This amazing picture is of the installed Ground Cover Public Art Project in Phoenix, Arizona.  The flower picture was created from 300 blankets made in various fiber forms.  The blankets will be donated to homeless people after installation.

Fabulous.

Orchard Boundweave

The boundweave has been gifted and the recipient totally loved it!  Whew!  It was a little crazy to take on something new for a gift, however, I learned so much during the process that I already have plans for a #2 in the series.

The piece (from top to bottom) has a blue sky over some small mountains.  Next is the apple orchards with apples falling into the press and the juice flowing from the press into bottles.  I used some beads (hand applied) to create some effervescence above the glasses.

Nothing more rewarding than a gift well received!

Pictorial Boundweave

Family health issues have keep me away from posting.  But I have tried to keep a project on the loom so that I can decompress with my favorite pastime.

Boundweave is known as very slow weaving.  Multiple weft shots pack down to create one finished row.  The weaving gets even slower with pictorials made using a point twill threading on 8 shafts.  Each shaft is raised in order (either forward or reverse) and a weft shot deposits one "pixel" of color over the warp for that shaft.  After 8 picks, one row is formed.  Repeat.

I choose boundweave for this project because I was not ready to tackle the basics of tapestry weaving, and I am a fan of folk art.  The boundweave creates folk art like pictures that can be used to construct a theme or story.  When the piece is complete, it will be easier to see the story so I will explain it at that time.

This is my first attempt at pictorial boundweave.  I have long admired the figures and motifs that other weavers have created for cards and wall hangings.  There has been a steep learning curve on the right yarns to use.  Also so much fun to watch the pictures emerge.

It is the right time to have a slow project on the loom!

Turquoise and Red for Summer POP!

 

My eye latched on to some fabric in turquoise with red stripes.  The colors seemed to capture the summer sky and sizzle of hot temps.  I thought it would make a very sweet mini wrap.

After much research, mostly on ways to maximize the warp stripe, I decided on a warp faced plain weave done in bamboo.  I added a few silver threads for sparkle.

The project was very quick to weave and finish in with a mobius twist.

The colors as shown in the warp photo are closer to the actual colors. (I am still working on my photo retouch skills). Cute and just right to warm the shoulders.

Study Group Yardage

I have been in a recently formed study group for a few months.  Our focus is yardage for use in garments, although making the garment is optional.  To make our first project easier, we chose to use twill structure ... not much of a restriction there.  I knew I wanted to do a jacket or a vest.  Since I prefer more fitted styles, I chose a broken twill that would not require too much extra effort to match a pattern.

I also found a threading/treadling that produced different front and back pattern.  I have my yardage complete and as you can see from the photo, I will be able to use the front (on right) for the body, and the reverse (on left) for the shawl collar.

I hope to have the garment complete in the next few weeks since the weight will be great for spring/fall.  Will post pics.

The warp is rayon chenille, sett at 18epi.  The weft is rayon chenille.

Boundweave rug

I finally finished my boundweave "sampler".  And even though it is slow weaving, I love the result.

This is the rug that was in progress when the harness cord broke.  I did three rugs as a sampler to try boundweave.  I used carpet warp for the warp and three strands of cotton chenille for the weft.  While I know cotton chenille will shrink in the 15-20% range, I forgot to consider the longer floats would contribute to shrinkage.  After washing, there was a definate 20% shrinkage in width.

The cotton chenille creates a fluffy, thick rug which I like.  If I use cotton chenille again for boundweave, I will choose a pattern that minimizes floats, use a closer sett (this was 10epi) or add in some plainweave to reduce shrinkage.

Equipment failure

As I was coming to the end of my boundweave rug warp, I pressed a treadle and one of my harness cords gave up!  I probably should have checked them before starting the rugs.  Luckily I had some appropriate cord and was able to fix this in about one hour.  I may make up a few spares to have handy for the next time.

As an aside, it is funny how weavers often treat their warp like it is fragile.  I can tell you this warp was no worse off for its one hour supporting those harnesses.

Blanket for Boy Baby

In the past few years I have done a number of baby blankets ... all for girls.  It was a welcome change to do a boyish one this time.  This was also one of my fastest projects. On and off the loom in 2 days!

The cotton warp is yellow and white  stripes in a twill threading. The cotton weft is a pale blue.

I love the way the jungle animals on the binding peek out.  The mom-to-be loved it too!

Another blanket is in the finishing process and will be posted soon.

Then on to some yardage.

Tabby, Tabby, Twill

Getting projects completed has been slow so far this year!  I just completed the last of three chenille scarves, twisted the fringe and wet finished.  The warp is rayon chenille using three colors.

I used three different wefts. Far left is a pale yellow chenille weft in plain weave.  Middle is a silver/blue bamboo also in plain weave.  The scarf on the right is a pale grey tencel in straight twill.

The photo does not really show the difference in sheen.  As expected, the tencel scarf has the most and the all chenille has the least.  The tencel has a very silken look.

Two of the scarves are gifts, and the one in the middle I will keep for a fresh spring look!