another sample

After finishing a bobbin of the green-blue flax and mulling things over, I created a small sample warp using my handspun and some off-white linen singles from stash. The singles are about 20/1 I think-- I have so many unlabelled cones it's not even amusing. That's what comes from accumulating mill ends. Anyway, that yarn is about 52 wpi, and the handspun is much thicker. The idea for this warp is to create a fabric with solitary threads of the handspun against a background of the finer linen. The handspun will be sleyed by itself in an 8-dent reed; each thread of handspun will be surrounded by 20 threads of plainweave, and inbetween the plainweave sections will be stripes that can be plainweave, basketweave, or twill. I'm aiming for a little bit of laciness around the handspun, perhaps even enough to let the kinky energy play, and some laciness inbetween, with the basketweave.

This warp is still on the warping board, and I might not get it beamed too soon, because I am going to Ohio this weekend to visit family. Short trip-- fields! Flowers! Woods! Each time I go back I am apalled at how many more strip malls there are, but my father's house is in an area still relatively unscathed, and in any case it's much much much less crowded than the city where I live now. (Why am I living in the city again? Oh yeah, I have a job. I keep forgetting.) Besides all the perks of a home visit, such as spending time with my Dad, seeing old friends, taking walks in the woods, taking naps, and breathing clean air, I hope to visit my favorite clothing shop. It's downtown in the village where I grew up-- you might not expect such a lovely and fashionable boutique to be located in such a tiny midwestern town, but over the years I've gotten clothes there that I love until they wear out. With luck there will be a nice infusion of new spice into the wardrobe for fall. And a friend offered to take me canoeing! Don't let me forget my swimming suit.