"Scandinavian Favorite" Tablecloth

Day 129: The "Scandinavian Favorite" tablecloth is done and ready to go on auction to benefit the Nisqually Land Trust. I'll put up more details about the auction as it gets closer. It won't be held until Saturday, May 31. There will be both a live auction/dinner and a separate one on line with different items. I'm not sure which one the tablecloth will be in. I've been working with the Land Trust for...lemme think...over 20 years now, if I remember correctly...and in that time, they have acquired an enormous amount of property in the Nisqually watershed and have done amazing habitat restoration work on damaged areas, particularly in Ohop Valley where I serve as a site steward. As an accredited land trust, theirs is a "forever" commitment to the environment, untouchable (presumably...hopefully) by power-mad politicians, ecology-raping billionaires and their ilk.

In the description which will accompany the tablecloth on the auction block, I refer to it as a "modern heirloom," and something which the recipient will want to hand down to children or grandchildren. It took over 60 hours to weave the cloth and its decorative band. It measures 57" x 59" and is 100% cotton (preshrunk).

Trimming The Tablecloth

Day 128: The last few weeks have seen me engaged in doggedly finishing up projects, one of which has been the "Scandianvian Favorite" tablecloth (HPB, green version, p. 200, #1). The tablecloth itself has been finished for some time, but I found that there had been so much takeup during the weaving of the band trim that I was short of having enough to cover both seams and to go around the edge. I had to weave another section of band. Yesterday, I applied the first two lengths, and had to quit there because my little Helper wouldn't stop scratching at the cloth. He'd already been locked up once for trying to steal pins and then nipping me when I pushed him away. I still have plenty of time to finish up before the Nisqually Land Trust's annual auction. The tablecloth will be donated to them. And that brings me to the real point of this post: I am asking you, my friends and readers, to support whatever environmental groups are your favourites. Land trusts and other conservation organizations may be the only hope we have left for our forests and the wildlife/plants they contain.

The Underbelly Of The Omega-13

Day 113: As a big fan of the movie "Galaxy Quest," I always refer to this view as "the underbelly of the Omega-13." If you don't have a clue, you really need to watch the film, especially if you love "Star Trek." And if you are a "Star Trek" aficionado who is also a weaver, you'll understand when I say that this is what happens after you enhance the dilithium matrix in/on the warp core. If you are still in the dark here, just go away. You're using up valuable oxygen.

What you see here is the reverse side of the "Scandinavian Favourite" crackle-weave tablecloth I'm currently weaving. Note that I say "reverse," because there is no actual "wrong" or "right" side to this particular fabric. The "back" has red diamonds on a white ground solely because that's the way I threaded it. The "front" has white diamonds on a red ground, exactly opposite to this. When the tablecloth is complete, I'll be able to use either side as the mood strikes me. This pattern is proving to be rather demanding with respect to keeping the motifs the same size along the length. Several times, I've had to unweave half a diamond and replace it in order to stay within the acceptable tolerance of "two inches plus one throw." Measurement is critical when you're weaving patterned panels. Small variations can be eased as the panels are sewn together, but only within certain limits. And because we weavers are human, not Vulcan, we beat irregularly depending on our emotional state.

A Scandinavian Favourite

Day 100: Marguerite Porter Davidson titled this crackle-weave pattern "A Scandinavian Favorite," so I chose to weave it in traditional red and white (natural). I had the warp measured and ready to go before I took the King's Flower piece off the loom, and jumped immediately into hanging it. At 24' in length, the winding occupied most of Friday, worked in short stints to spare my back and knees. Yesterday, I threaded the heddles and reed, but I could not go to bed without working a few inches to be sure I'd done it correctly. Half a block was all it took, having then cycled through all the treadling combinations. Crackle-weave is a type of overshot in that it is worked with two shuttles, one bearing the coloured pattern weft and the other, the tabby which binds the pattern in place. Shuttles are worked alternately, color and tabby, with multiple repeats forming blocks. The difference between crackle and other overshots is that the pattern thread never "floats" above more than three warp threads, giving the finished fabric an appearance reminiscent of crazed pottery. The reverse shows the colours in opposite. It is easier to weave than many other overshots because it is block-woven. This, then, will be that "holiday tablecloth" I had hoped to finish before Christmas...you know, the one which turned into King's Flower because it didn't look right. I'll just need some lefse and lutefisk to complete the project!