Impressionist Towels

I think COVID-19 has impacted my blogging. I often think about posts but never follow through on writing them. Coronabrain strikes in all facets of life, I guess.

Somehow I have managed not to mention this project on Insta OR the blog, and now it's done. I warped the Flip for this trio of towels back on April 19, and finished them on May 23. Over a month, and nary a word! Weird.

You really have to be up close to appreciate these towels. These are the yarns I used:

The warp is all blue, and the weft is mostly the marled yarn - except for the blue stripes on the ends of each towel. The marled yarn is an interesting find I picked up at MDSW in 2018. It's a 2-ply, slubby yarn. One ply is white, and the other transitions among red, green, yellow, and blue. On the cone, these colors are bright, primary colors. But when they are woven against the light blue, they are toned down and seem more pastel.

This was an easy, soothing project worked entirely in plain weave. As I worked, the fabric reminded me of Monet's water lily paintings... watery and colorful at the same time. Thus, I have dubbed these the Impressionist Towels.

The label on the marled yarn was pretty vague.

I figured it to be about the same as 8/2 cotton. The blue yarn is also 8/2 cotton, and I doubled it in the warp at 10 epi. I used a single strand in the weft for extra drape. To my surprise, the marl was finer than the 8/2 cotton (perhaps because the blue cotton had a much tighter twist?). It took a lot of picks to weave each inch!

I made three towels out of one warp, and they have to be separated. I could weave a section with waste yarn... but I prefer to just throw in a spacer and keep going. I made something that is wide enough to work on the Flip when it's warped with towels. This is just some pieces of a soda box edged with duct tape. I pull it out once I'm about an inch beyond it.

You can see the Sprite logo if you look closely! I can use this again and again - it's a definite improvement over trying to use a spare stick shuttle to serve the same purpose.

I have one other important improvement to report: this yoga ball chair works GREAT at the loom:

I ordered this chair to try to improve my Work From Home space. It did not work there (still too low for the non-adjustable surface on which my keyboard rests), but it is wonderful for weaving. There's a lot of leaning in during a weaving session - right and left to pass the shuttle through the shed, and front and back to advance the warp and beat the weft. When I sit on a wooden dining chair, my back starts hurting after a period. That never happens with the yoga ball.

[For those who are curious - I got the "Custom Fit Balance Ball Chair" from Gaiam. I chose it because it had adjustable legs. I have them set to the highest position and I use a foot rest at my work space. I don't like this design, however. First of all, it's really unattractive compared to the "Classic Balance Ball Chair." But worse, the way the legs splay out mean that the castors are unintentionally locked all the time by normal foot movements. Then the lower-quality castors gouged scrapes in my vinyl floor while locked! This hasn't happened in the living room, fortunately, and I've covered the wheels with socks to prevent it. It results in a very unclassy look... but the ball is still comfortable to sit on. I've since discovered that you can buy chair leg extenders for the classic chair, and I wish I'd gone that route instead... but too late now. I also wish you could buy the chair base without the ball, as I already had at least one ball at home (maybe two?) and didn't need another one.]

I'm also happy with my little rolling caddy (the white thing) that I got on sale at Michael's a few months ago. It holds all my weaving things and can be moved to exactly the right position while I'm working, but tucked away when I'm not. It takes up a small footprint in the living room. I put a Command hook on the side of the top caddy to hold my scissors - now they're always easy to find.

And may I also recommend the teenager clothesline when it's time to take photos? It is super adjustable and can be created at any point in the yard where the light is good and the background is fine!

Overall, I'm happy with these towels, and that I used up some stash yarn. I've decided that while I'm still learning about towel functionality, I'll keep one from every batch and put it into kitchen rotation. For scientific testing, you know. I've already given one to a friend, and I have one left in reserve. Their final measurements are about 25.5 x 18", which is pretty close to my 25 x 17.5" target. Success!