That Test Warp

The 24" Macomber named Meg came home over the summer. As she is aged from 1960, we have had a few issues, but I decided it would take several warps to iron those out.

Plus, we have been upgrading and refurbishing her.

The week prior to Thanksgiving, Linda at Macomber advised the remaining parts were finished and ready to ship; however, they have not yet arrived... 

In the meantime, the third warp was woven and pulled from the loom. 

This time she was dressed in muted, but fun colors in a point twill. My plan was to change the tie ups as I moved from towel to towel, just to test different patterns. 

Because we have had issues, I had no plans for the towels coming from this project. I could play at will with it. 

I most wanted to sample an 8 shaft waffle weave.

I must admit, it looked GORGEOUS under tension while on the loom:

Off the loom, the fabric was very loose:

It transformed in the wash!

While still a loose and highly textured fabric, it works very well as a dish towel. I will be making  more of these.

Here is a lovely textured pattern:

Here is the draft I found on Pinterest:

Here are the towels in the fading light of the afternoon sun:

These towels used 8/2 cotton as warp and weft with a Sett of 22. 

Meg stands naked at the moment, waiting for Macomber to ship her new sectional beam. A part of me says ten minutes after I warp her, I will receive a shipping notice.

Of course, as long as she remains undressed, it will not ship...

sigh.

Yes, I am irritated. It should have arrived LONG before now. 

However, the project on the Beast was also completed!

I warped with six yards of 10/2 unmercerized cotton in natural the width of 50" for throws. I used 3/2 perle cotton for weft. 

Oh!

They  have a lovely weight and softness to them. 

Two more gifts are done!

In other news, the daughter has agreed to trade rooms with me again. As she is in college, she will move back downstairs into her old bedroom and allow me to have the BIG room for my studio! I have missed the space so much!

Tentatively, we are planning to make the swap between Christmas and New Year's, which means ALL the looms must be bare. They have to be taken apart to get upstairs. 

Meg and the Beast are idle. Lil Miss has a thirty-yard warp I must get cracking on. 

I have been weaving these:

Lastly, my kitchen towel drawer is FINALLY full of nothing but handwovens (pot holders do not count)!

YAY!