Wednesday, December 2, 2009

White Place Mats


I know this picture is dark - I wanted to show the texture of the cloth and the flash just wiped that out.
So this picture shows the end of one mat, the hem with cutting line and the beginning of the next mat.
The set up is identical to the red mats but the warp is one strand of a 4/8 white plus a 2/8 beige cotton set at 10 epi.
The weft is two strands of 4/8 plus one of a fine cotton slub, all in natural white. The hem is one strand of the fine cotton slub.
The weave structure is again broken twill on a straight twill draw, with plain weave hems.
Adding the beige to the warp gives just a hint of colour and helps to highlight the texture of the cloth. While the cloth will flatten after wet finishing, the beige will give some depth to the shadows of the fabric and should - one hopes - give it a little more interest than just an all white warp and weft.
I'm still procrastinating about getting started on the afghans, partly because I will have to do a bunch of math (ick) and then wind spools with - hopefully - the correct amount of yarn on them. I'm going to measure fairly carefully because I don't want a lot of yarn left over on the spools, and neither do I want a lot of waste. :} Bambu 7 is not exactly cheap.
But tomorrow I only have one errand to run, one order of colour gamp kits to fill and after that I should be able to clear the worktable off and get started number crunching if nothing else.
Plus I'd like to work some more on the transcription of Sharon Alderman's interview on WeaveCast. Still 27 minutes to do. :}

9 comments:

Silky said...

I love your placemats you have to be one of the fastest weavers. Well I know your a production weaver but still and all. I lisened to Sharon Alderman she is another women I admire greatly

Laura Fry said...

I've really enjoyed all of the WeaveCasts that Syne has produced. It gives me a feeling of community to learn more about others who are as passionate about weaving as I am. :)

One of the reasons I'm fast is because I've studied how to work as efficiently and ergonomically as possible, given my personal abilities, equipment and personality. And then worked at it every day.

I've had some enquiries from guilds wanting me to do seminars/workshops on working efficiently, but so far no firm bookings. We'll see if they materialize. :^)

Dates will be published on the schedule page of my website. Speaking of which, I've got two workshops booked here in PG in the new year. Will be posting those dates today.
http://laurafry.com

Cheers,
Laura

Peg in South Carolina said...

Your gorgeous placemats make me want to weave something in white (with beige!). I see you have put your wefts on two "bobbins" and inserted them into the shuttle. That looks like a wonderful idea, but where do you find these short bobbins? Or have you created them yourself?

Laura Fry said...

Actually, there is only one bobbin - all three wefts are wound together as one.

Cheers,
Laura

Sharon said...

Thank you for all the detail and ideas you include in your posts. I live and weave in a vacuum, I swear. I don't have other weavers around me, other than Debra Chandler, so weaving blogs are really important. I love the ribbon instead of fumbling with a tape measure and also the idea of tying the header to the apron rod. Thanks!

Laura Fry said...

Hi Sharon,

One of the reasons I love the internet - makes me feel less alone in my addiction to playing with thread. :^)
Cheers,
Laura

Sandra Rude said...

Love the texture of those placemats! And I've always loved white-on-white or off-white-on-offwhite or any combination thereof.

Sharon said...

I just want to tell you that the dishtowels I finished today are all the same length, thanks to your suggestion. I couldn't figure out why every towel I wove was a different length - cool. Thanks!

Laura Fry said...

Glad it worked for you. :)

Cheers,
Laura