Bluebonnet Tartan Dishtowels - Finished!!

I know I should have been posting on this all along, but what can I say? 2011 was a crazy year! So in order to start 2012 off on a better footing, I'll catch you up on the infamous Texas Bluebonnet Tartan Dishtowels. After spending about 40 hours just getting the warp on the loom, I let it sit a little while to gather up the courage to start weaving. I was terrified to think that the actual weaving might be just as torturous as the warping had been! I knew that there would be tension problems, just not how bad they might be. So finally one weekend I started weaving and it actually went along fairly smoothly. After the first towel I started to get loose spots in the warp, so I used some soft pieces of foam to take up the slack.



That went along ok but by the time I had finished the third towel, I knew that they would have to be cut off and the warp re-tentioned. Since I needed at least 3 for Christmas gifts, that worked out ok. At some point in my quest for weaving books, I had bought "Warping All By Yourself" by Cay Garrett. So I cut the finished towels off ala Peggy Osterkamp, unwound the warp off the back beam, and my grandson Riley put the warp spacers in as I wound it back on. My last three towels have been fairly uneventful, except for the fact that the warp is still just a little loose just inside the selveges. Nothing that my little foam wedges can't take care of.





And here's a photo of one of the finished towels:


Overall I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, except for the fact that the tartan pattern isn't square/balanced. In retrospect, I should have just changed the number of picks in the big squares. I think if I had been doing this in wool that I would have been able to beat it in a little more evenly. But that is just one of the MANY lessons I've learned on this project. And if you happen to be one of the lucky people who receive one of the five I'm giving away, there are not going to be any more down the line! This is a one-time project!

The warp from h*ll

I was oh so excited to finally have the thread to start weaving the dishtowels for our Bluebonnet Tartan project. Stephanie from WC Mercantile ordered it for us from Halcyon Yarns. The thread is a beautiful 10/2 mercerized cotton. After 5 hours winding it on the warping mill and here's the mound of chained warp.



Unfortunately, I had to finish weaving the towels for the exchange before I could get started. But last Saturday, I met Loretta at the shop and got started. OMG! Who would have thought that anything so beautiful could be such a trial! I spent 4 hours getting the threads separated in the raddle and we started trying to wind on. It was a huge tangled mess!! In despair, I finally just left my loom at the shop with about 2 yards wound on so I could finish this week. Initially we thought that it was just that the thread was really sticky, so I came armed with a can of Static Guard ready to do battle. Alas, that was not the problem and I was once again crushed in defeat. After another 5 hours, I probably had 3 yards on the loom. Apparently when winding the thread onto the warping mill, we were letting it come off the top of a cone on the floor which was adding twist to the thread. Once the warp was no longer under tension on the mill, it began to twist on itself and that was what was causing all the problems. You can see it pretty clearly here.



So now, I'm having to go inch by inch and separate all the threads individually to let some of the active twist run out. What a pain! The worst part of it all is that I know better than to pull yarn off the top of a cone. After spending about 10 hours today, I've got it pretty much under control and only have a little more than 2 yards left to wind on.



I thought hobbies were supposed to be relaxing!

Texas Bluebonnet Tartan Project

Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day for a drive to Navasota to meet with my weaving study group. The bluebonnets and indian paintbrush are just starting to appear along the sides of the road, which reminded me of a project I've been wanting to start. Ever since I learned that Texas has an official tartan pattern, it's been on my weaving to-do list. It was designed by June P McRoberts and recognized by the Texas state legislature in 1989. You can read more background information here. It is a beautiful pattern and captures all the colors in a field of bluebonnets. While I was crawling around amid the flowers, I was reminded how fragrant bluebonnets are! Years ago when we went down to Eagle Lake to visit the fields of Wildseed Farms, you could actually smell the bluebonnets before you could see the fields. If I ever get my little place in the country, I'll have a big section planted with bluebonnets to enjoy each spring.









I guess since it was such a pretty day, only Loretta and I showed up for our meeting so we had a couple of uninterrupted hours for talking weaving. We're new friends and still getting to know each other, and it was a nice surprise to find out that she's been wanting to weave the bluebonnet tartan too. And that's how simply we get started on a new path. Since we're still going to be teaching the new weavers in our regular group, this will be a long-term project for us both. Hopefully by next spring, I'll have some beautiful yardage.