Green Towels Finished

The green towel project produced 22 towels, ready for sale individually and sets of two. Three sets are going to Ottawa for my sister's open house in November, and more sets and individuals will be available at the Medieval Market in Williams Lake on November 24 and 25 in my first-ever booth. :-)

Green Towels

A friend came over to my studio a few weeks ago to buy some cotton towels. She suggested that green would be a popular colour for future towels. Great idea, thanks!

Here's a sample on the loom showing the olive green with two shades of medium green, along with some blues - it's a good combination. I'm weaving about 19 m and they've been fun to design and make. All are in 8-harness waffle weave in this square pattern that pulls together nicely after washing. I know this weave structure well and it's both useful and beautiful.

19 Metres of Towels

Today I finished 28 towels on 19 m of warp. Here it is spread out on the floor, back and forth a few times (sorry, but I can't get the image to rotate):

Here are the towels wound onto the front beam, and close-ups of two towels in progress:

Pageviews and Pageviewers

One of the interesting parts of blogging is seeing all the stats. The breakdown is amazing, although nothing can be followed back to a certain individual. I thought that when I reached 500 pageviews it would be a good idea to blog about it, and share some of my insights with pageviewers (you) and anyone interested in starting a blog about any topic they wish.

First of all, blogging takes a bit of figuring out ... but if I can blog, anyone can. Bloggers have to get a sense of how to make their way through to the formatting, layout, stats or whatever they need to change or see. It's a bit of a labyrinth, but it's sure interesting and very satisfying to figure it out.

Two-thirds of my blog readers are from Canada, and the remainder are from the United States, Russia, Germany, South Korea, Finland, Australia and other countries. I know that some pageviews are unintended from random searches, but the blog stats also list the traffic sources, which are the websites that led to finding my blog. I also know what browsers and operating systems were used, as well as the number of pageviews by post. And there's probably more information available, but that's certainly enough for me.

Recently I installed the total number of pageviews to the right of the latest post. As I write this, I'm at 522. It's a good start. Anyone wanting to receive blog updates right away can add their email address under "follow by email." This does not give me access to your email address; it's totally confidential as far as I know.

If you're a weaver or just interested in weaving, feel free to email me at cariboojane "at" shaw "dot" ca and I'd be happy to hear from you.

Thanks to all readers for their interest!

First Two Beige and Cream Blankets Almost Finished

The first two beige ("sand") and cream wool blankets are drying on the line and soon ready for finishing.

B127 on the left is 100% wool and will have a price of $190. B128 on the right is wool with 50% handspun wool/mohair, and it's very light and soft. However, I noticed it's a little short in length and so I'm reducing the price to $250. The rest of the blankets are being finished on the loom and then off to fringing, washing and all the other steps I outlined in HLDITTMAB  - Part 4.

Plain Weave Blanket

I haven't used plain weave for a very long time. Plain weave (also called 'tabby' in the weaving lexicon) is the most basic weave structure - under one, over one, under one ... This gives plain weave the maximum number of interlockings of the warp and weft yarns, meaning that it tends to produce a fairly loose cloth. My preferred twill patterns enable a tighter packing of the yarns, making for a sturdier cloth. How the cloth is finished can substantially affect those general statements though.

Using some fine, loosely plied wool/mohair handspun, I'm weaving one blanket in plain weave.  I think it will make for a light but warm blanket. I like the log cabin effect between the solid-coloured blocks where the warp yarns alternate between beige and cream.

Beige and Cream Blankets Underway

I'm on my third blanket of this set. The beige is actually a warm sand colour, and the cream is also soft to the eye. Here I'm weaving with a blend of handspun, undyed wool and mohair. This blanket will be very soft and a bit fuzzy but really warm and light.