Time gets away from me. I thought I’d show you the finished ombre-dyed scarves on the 2nd or 3rd, and here it is the 7th. No matter; it’s not like you were hanging by a thread (pun intended) waiting.
So even after ‘curing’ on the heating pad overnight, both the blue and the red scarf took LOTS of rinsing for the water to come clean. Online research tells me that RIT and similar dyes are not as colorfast as the more serious dyes that I use in the classes. Hope they wear well. Here’s the blue one.
I’m happy with it. The colors are fine, the ombre worked, and the undulating twill is stable. (I’ll have to remember this draft for future undulations.)
And the red scarf.
I’m not as happy with this one for two reasons. First there’s not as much difference between the lightest part and the darkest part as I’d like. Guess even my quick first dip was too long. Second – totally my fault and I should have known better. When I re-threaded for the huck lace, I again sett the threads at 10 EPI, same as for the undulating twill. As I started weaving I had to beat hard to get the look I wanted. I should have unwoven and rethreaded the reed at 9 or even 8 EPI, and thought about it, but I didn’t feel like it. So the lace is really only textural, not lace-like. That’d be okay, but scarf is much stiffer than I’d like as a result of too-close threads. Sigh. Why didn’t I listen to myself?!
Anyway, at the June show I sold 2 of the 3 handpainted silk in the gold/orange/red colorway. I had another warp in a similar colorway and wanted to weave it to bring to my show this weekend, if I could. (Yes, Virginia, I am obsessive-compulsive.)
So I beamed the warp and threaded for twill blocks. I wove the first scarf with a burgundy silk-cashmere blend.
I wasn’t as happy with the threading as I might have been, and it made getting good selvedges difficult, so I rethreaded. I liked this threading much better, and the weaving moved along well. I did the first scarf, which is by far my favorite so you’ll see it last, and then struggled to find a weft I liked for the last. I ended up with a sort of smoky-slatey blue. (Color isn’t as bright as it looks in the photo.) It reminds me of a sunset with storm clouds moving in.
This last scarf – I just LOVE it! I am rarely called to name my woven pieces, but this one will get a name – summer sorbet. Woven with a medium orange weft, it brings out all of the hand painted colors beautifully. Wish I’d had enough of it to do more.
I’ll be really surprised if this scarf doesn’t sell this weekend. Now I’m off to pick up the rental van.
[…] on the rigid heddle I wove a scarf from that thick and soft Pima cotton, this time sett at only 12 ends per inch, and with hand manipulated leno lace blocks for […]
Thanks, Theresa. I came home with both of the ombre scarves and the hand painted in the top photo, but sold a TON of other things, so it’s all good. Great, in fact! š
Lovely scarves. I’m betting there won’t be a one left after the show.The ombre ones are nice too but the blue one does have the better effect.
Thanks Alma, Judy, & Martha. I appreciate your compliments. And if it doesn’t sell this weekend, it might have to be MINE!
Alma – Dyes are interesting things. When I wet finished these scarves, none of the color I had dyed ran, but the silk weft colors ran. Huh? Those were definitely supposed to be colorfast – professionally dyed and all that.
None of you commented on my unintended design element on the burgundy stripes scarf…I meant to do the design at both ends, but had it cut off the loom when I realized that I hadn’t done it at the far end. š C’est la vie.
Beautiful, simply beautiful scarves.
psā¦ if it doesn’t sell there, give me first dibs on itā¦ : )
Summer Sorbetā¦. is all that and then some…it takes my breath away! Beautiful!!!! I know it’ll sell this weekend – for sure. Wishing you a wonderful show!
Summer sorbet it is!!! I thought I loved the blue scarf until I saw this one. Congratulations on the good work!
Traditionally, I’m told, red has always been the hardest dye to work with because it bleeds so easily. Many many years ago I undertook a project to recycle ties into a quilt. Thinking I had to rinse them first to get any excess dye out I threw a mess of them into a sink with tepid salt water. What a horrible color they all turned when the reds and blues bled into each other. (Remember Grandpa Brown?) Anyway, that was my first and last stab at doing things that way. For years, though, the men in our offices used to send me envelopes of ties they no longer wanted (or had soup stains, etc.) Incredibly enough, I found a Boy Scout woman who was looking for a ton of them right before I moved here, and she was tickled to pieces!!
Back to you – congratulations again!!