Summer Heat and New Project

As the summer heat brings life to a slower pace, the frequency of my blogs seem to be affected as well. Even with the evaporative cooler set on high all day, my work pace is slower in my upstairs studio. But deadlines must still be met. I remind myself that this only lasts a couple of months each summer and I'm grateful for the cycles. In the meantime, the music reflects my summer mood with Crosby, Stills and Nash from 1969, singing Helplessly Hoping.

One day this summer I had an inspiration. It started with my collection of miscellaneous threads in rayon, silk, cotton and even cashmere. Some of the threads were very fine and I usually hesitate to weave with them. But this time the color progression was too delicious and I couldn’t help myself. I had earlier posted a photo of the beginning of the project. These are my warp chains. The colors progressed from dark paprika to a dark olive green. I had the yarn wound off the warping reel and onto the loom in just hours. The fine threads were doubled or trippled in the dents.

I decided to use a twill pattern which produces a nice drape. I wove in a shot of metallic/eyelash every couple inches. Then I had another idea – I left a two inch tail hanging instead of weaving in the end.
This kind of project is extremely different from my usual projects. I knew it would either be outstanding or a total flop and go into my pile of things I want to bury in the ground -- quickly before anyone sees it - yikes! That afternoon my daughter stopped by, took one look at my beautiful project and said, “I want placemats just like those on the loom!” As you can imagine, my weaving slowed down as I imagined horrible placemats instead of a beautiful shawl. It wasn’t until I finally cut it off, tied the fringes, trimmed the hanging threads and draped it on my mannequin that I could see my vision had been realized.