Ten Yards: the Long and the Short of it

I don't think that a warp of ten yards is actually very long. I have woven this length and much longer before. For some reason,  this ten yard warp just didn't want to end.  I'm at a loss to understand why as I enjoyed the twill blocks, the colours,  and the Spring loom but it just seemed to go on and on! I guess it was just time for a change...

These have all plum weft.

I have nine towels in total and from the one already in service in my kitchen, they are great!  The colours even suit my kitchen decor and they are generously large (which I really like). Towels that are too small to do much are annoying! These measure up 21 1/2" x 30", with some a bit longer, some a tad bit shorter. They are listed in the Etsy store already.

A mix of small and slightly larger blocks and colours 'plaid style.'

I actually dug through my stash to see what cotton colours I had that worked together and also in enough quantity to be able to wind the warp and enough for the weft as well.  I seem to have lots of cotton in various colours but part single cones. It seems that some mixed colour warps are coming up soon.
Buying more yarn doesn't appear to be the answer (shocking I know!) The 8/2 (or 2/8 if you prefer) cotton came from Brassards en Fil  and is a nice quality and good twist for warp. I used 24 ends per inch and it seemed to weave up nicely balanced with a firm beat.  The drape is lovely and they are very absorbent.

All burnt peach weft...

All sage green weft...we have the twin of this one in our kitchen!

This was a two block weave: Block A is threaded 1,2,3,4 and Block B is threaded 5,6,7,8

Its very easy to treadle and either treadle one or five is the start and you can mix and match them up as you like. I kept to more traditional symmetry, but you can actually go 'free form' and create on the fly... just like Lynnette did in this post.  Now her scarves look thoroughly modern!  Turned twill is very versatile. Remember these?  Same idea but the blocks are put together a bit differently.  When I feel like weaving this twill again in the (near) future, I think I will try three, four shaft blocks on all twelve shafts and see what the possibilities are with that! Hey, I could get four blocks on the Megado.... ah,  I better slow down here and remind myself that I'm bored with this.  :)

Lastly, large blocks with plaid style colour

I had the draft all worked out, right down to the last warp thread and colour order. I  print a copy off and thread following that. When the time came to print off additional copies for my samples, I couldn't find the draft! It was gone...deleted?   I had to work up a smaller, not to original colour alternative:

So as a bonus this time, I have a book recommendation!  If you like to dig deep into weave structures and learn them thoroughly, then you'll enjoy this new issue  "Weft Faced Pattern Weaves ~ Tabby to Taquete" by Nancy Arthur Hoskins: ( I have her Coptic Tapestry Album)

I must admit that I haven't done more than give it a quick look for now but I'm impressed with the book's functionality. Its coil bound and so lays flat. The bulk of images are black and white but when there is colour, its great colour!

I got my copy from Amazon and it tagged along as companion book for one my husband wanted to order. I thought it was a fair trade! This won't be a quick read but more of an in-depth study and it even has a lesson section if you decide to follow along on the loom.  I suspect this book will be popular...

Here's the table of contents so you can see what Nancy covers and believe me, its looks thorough. I'm looking forward to getting into this in more detail.   Maybe put on your Santa Wish List?  Yup, the crazy time is coming!