I'm Back

Yes, it has been a long time. I've been away helping with my brand new grandson who lives across the country from me. He and his big sister are loads of fun and so very cute! I have also been busy helping my aging parents move into a retirement home. Life just keeps happening with or without my help.
I'm looking forward to getting back to weaving and my many interests. Watch for updates soon.

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.

Helpers in the Weaving Studio

Scottish Folds, Dot (left) and Crinkle (right) enjoy helping out in the studio.

This is the kind of help I have in my weaving studio. Crinkle and Dot are both Scottish Folds. Crinkle belongs to our son and daughter-in-law. We love having him visit when his owners are away. The one on the left is our little Dot. She is Crinkle's half sister and is quite an accomplished weaver for one so young. Tatting and sewing also come naturally to her. Scottish Folds are sweet, vocal and simply amazing, lovable cats.

Towel from Warp #90

Weaving and weaving right up until Christmas Eve I finally finished the second color version of my towels just in time for gift giving. This blue one was a particular favorite. Wish I'd done more like it. The third iteration of this design is now on my loom. On this warp I took care to place the variegated ends at regular intervals instead of going random. We'll see how it goes. Five of the nine towels are woven. Can't wait to see them off the loom and finished.

In the meantime, I am tatting up a storm. Just ordered a bunch of Lizbeth tatting thread. The variegated colors are tough to resist, especially when they go on special. Variegated is the equivalent of having a new box of 64 Crayola Crayons. As much as I longed for them, I wasn't ever allowed to have that sized box of crayons as a child because my mother did not like the built-in sharpener on the back. She was sure her carpeting would be stained by errant crayon bits. Color was extremely important to me then as it is now. Only now I tend to look for "the 64 pack" in threads!

Tatting by RepWeaver

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

Third Rug for Joan

Life has been happening all around me, mostly without my control. Weaving, tatting, etc. have lately taken a back seat to caring for ailing family members.

In between everything, I finally managed to weave the third rug requested by my friend Joan. Taking on a project by request can be intimidating. There is an understandable disconnect between the vision of a non-weaver and that of the weaver. Another issue is color choices and personal taste. Joan's palette is decidedly different from my own and weaving her colors was challenging. Isn't it true that the more pleasing the result, the easier it is to do the work? It is, at least for me. All in all, this rug was a long time in coming. In the end, Joan loves her new rug and it looks fabulous in her home. I am happy.




 Joan, by the way, has an awesome color sense and picks the most fabulous print fabric for the rag filler. Those bright spots really pop.

My little Inkle loom finally arrived. I have the new Inkle book by Anne Dixon. Four bands are woven and the fifth one is on the loom. This is loads of fun. I have a goal in mind, something under development. Details to follow.

Now that my loom is empty and I am free to weave as I please, I think I'll warp up some towels for my guild sale.

Joan's third rug.

Happy Independence Day!

The Fourth of July has dawned with beautiful, perfect weather. Hubby and I are enjoying a quiet celebration. That is, until the neighborhood pyros kick into gear. Happy Independence Day, citizens of the USA! Savor shrinking freedoms while we may.

Joan's Rugs

Whirlpool is still sitting on the claim for carpeting water damaged when brand new washing machine overflowed. We do not give up easily. The battle continues. Never again will we purchase anything made by Whirlpool. They do not stand behind their products.

In the meantime we have enjoyed a trip way across the country to see our little granddaughter and family, entertained two sets of house guests and weathered a kidney stone attack suffered by my husband.

All the while I have been working on a rep rug warp for some rugs requested by a dear friend of mine. She and her husband just finished a fantastic total house remodel including miles of new cabinets and granite countertops and new hardwood flooring throughout. It is very posh. Back in March she asked if I would weave some rugs for her. Of course I said yes. Then things began to happen and life kind of took over. The warp is finally off my loom. I took the rugs to show my SWG Study Group friends. They made positive comments which made me happy. I delivered the rugs to my friend and she is happy. She would like another one in a different pattern for in front of a French door in another room of the house. That one is next up and I hope it does not take so long to complete.

These are Joan's rugs. They will be in an entry foyer, one before a door from outside, the other in front of the man door from the garage. The photo is a good illustration of the way rep rugs appear warp-wise verses weft-wise. The effect is nearly holographic.

Weave Off,
RepWeaver

Throw Me a Life Preserver!

Our 31 year old Maytag Washer finally decided to cash it in. Imagine our horror to discover what government regulation has done to washers and dryers. There is nothing even comparable on the market that could come close to taking the place of our Maytags. Alas . . . So we did the best we could and on the advice of our trusty repairman, purchased one of the few remaining 2011 sets from our local Mom and Pop appliance outlet. The new ones are Amanas, pretty basic but still direct drive. They were delivered and professionally installed last Wednesday.

I washed several loads and was having trouble warming up to the new reality. After church yesterday, I started another load and went off to my weaving studio. Several minutes later I looked up to see water seeping under my door. Out in the hallway, the water was inches deep. Two hallways, a bathroom, the laundry room, a coat closet, one side of my studio and out into the garage, the water was everywhere!

Fortunately, my husband was home. We spent the rest of the day and well into the night working to clear the water, move furniture, books and other items, and wet-vac as much of it out of the carpeting as possible. John ran to the hardware store and came home with a new high-powered wet/dry vac and a heavy duty floor fan.

I had planned to start warping for a new rug order today. With my studio torn apart, I will be vacuuming and blowing instead. Life is full of surprises.

We miss our Maytags more than ever, not once did they ever flood. This afternoon will see us doing battle with our friends at the appliance store. And by the way, the "new improved" government-mandated machines are pieces of junk! And don't get me started on detergents without phosphates, light bulbs, low flow toilets, low flow shower heads, and on and on.

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

One Down, One to Go

It has been awhile. Guess I should be more patient when the bloggers I follow fall silent for a time.

Anyway, the little pouches have been finished for a week but my pinwheel scarves are going on and on and on. This warp seems infinite probably because it is a two-shuttle weave which means it tends toward the tedious. Plus they are all the same color which means no playing with new color-ways. Alas . . . And scarves are so very long. I'm weaving them 76 inches long. Not being much of a scarf weaver, it's hard to know if they will be a good length after washing/finishing/shrinkage. Right now I am about half-way through the fifth scarf and still can't see the end of my warp. It got so bad I took a break today and baked bread. But that wasn't such a bad thing, was it? So enough of the whining already! Stay tuned.

Here are my little pouches. They are from scraps left over from a quilt my daughter made. Her favorite colors are yellow and blue - together. The pattern is "Little Wallet" by Valori Wells. These are fun to sew and especially fun to embellish which I did with my own beaded tatting. Each one is different. Variety is "The Spice of Life," isn't it?

Weave off,
RepWeaver