Monday, August 31, 2009

A Beautiful End To A Beautiful Day

[The view from my porch as I prepare for bed.]

I usually write my blog posts in the morning, but tonight the sky was so beautiful I had to try to share the sight. As the light dims, the crickets crescendo. It's balmy and a warm breeze has just picked up, whistling through the pines. And far in the distance, the guinea fowl are cackling.

I've been weaving a beautiful and simple-looking white cloth. Once your eye rests on it a while, though, there is a lot of subtlety to take in. The varied dot-dash patterns of grey warp threads keep the eye traveling and exploring them. Every once in a while you get a glimpse of a sketchy diamond shape.



At the very end of the day I wove three yards of a new color. It's the same white warp with a heathered silver-grey weft. Wow! The effect is so subtle, but so rich.


The scattered diamond pattern shows up much more clearly here. The few tans and greys in the warp grab your attention and combine with each other to give the rich illusion of many thread colors. I never realized just how dramatically a weft thread can highlight or subdue specific threads in the warp.

I guess it's good that I'm writing this tonight. Tomorrow I need to weave in the morning before going into town. I'm sad that I'll be done with tea and back in my cabin by the time the sun comes up, but it's nice to stay on top of the weaving despite a trip into town.

*Footnote: it wasn't sad at all! I got to drink tea with The Bright Morning Star as the sky flushed violet.

2 comments:

Katherine Regier said...

That is beautiful cloth! One of the joys of handwoven fabric is the complexity and interaction of color and texture. There is always something new to explore every time you look at it.

Unknown said...

I wish I was better at photographing it. The cloth always looks so much more rich in person than it does in a picture.