I’m slowly getting back into the making groove, and having a couple of deadlines coming up certainly helps. This past weekend, I finished the overshot project on the loom!
I am so surprised at how well this came out and how much I love it. For some reason, for this particular pattern, translating the little picture in the pattern draft book (The Handweaver’s Pattern Dictionary by Anne Dixon) to a larger format just didn’t work in my head. Needless to say, I will be trying other drafts out! I really think the patterns I wove would lend themselves very well to an all-wool scarf. Or several all-wool scarves.
The cloth in the picture is fresh off the loom, but not yet washed. It’s since been washed and dried a couple of times, so the next step is ironing and then hemming – they’re towels (of course), and I think a couple will become gifts.
The next project for the loom is a bamboo sample – it will likely be a scarf. And then I have to get going with some wool for a blanket. The deadline is sometime in September, and I never have enough time to spend at the loom! I am going to be taking a week off from work, so hopefully that will give the project a good start. (And maybe a good finish? I can hope!)
Crafturgency 
Glad to hear you are doing ok right now. The towels are lovely. What yarn did you use? Not sure if you mentioned this in one of your previous posts.
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Hello! Thanks so much for the compliment! You are right: I have never said anything about the yarn. D’oh! I used Valley Yarns mercerized cotton. 10/2 for the ground (green), and 6/2 for the yellow – only the yellow is unmercerized. The purple is 5/2 mercerized cotton. Strangely, I did not see a difference in shrinkage at all, and mercerized yarn is supposed to shrink less. In my experience, Valley Yarns mercerized isn’t any different from the unmercerized after a few washes. However, since I live extremely close to WEBS (maker of Valley Yarns), it’s mighty, mighty convenient to use it.
In the past, I have used UKI 10/2 cotton for the ground and 10/2 x2 cotton for the pattern, and that yarn is very mercerized. That project was an experiment. The resulting one towel stayed in my kitchen, and was not terribly absorbent or soft. I think it’s been washed and dried about a dozen times, and I’m still not happy with the texture and absorbency.
Well, there you go – probably more information than you wanted concerning the cotton yarn I use. 🙂
One day when I feel wealthy, I’ll get some Borgs cotton or cotolin and weave with that!
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Thanks for the detailed answer which gives very welcome information. It’s extra good to know as I am about to start an overshot sampler with those very same yarns. Lucky you, living close to WEBS.
I have used cottolin for warp and tow linen for weft on some M’s and O’s towels. They came up beautifully but I gave them away so can’t comment on how absorbent they are.
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Ooh, I hope you post pictures! I’d love to see the sampler. 🙂
I bet cotolin warp/linen tow weft ended up pretty absorbent. I wove some cotolin towels for myself, which ended up being my favorites. And linen is supposed to be very absorbent. Hmm…I many have to weave a run with those fibers….
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