I decided to do some shawls for the shop. I wanted to do something dramatic so I put on a black 2/8 Tencel warp. I tried out some weft colours, two shades of gold and a red in 2/8 Tencel.
The red won! The pattern is Frost Flowers from Twill Thrills. Mum used the pattern a while ago to create lovely scarves and the pattern is still stunning.
I put on enough warp for two shawls and the second one is woven in silk. The silk is a lovely purple singles that Mum plied for me on her spinning wheel. She actually spent a night hand winding a bobbin with singles so she could have an easier time plying the silk.
An interesting thing about the Frost Flowers pattern is that the variations are created from changing the tie up not the treadling. I changed the tie up for the second shawl and started to weave with the plied silk.
The red and black shawl is as dramatic as I hoped that it would be. The shine and drape of the shawl is stunning. For Sale.
The purple silk and black shawl is lovely; it has a very different feel to it. The pattern of the red shawl is full of pointy diamonds but the purple silk shawl the major pattern is the rounded diamonds. The purple silk has a softer feel overall. For Sale.
Final Garden Shot is of two dwarf rhododendron (Rhododendron yakushimanum) which have lovely pink candles and white flowers and some rhubarb that is ready to be picked.