Tag: fun

Tanana Valley Fair: Weaving Submissions

Deflected doubleweave scarf on loom, 20 July 2022.

I received a Leclerc floor loom as an amazing gift from a woman I took a felting class with last summer. Thank you, Sarah K.! I really enjoy weaving, but I know I am still a novice, so I thought I’d enter some pieces into the Tanana Valley Fair to get some feedback and tips on how to improve. 

I visited the Fair with a friend today to see her quilts (she won a blue ribbon and was awarded as division champion! Yay, Karen!). We walked through the newly blue Badger Hall to look at the knitting, spinning, weaving, and creative arts crafts, and I was excited to see my weaving items on display. I am very much looking forward to reading the critique when I pick up the items on August 8! The bonus is the ribbons hanging next to my works. (I realize that my pieces might be the only one in their divisions, but it’s still fun to see.)

Weaving submissions on display at the Tanana Valley Fair, 3 August 2022.
Close-up of the deflected double weave scarf and ‘Berea Sunflower’ pattern table runner on display at the Tanana Valley Fair, 3 August 2022.
Close-up of waffle weave blanket on display at the Tanana Valley Fair, 3 August 2022.
Helianthus Shifting in the Sun table runner prepped for the Fair, 20 July 2022.

Helianthus Shifting in the Sun: Table runner designed using the ‘Berea Sunflower’ pattern from Marguerite Porter Davidson’s “A Handweaver’s Pattern Book,” (another wonderful gift from Sarah!), with warp and weft of 2/2 worsted spun wool (warp colors: ‘daffodil’ and ‘marigold’; weft colors: ‘tangerine’ and ‘cayenne), hemstitched, fringed.

The large overshot weaving technique delineates the flowers, creating a design that is mirrored on the fabric’s reverse side. Graduating transitions between each red, orange, and yellow helps give the idyllic impression that living sunflowers are following the path of the sun.

Helianthus Shifting in the Sun table runner laid out on love seat, 14 July 2022.

The yellow, red, and orange table runner won the ‘Theme Award’ because I chose colors, fiber, and weaving pattern to fit this year’s Fair theme. Yay!

Deflected Doubleweave Scarf: I love how the deflected doubleweave technique creates a fabric with both a visual pattern and a 3-D-esque texture. The two similar sides of the scarf each have a distinctive look, making this a fun reversible scarf to wear.

Deflected Doubleweave Scarf: Pattern assigned by Elizabeth Springett, with warp and weft of 100% silk nail (‘denim’ and 100” cotton (‘licorice’), hemstitched, twisted fringe, 21 July 2022.

Purple Honeycomb Sparkle: The waffle weave technique blends with the two distinct fibers to give this blanket a delightfully cozy 3-dimensional look and feel.

Purple Honeycomb Sparkle: Blanket pattern designed by Sarah Resnick, with warp of 100% 4/8 Brassard cotton (‘natural’) and weft of Caron Crystal Cakes 64% acrylic, 24% polyester, 7% nylon, 5% metallic yarn (‘dusk’ and ‘amaranth’), hemstitched, fringed.
Purple Honeycomb Sparkle waffle weave blanket laid out on my love seat, 19 July 2022.
Heart Balloon prepped for the fair: Self-designed pattern, with a warp of 100% 4/8 Maysville cotton and weft of yarns pulled from my leftover knitting yarn stash, 20 July 2022.

Before receiving the generous gift of the table loom, I had already been interested in weaving. I had made a couple of small pieces on an Ashford lap loom as I dabbled with the process. I decided to enter one of these small pieces into the fair as well as the larger ones woven on the floor loom. This Heart Balloon was my first venture into tapestry weaving and I experimented with different weaving and binding-off techniques. Currently a decorative hanging, this piece may eventually become half of a cute over-the-shoulder bag for a young girl. Who knows!