Supplemental warp project: weft wise woven shibori

 On the weaving side, I wove a disaster project for my study group's supplemental warp project. Let me detail the issues.

For my study group's supplemental warp project, I decided to do a warp wise shibori without doing a sample and not from a published recipe.

I turned a simple monks belt pattern and decided to go with it instead of consulting some woven shibori books for guidance or suggestions.

Turned Monk's belt

I only measured my guide string once so I wound a 2 yard warp instead of a 3 yard warp. It's about 16 inches wide for a shawl in white 8/2 tencel and two stripes of off white 8/2 cotton for the pulling threads.

Why 8/2 cotton? I recall reading it somewhere, but I don't recall where. I had a minor twinge about it not being strong enough to be a pull thread, which I ignored.

Happily weaving

I beamed both warps together on the loom; bad choice, as I was supposed to weight the supplementals off the back. I rigged some weights on hooks and went on.  I had constant issues with tension because of this.

As I wove away, I decided not to fix a few weaving errors near the edges  (I'm okay
with this). The plain weave was pretty relaxing, so much so that I'll do some plain weave in the next few months.

Gathered and ready
for the dye pot

I pulled the warp from both ends as I was supposed to but as the thread gathered on the supplemental warp, some of them broke. Some of the areas are not well gathered because of that, or maybe because there may have been some snarls due to the  tension inconsistencies mentioned earlier.

I failed to measure the dye or mordant correctly because Oh Just Because, so the piece is a lighter green than I expected.

Woven shibori

Looking at the finished piece, I see a couple of things. 24 EPI is too close of a sett for 8/2 tencel in plain weave (yep, there is documentation on the internets that confirms this); the fabric is firm and would make a nice vest fabric, but not the drapey shawl goodness I was expecting from the tencel. Some reflection on the process is making me wonder if I needed to sett my supplemental warp as dense as the background warp; I think every other dent would have worked better.   A small amount of research into woven shibori and a quick peak at a master yarn sett chart might have given me more info. In the absence of that data, sampling might have given me the information I needed.

Closeup

 Why was this project so under-thought and full of errors that I could easily have avoided? My brain was not engaged. There's been a lot going on lately, and these things happen from time to time. Still, after all this is said, had I measured correctly and come up with a 3 yard fabric, it would have made a lovely shawl. As it is, it's a lovely sample and will go into the fabric bin for future use.

A bunch of links I'd like to check out

Nothing to see here...

Ma 2006 double weave pillows for living room and monks belt for lodge

https://www.craftsy.com/class/the-scrappy-market-tote/

 https://www.craftsy.com/class/free-motion-quilting-essentials/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/28-days-to-better-free-motion-quilting/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/wild-quilting-creative-free-motion-combinations/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/the-secrets-of-free-motion-quilting/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/machine-quilting-negative-space/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/free-motion-fillers-vol-2/

https://botanicalcolors.com/madder-root-instructions/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/the-art-of-cloth-dyeing/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/throughstone-sweater-knit-along-with-bonus-videos/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/tealeaf-sweater-knit-along/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/sweater-modifications-for-a-custom-fit/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/machine-embroidered-classics/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/hoop-savvy/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/continuous-line-embroidery/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/big-embroidery-with-a-small-hoop/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/painting-pop-art-portraits/

No info on design, just how to

https://www.craftsy.com/class/modern-handcrafted-candy/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/essentials-of-mexican-cooking/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/jacques-torres-ultimate-box-of-chocolates/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/the-art-of-caramel-techniques-treats/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/latin-american-street-food-empanadas-arepas-tostadas/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/the-everyday-guide-to-wines-of-italy-by-the-great-courses/

https://www.craftsy.com/class/the-everyday-guide-to-wines-of-california-by-the-great-courses/

The Pub Quilt, a way forward

Finally after a dozen or more years and lots of failed designs, I have a plan for the pub quilt. I've spent the last two days working with my quilting software, swearing a lot, and coming up with lovely designs that would be living hell to piece together; then I simplified, added some bling and voila! I have a plan to go forward!

A star system is born

I'll note a couple of particulars.

The stars are all different and all bordered by an inch of fabric; on 4, it is grey, on the rest, the ruddy brown. I did this for a different layout that I didn't execute on because the end product, while beautiful, was not as friendly to how we lay the quilt on the bed; I think I like the way it highlights those blocks. The large star is trimmed with a slice of that lovely border print.

The little stars floating in the background will are 5" as shown; I'll make a variety of 4.5" and 6" to simplify the piecing. They're a 3x3 grid, so MUCH easier if the finished size is divisible by 3. 

The plan as shown is 100 inches square; I'll aim slightly smaller, but still want the design to float on the background by a couple of inches. The border will be either 4.5 or 6 inches (it's the div by 3 thing), and will be that same border print. 

Next step is to layout the blocks until I get an arrangement that is pleasing to us (me and DH), and start working on machine sewing little stars.  I think I can get started on piecing the blocks together pretty quickly!

Mittens, and a lot of "I'll tell you later"

Mitten and pattern

I just finished knitting mittens for my dear friend G who has up and moved to Canada with M... her mittens are next on the needle but I'm unsure whether I can get them done before things thaw for the spring. I combined two patterns (one for the mittens and one for the cuff). I had intended on doing a some embroidery on the hand but can't find a combo I like so I may leave them as is.  The patterns are from Anna Zilboorg's Magnificent Mittens. I wonder how she's doing and if she has moved off of her mountain yet?  Anyways, I had some issues with the thumb settling in nicely, will have to figure that out on subsequent mittens.

I also cut a little glass for the poppy mosaic... It's been cold and rainy and I haven't been motivated to be down there.

I wove and dyed my woven shibori piece. I'll detail that elsewhere.

I'm also working on the pub quilt. Yes, I realize I say that a lot but honestly I am working on a design using my fancy quilt design software. So far I've come up with a  lovely design that is mostly unpieceable. Stay turned.

January has been very productive for me!

Destined to adorn nightstands

More from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food: I served the braised pork with chiles with polenta, and it was fabulous. The lemon sherbert was excellent, as was the sauteed fennel. We had the same baked fish again, this time with a garlic, lime, and jalapeno butter. I'm officially closing that cookbook now and moving to February! I'll publish the name of the cookbook in a later post, but it's one of Julia Child's... On February 2, I made the Provencal fish with some halibut and tomatoes that needed cooking up. Very nice with a French Chardonnay.

It's found a home on this table, 
but the table is moving

The same day I finished the overshot runners;  the star fashion and rose fashion runners, and a 3rd runner of my own design adding a second pattern color. My design looks very much like other designs in the group but I did work through all of the design particulars so I feel good about what I'm doing. 

I finally finished the baby sweater from JC Briar's class; it just needs a bath, a better photo, and a toddler.

Baby sweater in search of a baby.

I finished spinning and plying the purple/brown merino that's been in my stash forever. 

Newly born yarn

I also embroidered up a couple of hockey motifs that'll go on a bag; I haven't made it back to my sewing machine yet, but I will!

I'm going to put a list of the weaving projects I'd like to take on while I'm still in captivity... I'll do it here.

1. Turned monks belt warp shibori scarf in tencel for my study group. (March deadline)
2. Double weave sampler in Jennifer Moore's class (March deadline)
3. Doubleweave pillows from MA05 (the cover photo) in colors that match our living room.
4. M's and O's towels from Handwoven JF06, for the towel exchange (May deadline)
5. A new rug for the den slider.
6. Towels for the powder room.
7. A overshot coverlet.