Summer handwovens on deep discount

If you are a regular reader you know that for the past year and a half I've been pretty focused on weaving tapestry.
But I have a few handwoven items remaining that would be perfect to wear now and into the early fall.
I rarely put things on sale so this is your chance!  These sale prices are good through Friday, Aug. 11.    
If you are interested, please email me and we'll make it happen!

Handwoven infinity wrap.
Blue clasped weft lines highlight the moebius structure.
Lightweight and silky Tencel.  Handwash, hang to dry, touch up with warm iron.
Originally $125, now $65 plus shipping. 

Back view of Blue lines wrap.  

Handwoven infinity wrap.  
 Gray clasped weft lines highlight the moebius structure.  
Lightweight and silky Tencel.  Handwash, hang to dry, touch up with warm iron.  
Originally $125, now $65 plus shipping.

Back view of Gray lines wrap. 

Handwoven infinity scarf with Fuchsia clasped weft lines.
Was $95, now $45 plus shipping. 

Handwoven infinity scarf with Brown clasped weft lines.
Was $95, now $45 plus shipping. 

Handwoven infinity scarf with Dark Green clasped weft lines.
Was $95, now $45 plus shipping. 

Email me to purchase or with any questions you may have.  

P.S.  Next week I'll be putting on sale some of my mixed-media art for the wall.  Stay tuned!

What's looming?

Here's what I'm working on these days:

On my 4-shaft floor loom, there's a set of 8 tea towels.  I'm using my favorite yarn for that purpose, American Maid sustainably grown and naturally colored cotton yarn.  I'm weaving a pattern that I think of as a huge gingham check, using three different twill patterns and five colors:  two shades of green and two shades of brown.  The yarns are pretty pale until they're washed, so it may be hard to tell the colors apart on your screen.

I've been blessed with a great response to these since my farming friend, Phil Busman of Cherith Farms, has allowed me to put them out at his CSA this summer.  The folks there really "get" the appeal of cotton grown without pesticides and colored without dyes.  Gotta keep those folks happy with more towels!  This bumper crop of heirloom tomatoes is keeping all of us happy. 

And, drum roll please, I have finally warped my big vertical tapestry loom.  As you can see I had to use a step-stool for part of the threading process.  Many thanks to Tommye Scanlin for her indispensable guide, complete with great photos, for how to dress a high-warp loom.  (See earlier post about "It Takes a Village. . . ").

You may recall that my plan was that I'd scale up this tiny abstract tapestry I'd done years ago for my first try at weaving at a larger size on this new-to-me loom.  This design was loosely inspired by the general layout of illuminated manuscripts.

But after my exposure to pattern upon pattern in Istanbul, the arabesque has crept into my original design, and this is the collage I am using as my design.  No doubt it will evolve during the weaving process, but I am pretty excited about it.  It'll be a challenge to weave those graceful curves!

Meanwhile I've been busy with all the preparing-to-weave tasks:  sampling colors and types of yarn and scaling up the design into a cartoon (line drawing) that will go behind the warp and guide me as I weave.  For the first time for a tapestry, I have to calculate the amount of yarn I'll need, especially for the large expanse of white, to make sure I have enough before I begin.  It would not do to run out of that particular white yarn 3" from the top of the tapestry and then discover I can't find the same yarn to finish with!  So this morning I wove a small section with the white, measured it, and then unwove that section and measured the yarn.  Once I've got a full-size cartoon, I can calculate the number of square inches of the white background and figure out how many square inches of tapestry I can weave with the yarn I have on hand. 

But first I have to scale up the design, using the good ol' grid method.  My 8" x 12" collage will become a 24" x 36" cartoon.  At least the math works out with whole numbers!

What's looming

This week it's been a pleasure to finally get to weaving some dishtowels I promised to a friend in December.  (In my defense, there were other commissioned projects in the queue ahead of him!)  This friend loved the fact that the towel I had given him at Christmas was made from sustainably grown cotton in which the color is grown in the cotton boll; no dyes are used.  Much easier on the earth than conventionally grown and processed cotton.  And this cotton is grown and spun right here in the USA.  The yarn comes in five colors:  natural, two soft shades of green and two of brown.  The coolest thing is that the color deepens and the towel becomes even softer and more absorbent with each wash, especially if you put a little baking soda in the wash cycle.  (I have no affiliation with the producers or retailers, just a happy customer!)

You can see all the shades of the yarn here in this towel.  I put on an 8 yard warp so I should get 8 towels from it.  Two will be plaid, like you see here; the others will have lengthwise stripes but the weft will be a solid natural, brown or green.  Email me if you want to know more.
There's something very soothing about weaving a towel.  It's a humble, functional object.  Once your hands and feet learn the dance of the treadles and the shuttle, your mind is free to wander and plan other projects.  When I first learned to weave I swore I'd never weave something as ordinary as a towel.  Never say never. 
I was tickled to see in last Sunday's New York Times magazine T a full page touting "pieces for the home that bring elegance of form to the most basic functions."  There was a photo of some beautifully simple ceramics, and the caption affirmed that "Glazed pottery in soft colors, crafted by a person, not a machine, makes everyday acts special occasions."
Couldn't have said it better myself.