Towel Fascination

Here is an array of towels woven in 10/2 mercerized cotton using my Woven Words technique. Mostly I weave towels as gifts. From the bottom up we have: Tess Archer (celebrating the birth of my grand niece); Matt & Marla ( celebrating cousin Matt's marriage to Marla); Virginia (a fund raising project for a Virginia Harvey video produced by the Northwest Designer Craftsmen Living Treasures Video Project; alphabet sampler (just for fun); Paper Towels ( in honor of Cis and Chic Paper, my favorite Aunt and Uncle); and Tarses Tartan (for my immediate family).


I don't have any of my older ikat towels, but I have started a new series ikat towels which will become the towels I will use in my ongoing towel exchange.
TOWEL EXCHANGE: It goes like this-- You send me a towel, and I will send you a towel. Above are some of the towels I have received. I use these towels all the time. I also have lots of handwoven napkins. Many of the towels and napkins are interchangeable. It is fun when I have folks over for dinner to have them select their napkin as no two are alike.


I don't use the Woven Words towels except as examples when I teach. Well, that's not completely true. I carry the Tarses towel in my purse for those times when I wish I had a towel with me.

Gary and Grace Enjoy Summer

What with all the travel and house guests, it would seem like nothing gets done in the summer. However, now that I have committed to weaving everyday (when I am home), I am finding it easier than I had thought it would be. Here is what (or should I say "who") is on Gary, a good example of the Bambu 7 "kit". I am weaving this shawl using yarn from Cotton Clouds and using Irene's horoscope (the owner of Cotton Clouds). Very soon I will post detailed instructions for ordering a kit and what is included in said kit.

Grace features another 8/2 unmercerized cotton towel sample. I like to weave something in ikat prior to giving an ikat presentation (September 6th at the Whidbey Island Weavers Guild).

My current fascination with handwoven towels is somewhat of a mystery to me.

Saori Weaving Hob Nobs with Blanket Panels

I didn't have anyplace to hang and photograph my "Weave Everyday" piece, so my Big Commission Blanket in progress was kind enough to offer a contrasting backdrop. I didn't know what to expect when I cut this weaving off the loom. I had no plan! I just wove whatever I felt like when I sat down to weave! I never expected to experience a rush when I unrolled the cloth beam. I don't think weaving will ever be the same for me although now I have to weave a horoscope weaving and another ikat towel sample for an upcoming lecture.

I am a little nervous about laundering this piece as I have blended merino wool (warp) with merino, musk ox, and cashmere for the weft. I will probably wash by hand and dry flat. I have had things I have woven in merino wool shrink as much as 45% in the washer, and my experience with cashmere is it hardly shrinks at all. I was surprised to discover the cashmere sweaters I get from the second hand stores can be washed on gentle and dried on low with fabulous results.

Weave Every Day, 3+ Blog Freeze

Torn between feeling I should report on my recent trip and my desire to share my current process (and having out of town guests), I suffered Blog Freeze! In order to recover from this debilitating syndrome, I will just have to move forward. As I absorb aspects of my trip East, I will let bits and pieces come through and weave themselves into my experience.

However, I continue to weave a little bit everyday.
I have to admit it is lots of fun to focus on the weft for a change, to not think about the outcome.

It is grand fun to inlay some ikat yarn.


And here finally I believe I experience the Saori Spirit. I will cut this off the loom this evening and promise to show it to you no matter what.

Weave Every Day, 2

Even through HP, I continue to weave some on a daily basis. It seems that everyday I sit down at the loom I am a different person. What emerges as I weave is totally unplanned and a complete surprise. I try not to think about what this piece is going to look like (or even what it is actually going to become). Whatever it is and however it looks, I plan to put it in a Northwest Designer Craftsmen Group Show next month. I had to tell them what I was going to submit, so I said I was weaving a scarf. It may become a very very long scarf or a long thin wall hanging.

I discovered some merino wool ikat dyed yarn I had used in a wool ikat blanket and thought it would be fun to play using the ikat in the weft. I couldn't resist introducing the lavender cashmere stripe as I just received this new color. I don't know what I was thinking putting on a red warp, but I must have been in a red mood that day. It is interesting just how little the red actually shows although it does influence the general "look".

I realize I have dropped the thread of retelling the story of my trip, but I will get to it.

Potter Interlude

Need I say More...

Weave Every Day

The essence of the Saori Conference for me was the idea to weave every day even if it is only for 5 minutes. When I got home, immediately set up the loom and started to weave. As I weave, I think about my Saori experience. I only spend a few minutes at a time at the loom. I am not thinking about what the finished piece is going to look like. Each time I sit down at the loom, some color or thought grabs my attention and away I go.