Creating New Weaving Patterns

We have been experimenting with new ways to thread our aviadura (a reed with string heddles). When we are preparing our loom to begin weaving, there are two very time-consuming parts. One is preparing the yarn by wrapping it around our warping wheel. The amount of time depends on the width of the fabric and whether there are stripes. And, if there are stripes, how many. The other challenging task is threading the string heddles. When we have learned one pattern of threading, we can obtain different weaving patterns depending on how we use our pedals. That is how we have changed the weave in our shawls. But now we have been experimenting now with different ways to string our string heddles. What do you think?

Baby Blankets!

At last we have made baby blankets out of the fabric we created a while back. First we had to weave the lining, a yellow fabric woven with a pink weft to match the yellow in the stripes. Sewing and machine quilting the blankets was a great opportunity to practice on our new FAST sewing machine. We are still learning to manage the speed, it is true, but little by little we are mastering it. The baby blankets are a special request of one of our friends in NY, but it looks like they might be popular here in Cajola, too!

And Our Matching Summery Aprons

Last week we showed you our summery towels in our “Elicia Stripe” (named for the weaver who designed the great brick and lime with lots of white stripes. Today we want to share with you the matching apron. Our apron has the same embroidery motif as the towels, a woman in her capacity to bear children. In our cosmovision a woman is seen as complementary to men, with equal but different roles. If you are suffering in this summer’s heat, think about wearing the apron outside while you barbecue your meals, or while you are picking your ripening vegetables from your garden.

Our New Summery Towels & Matching Apron

We are pleased to show you our new towels & a matching apron. Our weaver Elicia designed this stripe, so we have named it “Elicia’s Stripe”. The stripes include lots of white, with brick red and lime yellow dominating. (Of course we are thinking of summer in the USA, because summer for us is in December and January, and is cold and dry.) Our embroidered motif symbolizes a woman in her capacity to bear children. In our cosmovision a woman is seen as complementary to men, with equal but different roles. We have already listed our towels on Etsy: we will be listing the matching apron soon!