Monday, November 08, 2010

Change

We awoke this morning to our first dusting of snow and 29 degrees. This is the third Monday I've taken a picture from this spot and boy has it changed. The forecast was for 100% rain. I waited until the temp got to freezing before walking the dogs. It's psychological - it was still cold.
Everything is flocked in white and Peterson Mountain gets its first snow of the year. This will melt soon, but today I'm enjoying it. I'm warmed by my socks, scarf and hat. This is why I knit them.
Trees on Peterson have been burned in multiple wildfires, but you can see a pocket of golden aspens, still thriving, highlighted by the surrounding white.

I put my samples into my notebook today. I used Excel to enter the information on threading, tie-up and threadling. These two samples struck my as super ideal for hand towels. I've noticed in the kitchen that some weaves are more absorbent than others.

This mistake sample is probably my favorite. Davison's book is old, the illustrations are black-and-white and old-fashioned. I wove half the sample, thinking it was possibly the ugliest weave structure I had ever seen. I rechecked the treadling to make sure I hadn't made a mistake when I saw inserted above it in the smallest print ever, there was a change in tie-up. I made the correction and the difference with the correct tie-up blew me away. Big lesson.
These are my first two samples. They are so close in appear-
ance to be almost indistinguishable. The actual fabric is so much better than photographs. They don't just look different, they feel different.

I've already enjoyed looking through my own sample book and then through Davison's to drool over what I want to sample next. It's hard to believe how many weave structures are available on just four harnesses.

The power went out a couple of times last night again. We had run the generator the night before, but this time we just sat with our book lights and read. We turned our book lights off when the power came on and went back to them when the power went out. I finished reading The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, the 2006 Book Award winner, a literary insight into the modern state of India. I wish I enjoyed cozy mysteries, but alas, I seem to be afflicted with the love of these weighty tomes. Now I want to read her first book! I'm sure it will be equally weighty.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The landscape is so different with the frosting of snow and so beautiful. Interesting weather where you are. What a great idea to sample in such an organized manner. I just finished some kitchen hand towels using one of the drafts from Davison book (but slightly altered).

Marion B. said...

The idea of a picture of the same spot every week is great.
I admire you because of the sampling. At our weaving guild they say; always sample. But I don't like to weave samples. But looking at your work makes me wonder....maybe I should...

The book you read sounds wonderful to me. I looked for it here in The Netherlands as an e-book, which I prefer, but not yet found. As a paperback I can order it without a problem. Thanks for the tip.

Jody said...

Your third picture is amazing...what incredible views you have.

Nina said...

The mountain view you have is stunning. Absolutely lovely, even with the snow.. Your sample book will be a wonderful resource. I've got one started in a binder and it's fun to just take out and look now and again. Mine are from projects past though, not specific sample runs. I can see the value in the latter though.

Leigh said...

Snow! Gosh, I reckon winter really is around the corner. Lovely photos.

Good for you for making a notebook of your samples. I've done that with mind and it's an invaluable resource.

Benita said...

Focusing on one spot week by week is fascinating. I'll catch up my pictures on my site sometime today.

I love seeing the samples. They teach so much and are fun to look at.