A Challenge for 2023 Part 2

You don't need a challenge for a weaver to want to "shake things up".  What follows are interpretations of the same threading draft and the weaver's comments about their take on the challenge. As expected, no two experiments are the same.

I've taken some of the text posted on the display board from the fair and added a few thoughts of my own.

The Basics of Weaving
The patterns for weaving come from three components: the threading, tie-up and treadling.  Any combination of those three items will affect the outcome of the woven item.  In each example, the threading was kept the same or enlarged for the project, but the tie up and sometimes the treadling was changed.  In the five works, see if you can pick out what is the same and what is different. 

Mardi Naythons
Since this was the first time that I worked with advancing and point twill together, I decided to use the original threading as noted.  It is a smaller sample because of that.  It has only 396 threads.  The treadling is tromp-as-writ.  The one thing that I did do to make it somewhat mine was to make an ice dyed warp in sections.  I tried to make the outer areas the same and I jogged the middle section in the dye bath so that it would be different.

Ingrid Knox
I took the original threading and extended it to the width I needed for a towel.  I created two different random stripe patterns for the two areas with different threading designs.  The tie-up is a 1-1-1-1-2-2 pattern.  This towel used a tromp-as-writ treadling – that means I used treadles that mirrored the threading.  The towel was woven using 10/2 cotton for the warp and weft.  The sett is 30 epi.

Jeanne Doty
There were so many weaving possibilities in this weaving draft.  Beryl Moody provided us with 37 different tie ups.  Since it was difficult to choose just one, I chose 5 and made a scarf instead of 5 towels.  It was fun to see these different drafts right next to each other.  The warp was maroon 8/2 tencel with a lemon green 8/2 tencel weft.  Each draft made changes to the color play, some bringing the warp color forward while another draft would bring the weft color forward.

Wendy-Marie Teichert
What was fun about this project was seeing how much variety could be achieved simply by changing the tie-up. I experimented with different weft colors – light purple, light yellow, blue and rose – to contrast with the dark purple warp. In retrospect, I think the weavings would have been more successful if I’d kept the weft color constant and varied the warp colors instead.

Beryl Moody
Weavers are always looking for a way to express their own ideas in the items they choose to weave.  This weaving draft was ripe for an adventure.  Having woven it nineteen years ago in a rather straightforward manner, I was thinking about what changes I could make this time around.  

I decided that if I were to alternate colors in certain sections of the warp and then weave that warp with alternating colors this could change the appearance of the final textile, yet have it retain some of the original design.  This method (in weaver's vernacular) is called color-and-weave. Where there are alternating color changes they tend to obscure the original design and give you something with an entirely new look.  The towel I wove is a combination of the original draft showing through, along with sections of color interplay that distort that original pattern. 

Here is a photo of one of the original towels woven 19 years ago.  It is tromp-as-writ and resembles a ripe banana - thus the addition of the fruit!

 

Reflections on my Plainweave Boucle Towels by Mardi Naythons

The inspiration for these towels came from an item in Jane Stafford’s studio, using similar colors.  From there, I decided to work on gradation, using Fibonacci sequences and division of space. 

 
The warp was made up of Boucle cotton and 5/2 cotton, which I wound together so that most of the time the boucle threads weren’t adjacent.  I also tried to use gradation in changing colors.

As I wove, I changed the weft colors as I went.  I had a basic plan, but I let the colors be my muse.  There were a few surprises along the way, for example, I had never considered using white in the weft, but it worked well.  Also, at the end of the warp, I decided to just use straight orange rather than putting in stripes.  It turned out that there was enough to make a towel, though it was slightly shorter than the others and I really liked it.

Fair and Square - continued

Wendy-Marie offered a rep weave table runner, using Rosalie Neilson’s pattern in the the May/June 2017 issue of Handwoven. The warp is 3/2 cotton sett at 30 epi. The weft alternates 3/2 cotton for the thin pick with 8/16 mop yarn tripled for the thick pick. The runner is finished with four rows of Cavandoli knots. Having studied Rosalie’s DVD course on rep weave, she believes the draft in Handwoven has some errors –that shaft 4 should be paired with shaft 8, and shaft 3 should always pair with shaft 7. 

 She also made matching placemats.

 

The same issue of Handwoven had a design by Deanna Deeds called “Gumdrop Scarf.”  Wendy-Marie used this pattern to produce her Nevada County Inspired entry, a “Farmer’s Market Scarf.” The warp is tencel, sett at 24 epi at the two ends, and changed to 16 epi for the body of the scarf using Beryl and Igor’s variable reed. The reed is 12 epi, but the top comes off so that the weaver can rearrange the warp. This reed allowed for a more even distribution of the warp once the edging was completed. The scarf is finished with Danish Medallions. Diverging a bit from the pattern, Wendy-Marie used bambu for the weft, which helped make the scarf softer and drapier.

 Her dishcloths are based on the “Herringbone Twill Towels” by Linda Gettmann, from the Sept/Oct 2014 issue of Handwoven. Where would we be without that magazine? Yarn is mostly 8/2 cotton, with a smattering of tencel and 5/2 cotton used for color. The sett is 20 epi.

Towel Bonanza



Around Christmas, Not 2 Square Weavers seem to be finishing up on towel warps.  Why - because they make such good gifts.  One size fits all and the amazing variety of choices is just so much fun to weave. 

At our December meeting, we held true to our usual offerings.  The green and purple towel below was woven by Eileen.  It is a two block broken twill design.  The warp and weft are 10/2 mercerized cotton and the towel is very light weight - although the sett was 32 epi.  Eileen thought it too "whimpy" but most of us thought it was great for drying glassware or other delicate items.  Gorgeous colors.  We will have to break out the McMorran Yarn Balance to test the yd/lb of her yarns from Lunatic Fringe and compare them to other 10/2 mercerized cottons we have.

Marcy had finished another warp on this two block twill threading.  She has found the joys of tying on to an old warp and weaving another colorway.  This time the towel warp was a burnt orange and gray.  Look at what happened when she used a white weft and then a navy weft.  The glory of neutrals and the geometric design just sings in both of these towels.  This pattern has been featured here before and is from Strickler's book on 8 shaft weaving.  The draft is #228 if you happen to own the book.  

 Marcy had also been busy on the loom weaving overshot runners. There was some warp left over and she did this striped beauty, and changed around the overshot motifs.  Great idea and a good use for the end of that warp.

 

 Mardi told a story as she showed us her towels woven on her old Leclerc loom.  She said she had always had problems with getting even tension across the whole warp.  When she went to the Vavstuga school a few months ago, she asked the instructors there to give her advice. Their answer was to use a temple.  Mardi warped up the loom, and woven this stunning stripe and plaid set.  The temple helped tremendously and her selvedges are perfect.  What a great feeling to have conquered this common weaving problem.

Marjorie brought in some woven items from several years ago, including this gorgeous hemstitched towel.  Love the color and the detail on this one.  The towel also has some huck patterning.

 

 Sue V. went to the Weaver's School on Whidbey Island this past spring.  Sue hasn't been weaving recently, and wanted to get her weaving mojo back so she took the beginning class.  The first photo is of the sample she wove in class with the huck lace design and a frame of stripes and plaid.

So Sue took inspiration from her woven sample and designed a towel warp specifically for a husband who doesn't always make sure his hands are perfectly clean when he uses the towel.  The towels are a beautiful red clay color - just like the soil here in Nevada County.  Sue used the same framing stripes, a huck design and made the towels just a bit longer than usual so that they hang around the handle of her refrigerator.  Stunning towels - and one would never know if a bit of red clay smudge got on them or not!

There's more to show from this meeting, so stay tuned for part two of our December meeting show and tell



Towel Exchange

We had a tea towel exchange at the December meeting.  Members that wanted to participate brought a selection of their handwoven towels and  came home with the same number from friend's looms.  It's a wonderful way to remember good weaving friends when you use their towels, year after year.

This year it seemed that lots of people had twill blocks in mind but you can see that there was a great variety in the twill block interpretation.    Hard to choose when it came time for picking!



Dee's twill blocks in shades of green purple and coral



Ingrid's color and texture towels on the left  - and Beryl's twill blocks on the right



Jackie's twill block towels

Betsy sold most of her towels at craft sales, but brought  this violet/blue and coral towel

Mardi had a variety - waffle weave, color gamps
and a sweet baby blue towel

Margie did borders on most of her towels.  The wefts were a variety of cottons and cotton/linen.

Marcy's plaids and stripes

Wendy-Marie's elaborate twill block towels

Handwoven towels.  What a wonderful way to start the holidays. 

Tying on a New Warp

Marcy found a neat four shaft draft in Weaver's Craft #17 for something the author called a mosaic twill.  She wove this in Christmas colors for gifts this past holiday season.  She liked the towels so much, she attempted something new for her.  She tied on a new warp to the existing one.

Everything went pretty well, but she ended up with some threads that didn't get into the mix from the old warp and had a couple of empty heddles.  She started weaving, but could see the line in her cloth where there was a missing part of the pattern.  Right about that time, we had a Not 2 Square meeting at her home and together we found the missing heddles and she added the missing threads into the warp.

We anticipated there might be a problem because these threads were sleyed more closely, but Marcy went ahead and wove off the rest of the warp because she didn't want to resley her reed.

She used a blue weft in the picture below.  See if you can find the more prominent white line where the threads are sleyed more closely?





Marcy's solution to the visible line was to use the same color weft as warp.  The resulting towels have a lovely texture because of the weave structure, but for the most part the sleying problem isn't visible unless you hold the towel to the light.

Many lessons in one warp!  These errors are practically invisible to a non-weaver, but if you are sitting behind the reed, nothing escapes your notice!  Bravo to Marcy in her quest to put something new in her "weaving skill bag".

Nevada County Inspiration Challenge

The Fair has come and is almost gone.  Eleven items were entered in the Nevada County Inspiration Division - most from members of the Not 2 Square group.  It was interesting to see how the entrants got their inspiration. 

Most people found a picture that captured some aspect of the County - usually a specific scene.  Others were inspired to use local plants to add color to their finished pieces. It was very impressive.  I hope that there will be more entries next year.

Here are the entries from our group.



Beryl's Shawl

The photos don't do justice to these pieces, but you can get an idea of how great they look.

Marcy's Towel

Gus' Towel

Dee's Scarves



Igor's Towel

Sharon's Towel

Ingrid's Towel





Huck, More Towels and an Ecology Shawl

Sue Habegger is using up special yarns that she has collected over the years.  She had a cone of natural brown Guatamalan cotton and Sue decided that weaving a solid color and a stucture were both out of her comfort zone.  This is the gorgeous yardage that was the result of her efforts.  The picture shows the yardage sideways. Sue wove bands of plain weave separated with bands of huck lace.  The huck takes up a bit more than the plain weave, so there is a gentle ripple which turns out to be very attractive.  Sue is still thinking of what kind of a garment to make with it.

At the meeting, Betsy had just come back from a fancy three day wedding in the Bay Area.  She had given the bride and groom their choice of colors and she presented them with handwoven towels as a gift.  She used warp colors in the weft and the towel above was woven with a white weft.  The draft is from Marguerite Davison's book, pg. 75 - John Murphy's No. 10.  I'm not sure which treadling she used with this towel - maybe X?  I thought it was a lovely thing to give a color choice to the gift recipients. What a good way to make the gift personal for the couple.

We all were so captivated by Carol's Ecology shawls that she brought in one that she wove using all handspun yarns.  She says the only problem is that the shawls aren't perfect triangles.  As you near the end of the warp, it gets tight and is very hard to weave - therefore one side is longer than the other.  We all agreed that it didn't make a lot of difference with this shawl, which is a real treasure.