Next!

 

Draft shown on desktop screen 

I'm over the halfway mark on the current warp so it is time to get the next warp designed.  This warp will be two shades of beige and the fine linen from Lithuania will be woven on it.  I think the two cones of linen will finish off one warp, although I may run out.  In that case I have some other fairly fine linen I can switch to using, or I could complete the rest of the warp with one of the 2/16 cotton yarns I'm trying to use up.  If that is the case, I will adjust the tie up so that there are fewer interlacements.  

The linen is finer than the 2/16 cotton, so I've incorporated plain weave in this version, but it could easily be changed, if necessary, to accommodate the cotton.

With the two faces of the cloth looking quite different - one side will be warp emphasis, the other weft emphasis, I'm probably going to use the cotton and the 'right' side. 

If I need to change to cotton to finish this warp, the two sides of the cloth will be more equal.

I took the draft out of Ars Textrina - one of the old German weaving pattern books translated by Pat Hilts - but changed the arrangement of the repeats, then changed the transitions between the motifs and added 'borders' to the sides, and hem areas to the beginning and end.  So, not entirely my original work, but changed significantly enough I don't feel any compunction about doing this kind of jigging of a draft designed, potentially in the 1600s, although who knows, the German weaver might not have made it originally but did the same thing I just did and drew on the work of a previous weaver.

The book auction is humming along.  Today most of the purchases were made by people with active bids on other books so I only had one parcel to package and mail.  I also had massage this afternoon and feel like I've been run over (sort of), so I worked on this draft, then worked on the article for School of Sweet Georgia.  I will let it sit for a few days now, then look for the illustrations to go with it.  Perhaps I'll send it to a friend to alpha read it for me, make sure I've fixed the typos and that I've worded things clearly enough.  The due date is May, and May is fast approaching.  Today was a good day to do some wordsmithing.

But now?  Now I think it is nap o'clock.  Doug has been working on the cutlery drawer in the kitchen.  Maybe when I get up he'll be done his fix-it work.