Chances

I like to pair up cones of yarn to sit on my desk together..... and just look at them. Usually they have similar depth of shade where are both equal in intensity of colour.

I like to watch them in different lights, natural or home.....  at different times of day.
Some get put back in the closet and new ones come out to play this game.

Coppery Pompeii (8/2 tencel) sat side by side with Amethyst for a couple of months while I made up my mind.  Would the copper over power the purple?   They are technically opposites on the colour wheel. Would they just go 'blah' when woven together?

Apparently not! In this balanced, reversible six shaft crackle weave (no tabby) they hold hands quite nicely.   As nice as Fiberworks is for design, colours and all its bells and whistles, sometimes you simply have to put the real colours together as real threads and see what happens!

This picture above and below were taken when we enjoyed a brief patch of sunshine, then.....

... the sun slipped behind a light cloud and the light was more diffuse and look at the difference below.   No camera flash  and on automatic setting 'landscape' on my DSLR.   The iridescence becomes to the fore front and it changes the colours entirely.  Its has life and glow.    

All because I took a chance and committed some real yarn in the game. 

The second scarf is nice too.  I went for a tried and true neutral classic, black.  It gives good pattern definition and will pair up nicely with suits and top coats or other more formal clothing. It can also be for a man as well. 

But why do I feel I should have gone back to my stash and tried something else?  This was a safe choice. Copper is a difficult colour to work with and I've been trying to think what else might have worked.   Dark teal?  Navy blue?   This will be another project at another time...

Whether its colour, weaving structures (or even our lives in general)..... you have to be willing to take chances, a risk. If it doesn't work you learn from it and move on. In weaving, you simply lose some yarn or string. Its not the end of the world.  

When it all comes together, you can really feel it.  Your first thought is "how did I do that?" and "how can I do it again?"   That would be that inner voice or gut instinct that I over rode as I reached for the cone of black instead.    😳

The second run of fencing was completed this past Monday and it looks and smells great!   There are approximately three to four neighbours in a row all getting shared fences replaced and the air is full of fresh cut cedar.

A neighbourhood cat was surprised in our yard by Hubby yesterday and it took a leap for the fence to make a getaway..... and was somewhat surprised by the five foot tall fence when it used to be a shorter four feet.  A rather elaborate gymnastic display ensued where much dignity was lost!  

The raccoons are not going to like it either then!

But we sure do!

A Tale of Two Shawls: part 1

Sometimes I get ideas for weaving and make notes to myself.  Those notes usually get buried or discarded. One of them reappeared when I was searching through old samples from past projects. It was a plaited twill I had made tea towels from many, many years ago for an exchange. I had really liked the  symmetry to the pattern and wondered what it would be like in a colour gradation.  Going from one colour through to another on the other selvedge?  Geesh, that would take some work and then some....   So it was filed away.

I found the note last spring and decided to play around with the draft on my computer to see if I could do it. Fiberworks (Mac version) has a colour gradation feature that I have used before with some success.  So choosing the colours (in tencel from Webs) ecru, taupe and shale, it turned out something like this:

I used colours that would be easy to identify when winding the warp as I followed along, advancing my post it note.  The two sections represented two different weft choices, with the bottom being the ecru as weft. It showed the pattern is there on the cream edge but not visible unless you look closely and then as the colours shifts and changes, more and more is revealed until you get the full plaited twill on the darker edge.

The weaving was going well; it was just there was a lot of it and the treadling is a bit awkward under the loom foot wise. I have issues with my feet and arthritis so I took a pace they could handle.  Ten treadles and the treadling pattern was shafts 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 5, 3, 6, 1, 7, 3, 8, 1, 9, 10. So some dancing about, but there was a pattern you could get into and now I have it memorized (forever!)

Then I started to have some issues with tension in places, so I opted to cut this shawl off and re-lace back on again.  It also meant I could see how things look when all opened out.  It took me some time to twist up the fringes and give it a good soak, dry and press up.

Then as luck would have it, we have been enjoying some beautiful sunny days and I took Madge out to the back yard for a photo shoot.  We found a spot out of the very bright sunlight and with a nice gentle breeze blowing, I got these shots. They give a very good representation of the colours as well.

This was 8/2 tencel, sett 24 epi. On the loom it was 23.33" and was woven to 86"under tension. The over all length was 84" off tension 24 hours after coming off the loom and then the finished dimensions are 21" by 82".  I feel there was considerable  take up plus shrinkage all things.  I will be weaving the second shawl as equally long with this in mind!

This picture shows the beautiful drape but also shows the transitions from ecru to taupe, then to shale. It also shows the pattern appearing broken and confused and then finally being firm and clear.  Sort of a metaphor for Life huh?  "...all will be revealed in time..."

So I'm happy with the shawl but there are things I would do differently next time. I would take out the furthest change in colour threads so it was a tighter change.  I would also try for colours a bit closer in shade as well so it just flows across from light to dark.  Even the all ecru section is pretty!

The second, darker shawl is off the loom now and waiting for the fringe twister, so part 2 will be along next post.

Next up....    my new warp weights. I bought them from  Carr Park Artisans on Etsy and I chose the cherry wood ones as shown below.    Such a simple, but effective concept!   My old plastic film canisters have been fine for years but are becoming brittle and cracking and my "stash" of them are slowly dwindling as the casualties are recycled.  

They come with five large washers as weights and it will hold more.  Your local hardware store has them.  I can just see a flood of weaverly women  asking for large washers at the nearest Home Depot or Lowes!

Back with Part 2 soon.....