Having Woven

I used to believe the best part of weaving was "having woven". With this piece, I never wanted it to end. I wove as slow as I could.


But with all things, the end finally happened.


This isn't the best picture, but it is hot off the loom. The threads are still warm. I just wrote to Just Our Yarn to see if they have any hints and tips connected to laundering tencel. I have never washed tencel, but I have heard a few "stories". I wasn't paying close attention to the tales because I wasn't using tencel at the time. I am not in a hurry to wash this because I plan to twist the fringe first.

Whidbey Afterglow

Pre-Ratatouille
As a virtual gardener, I am thrilled to display this picture sent to me by my very dear friend in Montana. She was in search of a ratatouille recipe which I supplied out of the Moosewood Cookbook.

I sure am loving this weaving! The only problem (and I am not certain this is really a problem) is I want to slow down and savor every pick.

One of my favorite things about Turned WeftIkat is the never ending kaleidoscope of painted and dyed yarn that dances along the warp beneath my hands. The threads create a symphony of color, and I am the orchestra conductor.


This is the beginning of a new project. At this stage, the only thing I know is I will need 16 colors. I also know I am using bambu 12, so I am somewhat limited in my color selection. I have 21 colors of bambu 12, so I only had to subtract 5. We shall see what evolves from this yarn.

Wow, Another Towel!

I tried to upload a little movie of the members of the Whidbey Guild, but I was unsuccessful on the first try. The next time I have Bernie, my computer wizard and friend, over I will have him give it a try.

Every time I go to Whidbey Island, I come home full of dreams of living there. I know I am too urban for island life, but still.... Whidbey Island is a world class weaving mecca.

My talk was really good. I told a new story: How Easy Ikat evolved into Turned Weft Ikat. Beginning plans were made for a future Dye Day and a Towel Project. Here is the funny part: I used up most of my time during the slide lecture, and I didn't have time to show the guild my collection of samples! I did get to display my finished examples and the blanket panels which seemed to be enough. Maybe I should make a quilt out of the samples? hmmm. I'll put it on my to do list.

After my talk during "show and tell", Paula, who described herself as a new weaver, showed her natural undyed cotton towels. I was so struck by their look and feel I didn't pay attention to her description of the weave structure, where she got the yarn and how she finished it. Actually I do recall hearing Paula say she poured boiling water into the washing machine during the washing process. And the towel is so soft, I am sure it will be extremely absorbent. I just emailed Paula to ask her for the details. I will add them as soon as she replies.

Paula's reply: I got the yarn about a year + ago from FoxFibre. It is natural cotton and "Colorganic Yarn". It came with instructions that the colours would deepen as washed, especially in boiling water (that's why I added about half boiling water to my washer when I
washed them when they came off the loom). I bought 2 colours: dark & medium
green in 10/2 weight. I then added some older natural cottons labeled K.N. 6/2 25% green & 50% brown. I used a Swedish Lace pattern from Marguerite Porter Davison's A
Handweaver's Pattern Book Traditional Lace Unit page 94. I used a 14 dent
reed doubling up on the 10/2 cottons and using the 6/2 cotton at about 1 per dent, threading a few 6/2's at 2 per dent regularly and periodically to get the correct epi. I eventually wove all 3 treadling options, some with variations for my eventual 6 towels.

I have another blog friend, Ames, who weaves undyed natural colored merino wool blankets. (in the same spirit as the cotton)


Here is a particularly exciting patch of warp with the 10/2 tencel from Just Our Yarn
The only bad part about having such a luscious warp is that I want to weave slowly in order to revel in the luminous color.

Turned Weft Ikat goes to Whidbey

I am getting ready to speak at the Whidbey Weavers Guild on Thursday. I just finished putting the slide show together, and now it is time to put my "show and tell" together. It turns out I have ikat samples dating back to 1975. Rather than keep notes, I always "tried" to weave an extra 12"-36"to keep as samples. Here are some spread out on my bed.


I just couldn't pass up an opportunity to snap a few pics. I don't have time to describe the fiber, dyer, sett, year; but I will be happy to answer any questions.


Fibers I have used are silk, cotton, wool, chenille, bamboo, and now most recently tencel.

Using white as a color is always a challenge. Again, weaving with white and black after working with intense color is always refreshing. This picture is rather dark, but you can see the details well. I'll have to play around with the exposure.

Sorry for so few words. I'll have something good on Friday.

Weave Every Day, 4

I thought I would wow you (and wow myself) by finishing this piece, but it was a holiday weekend. I did manage to complete deadline #3 of 4, though, and I have been weaving everyday. I'm sorry the color isn't really good in the above picture. The detail is closer to what it actually looks like. Radiant!

I have to say weaving with this yarn is totally splendid. I love the look and feel of this 10/2 tencel. One of the great things about weaving ikat is watching it all unfold. Each pick is a surprise.

I think I mentioned that I am using 50/2 silk for the weft and the warp is sett at 32 epi. It is also a treat to use my 16 dent reed. For the first 20 years of weaving, I had only a 12 dent reed which seemed to work just fine. It may have been that I selected yarn that worked with my reed. Now that I have a 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, and 16 dent reed, I keep thinking I should have a 9. Funny how that is.....

First Towel Arrives

The bar is set pretty high. What a beautiful towel sent to me by Stef M!
It is woven of unmercerized cotton and variegated tencel, 24H point twill threading.

The color is slightly off here, but I love the look of it.

24H Point Twill meets Turned Weft Ikat. I got the towel warp off the loom, but that is all I got done in the studio today. My attention was drawn to converting digital images to slides. I delivered 46 images. I can pick them up on Friday. I am sure I will tackle Power Point after this adventure.

The Edge of........Power Point

Amazing! If I weave just a little bit everyday, having woven happens. I could have finished this off this evening, but I have a pretty full plate and besides, I wanted to show this moment. Have you ever noticed how the last few inches of a weaving takes the longest amount of time?

I am in the process of preparing a program "Turned Weft Ikat" for the Whibey Island Weavers Guild on Sept. 6.
I have a wonderful "Easy Ikat" slide show I have been presenting for quite a while now, but I have been taking digital pictures for the past 4 years. So here I am poised on the brink. Do I buy a slide scanner and laptop? Do I sit down and figure out how to work the power point program? Or do I print out 5o of my best pics from the past 4 years and have them made into slides?

For the past couple of days, I have been printing 4 x 6 digital images having elected to make this year my last year of slide presentations. Now I am having a good time playing photographer. In order for me to have the slides back in time, I have to deliver them tomorrow.
I couldn't resist winding back. I have to stop and keep wiping my drool off this warp.