Dec 2003 - Goose Eye towels rerun

I am making another set of goose eye towels in another colour scheme as a Christmas gift for my best friend.








Here's another printout for the details.








And now real pictures of this project. I find the colours so vibrant.








Someone better appreciate their present!








Notice the hand made shuttle and "temples" from which are hanging weights to prevent drawing-in.

Nov 2003 - Mom's towels

I took this huck pattern from the May/June 2003 Handwoven issue. I think Mom said she wanted pink in her dishtowels but I'm not sure. I wish she had asked for another colour, pink is definitely not my favourite. The taupe stripes seem to attenuate it a bit at least.





Too late for changing my mind, the warp is ready to be put on the loom.











I find threading much easier with string heddles as it doesn't require the use of a hook like with metal heddles, just my fingers.







The idea for the "template" comes from Sara Von Tresckow's web site.








A complete view.










The nice border stitching pattern is made by weaving in a metal rod, which will be removed later.







Once the rod removed, threads are hemstitched in groups making pretty openings. And I still don't like the pink ;-)








No more warp, I'm done with the weaving!







The usual quality inspection. Approved!








The final hemstitching operation.








The final product! Done with my this Christmas gift.

May 2003 - Countermarch transformation

I am converting my loom into a countermach loom but I'm affraid of not having enough room to fit two levels of lamms. Joanne Hall suggested that I try putting both marches and countermarches together on the same pin due to the lowness of the breast beam on this loom.




Instead of getting pre-made string heddles, I decided to tie my own. I bought rolls and rolls of Seine twine from the hardware store and I tied more knots than I ever did in my life.









I made the shaft bars and lamms with regular kiln dried pine wood.







The results are great! Countermarch is such an amazing mechanism in which the whole harness is balanced by the weight of the treadles.






When you step on a treadle, you break this balance: all others treadles raise, some shafts go up and the remaining ones go down according to your tie-up and you obtain a clean shed.






Please remember that I am here voluntarily experimenting and therefore learning the hard way, which is absolutely not necessary to anyone interested in weaving. Do not let yourself get influenced negatively by my sharings. I have always had by nature as much fun fixing up things than using them, if not more ;-)

Mar 2003 - Goose Eye twill towels

I did not plan on my previous Fibonacci towels shrinking so much. I should have cut them longer.

Third weaving project will be a set of large Goose Eye towels!








Isn't this pattern gorgeous? I keep getting lost with the treadling though.








Cocotte could not resist trying out the new "runner"!








I was happy enough with the results that I started giving towels out. People are making Christmas orderings already! I am just starting weaving and I think I love it already.

Feb 2003 - Fibonacci tea towels.

I wanted my first "real" project to be useful. So using a trial version of a weaving software, I designed this tea towell drawdown based on Fibonacci numbers.

I used natural 2/8 cotton and crochet coloured yarn for the stripes.

Here are a few pictures taken during the process...