Shawls of Summer ☀️

 This post is a tad bit overdue.   The weaving was finished a couple of months ago and I managed some pictures outside.  The photographs I took of one shawl looked bleached out by the sun and didn't do it justice at all so I planned to take some indoors.... but on a sunny day.   Then the clouds rolled in and it seemed that any sunny day had us going somewhere.  Finally, everything aligned and I got the photos taken. 

But let's roll the clock back to my old Megado and a mystery warp.  I bought a painted warp from Carr Park Artisans a couple of years ago and it was  7.5 yards and 400 ends of painted tencel.    No name of the colour way on the card and I asked Christine and she doesn't recall.

So I paired it with solid  mineral green tencel  and slipped in some of the extra painted warp left over into the borders. I didn't want to waste any!  Above you can see the warp being beamed, and below you can see my "S" hooks and weights I use to tension as I wind on. Yes, it means a bit of to'ing an fro'ing but I don't mind as I know the warp is on tight and will behave later on during the weaving. 

This is the draft I used. Rather than using a straight draw, I decided to modify it and use a 16 shaft point twill instead. I did have some straight draws on either side as part of the border.   It's a mind boggling 63 treadle run so usually woven up on a dobby loom.    The blank white part is the painted warp and later on where the gold stripe is, I replaced that with spare painted warp instead.  I'm making choices right up to the last minute usually.   The draft is from Handweaving.net and is #78089

The weaving was straight forward  and took some time. The first shawl I used the mineral green as weft as it seemed to work with all the colours in the warp.   It was woven to approximately 87 inches to allow for some shrinkage. It was fun to weave as you were always trying to anticipate the next colour zone and how it would look. The transitions were softly done which I prefer. 

This is the shawl complete and measured as 19 inches wide by 84 inches, plus twisted fringe.   It's fully reversible too which is nice for the wearer.      I see it as a 'summer time wrap' and of course, that time is now passed.

Now for some various pictures showing drape, colour, and my late summer garden

The sedum is colouring up to pink-red so taken mid September.  

The second shawl was entirely different. I used a different 16 shaft point twill tie up #34777. It's a draft I have used before and quite like it. It has a delicate flower / star like pattern, and this time I used greyed teal as my weft. The whole overall effect was softer and more gentle.

A couple of pictures taken shortly after starting.   Love the pink transitions!

Finally, indoor pictures taken, in a house with extra sunshine brightening the house up. I like to think my grandparents approve.... that's their 1930 wedding photo in behind.

This section of the warp had more of the gold-yellow colour, but not at all harsh.  All quite soft.

This shawl is also 19 inches wide by 84 inches too.

These pictures show the iridescence

So one more project was woven on the Megado 110 and then she was off to a new adventure in the Okanagan Valley. (see Oct 4th post about the table runners)  Life intervened here (again) and much of the delays here were due to medical appointments as my husband has leukemia, but it seems its low grade.  Tests will determine whether they treat it or not so we will find out more on the coming weeks.

Weaving has been a wonderful experience for me in the past 30 years. A source of new friendships, learning a new craft and constantly evolving as time, looms and circumstances change.   It's patient when you can't visit the loom or you dabble with a new toy or craft.  It gives solace when times get serious and you need a refuge. The magic of putting colour and threads together is joyful.

I have no regrets about going down this marvellous rabbit hole!    🐰

Making Waves 🌊

 Time for a finished project!    Woven on the Megado that doesn't live here anymore, a month or two ago.  It has been so busy here and  this one slipped my mind!    With all the studio rearranging, it was folded and put away....

I wove this pattern a couple of years ago on my old Spring loom and enjoyed it very much. I could see some potential for treadling variations and colour pairings.  I wound a 4 colour gradation from royal blue to deep teal green on my warping mill. It does take some time but I quite enjoy the process.

The warp yarns were 8/2 tencel as they have so many lovely rich  colours:  royal blue, azure, greyed teal and dark teal. The first scarf I used salmon which looks very terracotta to me.   The sett was the usual 24 epi. 

Its a very rich looking mix and there is irridescence!

When it came time to weave up the second scarf and I had to choose a weft colour, I was stumped! Last time I wove this pattern, I used black for one and coral for the other.     I auditioned a few candidates and finally chose lemongrass..... and a different treadling for a whole new look. 

I would have to say it's my favourite of the two.  Sometimes you just have to push through and test your comfort colour barriers!   😊

Here's the draft  which is 8 shafts and I found it on Pinterest, with no credit given to who ever designed it sadly.   The colour gradation was done by me using Fiberworks for Mac. 

22 Hour Flip ⏰

 So my Megado 110 looked like this yesterday morning at 9:30 am

Ready for the final parts to come off and for that I needed help.

What I had managed by myself....  

The box contains small wooden parts and bags of nuts and bolts hardware in a separate box. The bench ultimately came apart too.

The dobby  was wrapped in bubble wrap, then into a box and surrounded by towels.

The new owner, Jessica, came at 10 am yesterday and the loom was hustled out the door to a truck with a sliding canopy cover. They had a drive down island, a ferry ride and another long drive to get home. The Summit on the Connector between Merritt and Kelowna had the first snowfall of the season too.    They likely got home last night about 10 pm or 11 pm.

Then at noon today, 22 hours from the first picture, I saw this:   😳

Apart from tweaking the dobby, she's ready to thread!    We are apparently very keen and very excited..... and didn't sleep much last night.     The loom looks great there and will be making new cloth  probably by the end of the day. 

Meanwhile, here : I had a large empty spot and so got it all vacuumed thoroughly but there's no disguising where the loom sat for 9 years.    I moved a few things around to make it look and feel less empty.  So here's the studio view as of today.

You can see her 'foot prints" in the carpet pile.

Just me and the new kid now with her view of the garden. I'm leaving her here and thinking about what's next for the space.  There's no hurry....  

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving and I'm wishing all my fellow Canadians well as they gather for a meal. 

🍂🍄‍🟫🍁🍄🍂

A Golden Circle Finish

 

When I beamed this warp, I had no idea that this would be the last warp on this loom.     With two looms in the studio I knew that this larger one would be sold eventually, but perhaps next Spring 2026?   My weaving has slowed down due to Life, a postal strike here in Canada and American tariffs so right now my Etsy shop is on an extended  break.

Eventually the strike will be resolved and then I can reopen and then resume selling to Canadians only for the time being or another 3 years.    We'll see where that goes....

Life has been keeping me (us) busy again as it  seems my husband has yet another health battle and this time it's leukemia.   We don't know too much right now as we're in that nasty waiting period where you know, but don't know much until the referral to a specialist kicks in.  

So it seemed appropriate to sell the loom now, rather than next year and it sold in less than 48 hours and is going back to the Okanagan Valley on Thanksgiving weekend. The poor loom is now 3/4 dismantled and awaiting its fate. 

The last project is a 12 shaft turned satin weave draft I received from a Scottish friend many years ago.  I did weave some table runners back then, also gold and they all sold as fast as I listed them, all to one customer.   I thought to try them again as they were just lovely.

So 10/2 mercerized cotton, sett 28 epi and first up was 10/2 gold tencel.  Second runner I used a 10/2 pale gold called "Straw" and for the final runner, I used an ivory bamboo that was like a skinny 2/8.   It elongated the circles but it still looked nice.

I'm very pleased with my edges and the smooth silky touch to the cloth.  They have a nice weight to them and lay flat nicely.  The ladder hemstitching really adds to the cloth. I was careful with my hand sewing so they could be used revered if  that side was preferred.   One side is more warp dominant, the other weft.

First up.... the pale gold.     All three runners are 19 inches wide, and this one is 56 inches in finished length

Here's the draft for those of you with 12 shafts to play with.  I've left the numbers down the treadling so you can match it up. 

Then this is the dark gold runner: 19 inches by 51 inches finished.

.

Here you can see the back side of the runner. 

The hem on the reverse side.

Then, lastly, the ivory bamboo weft runner which is difficult to photograph as the colours aren't too far apart. You have to use the play of light, but I love the subtle pattern play.

This runner was 19 inches by 66 inches finished.

I will be sad to see this special loom go onto another adventure with a new weaver, but Margaret would have loved that her loom is being returned home to Lake Country.  

 Coming full circle. 

Both our names and dates of ownership are under the bench seat.   There's room for many more owners to come.