Grateful for a few quiet days before the new year begins, I reflect on the trials and treasures from 2013 and wonder what 2014 will bring. I encourage you to take time to ponder. If you weave some quiet into your schedule you will hear things you’ve never heard before. You will see things you have never noticed. You will love more because you won’t always be at your frazzled end. Even when the world around you is full of noise, you can be quiet on the inside.
Weaving and pondering go well together. All the more reason to weave.
Mohair throw, woven in hound’s tooth twill, creates a soft setting under the Christmas tree.Traditional Filipino cotton towel used as decorative cloth on a side table.Well-worn and well-used stacking Santas adorn the colorful cloth. The unique Filipino handwoven design of this cloth brings special Christmas cheer to the front room in our home.With another Christmas rolled up, gingerbread boy and girls rest on the rosepath rag rug.
Thanksgiving. What is a family gathering without food? We have our traditions, like turkey, dressing, and pumpkin pie. We also have some recently discovered favorites, like pomegranate seeds and pecan pie. Even for a reluctant cook like me, the hustle and bustle of preparing the Thanksgiving meal with more-than-usual pairs of hands in the kitchen is heart-warming. Making memories with love is a thread that weaves the fabric of our family together. I am grateful.
Steaming dinner rolls, just out of the oven, are wrapped in a handwoven cotton towel. Thanks to my daughter, Melody, and her cooking timeline, we knew just when to put the rolls in the oven. The towel is simple plain weave that takes on elegance in this color-and-weave effect using thick and thin threads.Antique family bowl with pomegranate seeds, on classic cottolin hand towel in point twill, with turned rosepath ribbon at the side.Brined and Roasted Turkey, prepared by my daughter-in-law, Lindsay, was one of the best we have ever eaten. Eight-shaft two block twill Tencel scarf completes the presentation.Decorative band woven on my band loom playfully dresses up the reinforced weft table runner, which is made with narrow strips of cotton fabric for weft. Frozen Cranberry Salad is a traditional favorite for our family.My other daughter-in-law, Marie, created the braided edge for this pecan pie. Superb! The eight-shaft two block twill cloth matches the Roman shades that hang from my kitchen door, made from the same warp.
Cotton, linen, wool. Thick, thin, slick, rough, smooth, bumpy. Yarn comes in so many shapes and sizes. But, oh, it’s the colors that draw me in. I love a wall of yarn! I don’t need to have it all, I just want to look at it. Thread on tubes looks spectacular, piled up in cubbies. Yarn in skeins looks inviting. Yarn, thread, fiber… Whatever you want to call it, may I have just a little more, please?
I love the circles of colors and the “O’s” of the tubes! It’s as if they all have their little mouths open.Class time at Vävstuga often means playing with colors.Decisions, decisions… Which linen color would you choose?Dahlia on the Bridge of Flowers, just outside the Vävstuga weaving studio.Cotton, anyone? This is a fun wall of color! It is the backdrop to the table where we wind our quills at Vävstuga.Another Dahlia that caught my attention! I like the raggedy edges. Imagine blending yarn in these colors.Yarn on skeins will be wound into balls to be prepared for weaving.What can I say? I never get tired of seeing the thread color circles!
Please come back next week for the lively conversation I had with Swedish weaving expert and founder of Vävstuga Weaving School, Becky Ashenden, in her living room. Find out what makes her tick!
You may remember that I recently returned from a visit to The Philippines. It may not surprise you that I am always on the lookout for interesting textiles, and especially handwoven fabrics. I don’t mean to do that; it just happens… Well, when I met sweet Beth at the Sunday market, I felt like I hit the jackpot! Beth and I had a common language – Handweaving!(She speaks fine English, too, of course; but you know what I mean.)
I tried to gather a few pictures of textiles that you would enjoy seeing.
If you don’t have time to look at all the textile pictures today, at least scroll down and see my little granddaughter carrying her big umbrella on the way to the market. Umbrellas are always in season in Metropolitan Manila. For the rain in the rainy season (our visit), and for shielding your skin from the sun all the rest of the time. (You can always come back later and finish looking at the rest of the pictures. Smile.)
I am wearing a cotton tie-dye scarf I found in a Makati store. We learned interesting World War II history on our day trip to Corregidor Island.Interesting painted metal gate in Makati. I instantly saw it as a potential tapestry design.Found a fellow handweaver at the Sunday market. Beth has ten looms in her workshop in Vigan, where she and other weavers produce beautiful cloth, mostly from cotton thread. 40/1 cotton is Beth’s most used fiber.
Beth identified this weave pattern as the most unique to The Philippines. I am sorry I failed to write down the Tagalog name for this and the weaves in the following pictures when Beth told me what they were.Beth is a third-generation weaver. She has woven this pattern for many years, but just learned four years ago that it is called “Overshot” in English.HandWoven Wonders by Beth’s Loomweaving. Stunning turquoise cotton table runner is two yards long.Ayala Museum has fascinating displays depicting various aspects of Philippine culture and history, including a display of 1800’s handwoven and embroidered clothing (picture-taking not allowed). I found these ikat woven coin purses in the museum gift shop. The woven plaid zipper pouch is from another market vendor.Mannequin in airport shop is dressed in a pleated handwoven skirt. The sash above the skirt is adorned with a shaped “rose,” formed from a handwoven wide band. (Click photo to enlarge)Wide handwoven band is gathered and stitched to form a “ribbon rose” that embellishes the sash.Neatly folded piles of colorful handwoven items at a shop in the Manila airport. You didn’t expect me to come home empty-handed, did you?Vibrant multi-colored cloth with intricate design. Perfect for a Christmas table runner.Notice the long thread floats and knots on the reverse side of the red cloth.Cheerful colorful stripes!Detail of the warp-faced weave of the colorful striped cloth.
There are some things more important than weaving and blogging. Family, for instance. We had a special family member capture all our attention this week. The last picture shows what I’m talking about. If the captions seem brief this time… that’s why. Enjoy!
Linen warp is beamed.Heddles are threaded with 16/1 linen ends.Ends are sleyed through the reed.Warp is tied on to front tie-on bar, with leveling cord in place.Measuring picks per inch to get the correct weft density.Adding beads to the weaving.Green weft, followed by magenta weft.Eye level view.Linen fabric on the loom.Elias Luke made his entrance this week. He is our second grandchild, and our first grandson. We are delighted!
