Big Cotton Blankets in Different Colours

These eight big cotton blankets might ("might") be the last for awhile. They've been super fun to make but I have such a good inventory now both here and in Ottawa that it could be time to move back into wool blankets. And that's no problem.

Here they are ... all are machine hemmed except for the last one. And one (C222) has the hems folded onto different sides, instead of only one, although it doesn't show much. Lucky I wasn't building a canoe. :-)

C221 | 100% cotton | 175 cm x 137 cm (69" x 54") | Sold

C222 | 100% cotton | 180 cm x 135 cm (71" x 53") | Hems in different directions | Sold

C223 | 100% cotton | From the Energy Series | 183 cm x 137 cm (72" x 54") | Sold

C224 | 100% cotton | 185 cm x 135 cm (73" x 53") | Sold

C225 | 100% cotton | 183 cm x 136 cm (72" x 53.5") | Sold

C226 | 100% cotton | Graduated shades of blue | 200 cm x 135 cm (78.5" x 53") | Sold

C227 | 100% cotton | 195 cm x 135 cm (76.5" x 53") | Sold

C228 | 100% cotton | Fringed | 188 cm x 135 cm (74" x 53") | Sold

Feel free to contact me for more information or photos for any of these beautiful blankets.

Major Energy

One of the ideas I've enjoyed pursuing is weaving to show energy. For me, this involves contrasting colours and weave structures that kind of say "wow" as a combination. It's not for everyone, but it's fun to experiment and see the results. And many people do love what I've added over time to my Energy Series.

Here are three recent cotton blankets that are part of my Energy Series.

C208 | 100% cotton | Shipped to Ottawa | Sold

C210 | 100% cotton | Fringed | Sold

C218 | 100% cotton | Hemmed | Sold

And some details:

C218 on the left is not quite that torquoisey and bright
(upper photo is better)  | C210 on the right

C210 Detail

Detail of C218

Detail of C218

Feel free to let me know if you're interested in any of these cotton blankets. Comment on this blog or email me at: cariboojane "at" shaw "dot" ca OR jane "at" cariboohandwoven "dot" ca.

Twenty-One Two-Twill Towels

My latest weaving explorations have taken me on a journey of melding two twill threadings in a warp. This has given me stripes of wavy lengthwise lines from one twill, with herringbone or diamonds from the other. Add colour variations and the combinations are almost limitless.

The two twill patterns can either flow into each other with no change in direction of the diagonal lines, or they can change direction from twill to twill. See you if you can spot this in the following photos.

My latest towels in blues and greens were enjoyable and exciting to weave. I wove with more blues and greens, and also had fun with burgundy and some splashes of orange and yellow. These are hand towels for the kitchen, bathroom or anywhere else they'd be useful.

They measure about 65-75 cm (25-30") long and about 57 cm (22-23") wide. All are priced at $30 each.

Let me know if you're interested in any. I can always send individual photos if you have a colour preference.

April's Big Cotton Blankets - Part 2

My second blanket project in April was a set of big cotton blankets in blues and green. I posted a photo on Facebook of three of them drying on the line:

From left to right: C214, C220, C217

The warp for this project is predominantly shades of blue with some medium green in places. As shown below, I used a diversity of colours for the weft - more blues, plus greens, purples, deep red and some touches of orange and yellow on some.

Here they are:

C213 | 100% cotton | 185 cm x 135 cm (73" x 53") | Sold

C214 | 100% cotton | 190 cm x 135 cm (75" x 53") | Sold

C215 | 100% cotton | 188 cm x 135 cm (74" x 53") | Sold
Photo shows border, remainder of blanket is medium blue (top colour)

C216 | 100% cotton | 186 cm x 137 cm (73" x 54") | Sold

C217 | 100% cotton | 175 cm x 135 cm (68" x 53") | Sold

C218 | 180 cm x 136 cm (71" x 53.5") | From the Energy Series | Sold

C219 | 100% cotton | 184 cm x 137 cm (72.5" x 54") | Sold

C220 | 100% cotton | 185 cm x 135 cm (73" x 53") | Fringed | Sold

April's Big Cotton Blankets - Part 1

My big cotton blankets are creating lots of interest and they're very practical for spring and summer, so I made another two sets of them, 16 in total. Two from the first set have arrived in Ottawa for the Mac Fair Bloom Sale on May 9, where Cariboo Handwoven will have a booth. Six more are here and I'll list them below.

First of all, this project was a nice challenge because I wanted to weave cotton blankets in neutral tones but without a perfect supply of colours on hand. This is actually not a problem, it's a solution (or you have to see it that way). Artists often talk about, and even admit, that limitations help them focus on a particular project. If we all had unlimited time and resources, we'd get nothing done, right? This project was a reminder of that and I had to be a bit extra creative to find enough fibres to warp eight blankets, 60" wide on the loom.

Each of the six blankets below has a warp that's a blend of soft beige, natural and some yellows. I wove with more soft colours for some of the blankets, and stronger colours for others. The eight blankets are remarkably diverse, which I always consider a success.

The first four blankets are machine hemmed, and the last two are fringed and a bit more elegant. All are machine washable.

Here they are. As always, feel free to contact me if you're interested in any.

C205 | 100% cotton | 186 cm x 135 cm | (73" x 53") | Sold

C206 | 100% cotton | 182 cm x 137 cm (71.5" x 54") | Sold

C206 Detail | Shades of green

C208 | 100% cotton | 178 cm x 135 cm (70" x 53") | From the Energy Series | Sold

C209 | 100% cotton | 180 cm x 135 cm (71" x 53") | Sold

C210 | 100% cotton, fringed | 178 cm x 135 cm (70" x 53")
From the Energy Series | Sold

C211 | 100% cotton, fringed | 172 cm x 136 cm (67.5" x 53.5") | Shades of blues | Sold

New Leclerc Colonial Loom

My current loom is about 30 years old; I bought it lightly used in 1988 and by now it doesn't owe me a thing. It's a Leclerc Colonial 60" loom with an overhead beater. It came with four harnesses and a sectional warping beam for 2" sections. After I bought it, I added four more harnesses and doubled the number of metal spacers on the sectional rakes to give 1" sections. The loom is a very functional tool and beautiful piece of furniture, made in Quebec, and something I've enjoyed and appreciated for coming up 27 years. I know it will last much longer, especially if I replace a few small parts that are wearing out.

But I'd been thinking in the last year or so that this loom would have to last me the rest of my weaving career - which I hope is for quite awhile longer - or I should splurge now and buy another one. Two looms would not only give me some variety between the warping and weaving processes, but would also enable me to have enough heddles for different setts for my full-width blankets. In other words, I need almost 200 heddles per harness for my big cotton blankets, but only half that number for wool ones. That means strategically pushing empty heddles into the warp threads to prevent a bulky mess at the end that would not be suitable for an even selvedge. (It's hard to describe but weavers will get that.)

So ... with design improvements made to the Leclerc Colonial, and a Canadian product that I knew would work well for me, I ordered a new loom from Nina Manners at Camilla Valley Farm Weaver's Supply. Nina has been great for all my yarn orders, and since she's a Leclerc dealer, it made sense to begin with her.

The shipping process was interesting to watch. Eleven pieces, total 393 pounds.

All the boxes are labeled in beautiful handwriting in kind of a traditional way. I won't get help setting it up for a few weeks, but I'm glad to know all's here for welcoming a second loom into my studio.

Thanks again, Leclerc and Nina.

A Second Cotton Blanket in Florida

My Canadian friend who spends time in Florida through the year (probably the winter, mostly) bought a second cotton blanket from Cariboo Handwoven. She'd already sent me a photo with her comments for a blog I posted last month.

As soon as she saw this blanket in soft blues and greens at the open house in Collingwood, she immediately thought of her newly refurbished bedroom in the new Florida house. So she had to have it!

Here it is in its new home, at the foot of the bed:

This is my bedroom in Florida where I bought your beautiful blanket for. The colours are perfect and L. and I love it. Thanks so much for your extraordinary work. You have added some wonderful 'Canadian' touches to our southern home. 

I always love to know that my work is being enjoyed in its new home. This is another good example of that, and it gives me a great feeling.