Autumn Towels

I just finished weaving five autumn towels and a bread basket cloth. OK, so the bread basket cloth was supposed to be a sixth towel, but I ran out of warp yarn. Hey, bread basket cloths are good. They're all from the same warp. Changing weft yarns certainly makes a huge difference.

Soft Furnishings

The pillow top is woven in overshot with an 8/2 cotton background and a slightly heavier rayon/wool pattern yarn. I made the piping from the same material as I used for the pillow back, and I inserted a zipper at one end. The pillow's 12" x 16".

Handwoven Cotton Towels

Below is a picture of one of four towels I wove for my aunt. I used 8/2 unmercerized cotton for both the warp and the weft. The pattern is Linen Weave.

Handwoven Trophy Fish

Having made handwoven cats for many years, I decided to add handwoven trophy fish to my menagerie.

Using my original patterns, I cut and sewed the handwoven fabric. Then I stuffed the fish and added embroidery and eyes. I attached the fish to the plaques using floral wire. After adding hangers and a High Castle Traditional Crafts label with a sentence or two about the particular fish, voila, a trophy fish ready to hang on the wall.

Handwoven Towels

I finally finished weaving these hand towels. The warp had been on the loom for longer than I care to say.

They came out quite nice. I used unmercerized 8/2 cotton for both the warp and the weft. The warp contains three colors -- sage, caramel, and blue indigo -- which I threaded randomly. I used the sage green for the weft. The pattern is a twill.

I like generously-sized towels. These measure 18" x 29" hemmed.

Trophy Fish

Handwoven fish - 50% cotton/50% rayon

My Portfolio

I did it! I finally added my portfolio to my website. I've been working on it for months but kept feeling it wasn't "done enough" to go live. I've realized that my portfolio, like so many other things, is a work in progress. People will get to see it develop as I add new and old items.

I'm quite excited. Some of the photos are of pieces I made years ago, and it's fun to revisit them: a baby blanket I wove for a friend, handwoven bags that I photographed displayed on picturesque rocks bordering the neighbors yard where we used to live, my first handwoven cat. As a historian I should know--the past, the present, and the future are all linked.

Just Completed a Handwoven Scarf

I finished weaving a great scarf yesterday. I used a weaving pattern I've never tried before, Eight-Fold Basket Weave, and used the "ribbed weave" treadling. I alternated a wool yarn and a rayon yarn in the warp, forming narrow wool stripes and wider rayon stripes. Then, I used a wool/nylon mini boucle yarn for the weft.

It worked great! There are stipes of textured boucle between columns of wool tabby on one side and columns of rayon tabby on the other. The twisted fringe turned out terrific, as well, with one fringe being wineberry rayon, the next rhododendron wool, and then back to wineberry rayon.

The scarf has a luxurios feel to it; I'm really pleased.