Tag Archives: Textiles

Where Did It All Start?

17 Thursday Sep 2015

Posted by in creating, Nostalgia

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While spinning this weekend, my mind wandered. I have a knitting project in the basket, a tatted doily in process, and two warps on the loom. My husband teases that I’m an incurable multi-tasker. Why do I always have to have multiple projects going, in different crafts? Where did it all start?

And then there was yarn

And then there was yarn

First, crocheting came to mind. I admired the doilies my mother and grandmothers made and wanted to make some of those. But yarn is easier to learn on than crochet cotton, so I started with granny squares. In high school, I made a few granny square purses for classmates and sold a few. Nothing fancy, but in perfect step with the styles of the early 70’s.

But it goes further back than that. When I joined 4-H as a 9-year-old, one of my first “projects” was Knitting. I remember our leader patiently teaching several of us around her kitchen table in the evening meetings. She must have been a saint because there was only one of her and at least 9 or 10 of us, but learn we did. My Dad’s slippers didn’t quite turn out—I’ve always knit large and he wasn’t really a slipper-wearer, but he was a good sport!

Early lessons in sewing

Early lessons in sewing

But maybe it went back even further. When I was 7 or 8, trolls were a fad. They came with all colors of hair. Mine had orange hair. And you could make simple felt outfits for them. My Mom purchased a sewing pattern for a variety of outfits, sat down with my sister and me and taught us the basics of sewing outfits for our trolls. Again, nothing fancy, but we were proud of the clothes we fashioned ourselves.

In the intervening years, I’ve added tatting, spinning, and weaving to my craft skills. Each brings its own pleasure and satisfies the need to always have something in my hands.

I am so grateful to all those who patiently taught me skills that bring such joy. And it’s my turn to pass along the joy!

Hmm…Does that work?

23 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by in Color, creating, Planning, Weaving Inspiration

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Winding my new warp gives me pause—do these colors work?

A choice of colors

A choice of colors

Planning colors can be one of the most difficult parts of the weaving process for me. I’ve designed some real ‘dogs’ in my years at the loom, and other times, the colors just glow. I’m definitely more of a “pattern/structure” weaver and a “color/texture” weaver.

Recently I’ve been weaving workshop samples and neutral colors, and really, this week I needed some color. So I went to my shelf and started pulling out cones. Reds, purples, blues, peach, turquoise, green. Which should I choose? Which colors will play nicely together?

Sampling would be the wise route to take, but I’m very impatient to get this one the loom. That may come back to haunt me.

Threaded warp from the back

Threaded warp from the back

I remember hearing Sharon Alderman talk about color—look at what Mother Nature puts together and use that as a starting point.

Okay. I can see some of these colors in my flower garden, but not all of them on the same stem. After some sorting, I settle on UKI’s Quince (a dark peach), Duck (close to turquoise), Lavender, and Scarab (a soft sage green) for towels. (Color names are interesting—can you just imagine someone saying “We’ve already got a green. What should we call this shade?”) As I wind the warp, I have second thoughts, but it’s too late now. Such indecision!

I sley the reed. Hmm…I hope this works.

It takes the better part of a day to thread a broken twill that will make up a vibrant towel warp—I hope! Lots of time to wonder…

Okay, today I wound the warp onto the back beam and tied the warp to the breast beam—all 642 threads, each 7 yards, 21 inches. The colors of the mercerized cotton glow. A few inches woven show that hey, this might work after all.

Testing the Warp

Testing the Warp

With house guests for the next week and a family wedding to follow, the warp will wait for confirmation. And I will still need to decide on weft colors, but every time I walk by the loom, I’ll think about these colors and dream about some nice colorful towels.

How do you choose the colors for your next project?

Hanging Out the Wash

29 Wednesday Apr 2015

Posted by in Nostalgia

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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?

Placemats, Anyone?

25 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by in Placemats

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Cotton Placemats in Cream and Blue

Cotton Placemats in Cream and Blue

“So what handwovens do you need right now? What can I weave for you?”

“Well, we could always use more placemats.”

So went a recent conversation I had with a local shop owner. Placemats.

I used to weave a lot of those but over the years, I’ve shifted to towels, scarves, and other linens. I’ve woven note cards, runners, napkins, even some rugs.  But not many placemats.

When I got married, placemats were a popular bridal shower and wedding gift. Placemats are all-purpose. Like tablecloths, you can leave them on the table between meals as an accent. During meals, they protect the table without covering it up completely. And placemats are easy to launder. If you remove a handwoven cotton placemat from the dryer while it’s still slightly damp, you can simple smooth out the wrinkles and let it finish drying flat. Voila!

Classic '40's Tablecloth

Classic ’40’s Tablecloth

Back when my Mom got married, tablecloths were the gift of choice. Every bride needed tablecloths for every day, for formal use, for covering the table between meals. Remember those all-purpose printed tablecloths from the ‘40’s and ‘50’s, the ones with flowers around the edges and a center motif? There were tablecloths for every season and they brightened the table, made a meal special and just added a nice touch to the room between meals. Over time, decorating trends and tastes changed and placemats replaced tablecloths in many kitchens and dining rooms.

I have a pie cupboard full of table linens — both tablecloths and placemats (more than I actually use, but that’s another story.) The tablecloths came to me from my mother and my mother-in-law and some I received as wedding gifts. I do use them, just not every day.

Placemats and tablecloths for all occasions

Placemats and tablecloths for all occasions

But every day, there are placemats on our table. I have a few favorite sets and some seasonal ones. Some are super easy to care for, others are a little more challenging (like the fake straw ones I received many years ago and still am not quite sure how best to clean them – therefore they don’t get used). There are rag placemats that were made by a women’s cooperative in Latin America, there are fine cotton placemats. There are samples of designs I’ve sold and leftovers from the ends of warps.

I like the old tablecloths from the ‘40’s and ‘50’s. I like the flowers and the sense of style they gave a humble kitchen. There are many still out there in estate sales and flea markets.

But I like my placemats too. So I guess I’ll make some more placemats and as I’m weaving, I’ll imagine how they’ll brighten someone else’s kitchen table.

Production Weaving

26 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by in Planning, Weaving Inspiration

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There are some weaving terms that may mean different things to different people. I think “production weaving” falls into that category.

My Weaving Goal

My Weaving Goal

Sometimes production weaving means putting on long warps to maximize weaving versus set-up time. The longer the warp, the more you can weave before you have to rethread the loom. Other times, it means weaving A LOT of one type of thing. I have come to understand production weaving as weaving with an eye toward time and cost efficiency.

I have friends who put on long warps for towels and then challenge themselves to weave every towel differently. They change the treadling. They change the weft color. They change something in each towel so that they are all related, but different. That takes some planning, but once you get going, it’s exciting to see the warp growing like a flower bed of multi-colored zinnias. And when that warp comes off the loom, it’s fun to see how all the towels work together.

Related but different towels

Related but different towels

My mother once suggested that I weave one item in several different color choices like commercial stores offer. In a way, that’s what those long warps do. They produce several different towels, but all related. However, the difference between the handwoven and the commercial towels is the weaver has the freedom to make small changes in increments, whereas textile factories set up each loom to do one thing and one thing only. Small changes cannot be made without significant effort.

Sometimes I will weave related items as sets. I intentionally combine four different but related napkins in a set. Once I wove a long warp all of different napkins and sold them individually so people could choose what they liked. Some liked this freedom. Others wanted sets of identical items.

I am working on training myself to economize on my time: longer warps, tying on when I can instead of rethreading from scratch for every warp, weaving items in batches. But in the quest to become more efficient in my production, I don’t want to sacrifice the artistry that makes handweaving stand out over commercial fabric.

When you shop, do you like to see a set that has identical members, or do you like variety in your “sets”? Tell me what attracts you.

Creative Community

19 Tuesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Uncategorized, Weaving Inspiration

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The past month has been a whirlwind of activity around our local Columbia Weavers and Spinners Holiday Exhibition and Sale. This was the 24th annual exhibition for us and a lot of energy goes into making it happen. A lot of energy comes out of it too!

Sale Table 2013

Creativity encourages more creativity! We always enjoy seeing what others in the guild are making and we joke about being our own best customers. One member will encourage another as we bring in towels, runners, scarves, rugs, and jewelry. Some have worked all year for this one event; for others, this is one exhibition among many. Regardless, it comes together for three days of delightful fiber fun! And we all come away with ideas and plans for our next project at the loom and spinning wheel.

Do you have a fiber event coming up in your area? Check it out for some unique gift ideas and support your local fiber artists!