I had seen many woven versions of # 728, from Carol Strickler's " A Weavers's Book of 8- Shaft Patterns". It went onto the 'to-do' list, someday. It seemed the perfect combination of pattern and potential exploration of colour a weaver could find. Endless possibilities!
I planned for and wound a 8 yard warp of 8/2 unmercerised cotton on my warping mill and that was a major commitment in itself. So many cones of yarns, tracking the colour order..... and it took a few afternoons. It was also great for using up small part cones and stash bust as well. Then it hung around for a couple of months while other projects jumped to the head of the line up as my interests changed.
As a warp just hanging there, it somehow wasn't as appealing. Sort of a congregation of dark broody colours. I had used three shades of purples, a magenta, medium blue and a cinnamon with a dash of off white as the glue between stripe groupings. Along with the cones of warp yarns I had tucked in a cone of bright raspberry pink as a potential weft yarn..... and that is what saved the day.
I got it wound on along with my trusty helper, Bruce, and soon I was threading away. Tricky threading to keep track off, plus watching for the colour changes to happen in the right spots! It seems I had the bright idea of making some changes in colours while winding the warp and the next day forgot I had done it. So long story short, I had to flip out 4 ends and hang 4 of the new and improved colours. It meant I had 6 weighted film canisters hanging off the back to adjust. Reminder to self: make notes and read them!
So, the bright pink raspberry apparently did the trick and transformed this warp into something very special. Its a party for the eyes!
I end up with 6 towels (finished dimensions 20" x 29"). Three in the raspberry, one woven with the darkest purple in the warp, one used the magenta from the warp and another I used a soft lime green. It sort of fades away next to the brighter ones, but when viewed alone and by itself, has a charm all its own.
Soft lime weft:
Magenta weft:
Raspberry weft:
Dark purple weft
... and a bonus table runner with short fringe!
About the time I was hand sewing the hems on the towels, I found this skirt being advertised for sale on FaceBook as 'Bohemian Gypsy". Well, how about that? My little kitchen towels are a fashion trend.
Here's my "Patron of the Arts" actually weaving! Its taken me 23 years to get him to try throwing a shuttle and he did very well. "Over and under" the floating selvedges, and marching along the treadles. So one of the towels had a small section he wove and I left it in. It was simply perfect, in all ways... 💖
Go Bruce! I’m sure your weaving was absolutely perfect.
ReplyDeleteSuch cheeful work, Susan. Have been following you on Facebook and it's great to see an expansion of these gypsy towels.
ReplyDelete728 is on my to-do list, as well. Every time I see someone do it I am inspired. And then I think about how out-of-my-comfort-zone the towels would be will all those colors and my rule-of-thumb that either the colors or the weave pattern need to be the star; if they both try to be they will fight with each other. Yet I so admire your work and your taste that I am again inspired to try.
ReplyDeleteI would normally agree with you Peg.... either colour OR pattern gets to be the star, but in the case of 728 it seems both can be. I have seen colour ways used for 728 that are soft, or even neutrals with grey, blacks and a a touch of colour.... or totally bold. It just seems to work in this case.
ReplyDeleteAll the towels were sold, very quickly, and I'm thinking of trying another batch sooner than later and trying another set of colours. Its great for using up small part cones if you decide to vary shades (I used three different purple tones in this set). It was a simple weave once under way and fun to watch grow under the shuttle.
I would say the hard part was winding the striped warp and plucking up the nerve to weave it!
That is one amazing pattern Susan, and such a departure from your usual serenely classical weaves. The tea towels just shout 'happy'. I'm astounded at how closely they resemble that skirt! Bruce does look like a natural at the loom.
ReplyDelete