Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Summer Tea Towels Two

My very quick Turned Summer and Winter tea towels are done. They were such a fun project to weave; and especially nice to weave since Ngaire pulled the warp for me! This is a photo of one of the towels before washing. I have just finished machine stabilizing the hems and this is my ‘final inspection’ to make sure there are no errors. Thankfully only one tea towel out of the six had an error and it was a very easy fix! I had to sley these towels 20 epi in a 12 dent reed and so you can see the reed marks at this stage.I noticed when I was standing off square to the tea towel that there was a really interesting zigzag effect. This was totally unexpected since the pattern is basically rectangular blocks, but it certainly adds to the visual appeal.This is a closer look at the Summer side and the Winter side and you can see that all those pesky reed marks have miraculously disappeared. I guess crossing your fingers and toes really does work!I only had the enough of the soft teal weft to complete four tea towels, but luckily I had a slightly darker green/blue 2/8 cotton for the final two tea towels. Here they are side by side and I’m really pleased with both colours.So here they are, all hemmed and pressed and ready for our fall sale in October. The only thing I would change is the length of the repeat. Each full pattern is just over three inches in length on the loom; and by tightening it up I could add weft stripes. Ah well ~ next time.We grew a type of basil this year called ‘Lettuce Leaf’ and it grew fantastically. As you can see ~ bigger than my hand! This basil tastes lovely and if I could just keep the garden pests from enjoying them too, I’d be in heaven!

10 comments:

Susan said...

I love the patterning on the towels!
They are fun and interesting and would really add to a kitchen!

Those will be snapped up quick at sales!

Basil: wow! Jurassic Park basil!
I can just see the recipe for pesto and it says 'one leaf only' !

Your garden is always amazing every year...
Susan

Cindie said...

so how big is that basil plant???!

love the towels....

Lynnette said...

Hi Cindy,
The basil plant itself is only about 2 foot tall and about the same around. It is absolutely loaded with these huge leaves. This truly is an amazing plant.

Peg Cherre said...

These towels are gorgeous! Is that a 12-harness pattern?

Does your huge basil taste as wonderful as the more standard size - no bitterness?

Joanna said...

Very nice towels! And that basis, oh my, that would make a spectactular insalata caprese. Been reading your blog for some time now and I have to ask, how to you say Ngaire's name? It's very pretty. In Scots, we'd say Neery.

Lynnette said...

Hi Joanna,

My daughters name is said Ny-Ree, it's a name common in New Zealand where my husband hails from.

Hi Peg,
The Lettuce Leaf variety of basil is sweet and only faintly anise flavoured. Excellent eaten raw, we sometimes blanch it for a moment and use it for a wrap around spicy ground pork - mmmmm

Unknown said...

Wonderful towels!!!

dorothylochmaben said...

What lovely towels and a very interesting draft. Nice colours too !

Lynn Majidimehr said...

Your towels are beautiful, and I'll have to look for seeds for basil like yours, it's amazing!

Linda said...

These are wonderful towels, Lynnette! I've yet to try summer and winter, so this project certainly encourages one to move that up the 'to try' list. I'm sure these will move quickly at your October sale! I love seeing what you and your daughter are weaving!