I have to show off my finally completed towels for the guild exchange. Chances are none of the members of my swap group read my blog (although one never knows) so I might still be able to keep the surprise intact. I just couldn't keep it to myself another whole month! The swap isn't happening until the June guild meeting. You won't tell them I jumped the gun, will you?
Yellowstone Hot Spring Tea Towels
I took the image fairly literally and used 17 colours of 2/8 unmercerised cotton to "paint" an interpretation of the photo as I wound the warp. Most of these were already in the stash as leftover bits and bobs. I put sticky tape on the first and last pegs of my warping board and arranged the cones on my rarely-used spool rack:
It was kind of tedious but fun! At least all of the design decisions were in the warp so the weaving part could be very simple:
The sett was 24 ends per inch and I thought I had made it wide enough to end up at the 18" minimum after finishing. It was nearly 20.5" in the reed and I used a temple to keep the draw-in minimal. The weave is a 4-shaft point twill and extended twill with a very easy treadling sequence. I got it from the book "Designing Woven Fabrics" by Janet Phillips. I thought it reminded me of the ripples of the water in the photo.
I finished the towels with machine washing and drying, cut apart, pressed and machine-stitched hems and a final press. The final finished size was 17.5" by 25.5" but I'm betting they will still shrink more in subsequent laundering. The hems flared a bit too much but I didn't have anything appropriate that was both finer and the right colour. They are a nice weight and the floats should absorb water very well. I'm happy with them. Glad I wove 6 though instead of 5 even though it was a struggle to squeeze the last one in. The first one was a bit more "interesting" than the rest!
Glad that's done so I can move on to finishing up more of the gazillions of projects I have going right now. Today I'm sewing in the ends of my Still Dark Tunic that just came off the needles and then it can be washed and blocked. Who-hoo! That beast took 3 stinkin' months to knit but I'm very pleased with it. More as soon as I can.
But first, I have to see if this will post properly. The Ongoing Saga continues...
5 comments:
Hi Louisa - Shelley of Forest City Fashionista here! I will be in Vancouver for a few days later this month and wondered if you would like to meet for a coffee, or perhaps even brunch on Sunday, May 29th? Melanie of Bag and a Beret may get in touch with you, but if you are interested, please send me an email (slong88@hotmail.com)
Oh my.... Those tea towels, I'm speechless
I'll take a couple!! I love the colors you matched up with the photo - great job. I'm sure they'll all be welcomed at the exchange!!!
love the tea towels, great colours, Lucky person who is on the receiving end.
Thanks for the kind compliments! It was fun to weave again - something less frustrating than the last couple of projects. It'll be awhile before I'll have the chance again though. I'm planning a blanket warp for fall.
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