A New-to-me Weave

I have been sampling this structure.  I haven't done much in tapestry weave before, and I wasn't sure if this would work the way I have in mind for my larger project.

I'm trying to emulate this stamped metal material they sometimes use to make stair treads - and the outdoor tabletop in this photo.

Better shaped Ds

There - the shape of these Ds looks better to me.

 Here's the previous trial for comparison.

A Year's Worth of Towels

2014 was the Year of the Towels for me.  Here they all are posing together, one for each month.  The drafts and my notes are in archived posts.  The original article is at the online digital archive of weaving.

I found that making these towels was a fun way to explore different structures.  I also gained confidence in working with linen.  Seeing the designs gave me some ideas for towels I'd like to design myself.

I wonder what 2015 will have in store for my weaving path.  What would you like to see in the coming year?

December's TotM

Merry Christmas!

December's towel in 22/2 cottolin ground with cotton floss pattern weft in miniature overshot.

Forming letters with sprang

I worked some simple doubleweave pickup.  And you can see I've left some of the warp in the center section unwoven, sitting on top of the cloth.

Then I worked a sprang braid using the unwoven warp.

It's supposed to look like two Ds (my initials).  I don't think I like the shape of the inner curve - the part I did with the pickup.  I think it should start further out from the vertical, and end more gradually, not so pointy.

I think I put enough warp on to try again.  What do you think?

UFOs

You know those UFOs (UnFinished Objects) that sit around for months or years?  I'm sure you have them.  This is one of those.  What is it, you ask?

Since the weather (finally) has cooled off a bit around here, I was thinking my teapot needs a jacket or "cozy".  I had started one from a project in a book some number of years ago, so I dug it out of the basket on the top of the bookcase where it had been collecting dust.

 It's pretty funky-looking.  It's knitted of wool in "short rows" for shaping, and then wet-felted.

It's too big for my teapot so I rolled up the hem.  I decided I really didn't care for the colors.  Too cold-looking for something that should be cozy.

So I overdyed it in golden yellow...

... yeah!  That's more like it.

After dyeing, I felted it a bit more and it fits the circumference of the teapot better, but it's still too tall.  I left the cuff edge out so it would show the unevenness of the edge of the felted fabric.

I'm a Cover Girl...

...or, well, at least my towels are.  There on the cover, I mean.  That's pretty darn exciting.  These Atwater-Bronson towels in cottolin are a project in this issue of Handwoven magazine, available from Interweave Press.

Also don't miss article contributions from friends: Trudy S. and regular contributor Susan H., and editing of this issue by Sarah J.