Met my goal, plus

 With my goal of 6-7 finished scarves or shawls per month, I’ve just met that for October. It’s possible that I’ll get 3 more done, bu they may end up not getting finished until November.

In my last post I showed you 3 warps I’d hand painted. The first to go on the loom was the 5/2 bamboo. I chose a simple block twill weave; I just like this weave structure.

For the first scarf I used an 8/2 cotton weft that I’d immersion dyed a year ago that was waiting for the right opportunity to play. This was it. I like the way the sheen of the bamboo and the matte finish of the cotton play off each other. I also switched the size of the treadling blocks randomly. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, but I do.

I used a commercial 5/2 bamboo for the second scarf, and because I wasn’t sure if I’d like the random treadling, I used a consistent pattern for this one.

I had only enough warp left for a short cowl. I opted for a navy tencel, wanting it to make the warp colors pop. I also chose short treadling changes for this short piece. I was surprised that this is my least favorite of these 3 on this warp.

I also got those bumberet towels you saw me beaming in the last post woven and finished. I learned something with this warp... prefer it when I have more of a main color predominating in the warp than I did in this one. They’re fine, just not my favs. From the top down, in the weft color order in which I wove them, you see blue, medium blue, pale green, periwinkle, peacock, mauve, aquamarine, and lilac.

All of these towels, and a few others I have in stock, will go to the Weavers’ Guild Holiday Sale in a few weeks. History tells us that people like to have small purchase options, so I’m hoping the towels will do well there. Although I like making towels, they’re not big sellers at my show, so towels do not count toward my monthly goal.

In keeping with the small-items scenario, I decided to make polymer buttons for the Holiday Sale, too. I tried some new things, and there were lots of buttons that didn’t make the grade after baking.

I am happy with all those that did. I made a little leaf-vein etching on this set of 3...

...and did what I think is neat striping on some.

I decided to paint a glaze on the buttons for a finished look that I prefer, and turned them into button lollipops for 2 coats of glaze front and back.

Once they were all done I had to develop packaging that would show them well. I printed on cardstock, sewed the buttons to it ( task that took much longer than I’d anticipated), inserted it into a cellophane bag, stuck my business card in the back, and close the bag with decorated tape. We’ll see if they sell.

After this show I will put any towels and buttons left up in my Etsy store, and try to get some more photographic views of woven scarves and shawls to post, too.

October 23rd, 2017 |