Guild Meeting part 3

This is the last posting of the wonderful Show and Tell from the Cabool Weavers meeting that was this last Monday. 

I think this was Dimity from Shirley D. 

Sam's Twill scarves

Larry's Huck and plain weave scarves

Larry says this is showing the one on the right has been ironed and the one on the left has not been ironed. Both great scarves!

Shadowweave scarf

Overshot runners

Twill cup towels

Can you say "Vicky, I believe you have 500  hand painted scarves here. And each one is different and oh-so beautiful."
Twill and M's and O's and Plain Weave!

Now here is Katy explaining how she wove this three panel overshot coverlet. Now this is just to-to awesome!!! She wove one block on-the-diagonal and let the other blocks develop as they may. It made her Creative Overshot teacher very proud!!! (Cream cotton warp and green wool weft)

Guild Meeting part 2

We had lots of different towels and scarves and blankets. Oh, my! Just sit back and enjoy the eye candy! (click photos to enlarge) Our group meets once a month except for December. Some drive over an hour and a half to share their talents with us. A very talented and sharing group.

Dimity towels 

M's and O's  towels 

Rugs 

Twill scarves 

Dimity or M's and O's...... but great just the same! 

basketweave with plain weave

woven shibori

double width blanket

Yummy Tencel shawl.

Guild Meeting part 1

Whew..... what a day..... almost weaving overload! I have so much wonderful 'show and tell' to show you that I will do it over several days. That way the photo's won't bog down your computers...

First I will give a great big Thank You to Dawn for her wonderful program on warping on a warping wheel. Most of us had never seen one 'in real life'. Very interesting. The only complaint was "where could I put it?" But we were told that some fold up for storage. Hummmm.

And I will share with you the show and tell that I brought that you'all haven't seen. I have been doing some charity knitting and came up with these teddy bears. I found the basic pattern on the internet many-many years ago. (If interested, just Google charity knitting teddy bears.)

Some have purses, some have blankets, some have vests or dresses. A couple have their own babies. A great way to use up that sock yarn, have fun, and do a good deed. These are for a local church to put in their "Shoeboxes" for this next Christmas gifts to needy children. 

Texture and Color

These photos were all taken at different places over several months. It's interesting to see that the browns and purples caught my eye. Maybe I can find a way to recreate some of these on my 8 shaft loom. 

carpet

chair fabric

chair fabric

foot stool fabric

And Then They Were Done - Dimity Towels

Here is the pink weft towel that had the brown strips turning purple. Pretty cool, huh?

 For this towel I didn't treadle the dimity pattern but just on the edges. The center section is my mock plain weave and it shows up some nice tracking.

And here is the group photo! 

Now I am on to other things. I have cut this warp off and will try weaving some table runners. Snowflake twill.......maybe! I should be having another guild meeting soon and I always get inspired from something some one brings for show and tell.

Dish Towel or Kitchen Towel

Some people call these dish towels or kitchen towels. Me, I just love to weave them. A really great way to learn the weave structure and end up with something for gifts or just to use in your own kitchen. I like to change the weft colors and/or the treadling to really see what a structure can do. 

 A really mellow towel. I have my plate ready, where is my blueberry pie?

Six shaft dimity sett at 18 epi, 8/2 cotton warp and weft. Finished size is 26 inches by 18 inches.

Hot in the Kitchen?

Now this towel shows up some of the tracking between the dimity strips. I used my 'mock plain weave' on the hem area. Now my friends will say this is a strange picture coming from me because they know I don't have any idea what to cook in that dish! It is a dish isn't it?? Bake wear? I am going with kitchen thing-ie!

Dimity on six shafts, sett at 18 epi using 8/2 cotton in warp and weft.

P.S. Happy Anniversary to my DH. 44 years and counting!!

Green Dimity Towel

This is a really good shot of what this color really is. Sometimes when you take a photo and then use your computer to show it, the colors don't cross over. The green color is "loden" and the brown is just "brown".

This is the six shaft dimity draft using my 'mock plain weave'. I used the two colors - green & brown - then placed two shots of each color the whole length of the towel. This is 8/2 cotton sett at 18 epi. 

Blue on Green

Back to Dimity...... I have room for one more towel, so thought I would go "out side the box" and try a color that I didn't think would work. BLUE. It seems that this drab army green color - Loden - is being neutral  and letting the weft color be the dominate color. I like the blue-brown combination. Should I tie on again???

But you know, I think this is going to work. You can just see where I have finished the red weft and have separated my towels with a few shots of white. I have mixed up the treadling a little on this blue weft thread, just to give a different texture.

I will wash these towels first, then separate them, then hem. A task for one of these cold January nights in front of the TV.
Stay Warm!!

Dimity Leftovers

What with the Christmas and New Years celebrations with gift and lots and lots of leftover food, I thought I would use up some 'leftover' red. My warp is loden (green) and with three brown strips. So I thought that I might try red and use up this little dab I had leftover from the white-red strip towels.

For this red towel, I have woven a "mock plain weave" before starting the dimity pattern. 

The above photo is showing the "mock plain weave" up-close and personal. Kind of hard to get plain weave with a six shaft draft when both the pattern blocks use shaft three. 

Looks kind of like a Christmas towel to me. Hummmm..... I am ahead for next years gifts! Yeah!

Diva's Meet in January

As you can see, this scarf is absolutely wonderful. Marilynn wove it for her husband for Christmas.  She says it was "just" a two block twill. The drape is wonderful, and her colors work so well together. When he is tired of it, several of us will take it off his hands.

Besides Marilynn, I was the only other with show and tell at our January Diva meeting.. Hummmmm... me thinks that the Divas were busy with family, babies, and food instead of weaving.

But we have been given several suggestions on what to weave next and I hope to have lots of show and tell next month.

This was my show-and-tell. 

I had given the program on being inspired to weave from photo's, calendars, and/or magazine pictures. Either the colors speak to you or the image. Another great place to find inspiration is from greeting cards.

Twice the Fun

Normally, Dimity is woven with just one shuttle. And yes, it does weave up pretty fast. But I wondered.... hummm ... what would happen if I used two colors and two shuttles???? I think you get stripes on stripes in this case.

I am using the Loden  and dark brown and my 'mock' plain weave. Pretty cool!

This is a 6 shaft dimity draft from my week long class at John C Campbell Folk School back in 2007. I keep finding different ways to weave this draft. Playing is just plain fun!

8/2 cotton warp and weft. 18 epi. 12 dent reed (1-2-1-2).
22 inches wide in the reed. I wove for 33 inches.
I am getting towels - after cut off loom - washed and hemmed: 18 1/2 inches X 25 inches.

oops!

i am using 8/2 cotton, NOT  "82". Sorry!!

Pink Passion

Dimity and Pink and Brown and Green....you get PURPLE!

I was thinking about adding a pink strip down on top of the brown strip, but thought instead to just try using a pink weft.

  I was surprised to see, when I stepped away from the loom, that I was getting purple!

I am weaving dimity on six shafts. 82 cotton with an epi of 18. I used a twelve dent reed and dented 1-2-1-2 across. I am also playing with the treadling. 

More Dimity Towels

DIMITY on 6 shafts

Another run of dimity towels to build up my supply. You never know when you will need a quick gift. And what better gift than a hand woven kitchen towel.

My computer is showing this as a brown, but it is a green color with brown strips.

If you have been keeping up with me, I have tied onto the last red-white warp with the same 8/2 cotton but in the colors Loden and dark brown.

I have a paper tape to measure with. I am at 12 inches on towel one!!!

I was going to only have two small stripes going down the right side, but while at the warping board I decided to add a third strip, thicker, on the left side. Playing at the warping board and playing on the treadles is my kind of fun!

I am using a floating selvage thread. You can just see it on the right---here.