• Home
  • Shop
  • About
  • Exhibits
  • Contact me

jeanweaves

~ Jean Williams, Handweaver

jeanweaves

Monthly Archives: April 2015

Hanging Out the Wash

29 Wednesday Apr 2015

Posted by jeanweaves in Nostalgia

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

family, Laundry, Nostalgia, Textiles

Laundry Day

Catching the warm breezes

Two trees, a piece of rope, some clothespins and a warm, sunny day—a welcome treat that harks back to my growing up years in the country. Yes, I hung out the wash!

When I was a young mother, we had a real clothes line: two t-poles with hooks for six lines. All the cloth diapers dried outside, letting the sun bleach them white again. The sheets billowed gently in the breeze – or whipped in the wind, depending on the day. The rugs hung heavily from the ends near the posts, with the hope that they would not break the lines. Sometimes the kids would run through the wash, playing hide and seek between the shirts and jeans.

It all sounds kind of idyllic now, but at the time, it was just how I learned to do wash.  It was a way to save some money, do my little part to help the environment. Nothing romantic about it at all. Those baskets were heavy to carry up the basement stairs from the washer to the line. It took extra time to hang them out, wait for them to dry, then collect them. Laundry took all day.

And then if clouds rolled in, there was the dash to the line to collect the clothes before it rained.

My mother hung out the wash as did her mother before her. Our line when I was a child was between the house and the garden—another common fixture for rural homes. One of my vivid memories was the spring day my Mom was hanging out the wash and suddenly started calling frantically for my Dad. It seems a family of baby grass snakes hatched under the line that day and Mom didn’t like snakes!

Hanging out the wash was not so much a tradition as a necessity. That was how you dried the laundry. But since outside activities have taken over our lives, efficiency means everything and sometimes we just want to get the laundry done quickly. Hanging out the wash becomes a nostalgic luxury.

But if you have two trees, a piece of rope, some clothespins and a warm, sunny day, indulge yourself! There’s nothing like the smell of laundry fresh off the line!

What are your memories of hanging out wash?

Advertisement

A Weaving Study — Or “How Did They Do That?”

17 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by jeanweaves in Coverlets, Craft History, Doubleweave, Weaving Inspiration

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Coverlets, Creativity, Doubleweave, Early American Weaving, Weaving

For the last couple months, I’ve been reading The Coverlet Book by Helene Bress (2003, Flower Valley Press, Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland). What a fascinating study of how our forebears elevated necessary household textiles to works of art!

The Coverlet Book by Helene Bress

The Coverlet Book by Helene Bress

Ms. Bress examined early coverlets and coverlet fragments over the course of many years, documenting the weave structures, the materials used, the design elements, and the history of the pieces if available. She recorded her first impressions of each coverlet or fragment, and analyzed the weaving. There were anomalies in some of the pieces and she delved into the possible reasons without passing modern judgement (21st Century weavers like rules that may not have been important to 18th and 19th Century weavers!)

The first volume is on overshot while the second volume covers twill, doubleweave, summer and winter, blended structures, and various other designs. Some coverlets were woven by professional weavers, but many overshot coverlets were woven at home on simple 4-shaft looms with home-dyed wool and homespun cotton or linen. Some of the earliest designs were Monks Belt – two blocks only. From there, the weavers played around with designs and over time, the designs got more and more elaborate.

Seeing the block designs in these volumes just confirms my fascination with traditional pattern weaves. What an array of designs can spring from one threading! How exciting to see how a pattern changes when the threading starts at a different point in the draft!

Doubleweave Placemat in Blue and Yellow

Doubleweave Placemat in Blue and Yellow

My current project has been a snowball and pine tree draft that is fairly common in coverlets. However, instead of weaving the blocks to form those snowballs and trees, I wove the blocks in straight order, one following the other, without combining them. From there the design evolved. This week the third rendition came off the loom. Here the blocks are just treadled in point order—zig zag order if you will. I like this pattern, but it is slower to weave because the blocks change constantly.

As I page through The Coverlet Book, I dream about weaving a coverlet. Maybe…someday…who knows! For now I am inspired and will keep exploring!

Shop!

Follow Us

  • Facebook

Galleries

  • Towels to Use and to Give
  • Runners
  • Scarves for Him and Her
  • For the Table
  • Note Cards
  • Animals
  • Throws
  • The Linen Press
  • Privacy Policy

Subscribe

  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

Archives

  • September 2020 (2)
  • October 2019 (1)
  • August 2019 (1)
  • July 2019 (2)
  • June 2019 (2)
  • March 2019 (1)
  • November 2018 (2)
  • September 2018 (1)
  • July 2018 (2)
  • May 2018 (2)
  • April 2018 (1)
  • February 2018 (2)
  • January 2018 (1)
  • December 2017 (1)
  • November 2017 (2)
  • October 2017 (3)
  • August 2017 (1)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (2)
  • May 2017 (2)
  • March 2017 (2)
  • February 2017 (2)
  • January 2017 (2)
  • December 2016 (1)
  • November 2016 (1)
  • October 2016 (2)
  • August 2016 (3)
  • June 2016 (1)
  • May 2016 (1)
  • March 2016 (2)
  • February 2016 (1)
  • January 2016 (1)
  • December 2015 (1)
  • November 2015 (3)
  • October 2015 (1)
  • September 2015 (4)
  • August 2015 (1)
  • July 2015 (2)
  • June 2015 (1)
  • May 2015 (1)
  • April 2015 (2)
  • March 2015 (2)
  • February 2015 (2)
  • January 2015 (2)
  • December 2014 (1)
  • November 2014 (3)
  • October 2014 (1)
  • September 2014 (2)
  • August 2014 (1)
  • July 2014 (3)
  • June 2014 (1)
  • May 2014 (2)
  • April 2014 (2)
  • March 2014 (2)
  • February 2014 (2)
  • January 2014 (2)
  • December 2013 (2)
  • November 2013 (1)
  • October 2013 (1)
  • September 2013 (3)
  • August 2013 (1)

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • jeanweaves
    • Join 62 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • jeanweaves
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...