I got the 5 shawls fringed, wet finished, pressed & labelled, ready for the show this weekend. If this show goes like my last 2, I’ll return home with fewer shawls than I left with, so here’s what may be your only view of them.
In order of weaving….first up is a silk shawl in a rather traditional snowflake twill. The warp for all 3 silk shawls is a natural, undyed silk; for this one I used a warm, light brown weft.
Then, as planned, I changed the treadling and used a twilight blue silk weft. I definitely prefer this treadling pattern, although I think I’ll change the threading before I use a snowflake again.
Finally, I used a 50-50 blend of cashmere & silk in a lovely, light lilac. Here it is in close up to show off the pattern — the same modified treadling as the twilight shawl. This is the first time I’ve used that cashmere-silk as weft only, and it won’t be the last. I really like it.
Next, as planned, I put on a cotton warp similar to my huckish shawls of a few years ago. I intended to make the warp a few inches wider, but miscalculated and ran out of the orange cotton. Here it is with a dark coral weft.
And here it is with a cherry red rayon weft. I have to say this is the photo with the least realistic color. Tried several times.
Then I did get the MY-JM baby wrap threaded through heddles and reed. I couldn’t go any farther because I had to spend TWO HOURS messing with my rigid heddle loom to prepare it. I’d put on a warp that was nothing but problems, for a variety of reasons that I caused myself, but I really liked it and wanted to use it. So I unwound from the back beam and on to the cloth beam, messing with tangles the entire length. Retied on the back beam and re-wound. Unwove the 12 or so inches I’d already woven. Untied & retied on the cloth beam. I THINK it will go smoothly for my demo this weekend, but if not, it’s all gonna go in the trash.
Your silks are always so beautiful…And twice as nice in person! Love them!
I really thought I liked the brown the best, as I started looking at the page. Then I saw the lilac – stupendioso!!
And the bright colors – how perfect for summer!
good job, Miss Peg!
Thanks, Judy & Alma. I definitely like the modified snowflakes pattern better, and I preferred the lilac and brown to the blue myself.
Fascinating for one like me with little experience on a big loom to watch and read how your thought processes work.
Getting to see the finished products is the icing on the cake for me. Many thanks for sharing; you are truly inspiring.
Thanks, Lynda. I’d love to see your weaving, too. You might be surprised where inspiration is found. 🙂
Your shawls and work are so beautiful! I have just ventured into the world of weaving (with a 15in rigid heddle loom), so I’m just learning and experimenting with yarns and patterns for now. I am encouraged by your last paragraph – because I just went through what you did – I wanted to use a yarn that I really liked for the warp, and stubbornly insisted to continue even after unwinding, unweaving, untying and rewinding four times.
I hope that by the end of the year I can make shawls half as well as you do.
Marissa – I weave on a rigid heddle loom when I’m demonstrating at shows. It took me some time to learn how the loom works, weaving very simple, single-color scarves, before I could get creative with color, hand-manipulated lace, yarn size, and more. Give yourself time to learn. And accept that everything is a learning experience, both your ‘successes’ and your ‘failures.’