Ngaire developed this pattern from a pattern by Mark Wilhite found in Handwoven November/December 1990, but I asked if I could weave it as I loved the colour. It’s quite amazing how each weaver changes patterns and how they evolve. Ngaire took out the plain blocks and merged the two pattern sequences as well as turning the draft.
The original pattern had 8 shafts and 10 treadles but after Ngaire modified the pattern it was on 10 shafts and 6 treadles. The warp is alternating light and dark threads and the weft is the dark colour only – who doesn’t like a one shuttle weave? When the pattern was turned two of the treadles lifted 7 against 3 harnesses, but since I have a direct countermarché loom this poses no problem.
The treadling is done in duplicate pairs, so although the pattern has 68 picks, it’s a cinch to remember. (1-3-2-3, 1-4-2-4, 1-5-2-5 etc) I’ve tied the loom up so the treadling is a walking sequence. My left foot does the alternating tabby treadles and my right foot takes care of the four pattern treadles. Sooooooo easy! 
This photo is the reverse side of the fabric ~ the Summer side, and it actually has the truest colours of all the photos today. 
The tube lying down is the sum total of the weft I have left after weaving only four tea towels! The other two tubes are pretty close in colour and have enough blue in the green and I’m hoping that one or the other will work on my final two towels! 
The garden keeps me from my loom, but my nicely filling pantry is showing the fruits of our labour. We have jars of jams galore and beautiful Okanagan peaches and green filet beans just waiting to be opened on a cold winter day!
A Definition of Woven Fabric – A woven fabric consists of two systems of parallel threads, crossing at right angles and interlinked according to fixed rules called weaves.
10 comments:
These towels are wonderful! I'm not yet to the place that feels like I know enough to turn drafts and make any big changes, so this is very impressive to me. You make it sound very easy, and the results are wonderful. I love this bluish-green color! Well done!
What a amazing pattern!
Both the towels and the pantry are a beautiful inspiration!
Those look great and I imagine you are enjoying the weaving!
Oh, yum... I can see my favourite on the shelf ... bread and butter pickles.
Oh, who am I kidding... love it all!
:) Susan
I love turned Summer and Winter!
Your towels look great!
Wonderful towels! What a nice full pantry you have with all of the goodies from your garden.
Lynette, I get a bit confused: what is a "direct countermarche"?
THe towels look great! And the food! I miss my parent's garden. Our yard is not sunny enough.
Hi Kerstin,
What I mean by a direct countermarche is that on my Louet the lamms are mounted directly below the shafts and act independent of each other; rather than being pivoted on the side of the loom and kept evenly balanced like a Glimakra. This enables me to do a very unbalanced tie ups 3/7 as I did in the Tea Towels.
Thanks for the clarification - Öxabäck use to call that set-up "free-hanging lamms".
I have the traditional pivoted lamms, and have never had a problem using 1/15 sheds, unless I tie that combo to the treadle nearest the pivot.
(My loom had 16 shafts and 20 treadles and is 115 cm wide, so the outer treadles are not far enough from the pivot)
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