SantaFe TeaTowels

Here is a picture of my work so far on the now infamous tea towel that has been on my loom for so long now that I very nearly forgot the technique.

It is woven using two different weft threads, one being the cotton used in the warp alternating with sewing thread of similar color which affords a greater detail to the design. I am hoping to get this done in the next week or so for a birthday gift. I had actually cut off two sets last Christmas to give as gifts and still have enough warp left for one more set. This is something all weavers need to take into consideration when planning projects. If you warp a loom to make say 5 towels you better be prepared to make 5 towels. If you get bored or want to start a new project there is no undressing that loom without wasting a lot of material or cutting them off like I had the brilliant idea to do, which ended up being a tension nightmare. Try as I might I was never able to get all the warp threads uniformly tight which is making weaving the last couple a bit tricky. I remember one time I saw a nice pattern for some really cute bookmarks and had the bright idea to warp the loom to make a bunch of them all at once so I would have enough to give to anybody who would want them without having to warp the loom again. After about the 12th one suddenly they weren't so cute anymore and still, after 5 years, I have not given them all away, which is probably a good thing because I don't think I will ever weave another bookmark as long as I live.

The selvedge for this particular project is a bit tricky and when I am not mindful I end up having to unweave, too bad there is no clever word for this, like tinking is for knitting, still just as frustrating no matter the term. The problem arrives when changing harness patterns, some require slipping the shuttle under the first thread of the bottom shed in order to prevent that end warp from being left out. I had to undo 20 weft passes woven before I noticed because I concentrating more on Maggie the cat fighting for her husband on one of my favorite plays put to film in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof".