Rainbows for the kitchen

If I tell you I sometimes overthink things, I’m exaggerating. But not in a good way. I’ve mentioned before that I have a tendency to be obsessive. So when I get an idea in my head I all-too-often give it way too much mental and sometimes physical energy than is appropriate.

After making all those placemats & napkins for my special order I got on a table linens kick and wanted to make more. I’d seen an online photo of something else that was handwoven out of cotton, in a lovely rainbow, and wanted to try that. All my other handwoven table linens are neutral colored & subdued. I wanted to weave something bright & cheery.

The photo I saw had some interesting patterning in the rainbow, easing from one color to the next gradually. Yeah, that’s what I wanted to do! “Just the time to go for the Fibonacci series,” I said to myself. So I sat myself down in front of my computer and started planning the colors.

Hmmmmm. With 6 colors and only 270 threads I couldn’t work Fibonacci in well. So after a long time of trying this, that, and the other pattern I finally arrived at one I was happy with.

Move to the warping board. Poop. Putting 1 thread of a different color in lots of places is far from easy. Or quick. Took a long time to measure this warp.

Finally, to the loom. The warp beamed and threaded fine, so it’s time to start weaving. I started out and made a set of four placemats in a plaid, with equal-sized weft stripes of the rainbow colors.

I liked them, but in typical fashion for me, wanted to make the next set a bit different. So I wove the next four with a solid white weft.

I also liked these. Still I moved forward to a slightly different weft. I made six placemats each with a different solid color weft.

As it turns out these are my least favorite. What was fine in the plaid placemats (for example purple crossing orange) was WAAAYY too much with a whole placemat in those colors. Too soon old, too late smart – that’s me.

For the last length of warp I wove a runner with a solid white weft. Tossed the woven fabric into the washer & dryer, then had to face the issue of hemming. I decided it was best to take the advice I’d gotten from some other weavers (after I’d hemmed those special order ones) to buy a walking foot for my sewing machine. I’d never used one before, but went to my local Singer store & bought one. (Sorry for the fuzzy photo.)

Oh. My. God! After using it on a few placemats I called the store and told them I don’t know how I’d lived this long without one! It was AMAZINGLY easier to get a good hem with the walking foot than with a regular presser foot. This is particularly important when doing something with these narrow stripes that I had – generally impossible to match up. But now look!

I’m sure this walking foot will also make putting polyester binding on my baby blankets easier, too.

So back to the beginning for a moment. When all is said & done I don’t think that it made one whit of difference that I spent all that time planning and then measuring out the warp with thin stripes of color. I think six solid blocks of color would have looked just as good. Another life lesson.

Next I’m going to warp for some more towels. Most of the yarn I ordered has arrived, although some of it is back ordered. I’m going to get started now and I’ll have another option for my giveaway.