December Showcase

Tree Sample

In December, we showcase Jean Korus' "Tree Sample". she writes:

"My sample for this sample exchange is an image designed to use on towels. I often have a 40–50 yard towel warp on the loom threaded in a 24-shaft point twill and like to have a variety of patterns to work with. As I was weaving towels for Christmas, trees came to mind. I use these designs both as borders and as an overall design on the towel.

"The samples are woven with 10/2 cotton both warp and weft sett at 24 epi on my 24-shaft AVL loom. The design was created in Fiberworks PCW by mostly doodling in the peg plan. (It is really fun to do!) I then check for long f oats and correct those that would snag if used as a towel. I next put in some type of background, in this case a twill; sometimes I like to use a satin. My biggest problem has been to get the trunks to look right. I still need to work on that type of line. I like my towels to look good from both sides and I feel the trunks don’t look as good on one side of the cloth, especially after they are washed.

To download the wif, right click here and choose "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..."; Mac Users, do Option-Click.

This work was done as part of a sample exchange for the CW Study Group, Twenty Four, More or Less. For mor information, see Complex Weavers Study Group Twenty Four More or Less For more work by the Twenty Fours, see the Complex Weavers Journal #94, October 2010, pages 9-25. Pictures will be available on this website soon.

Used by permission.
This is the one hundred-third item in our showcase of what members are doing.

---

November Showcase

Te Ito Ori Ri

In Novemberr, we showcase Neki Rivera's and Sandra Rude's "Te Ito Ori Ri". The picture shows the Kanji ideograph for "Handwoven" and was one of those featured in Weave! the Movie. Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Neki writes: "A golden opportunity not to be missed. So with a trembling hand I wrote the kanjis that spell handwoven and [Sandra] wove the characters. ... a love project."

Sandra writes: " This long sequence, which reads "handwoven" in both Japanese Kanji characters and English, was a collaboration with Neki Rivera. Neki was learning to write the Kanji characters with the strokes in the proper order by watching animations of the characters on a Japanese website. It was her idea to animate the characters as brush strokes. Neki used brush and ink to write the characters, scanning the image between each stroke. We decided to add the English word so everyone would know what the Kanji characters meant.

"Neki emailed me the scans and I used Woven Pixel techniques to fill them with 1/4 (ground) and 4/1 (pattern) satins, sacrificing one pixel on each side of the warp for a faux floating selvedge, and 4 pixels for a border between each frame, as they were woven 4 across on the warp.

"It was a perfect choice for a first warp on the jacquard - threads coarse enough and sett wide enough and a structure simple enough to make it easy to spot lifting errors as they occurred. When certain hooks made consistent, repeatable errors, we could easily reach in between jacquard modules to replace small parts and correct the problems. This would have been nigh unto impossible at a closer sett! (And you don't want to know how many needle-woven repairs were required...)"

This work was part of the Complex Weavers Journal # 94, October 2010 and of the movie Weave!. You can see the movie at Weave! the Movie and read what each weaver has to say about his/her contribution at Weavers Tell About Weave!

Used by permission.
This is the one hundred-second item in our showcase of what members are doing.

---

October Showcase

Bamboo Twill Jacket

In October, we showcase Sherry Rogers' Bamboo Twill Jacket. Click on the picture to see a larger version. Sherry part of Seminars 2010 in July.

She writes: "I wanted a flowing jacket with woven fabric that would drape well. The bamboo yarn I chose provided the perfect drape. I wanted to experiment with handpainting, with dye, for the weft. I have often handpainted warp for weaving but not for weft. I wound off a taupe-colored bamboo yarn on my swift, then tied the circles in several places before handpainting with a sponge brush and fiber reactive dyes in 2 to 3 inch sections around the circle. I used a solid Pompeii bamboo for the warp. When winding the warp, I found I was short 83 warp threads for the width I wanted to weave, so I used 83 strands of the handpainted weft yarn in the warp. I tried to place them at the ends or beginnings of the twill blocks in the threading sequence. The bamboo is wonderful fiber to dye and weave and provides many of the features I enjoy about silk, plus it has a nice sheen It washes beautifully."

This work was part of the Complex Weavers Journal # 91, October 2009. Sherry made her jacket as part of her studies with the C W Study Group Beyond Plain Weave Garments. You can see a detail of the fabric and download the 8-shaft wif at Complex Weavers # 91 Pictures

Used by permission.
This is the one hundred-first item in our showcase of what members are doing.

---

September Showcase

Doubleweave Shawl

In September, we showcase Tien Chiu's Doubleweave Shawl. Click on the picture to see a larger version. Tien is displaying her shawl at the Fashion Show which was part of Seminars 2010 in July.

She writes: "I hand-dyed 54 colors to get the smooth color gradients in both wefts. The structure is a 3-block doubleweave on 24 shafts. This shawl, with 54 had-dyed colors, was a reaction to spending an entire year working on a white wedding dress. I love color, and this was a great chance to show it off. It is also my first attempt at doubleweave! [The webmistress' spies report seeing Tien put the finishing touches on the shawl in the airport while waiting for a plane to Albuquerque.]

The warp is 30/2 silk, blue and gold
The wefts are 30/2 silk and2/26 silk/cashmere

Used by permission.
This is the one hundredth item in our showcase of what members are doing.

---

August Showcase

Bali H'ai

In August, we showcase Pat Foster's "Bali H'ai". Click on the picture to see a larger version. She did this sample for the Fine Threads Study Group She writes (in the Complex Weavers Journal, # 93, June 2010, page 10):

"In 2008, the UK Association of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers held its biennial exhibition and one exhibit class was "An Item Mounted in a CD Case and Inspired By A Song." ... I ended up with not an operatic aria but with six entries based on South Pacifc. They were woven of 60/2 silk on a 32-shaft computer-controlled Megado loom. Because 60/2 cloth is quite fine and has little body, I designed double-stitched cloth which allows the fine detail of a 60/2 cloth but is much sturdier. The final cloth was 90 epi, 45 epi in each cloth. The front cloth was warped up as point twill on shafts 5 to 32 and the back cloth as a straight four-shaft twill on shafts one to four. The width was six inches. I painted the warp on the loom using Seka silk paints and, almost always, the front and back cloths were painted quite different colours.

"...The lace flowers on "Bali H'ai" are Honington lace made by noted lace maker Kathleen Harris, and are attached to the fabric with a few stitches in the center of each flower.

To download the wif, right click here and choose "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..."; Mac Users, do Option-Click.

Used by permission.
This is the ninety-ninth item in our showcase of what members are doing.

---

July Showcase

Space Invaders Cloth

In July, we showcase Syne Mitchell's "Space Invaders Cloth". Click on the picture to see a larger version. She did this sample for the Fine Threads Study Group She writes (in the Complex Weavers Journal, # 93, June 2010, page 4):

"I've been wanting to learn how to design woven imagery using profile drafts for a while now. Inspired by Lillian Whipple's recent WeaveZine article, "Summer and Winter to Taqueté," I decided to try my hand at designing a draft. ... I decided to weave an image that was inherently blocky, and which would be an homage to the countless hours (and quarters) I spent in arcades as a kid: Space Invaders!

"...With only a few tweaks to the original alien designs, I was able to get the blocks-per-alien down to seven.

"...In my taqueté design, I used two shafts for the tie-downs, and a third for the plain background cloth; this left six shafts on the loom to play around with. Since I thought endless ranks of aliens would make a boring and repetitive cloth, I decided to use the other six shafts to add action to the cloth, by designing a column that showed the gunner/ player shooting the aliens. Again I had to fiddle and tweak the design a titch, but at last I got everything to work out. I had my homage to Space Invaders and I used all sixteen shafts on my loom!

" I found this combination of art (the imagery) and logic puzzle (fitting it all efficiently into 16 shafts) very satisfying and look forward to my next design."

To download the wif, right click here and choose "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..."; Mac Users, do Option-Click.

Used by permission.
This is the ninety-eighth item in our showcase of what members are doing.

---

June Showcase

Pleats Hold a Fascination

In June, we showcase Agnes Hauptli's "Pleats Hold a Fascination". Click on the picture to see a larger version. She did this sample for the Study Group: Collapse, Pleat and Bump She writes (in the Complex Weavers Journal, # 92, February 2010, page 27):

"Having done a number of collapsed weave scarves by just doing stripes in 1/3 and 3/1 twill I decided I could possibly get pleats by narrowing the 1/3 and 3/1 bits and adding plain weave in a finer yarn. In my sample I have used 90/2 TEX Possum Merino Silk blend (25/65/10) for the plain weave stripes and Possum Merino Silk mix (40/50/10), a softer, thicker yarn, for the turned twill stripes. The finer possum blend has quite a firm twist and does not shrink or full much whereas the thicker one is very softly spun and does full beautifully. [Note: She's using New Zealand possum which is different from possum in the USA]

"This needs a loom with 10 shafts. One could possibly get away with using 1/2 and 2/1 twills but I have not tried that out.

"The fabric ... shows clearly how the pleats are happening. I washed the samples in the washing machine on a wool cycle and then pressed them. ... The 3/1 stripes seem to pop out and the 1/3 stripes recede thus creating the pleats I have been wanting. So far so good and fairly simple really. My next step will be to play with the colours. In this first sample I used left-over colours I had sitting around on the shelves, too little for a proper project, too much for whatever one does with little bits of this and that!"

For a picture (not a wif) of the drawdown, click here.

Used by permission.
This is the ninety-seventh item in our showcase of what members are doing.

---

May Showcase

Rainbow Scarf

In May, we showcase Jean Korus' "Rainbow Scarf". Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Jean won the Complex Weavers Award at the 2007 Association of Northwest Weavers Guilds for this "Rainbow Scarf". She writes:

"The draft came from Helen Bobisud who got it from handweaving.net. We often share ideas for projects. It was originally a 20-shaft weave made into 24-shaft.
Warp: 20/2 silk sett at 28 epi
24-shaft straight draw threading
Weft: 20/2 black silk

"This scarf was inspired by the beautiful colors of silk yarn bought at Convergence in Grand Rapids. I was trying to incorporate the colors of the yarn with the flowing weave in the pattern. This is one of three scarves woven with this warp -- all turned out very well. It was hard to pick one to show."

Used by permission.
This is the ninety-sixth item in our showcase of what members are doing.

---

April Showcase

Chinoiserie

In April, we showcase Pat Stewart's "Chinoiserie". Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Pat won the Complex Weaver's Award at the Conference of Northern California Handweavers "Over the Rainbow" in 2008. Pat writes:

"This is an original draft but of course the scale-like motif is traditional in Asian art and textiles. In Japan it is called "waves", I believe.

"Both warps are 2/24 merino wool. The bottom layer weft is Jaggerspun Zephyr 50% wool 50% silk. The top layer weft is a fine lace-weight wool in graduated colors of blues and greens.

"I learned the techniques of loom-controlled imagery using a double- two-tie threading from Bonnie Inouye at a workshop she gave a few years ago at AVL in Chico. I particularly like this technique of stitched double weave and have used it many times now with different images and different threads at different setts. This version with the two layers left open on all four edges makes a very pliant, floaty shawl."

To download a wif of the Chinoiserie pattern, right click here and choose "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As...".

Used by permission.
This is the ninety-fifth item in our showcase of what members are doing.

---

March Showcase

Catalpa Flower

In March, we showcase Kathy Rug's "Catalpa Flower". Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Kathy Rug wove this sample as part of her work for the Early American Coverlets Study Group. She researched the pattern (Gay McGeary had already determined the draft) and found several interesting facts:

"In Textile Arts from Southern Appalachia [Kathleen Wilson], it says the pattern is named for the Catalpa tree; this tree can grow to 65' high. If you go onto Google you can find several places to see this tree and flower. The large flower has a beautiful tubular bell-like opening with purple dots inside. This shape lends itself to be an interpretation as a coverlet pattern...

"In Handwoven Coverlets by Eliza Hall I found a lot of interesting information; you just have to look around for it. This is from the thick hard cover book, not the soft cover one. In North Carolina it's known as Catalpa Flower, and pronounced Catawba... But in Kentucky it's called Ladies or Gentleman's Fancy... In Alabama it's called Work Complete.... Look at ... two stories that may give insight as to how a weaver might have gotten the name.

"Catalpa flowers are also in Oriental rugs! ...They have a quencuncial arrangement, five squares or figures - one in center and one in each corner -... a dark groundwork - making a background for the white flowers and white bars connecting them. If the bars are in color but white, the appropriateness of the name would be indisputable, because the four "flowers" would appear just as in Missouri Trouble!"

For more information on Kathy's researches, see her article on page 20 of the June 2009 Complex Weavers Journal.. To download a wif of the Catalpa Flower pattern,, right click here and choose "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As...". For information on the Study Group, see Early American Coverlets

Used by permission.
This is the ninety-fourth item in our showcase of what members are doing.

---

February showcase

Dress Bag

For February, we showcase Peggy Baldwin's "Dress Bag". Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Peggy Baldwin won the Complex Weavers Award at "Heart in Hand Member's Exhibit" at the Midwestern Weavers Conference in Grinnell, Iowa, USA. She writes:

"The bag which received the award was constructed from a portion of a very complex linen warp which combined Bronson lace, supplemental warp, and Theo Moorman inlay. The draft was based on Barbara Walker, Handwoven #102, pp 80 - 83, and Handwoven #130, pp 64 - 66.

"The draft requires eight shafts, although I wove it on a ten-shaft Macomber with two back beams. There are two blocks of tabby and Bronson lace on four shafts, the supplemental warp threads on two shafts, and the tie-down threads for the Theo Moorman inlay on two shafts. I did not design this cloth using a computer so it is diffcult to re-create it on a computer draft, but Sue Mansfield has done a super job using Fiberworks-PCW. [To download the wif, right click here and choose "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..."; Mac Users, do Option-Click.]

"The warp was 8/1 linen in yellow and yellow-green and 25/2 linen in natural, wound one on one, for the tabby and Bronson lace, 16/2 linen in purples and magenta for the supplemental warp, and 40/3 cotton in gold for the Moorman inlay tiedowns."

This was only the beginning of the challenges which Peggy overcame. See her article on page 9 of the February 2010 Complex Weavers Journal.

Used by permission.
This is the ninety-third item in our showcase of what members are doing.

---

January showcase

Northern Lights

In January, we brighten the Northern Hemisphere dreariness with Joanna Lines' "Northern Lights". Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Joanna Lines won the Complex Weavers Award at "Shuttle and Spindle XI" at the Mountain Spinners and Weavers Guild. She writes:

"This piece is a wall hanging with the evening light of the north as its inspiration. The 20/2 silk warp was hand-painted in color gradations before the loom was threaded. Twenty jars of procion dyes were mixed individually for each section, with a total of nine sections. The gradation was created by increasing one color and decreasing another within the twenty jars.

"The weave structure is M's and O's with increasing and decreasing weft picks."

Used by permission.
This is the ninety-second item in our showcase of what members are doing.

---