Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Postcard Towels

I realized it has been quite a while since I last posted.  I have been busy weaving, just not taking many pictures.  I've woven this set of towels three times.  I really love the colors and the way they look together.  Many of my friends have agreed - hence the three warps.  This is a postcard I got in San Francisco.  It is very Art Deco and the colors are very bright. 
 
Original Inspiration
Color Choices
 
These towels were woven using 10/2 perle cotton sett at 24 epi.  For at least two of the three warps, I threaded them in an "M & W" twill pattern. All were woven using the 2-2-1-1-1 twill.   

I thought I had added pictures of how I use paper towel rolls and Ziploc(R) bags to bring the warp to the loom in a previous post, but I couldn't find it when trying to describe this process to a friend.  So here is a short explanation and a couple of pictures. 
Ready to dress the loom
 
Winding warp on tubes
 
 
 
 












 









I know that many people will chain the warp, but I have found that it tangles the warp.  Even though this is mercerized cotton, it still can be a bit sticky.  Basically, I wind the warp around the empty paper towel tube - in this case after about three inches.  The rolls are then placed in the Ziploc(R) two-gallon bag with most of the seal closed but the warp coming out of the top. I dress the loom back to front, so the warp ends are brought to the back of the loom and slid onto the stick attached to the warp beam.   As the warp is wound around the warp beam, it "unrolls" from within the bags.  It's not absolutely perfect and there are some tangles, but it works fairly well. 

The towels were woven in what ever pattern called to me at the moment - straight diamond; M & W; irregular point; etc.   


I think the towel woven with the melon and burnt orange wefts are my favorites.  But the hummingbird - smoky purple looks really nice as well.  The yellow and blue wefts make very vibrant cloth, but I think they all turned out very well.

Teal weft

Melon weft

Hummingbird weft

Burnt orange weft

Yellow weft

 
 

4 comments:

Jewels said...

Wow these are really really (did I say REALLY) awesome Ingrid - I would never have the patience (or stanima) for it.....

Ingrid said...

Thanks! No stamina needed since I can sit while weaving. :-)

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

Ingrid, your towels are superb !~! I love the teal weft and the hummingbird the best altho all are fun to look at and pleasing to the palette-driven eye. Where can they be bought? Do you have a store online? I live in the SF Bay Area; do you come this way to do shows ever?

Thanks for sharing the pictures-inspirational.

Ingrid said...

Lynda,

Since my production is relatively low and my friends are very sweet, I don't have a regular outlet for the towels. I will however, be at Berkeley Horticultural Nursery on September 13, 2015 at a fiber show selling my handwovens including towels.