Sunday, July 25, 2010

Crackle Weave ~ Still Crack-a-Lakin'

After my last horrible warp, I decided to put on something that would give me some positive reinforcement. Well, this 2/8 tencel shawl is just that. It was quick, fun and very rewarding to weave! Everything I was looking for! The warp is sett at 24 epi on 8 shafts and is 2/8 black tencel. The weft is the same 2/8 tencel in scarlet. I put a straight twill border of 8 ends in red on the selvedges to keep the weft turns looking good. The weave structure I used is a modified crackle, which is my structure of choice at the moment. So pretty! I could not believe how quickly this 80” x 24” shawl wove up. No kidding, it took no time at all even though the pattern repeat was a whopping 293 picks long. The treadling was slightly modified from the regular advancing twill so it was very quick to fall into the swing of it.There is a definite right light side (red) and dark side (black) to this shawl. I think of it as giving garment options to its eventual owner!

I decided to put very long – 14” fringes on this shawl. I wanted to make a big bold statement with this shawl and since my virtual customer is a statuesque woman; I feel that the length of the fringe can really push it up a notch. No fancy beading yet, but that too shall come! I thought I’d show you what’s been keeping me away from the loom lately. Yup, that’s me up about 25 feet painting the eves…..scary doesn’t even begin to cover it! The change in our house is remarkable, from this… To this….

We chose to work on the hardest parts of the house first. All the trim work and frankly the learning curve we had working with the HardiPlank…..it all takes time! The house should look great by September! We can only work in the cool of the morning as the 35C+ temperature stops work by 11:00.

8 comments:

dorothylochmaben said...

Hi Lynnette - nice to have you back !! What a lot of work though on the house. It is looking great, wish I was just down the road and could pop over to have a closer look ! The shawl looks lovely and like you I have been amazed at how quickly the 2/8 tencel works up !
Scarlet and black is a very classy combination, I'm sure there will soon be a real customer rather than a virtual one !

Anonymous said...

The scarf looks gorgeous! Looking forward to the beading. I have never used tencel but have wanted to give it a try.

WeaveThings said...

Lynette - the shawls are gorgeous! I'm about to hit some crackle weave myself, but I'm just working on a 4-shaft loom so the designs won't be as intricate as yours, but wow, the inspiration! Thank you!

Donald

Annie said...

Great work - the shawl as well as the work on the house! You're braver than I am. And in this heat! That kept me from doing much lately, apart from spinning yarn. My loom is feeling neglected.

WeaveThings said...

Hi again Lynnette, thank you for the crackle information. Wow, I forgot about that site. I was surprised when I tried a username and password and they worked :)

I found a few that I like, but of course the 8+ shaft options are so much more intricate and appealing - sigh...

Donald

Unknown said...

lovely shawl!!!
I like your house-change too!

DEEP END OF THE LOOM said...

The shawl is beautiful, I love the contrast of the scarlette and black. The house looks great, I know it's a lot of work but it does feel good to get the results.

Susan said...

Your shawl is simply beautiful! The red and black is such an elegant combination. I'll be looking at crackle more closely soon.

I love the colour scheme of your home's new look! It looks brand new and no doubt will be extra snug and secure this coming winter.
Its been a lot of work and the heat slowed things down but imagine the feeling of pride when its all done!

Um, now that you have the hardy plank technique down pat...want to come and do our place?

:) Susan