One Tough Ombre
Hey Strangers,
I am back home and have had two (moderately) uninterrupted days for hands-on fiber wrangling. Oh Joy!
(This is what I imagine the cat sees as the aftermath of his fantasy crime – dog massacre – because we left him and took the dogs with us on our vacation. In reality it is Doolie and Louie thoroughly enjoying the late-summer sunshine.)
I needed to prepare a warp for a workshop I am taking in September with Madelyn van der Hoogt through the New Hampshire Weavers’ Guild (believe me, I count my blessings every day). I really didn’t want to buy any fiber because . . . the stash . . . oh my lord! So, I decided to dye some 20/2 tussah silk I had.
I wanted an ombre-ed effect for one set of blocks to contrast with the outline yarn. I did all my figuring, measured precisely, looked and then started pouring dye all over the place willy nilly. There is something about me and a plan that just don’t mesh. In any case, I got a dark to light in which there are some very subtle shifts in shade – so subtle THAT YOU CAN”T SEE THEM – they look like two kettle-dyed shades – sigh.
Oh well, I created a little outdoor winding station so as not to miss some of that late summer sunshine the dogs were enjoying and started winding my warp.
Doolie helped.
Today I dressed the loom and did a couple of repeats to make sure everything was in order for the workshop.
Can you see the gradations at all?
Once that was done, I decided I was going to weave off the dimity dress fabric once and for all – and I did! I was dismayed when I was unwinding the fabric from the cloth beam and I smelled a musty smell. I think it was from the first yard or so which I wove (months ago!!) early in the summer when it rained non-stop for a couple of weeks. Thankfully, the odor seems to have disappeared with airing and washing.
Unwashed yardage
I wove the majority of it in a striped dimity, about a yard in honeycomb for accents and a 5″ stripe with glitz just in case. It is drying now and too dark to get a good pic – it truly sucks light up. I will take some pictures tomorrow. The texture is fantastic . . . now for the cutting and sewing
