Cotton Blankets Almost Woven

Further to my recent blog showing the cotton blanket warp halfway through the threading process, I'm now on the 7th blanket of eight.  They are rich purples, burgundies and greens, and I really like the effects I'm getting.  These photos show some samples on the loom.  Washing later brings out the weave structure in a much better way, but here's a sneak peek for now:

All blankets will be hand-fringed, which I should be able to begin by the weekend while watching the Olympics on TV.  :-)

New Postcards!

This morning I picked up my order of Cariboo Handwoven postcards.  Here's the front:

The reverse side has some descriptive text of my work on the left-hand side, and room for notes or a mailing address on the right.

Let me know if you'd like me to mail you some copies - I'd be delighted.  You can see my email address on the postcard or at the very top of my blogs.

Big Cotton Blankets

My next project is eight large cotton blankets with fringed ends.  I've used the results from recent projects and some new ideas in their design. The main colours of green, burgundy and purple have various colour blends in the different lengthwise stripes.  Here is half the threading completed, for 720 warp ends:

Threading is a rather tedious stage in setting up the loom, but it's worth it.  It has to be!

Finished Earth Tone Towels

The towels I last blogged about are hemmed, washed, pressed and out for display.  As always, washing the finished cloth makes a huge difference in how the cloth feels and drapes, and certainly in how the twill patterns take their lovely forms.  I loved working with these colours and twill structures and have ideas for more.  CM sees them in person next week. :-)

Earth Tone Towels

A friend asked me to weave six cotton towels in what she described as earth tones.  She chose olive green, medium brown and a chamois-coloured yellow as her main colours, and asked for some burgundy and purple on borders.

I loved working with these colours - thank you, CM, for this opportunity!  I warped 17m and counted 22 towels as I unwound the front beam when finished.  Here are some fabric samples from the loom:

CM gets first pick for her six towels ... or more ...

Memories Blankets

Eight new Memories Blankets are finished and ready to go. Memories Blankets originated as baby blankets that I gave to friends' babies beginning many years ago, and then I learned that my blankets were being used until well into the teenage years.  These blankets are also suitable for older people, possibly as a lap blanket.  So the name Memories Blanket reflects their longevity and how much I hear they are cherished over time.  Thanks to Diane at the StationHouse Gallery for the perfect name.

Memories Blankets are 100% cotton and can be machine washed and dried.  They're woven in waffle weave with the true waffles, or in waffle squares.  The new ones are posted here, and here's a sample of three new ones together (waffle squares on two above, waffle structure on lower blanket).

Artist Trains

 A whole new world of artists and helpful advisors has opened up to me lately. It started with my good friend, Diana Vestergaard, an amazing artist and great person. Diana led me to Alyson Stanfield who produces her artbizblog to support artists and give them a ton of ideas and information. I even joined one of Alyson's teleseminars about marketing art more successfully.  Then Alyson's blog led me to some great books, including "Steal Like an Artist" by Austin Kleon and "Art and Fear - Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking" by David Bayles and Ted Orland. Both books are fantastic and I've been reading them on some business travels.  I just signed up for Austin's blog and he is amazing - he shares a lot of good information and he makes it all so lively, interesting and fun.

As a weaver, even though I consider myself more of a craftsperson than an artist, of course there is some degree of art involved in everything I design and make.  Sometimes the original design morphs quite a bit in the weaving process and I get new ideas.  Another train.  I love the balance of a solid plan for a project with being open to new ideas and variations that probably couldn't have happened at the early planning stages.  MmmmmMMM!

Thanks to Diana ... and Alyson ... and Austin, David, Ted, and other authors and bloggers.  I appreciate your help, support and ideas a lot.