Spring Sunshine and Happy Colors

Great Colors Make Me Happy

Things that make me happy include grandchildren, sunshine, flowers and just the right color combinations.

My third foray into Strickler Draft #760 was a happy one. Color is one of my life-long delights. I am rather a practical person. Still, practicality does not exclude beauty.

I take particular joy in weaving everyday household textiles that are both useful and visually pleasing. This kitchen hand towel exemplifies my goal and makes me happy.

Kitchen Hand Towel, Stickler #760

Structure: Deflected Double Weave, #760 from "A Weaver's Book of 8-Shaft Patterns from the Friends of Handwoven" edited by Carol Strickler

Yarns: 10/2 and 20/2 perle cottons in three solid colors and one variegated. Sett: 30 e.p.i.

Third color way of Stickler #760 on 8 Harnesses

Reverse Side, Third color way of Stickler #760

Spring has sprung. Yard work beckons and the fun continues.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

On the Ply

This is rather exciting. Using what I already have makes sense to me. Finding new ways to use what would have otherwise been binned is especially fun. Once the idea of plying my knotted thrums using the drop spindle method occurred to me, I was off and running.

Here I'm weaving a Rep Weave Placemat using knotted and plied thrums as thick weft

Knotted thrums add colored bumps poking up between warp ends. I worried about the effect those bumps would make in the finished weave but the added texture turned out to be a plus. The added interest serves to camouflage crumbs, a valuable trait in a placemat.

Rep Weave Placemat
8/4 Cotton Carpet Warp colors - Black and Tan
Knotted and plied thrums as thick weft

Rep Weave Placemat
8/4 Cotton Carpet Warp colors - Black and Tan
Knotted and plied thrums as thick weft, reverse side

Rep Weave Placemat
This one is still on the loom in the first photo.
This warp is a multi-ply marl that had been sitting on my shelf for years.

The third warp used Christmasy colors but will work at other times of year, too.

The reverse of the Christmasy colored Placemat

Here are the three color ways of my Rep Weave Placemats
with knotted and plied thrums as thick weft

We have enjoyed these placemats for several weeks now and all three color ways are pleasant. They wash well, too - always a plus.

Here's wishing 2019 is a year chock full of happy weaving adventures for you.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Why RepWeaver?

Rep is one of my favorite weave structures and I have woven lots and lots of Rep.

An alternate allusion is “repeat” or “repertoire”. The second usually refers to a stock set of plays, songs, etc. performed on a rotating schedule. 

For the most part I weave each of my designs three times, tying on to the first warp twice. This way I can try a variety of colors and make slight design changes on each subsequent warp, learning as I go.

Results of my Waffle Weave adventures
6 Harness Waffle Weave (far left to right) light blue, olive, red
7 Harness Waffle Weave (center left to right) dark teal, pink, dusty plum

In my waffle weave adventures I wove two variations: one on 7 harnesses, the other on 6 harnesses. Both were warped with three different color versions. Here they all are.

Fall is coming - my favorite season. It's a great time to switch gears and seek new adventures. Time to get back to Rep Weave.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Beginning and Improving

Rep Rugs
One of these is destined for a wedding gift

"We've Only Just Begun", sung by Karen Carpenter is playing in my head.

Here is my latest warp of rep rugs. Their sizes were dependent upon my supply of certain types of rags. The smallest one is with teal colored wide wale corduroy of which I had a limited amount. The beauty of that teal with this warp just sings. The happy combination more than compensates for the rug's small size. One of the longer rugs is destined for our dear friends' son and his bride.

As of today, the young couple has been married exactly two months. This gift rug will be in the mail to them far before the honeymoon glow has dimmed. For some couples that glow remains steady through decades and decades. That is our wish for Alec and Sarah. The rug should serve them well for at least the first couple of those decades.

These rugs are woven in Rep Weave using 8/4 cotton carpet warp sett at 24 e.p.i. The rags in two rugs are mostly old bed sheets. The other two have wide wale corduroy as the thick weft.

My experiment with floating selvedges in Rep Weave continues. Even though weaving with them is slightly slower, the method agrees with me. An extra opportunity for a splash of color adds to their appeal. Floaters greatly improve the selvedge edge on hems. This particular adventure will continue. Who knows the twists and turns to occur in subsequent chapters?

A floating selvedge in a contrasting color adds punch

The fuchsia-colored floater enhances these rugs

Life is a journey. Weaving can also be seen as a journey. In the studio and at the loom many discoveries are possible. Some things remain the same. But who is to say a new thought, new experience, new venture isn’t just around the corner? Even weaving an oft-repeated draft can spark a revelation or two.

Rep Rugs showing both sides. These rugs are reversible.

Time passes and every living thing ages. It is said that some things improve over time. Wine comes first to mind. Rugs age, may they do so gracefully. Marriages can mellow and bloom. I pray this is the case for Alec and Sarah. May it also be the case for their rug, a small token of our best hopes and wishes for a long and happy life together.

Warp On/Weave Off,
RepWeaver

Wee Pine Tree Coverlets

Wee Pine Tree Coverlets for Baby
Showing both top and reverse sides

Thanks to "Diane in Oregon" I know the original source for this Summer & Winter draft is Mary Meigs Atwaters' Recipe Book: Patterns for Handweavers. Thanks, Diane!

My previous Summer & Winter towel project was the warm-up act for these Wee Pine Tree Coverlets for Baby. The towels were 17" wide in the reed. These little coverlets were 37" wide in the reed for a finished width of 33" wide.

Wee Pine Tree Coverlet for Baby
To show tree trunk colors

Tough as it is to confess it, this was my most difficult warp or very near it. The tan ground yarn in both warp and weft was not quite strong enough and broke easily. It was a 20/2 unmercerized cotton mill end from WEBS.

Again I placed four darker brown ends and one subtly variegated end through the center of each tree trunk in both warp and weft. The resulting grid pattern is pleasing to the eye.

I began the warp weaving topside up, lifting five harnesses against three sinking ones. Never have I dropped shuttles as often. After the first piece I re-tied and wove the remaining three from the reverse side.

Wee Pine Tree Coverlets

The first three coverlets are all woven using 10/2 perle cotton as pattern weft. The bright, bright "sunburst" green coverlet was the final one of this warp. True to form, I waited until the last one to "go out on a limb" and try something slightly different. The bright green came from a friend of a friend who had been a machine knitter. At 14/2, it was an odd size for weaving. But it was cheerfully bright and soft so I tried using a double strand. The result is a soft blanket with slightly more weight than the others. It is slightly out of square but lovely none-the-less.

Wee Pine Tree Coverlets

Yes, these were trouble. In spite of it and of a few obvious errors here and there, these are four sweet Wee Pine Tree Coverlets. I hope four precious little ones enjoy snuggling sweetly beneath them one day.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Lost in the Woods

Pine Tree Towel
8H Summer & Winter

According to the calendar, spring is here but still we wait for sunshine and warm days. It was a tough winter for a lot of reasons including but not entirely due to severe weather. Instead of feeling blue while suspended between situations and seasons I decided to try my hand at weaving Summer & Winter.

So I headed for the woods and searched for a nice pine tree border in several books. My loom is limited to eight harnesses and ten treadles allowing me to weave six blocks in Summer & Winter. In order to achieve a nice branch effect I wanted to find a draft using all six possible blocks. I was particular that the trees appear as realistic as I could make them.

This draft seemed to best fit my requirements. You will find it on pages 27-28 of the Shuttle Craft Guild Monograph #19: Summer and Winter and Other Two-Tie Unit Weaves by Harriet Tidball.

Pine Tree Towel showing front and back sides
8H Summer & Winter

Summer & Winter has long been on my "to-do" list because it took time for me to get over being intimidated it. Most worrisome was the necessity of using a skeleton tie-up on my countermarch loom. I studied and sampled and discovered it was not as difficult as I had feared. It is possible to use the countermarch action using a skeleton tie-up but instead of tying only rising or falling sheds to every treadle, one ties only selected harnesses on each treadle to be paired. Yes, two countermarch treadles can be tromped at once when tied up this way.

Weaving with the skeleton tie-up requires half again as many treadle steps as otherwise therefore many more opportunities to go wrong. But with careful attention a rhythm establishes itself.

There are several methods of treadling Summer & Winter. I attempted to illustrate the three I chose to weave with these photographs. They produce similar but different results. It is tough to say which I like the best.

Click on Photo to better see results of three treading methods.
Lower Left: Paired X's
Lower Center: Singles
Lower Right: Paired O's

Treadling Variations:
Black: Paired X's
Dark Green: Singles
Medium Green: Paired O's (this towel shows reverse side)

In my usual fashion, I added color to the warp and tabby threads. To make the tree trunks seem more real, I used brown warp ends and in the very center of the brown trunks is one subtly variegated thread. I hadn't considered how the added color would play throughout the center of the warp. The result made me very happy. Variety is, after all, the spice of life!

8H Summer & Winter Pine Tree Towel
Hem details

After a while I grew tired of weaving with only green and gave black a try with pleasing results. Dark brown would work well, too. Take a close look at the hems on the black towel. I began with the hem on the right. By the time the ending came I'd decided to add two extra shots of black to close off the block design. This seems to make for a more finished look.


Summer & Winter opens exciting possibilities for further design exploration. But for now I am working to rethread my loom with another warp based on this draft. At 15x19 inches these towels are rather small so now I am working on something a bit wider.


Will I find my way with Summer & Winter or stay lost in the woods? Actually, being lost in these particular woods isn't so bad.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

8H Summer & Winter Towels
The towel at upper left showing the reverse side

Always More to Learn

"Life-long learning" and "Life-long learner" are oft-repeated catch phrases lately. Not so long ago it went without saying that a person gained knowledge over time. Although I don't disagree with those sayings, I wish it still went without saying. After all, don't wisdom and age go hand-in-hand? It does not hurt to go out of one's way to seek information, to digest it and to come to one's own conclusion.

Having promised to write about a Rep Weave workshop with Kelly Marshall, it is long past time to do so. Kelly came to speak to my guild and teach a workshop in January.

At the first opportunity I signed up for the workshop. Good thing too, because the roster filled immediately and the wait list was long. Demand was so great that Kelly agreed to teach a second group of students. Our enthusiasm was well founded. Kelly is a nice person, an accomplished weaver and an excellent teacher. Do make the most of any opportunity to learn from her.

Sample and Table Runner woven in Kelly Marshall's Rep Weave workshop

Here you see my workshop sample. I opted to use my own color choices for her design, mostly because there is little 5/2 perle cotton in my stash. Adding a single cone of Verdant Green, the other colors are bits and pieces left over from a previous project. The final result is not the best color-wise. The structure itself is far more satisfying.

If you look at the photos of my Yuletide Swirl rep runner in a previous post you will see one describing my dissatisfaction with the color breaks formed when I tried double-threading my heddles for a sett of 48 e.p.i. You may recall that I painstakingly rethreaded the whole thing with single ends per heddle because I did not like those spots. The result was a nice runner with near complete weft coverage. Weaving it was slightly problematic not in treadling but in advancing that dense warp. My three subsequent Swirl warps were sett a bit looser at 40 e.p.i. That was easier but still a tad dense. Still, the resulting runners are pleasing.

Threading two ends per heddle affords ample opportunity for color blending, something Kelly uses to great effect in her work. Two ends together in the heddle allows them to sometimes switch places. If the ends are two different colors interesting blending effects can occur. The possibilities are endless and exciting. 

Left - sample with mixed brown and cream-colored yarns for thick weft
Right - Rep Runner with all brown yarns for thick weft

Kelly won me over to her way of weaving Rep with two ends per heddle. The way she avoids those weft color spots peeking out is by carefully matching her thick weft color to her warp colors.

Being used to weaving on a more “open” sett and using the thick weft color as a design element, I wasn't expecting that as the solution. On the first class day I did not bring carefully matching weft yarns. Kelly directed us to use three strands of Sugar & Cream yarn as one for the thick weft. For my first day’s sample I used three different colors for the three strands: brown, cream, and variegated browns. On the left the photo shows the same problem that bothered me back with the Yuletide Swirl runner. The final runner on the right, with three strands of brown yarn together, is far better.

If you don’t have the chance to take a workshop or hear her speak, Kelly Marshall has written a lovely book about her design process and technique, “Custom Woven Interiors: Bringing color and design home with Rep weave”. Any or all of the three are highly recommended. Meeting her and learning from her was a thrill and a golden opportunity.

There is such a thing as an information overload but one can never know enough and learning is fun. I aim to learn more every day. Whether I manage to do so is another thing . . . I am a work in progress.

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Ladder Stitch Hems

Happy New Year! The Christmas season passed far too quickly for my liking. A trip to visit our grandchildren in a distant state kept us busy in December. We had a lovely time celebrating together. Then it was home again just in time for Christmas. And before we knew it, it was time to flip the calendar page. Here’s wishing 2017 proves for you a year of health, happiness and successful endeavors.

Hand hemming Christmas coasters and runners

Those on my gift list received sets of six coasters; one from each of the six warps woven in the same pattern. They were fun to weave and I managed to empty several cones of yarn in the process.

The hems are sewn by hand using the “Ladder Stitch”. Once the warp comes off the loom I use a machine triple zigzag stitch to overcast both edges between each piece. After cutting between these stitch lines hems are folded twice and Ladder Stitched. The photo shows my needle taking a stitch under two warp threads on one side of the hem, next I skip directly across to catch the very next two warp threads on the other side. When the thread is pulled up the two sides of the hem are invisibly woven together. You can find video demonstrations of the stitch on UTube. The technique is particularly effective on Rep weave due to tightly sett warp ends.

At the very bottom of this photo you can spot the edge of a tiny wad of beeswax. Since I was in my teens, this same bit of wax has lubricated and strengthened my hand sewing threads. If you prefer, there is a commercial non-wax product available that does the same job.

Another helpful tool are the colorful little clips seen here. They are called Wonder Clips and work far better than pins to secure hems before sewing them. Even if they didn’t work so well I’d want to use them because they are so cute. They come in various sizes and colors and are fun and easy to use. You can find them at your local fabric store, quilt shop or on line.

Ladder Stitch in progress
Raw edges machine triple-stitch zigzagged

These small projects have been a lot of fun. Now that the 2017 has dawned I am ready to tackle some larger pieces. May your year be filled with good health, happiness and satisfying projects. Happy New Year!

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Wee Coverlet in Action

Grandbaby enjoys her Wee Coverlet

This is our newest grandchild snoozing beneath her Wee Swedish Coverlet. Mama says little one spends time examining her blanket, looking at pattern and color changes, and doesn't cry right away on waking. This makes her GrandMama very happy.

Next you see another photo of the six Wee Coverlets from my bright green warp. It was very special to me that one of my weaving friends wanted the yellow one for her new grandson, Jasper. I wish him many pleasant slumbers over a long happy childhood.

The third color way of this warp is in progress. I'm not sure if I will like this version, the colors are a bit dark. But who says baby colors must be pastel? I don't understand because babies are good at making stains. Why shouldn't their clothing and bedding be colorful to begin with? That way keeping baby things looking nice and clean is easier for parents. Colorful wraps set off a baby's natural beauty. Bright colors are happy colors.

Another view of bright green Wee Swedish Coverlets

I intend to offer one or two Wee Coverlets at the Seattle Weavers' Guild annual sale October 27-29, 2016 at St. Marks' Cathedral. If you are interested and in the area, please stop by. Our guild is a group of many talented weavers whose incredible work will be on display. Even if you do not wish to buy, you will not be disappointed with the show of beautiful handwovens. And, as a bonus, weavers are very nice people. Stop by and say hello.

Warp on/Weave off,

RepWeaver

Marled Madness

Already it is April but the whole "March Madness" hype still rings in these ears. So I decided to make my own version and changed it to "Marled Madness".

Swedish Kitchen Towels with Marled yarn warp ends

Do you remember my puzzlement over how to use marled yarn? What is marled yarn? It is yarn of two or more colors plied together. The tube I have consists of one ply of navy blue and one ply of white spun together.

While pondering this question I decided to try using marled yarn in my Swedish Kitchen towels. It is in the places where I previously used variegated ends. This warp was maddening to weave because it was difficult to see where I was when doing the border.

While on the loom these did not impress me at all. In fact, they were hard to weave because they did not excite me.

Fortunately, initial impressions are often mistaken as was the case here. The finished towels are nicer than anticipated. Doing these was a good experience and I like them very much now.

In two of these towels I added marled tabby ends throughout. Weaving with three shuttles was fussy but the result is nice. The red and gold towels were done this way.

Detail of Swedish Kitchen Towel using marled ends in warp and tabby weft

Swedish Kitchen Towel

I put another new idea to use on the hems. You can see a couple of marled weft shots in the photo. They are spaced in such a way to mark the fold lines. This worked very well for me and I like the way it looks. Having that marled end near the sewing line at the top of the hem helped keep my sewing in a nice straight line.

For my next warp I am looking at colors and drafts for another of my "Wee Coverlets". There is a precious new addition to our family. I want to swaddle her in my love even though she lives very far away.

Warp On/Weave Off,
RepWeaver

Blogging Along

Here is one case in which the third try was certainly not the charm. It isn’t that the results do not please. I was simply pushing the design without a full understanding of the structure. Further study is in order and I aim to revisit Colonial Patterned Double Weave before long.

These are the result of my attempt to add border effects. This time I took inspiration from Bertha Gray Hayes’ draft “Springtime Fancy”. The design worked very well in double weave. But the way I tried to add the borders did not. The first coaster shows the border and the next two or three show errors as I tried and tried to rethread the warp without the experimental part. Eventually I righted the whole mess and came out with some nice little pieces.

I continued playing with the idea of using two shades of the same colors in warp and weft. The green/teal version appeals most to me. The variation adds depth and kind of hints at shadow weave.

These are the best size for coasters of my three warps. I wove the long piece specifically for a narrow shelf. Plenty of hand woven textiles help make a house a home.

Coasters from three Colonial Patterned Double Weave warps

It's always nice to have an assistant in my busy little studio.
Latest rugs in progress on the loom.

By   the way, the other day I made an exciting discovery. A photo in the Spring/Summer issue of Handwoven Magazine attracted my eye. There on page 27 were two beautiful towels woven in the “Norse Kitchen” design from “A Handweaver’s Pattern Book” by Marguerite Porter Davison – the draft that inspired my miniature version of the same draft. What fun!

Last time I wrote about my little weaving studio. Here it is in all its messy glory. I’d be happy to spend every day there and so would my cats. Perhaps you can spot Squeak in one of her favorite spots?

Warp On/Weave Off,

RepWeaver

Decisions, Decisions

Sometimes it takes awhile to come up with color choices. Once the warp colors are decided it becomes easier. When I weave, each piece is unique. In other words, I do not set a palette to follow for the entire length of the warp. Maybe this shows a lack of attention span. I like to think it is merely excitement to find out how each pattern weft choice works with the warp colors.

Playing with colors for RepWeaver Warp #103
Three cones on the right are for warp.
Others are possible pattern weft colors.
I used all of them except the jade one at the back.

Recently I was reminded of a childhood disappointment. Crayola Crayons began making their famous 64 color box with sharpener when I was small. How I longed to have so many beautiful colors. On Saturdays one of my favorite things to do was listen to storybook records (the former version of audio books). While listening I would take crayons and paper and draw illustrations to go along with the story of the moment. Oh, to have my very own box of 64 colors!

But mother had other ideas. You see, she had six children and a limited budget and was worried about her living room carpeting. The sharpener on the back of the box was my undoing. It made her fear probable carpet stains from loose crayon crumbs. When I was much older I bought my own box of 64 colors. Even then, having all those colors made me very happy. It's probably just as well there weren't markers for children back then. Not having markers would simply have been another source of sorrow in my youth. Mom would have worried about her walls.

Neither crayons nor markers can beat colored pencils for shading and combining colors. As a teenager I discovered Prismacolor pencils and an entire new world opened up to me. But I digress . . .

Watching the colors cross is like watching woven fireworks.
Pattern weft here is "Eggplant" and not included in the original line-up.

Pulling out cone after cone of yarns and arranging and rearranging color line-ups is no end of fun. It is almost like having a big box of crayons (without the sharpener). Imagining the interaction of warp colors crossing weft colors thrills me every time.

Next time I'll show you more photos of Warp #103.

Warp on/Weave Off,
RepWeaver

Wee Coverlet in Action

Our daughter chose one of my Maltese Cross Wee Coverlets for her little guy. We had the chance to see her and both of our grandchildren in August. Wish they lived closer. Handwoven blankets are one way I can wrap them in my love from 2300 miles away.

This is my little grandson napping with his Wee Coverlet.

So far his blond curls have not seen a scissors. I'd have a hard time snipping them, wouldn't you?

Wee Coverlets for Baby Revisited

 Wee Coverlets are a blast to weave even though they take a lot of time. I wanted to thread another warp. Here is the result - seven coverlets and a small eighth piece, perhaps a ⅔ coverlet.

Wee Coverlets for Baby by RepWeaver

The warp is 20/2 mercerized cotton in Natural with a few yellow ends and two variegated ends in the borders. The pattern wefts are 10/2 mercerized cotton.

Wee Coverlets with source book.

This is the little book where I found the Miniature Overshot draft I used. The title is Miniature Patterns for Hand Weaving: Part II by Josephine E. Estes. This book is in the public domain. You can find it as a PDF here: Original Miniature Patterns for Hand Weaving: Part II
The draft I used is Maltese Cross found on page 9 of the book.

Detail of Wee Coverlet, Maltese Cross by RepWeaver

Detail of Wee Coverlet, Maltese Cross by RepWeaver

Next you see a couple of close-ups to show you how the border colors worked out. The maroon one looks different than the rest because I used the warp yarn as tabby until it ran out. After that I substituted a tan yarn, slightly darker than the warp color. The result makes for a livelier background that I find pleasing.

 

Two Wee Coverlets side-by-side for comparison

Here are side by side coverlets from two warps. The one on the left is from a previous warp. Its draft is Lover's Knot I. The one on the right is a Maltese Cross wee coverlet.

It's Wedding Season

Yes, it's that time of year again and already there are three wedding invitations in my inbox. Yesterday's children are preparing to say "I do." Time passes in spite of the fact that I cannot possibly be any older.

With each invitation's arrival I check the online wedding registries to look for the happy couples' color ideas. Then I look for a rug in my inventory. But a recent bride, Allison, chose a combination that I hadn't yet attempted -- turquoise, mint green and grey. These are three colors that I would not have put together and could not see myself using. Since then I have discovered that for the moment these colors are tres chic.

Allison's Rug by RepWeaver

Where to start? The biggest hurdle was getting over my own color sensibility. After a long deliberation I decided the best thing to do would be to add a few of my own ideas to include lighter and darker shades as well as highlights.

For some time I had been wanting to use common Inkle-type threadings side-by-side in a rug. The possibilities are absolutely endless so it was a lot of fun playing with various ideas and combinations.

I limited the warp length to six yards due to the fact that I had limited amounts of either shade of grey on my shelf and also because I had limited time before Allison was to be married.

The rug went out in the mail a couple of days ago and should be delivered today. It will be interesting to hear how it is received. I sure do hope the newlyweds like it.

Here are the three rugs fresh of my loom before they were hemmed. I'll post a few more photos of the finished rugs soon.