ago already and I’m back-blogged again. In my defense, travel and an ill loved one are the reason. My dear one endured a final treatment over Dec.24-26. Over the past 11 months suffering has been profound but we saw completion as the ultimate Christmas gift. (Now for the long recovery.) Then I spent the better part of January in the USA Upper Midwest “enjoying” the Polar Vortex and welcoming a new addition to my family. As you can tell, family comes before my weaving. I expect the same is true for you, too.

You may recall my 2017 Christmas towels were waffle weave. Those towels are pretty, soft and super absorbent, a real treat to use. The waffle weave texture works especially well for towels.

When it came to considering structures for Christmas 2018 towels I sought textured weaves. One particular draft caught my eye. In my search and study I kept going back to it. It seemed an unlikely option but it drew my attention so I wove a sample using various odds and ends from my stash.

Two 2018 Christmas Towels, Front and Reverse sides
Left Towel: Strickler Draft #763
Right Towel: Strickler Draft #760

The draft is #760-763 from “A Weaver’s Book of 8-Shaft Patterns from the Friends of Handwoven” edited by Carol Strickler. The short description calls this “Silk Brocade” from a Virginia West workshop. I am no expert on weave structures. My idea of brocade is quite different. But I don't really know. This weave seems to be “Deflected Double Weave” - a term coined, I think, by Madelyn van der Hoogt. If you can tell me more, please comment.

These were my goals:

• Weave Christmas towels in time for gift giving
• Make towels unique from those of previous years
• Weave thirsty towels with texture
• Make use of yarns already on hand
• Try a new structure

Detail, front side - Strickler Draft #760

 The two sides of these towels are very different. It's fun to look at both sides as I dry my hands. Both are nice so I hemmed one end of the towel as if that side was the front and the other end as if the reverse side was the front. That left me with the dilemma of choosing a side for my label. So some are labeled one one side and some are labeled on the other side.

The olive yarn is 10/2 cotton, the terra cotta and yellow yarns are 20/2 cotton. These were all already on my shelf.

Detail, reverse side - Strickler Draft #760

Detail, front side - Strickler Draft #763

Having sampled all four version of this draft, all of my towels except for one were woven using #760. Just for fun I had to try one towel using #763. In spite of some fairly long floats for a towel, this one is nice. In one corner I tried tucking a large sequin in between the plain weave layers. That was nice, not great for a towel but something I'd always wanted to try.

Detail, reverse side, Strickler Draft #763

Did these ever meet my goals! And they were fun to weave. It may have been slow fussy weaving, but the results speak for themselves. My family and friends love these. So do I.

Since I’ve been back at home I tied on to this warp two times more. Watch for photos of those additional color ways to follow soon.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Rep Swirl - Yuletide Swirl

Having woven all those Rep Weave coasters it occurred to me to try a denser sett using 8/4 cotton carpet warp. Over the years my favorite sett for carpet warp has been 24 e.p.i. For this first attempt I tried 48 e.p.i, two ends per heddle for a working sett of 24 e.p.i.

Yuletide Swirl Rep Runners

Inspiration for the design came from a larger design found in the book Rep by Catharina Carlstedt and Ylva Kongbäck. I adapted a small section from the draft called “Tiger Blue” (page 84) that caught my eye and made it into a table runner.

These colors are pleasing, reminding me of Christmas cards from a bygone era, the 1950’s perhaps. And while they are red and green, they don’t necessarily shout “Christmas”.

The first Yuletide Swirl runner, the one with plied fringe gave me trouble. The places where there are “breaks” in the pattern and the white rag peeks through did not please me. Color blending happened in an area of the smallest pattern blocks and made the colors look muddy. Maybe it would have helped if I’d stuck to blending either reds or greens right there but I’d done both. Then there was trouble with the tension. I found it difficult to beam the warp properly with that many ends and with two ends per heddle.

After weaving two runners with this set-up I found it impossible to continue. I cut the first two off the loom and rethreaded the entire width, maintaining the sett of 48 e.p.i. but switching to one end per heddle. This was essentially a return to the beginning since every single end was involved in the re-thread. While I was at it I rearranged the color order in a few places taking special care in the areas with smallest blocks. It was a lot of work but as they say, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.”

Left side of photo - Sett: 48 e.p.i., 12 dent reed, 4 ends per dent, 2 ends per heddle
Right side of photo - Sett: 48 e.p.i., 12 dent reed, 4 ends per dent, 1 end per heddle

In the end, the rethreaded runners were a huge improvement and I was far happier with them than the earlier ones. Here you see the runner on our kitchen table. For each month of the year we use a specific tablecloth, placing it beneath a tabletop glass cover. Yuletide Swirl compliments the Christmas table theme nicely.

Yuletide Swirl runner atop our Christmas-themed table cloth

Even though the colors are fabulous, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with these runners. Check back to see what happens with my next Rep Swirl project.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

New Entry Rug

It must be at least 13 years ago that I first wove a Rep rug for our home's front entry. Since then the rug has been through it all, including teenagers and pets. The design was adapted from Laila Lundell's book, "Rep Weaves". The rug is still in rather good shape except for the permanent dirty look along certain pathways. Here you see old faithful in the background.

New Rep Rug on the floor near the old Rep Rug.

Recently we moved my mother into a retirement home and I wound up with several sets of light blue bed sheets. These were the perfect rags for my new rugs. They will remind me that the struggles my family and I have been experiencing over the past couple of years are over. We have been caring for my father who suffered from dementia. For the past year neither he nor my mother could drive and I was often called upon to chauffeur. It was difficult but my precious mother took loving care of Dad at home until the final two weeks of his life. He is now at peace in heaven and she can finally rest.

I wouldn't be telling you all of this except that since January my loom has been naked. Naked! It has not been idle for this long since it came to me back in 1989. All the work and angst dealing with a dementia patient took a huge toll on me. I just didn't have the heart or energy to do anything creative during the last few months.

After such a long break, getting back into weaving was sort of intimidating. I fussed around in my studio for some time before plucking up the courage to dive in again. Dive in I did and managed to design the widest rug I have ever woven. The profile draft is #203 from "The Shuttle-Craft Book of American Hand-Weaving" by Mary Meigs Atwater, a book chock full of great ideas. I could weave for a lifetime out of this one little book. It holds just the kind of inspiration I love.

That old rug was a work horse and was so beautiful I wanted to replace it with a similar one. My goals for the new one included:

• Using darker colors in order to better hide traffic dirt
• Using a busier block design to help hide traffic patterns
• Maintaining the yellow/blue pallet
• Adding a touch of red
• Weaving a slightly wider/longer rug

It turned out well. I cut this first rug off my loom to check the design before going all-out and weaving the longer replacement rug. For the longer rug I chose a slightly different block arrangement. That one still needs hemming but I'll post a photo once it is finished and in place.

Dot was kind enough to help me weave the new Rep Rug.

This, by the way, is the type of help I get around here. Jenny and Dot appreciate every stage of the weaving process. Can you see how I put socks over unused treadles? When setting up I simply leave unneeded treadles tied up as they had been previously. Binding them together in pairs with a sock helps keep me from mistreadling while weaving. I'm always looking for ways to speed up my weaving and keep myself from having to look down at the treadles. Socks work for me.

It is wonderful to be weaving again. Until I returned to my loom it didn't occur to me how much I missed weaving. There are a couple of things more to post including my super-secret jeans pocket project. Watch for them.

Weave on. Weave Off!

Granite Friendly Hand Towels

Handwoven Hand Towels by RepWeaver, Warp #91

These hand towels are from a warp tied on to my previous two warps. This means they are of the same threading but a different color-way than the other two. This time I decided to place the variegated ends in regular spots within the warp. For instance, I decided the thin middle stripe in the first five towels should be variegated. There are a total of four variegated ends within each threading repeat.

The drafts are #443, #444, and #446 from Carol Strickler's "A Weaver's Book of 8 Shaft Patterns", my favorite drafts from one of my favorite books.

While weaving these I was thinking how well they would go with granite countertops. My house does not have granite, maybe some day . . .

RepWeaver #91-4, Hand Towel detail

As a general rule I aim to chose a solid color from one of the middle hues of a chosen variegated yarn. That way there are both lighter and darker highlights sprinkled in with the solid colored main warp color. And if I match the main warp color to a mid hue, the variegated ends will sometimes seem to disappear into the background.

An issue on my mind while weaving these is how so often handwoven towels are referred to as "dish towels." I beg to differ. Handwoven towels, at least my handwoven towels, are meant to be used to dry your hands. I call them "Hand Towels". A dish towel is a thin flour-sack sort of cloth, preferably embroidered with a cute design to brighten up a sometimes tedious task. Something like this:

Two of my favorite "dish towels" and their embroidery patterns
from Bird Brain Designs ( #325) and Aunt Martha's (#4009)

Another thought is that towels such as these would work equally well in the powder room as in the kitchen. No longer will I label my towels as "Kitchen Towels" which is the way I have been doing it.

Ah . . . Autumn

RepWeaver Warp #89
Autumn Hues Towels

Since my fair complexion means I sunburn at the drop of a hat, darker days don't get me down. In fact, Autumn is my favorite season. The colors dazzle me every time. I love throwing on a sweater on nippy days and evenings by candlelight. Then there's all the excitement of the upcoming holidays.

Thanksgiving has come and gone. Can you believe it? We had a lovely time celebrating with loved ones and contemplating our blessings. Over the long weekend we were busy but we also took a little time to catch our collective breath before the Christmas onslaught.

Just before the holiday, I finished weaving my latest batch of towels. The draft is # 443-448 from Carol Strickler's 8-shaft pattern book, an all-time favorite.

Aside from producing Christmas gifts, the purpose of my RepWeaver Warp #89 was to use a partial tube of dark brown warp. I wanted to wind a 9+ yard warp because the longer the warp, the more sense putting all the work into dressing my loom. So . . . I went for it. I wind my warps double length with a cross at each end. This made the prospect of running out of dark brown part way in less troublesome. When it did run out, I merely substituted a slightly lighter shade of brown. The lighter brown also served as the tabby weft.

Every fifth warp end is variegated.

Earlier I'd ordered a tube of two-ply variegated cotton on sale from WEBS. Using variegated yarns is one of my color-obsessions. I untwisted the ply and used this particular yarn singly. Variegated yarn is best used sparingly. Here the variegated ends occur at about every fifth end.

Overall this warp was a success. Using two shades of brown for warp was really interesting. I especially like being able to compare the effect of the variegated ends against each shade of brown. It actually makes these towels very interesting.

Here you see the cone of variegated yarn that I un-plied and mixed in with my brown warp ends.  Also note the lighter brown in the center of my warp.

This particular draft is a delight. With six different tie-up/treadling options weaving these was fun and interesting.

Shooting the photos was fun because the colors reminded me of a glorious pile of brilliantly colored Autumn leaves. Warp #89 produced nine very nice towels in three different drafts and colors.

When I cut the warp off I secured the ends to tie on another warp of the same draft. Can't wait to play with the next color way. Check back for progress.

RepWeaver

Pinwheels At Last

  
These pinwheel scarves were finished almost three weeks ago. They were woven with yarn that had been on my shelf for years and years. I had been wanting to try this draft probably for as long as I've had the yarn. Here is the happy result. There are six scarves total in two different treadlings. I like them well enough to save one for myself.

Last week my husband was away on business and I took the opportunity to sew four new fish shirts for him. I've been sewing these for ages. Ever since I first took him to a quilt shop he has been anxious to find fish fabrics. He loves fish, has his own business cutting fish out of metal (Steelhead Fabrications) and enjoys wearing these every chance he gets. They are from a Burda pattern that I have used for years.

He wore the other one today which is why there are only three here.

I love matching the pockets. Can you see the pocket on this one?

Here are some of his famous fish shirts. There are a few more and even more that have been retired. When they wear out I actually have to quietly put them aside so he doesn't notice. But I save them and plan eventually to weave the old retirees into a rag rug in his honor.

My task this week has been to clean and repair the master bath shower stall. So it has been scrub, scrub, scrub, grout repair, caulking removal, etc. Right now I'm on a "drying" step. It will be nice to have the shower back in use. Maybe in a few short days . . .

Weave off,
RepWeaver

Pinwheels and Pouches

This morning brings pounding rain - a perfect reason to stay in and weave.

Today will see continued work weaving an 8H pinwheel twill scarf. If I weave fast enough and long enough maybe I will begin weaving the second scarf with a different treadling. This draft has intrigued me for some time. Once I began the project the latest edition of Handwoven Magazine arrived in my mailbox. Included in this, the Jan./Feb. 2012 issue, on page 48, are project details for a scarf using the same draft as mine and very similar overall.

Finishing work is nearly done on my "Little Wallet" pouches with beaded tatting trim. I've had a whale of a time sewing these and am most pleased with the results. Once I take a few snapshots and learn how to post them here, I'll show you what I mean.

Weave off,

RepWeaver