Summer Snow

Happy Solstice every one!  I'm a couple days late...

I would have posted yesterday but I took a day off and went to the beauty parlour and got a trim and something they call 'glazing' done.   I decided for my past birthday in March where I turned 60 that I would embrace the grey and cease hi-lighting and semi permanent colours.   The semi colour fades away over three to four months and leaves a slight trace. The grey areas were refusing to take any effort on the part of my hairdresser to discreetly be covered with a semi colour and I won't go to a permanent dye. The time had come to become a full on crone.    This sure came along before I was expecting it....      Anyhow, the glazing is a clear semi permanent that gives your hair body, conditions it, tames the unruly white ones and gives it lots of shine.  It also involves a head massage that lasts twenty minutes.  Need I say more? 

I want to get the second half of my snowflake scarf project up here for you to see ahead of what promises to be some very busy days.  We're  listing our house and property for sale and we also have some over night guests coming  and everything that is entailed by this.    

I'm calling this one Summer Snow although I have used the new ecru 8/2 tencel as my warp (24 epi) and the un-dyed 8/2 tencel  

The pattern can be quite busy for some and so by using the two shades together it gives a neutral shade and uses the play of light on the yarn to reveal the diamonds and graduated "x's".   I also think it will move through the year as a wearable ... and lend itself to what ever colour you team it up with.

Here it is on black, but it would look equally fabulous on a deep red suit or  chocolate brown coat.  

This picture really shows how the white tencel picked out the pattern

It measures 8 inches wide by 76 inches long and a generous fine twisted fringe.   I'm so tempted to keep this one for myself but it would be months before its cool enough to wear it... and I can weave another.

These pictures are taken on our back deck against a rough stone wall. You can see the  lush west coast vegetation in behind.  Just a bit higher up above the fern was a small doe watching me...

They come through the property several times a day ( and night) and nibble away.  We gave up long ago trying to have a decent garden or flowers here....

Here's an inside shot where with incandescent lighting, and so it looks more cream.   Its also as soft as butter and drapes beautifully. I have recently seen posts by weavers saying they haven't tried weaving with tencel yet.   I think "what the heck are you waiting for?? "

This draft was modified by me to suit my needs for size and sett.  The original design similar to this one was seemed to come out at roughly the same time by Jane A. Evans (GCW master weaver, and author and published in Weaver magazine) and also Gudrun Weisinger (German master weaver, author in Weaver & Handwoven magazine... and my dear friend)  who passed away this time last year.  I don't know who was first.... but if you use it, please credit them.  Its a simple thing, doesn't take away from your project and means a great deal.   Also try to modify if you have enough experience with drafts.... and use different colours, yarns etc.   Making modifications is how you learn and grow as a weaver.  ( Copying exactly is not flattery...)  I have been experiencing some 'flattery' of late and so please note that I won't always share a draft every time.  This one has been published in more than a few places and easily found. 

A tip or hint:  this is as large a yarn size as I would go using this pattern. It has long floats and becomes a more friendly item to wear or use if you use a finer grist yarn.   10/2 tencel at 28 epi... 16/2 cottons or bamboo at 36 epi.   If you use a weaving design program, check the float length and then work out how long they are over an inch. 

Now, in the last weaving related post I promised a visit by an antique!   Many years ago I was quietly walking around a very large barn shaped building that houses antiques and collectables. You could spend hours in there pouring over all the items. I had an eye out for textiles and unusual china.  I found some absolutely lovely fine singles linen handkerchiefs with hemstitching and bobbin lace edgings for 50 cents each.  A large dining room table cloth that is pure linen, hemstitched on four sides for $10.00.... which only needs all the hideous embroidery removed and washed to be a useful beautiful snowy white table linen.    And I found this:

Yeah, orange stripes.... but look at the snowflake twill!   Its a fine cotton plied yarn or singles and the weft is a singles natural linen.  The linen is like two or three flax fibres spun together its so fine.  Its also very soft which tells me it was well used and washed often to be like this now. Linen only gets better with age!

The weaver made a simple rolled hem which has held nicely on one end but is slipping its bonds on the other.  I would love to use this somehow... but how do you lose the orange?    Over-dyeing might work.... but I suspect the striping effect would always show through regardless, and the orange will alter the colour chosen there. 

I hope you are able to enlarge this and see more detail.  I would love to have this analyzed and work out the draft. I'm pretty sure its an eight shaft. *fingers crossed*.   

Oh, and it cost me $1.00.    The bargain hunter in me was happy.... but the weaver in me cringed. 

Finally... a teaser for what's to come.... eventually...