Hi there,
I hope you are all enjoying a happy festive season and spending time with loved ones, family and friends. Just thought I would do a quick post to share a bit of our Christmas with you. First picture shows our Christmas tree with a good selection of decorations, all collected over years gone by and each with its own memory. Some perhaps getting a bit fragile !
One of the new additions this year was a pretty hand decorated bauble from the Christmas market in Prague...........................
Then, what about Christmas dinner ! Well, here is the table already for our meal. The placemats made it in time and I am actually quite pleased with them. I ended up with twelve and two went to each of my daughters. The bad news is though they do need to be hand washed ! I tried one on the gentle cycle in the machine but the warp thread parted and you could see too much of the thick black weft. That probably says something about my weaving ! They have a nice heavy feel to them and lie very flat on the table. the insulation will be good. The red and green colour scheme make them very christmassy although both daughters say they will be used all year. I guess mine will go away until next year. These placemats may well see me out !!! The colours in the photo are not great, I picked a bad time of the day to take the picture.
After the placemats I decided to do something a bit finer again. When I was in Sweden I bought some 28/2 merino silk in two shades of neutral. The yarn felt so soft and it just seemed like a nice change from the really thick weft of the placemats. I spent rather a lot of time on Handweaving.net looking at some of the antique twill drafts in their book list. I finally chose a 10 shaft diamond twill draft and put it into my Fibreworks PCW programme which now runs on my Mac !
I'm not sure that is the best way to post a copy of the draft but I hope you find it helpful. Now I have discovered how to do that I will do it more often maybe ! Apologies, that didn't work. you can see the draft on the next post though !!
I sett the warp at 36epi, 3 per dent in a 12 dent reed. The weave was balanced and I had no problems with broken edge threads or anything. The scarf looked like this on the loom...........
I am pleased with it so far but still have fringes to twist and to wash it and finish it off. It should be nice and soft and hopefully will drape nicely. I'll keep you posted.
It just remains for me to thank all my 'followers' for encouraging me throughout the year, your comments and helpful advice have been such an inspiration to me. I don't feel like a lonesome weaver anymore when I know you are all out there.
May 2012 be everything you wish it to be and bring you all good health and happiness in everything that you do. Hopefully there will be more weaving and knitting stories to share as the year unfolds.
Kindest best wishes
Dorothy
What a sweet little tree! I`m sure that many of your ornaments have a tale to tell as well.
ReplyDeleteYour rep weave mats looks very smart. Adding that black accent really makes the colours pop out nicely!
Sadly your draft did not appear but the image of the new scarf warp did and its a lovely little pattern!
You have many followers out there! I chuckle when I find someone who has your blog on their list .... and NOT mine! Different styles appeal to different readers :)
Happy New Year Dorothy!
Hugs, Susan
Your placemats look great.
ReplyDeleteI haven't found out how to add a weave draft to my blog yet,. I also use fibreworks. I seem to remember that you have to save the draft as a pdf, then treat it as a picture. Did you do that?
I love the way your scarf looks.
Best wishes for 2012 to you and yours,
Annie
What a beautiful Christmas table your lovely placemats set the stage for! I love the little tree with big memories...thank you for sharing! This draft you've used is wonderful! I'm sure I've not seen this before, and it's always so much fun to see a new pattern. Maybe you can post the draft number from the hand weaving net? I can imagine how luscious this must feel in merino silk. It has been a joy to follow your blog throughout the year!!
ReplyDeleteHere's to a healthy, happy, and weaving-full 2012! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteWow, your placemats look wonderful on the table, congratulations for getting them finished in time. Love the pattern for the scarf - it will be interesting to see the finished product.
May you and yours have a peaceful, healthy, happy New Year. Keep the shuttles moving and may you be pleased with all your weaving projects.
Weaverly yours ........ Barbara
It's super to see your table mats in use, and your beautiful Christmas tree with the Prague bauble.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for the New Year!
The placemats are beautiful, your table looks nice and cheerful for the holidays. Love the ornament you found in Prague.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
What a beautiful Christmas table, and I am glad you ended up liking those place mats after all the work you put into them. They do look great and will be such a pleasant thing for you to bring out every year.
ReplyDeleteThe new scarf pattern looks very promising!
Thank you for many happy shared hours in the year past, and I wish you both all the best in 2012, and hope for a chance to meet again. You blog is always such a pleasure to read!
Ellen
I love the placemats, and the scarf looks gorgeous! Beautiful color!
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid that I've fallen behind again in wishing you a Happy Holiday Season! Hopefully I'll be able to get into the groove again and read your blog on a more timely basis. Wishing you a very good 2012.
ReplyDeleteHi Lynnette - hope the move to your new house has gone well and you will soon be weaving again. Thanks for visiting and all the best for 2012
ReplyDelete