Starburst Shawl

I while back, like in 2013, I had a little play with Snowflake Twill by way of the Starburst pattern which first appeared in Weavers magazine, Issue 13, 1991.  The article has been reprinted in the book "The Best of Weavers Twill Thrills".
http://loomtalk.blogspot.co.nz/2013_01_01_archive.htmlh
Recently Sophie asked me to share the draft:
Hi Dianne, may I ask you to share that beautiful Starburst weaving draft? A friend of mine found your post, and we both loved the Starburst! And now we want to weave it :-) 

This pink picture is as seen in the book Twill Thrills

and below is my interpretation showing quite a difference in the star but still recognisable as Starburst to the point I feel copyright would apply.  What do you think?

This is an 8 shaft draft plus I used an extra 4 shafts for a basket weave selvedge.

Snowflake drafts are formed by combining various twills.  They include an area of advancing twill, usually reversing in the middle but in this draft the advancing twill does not reverse and the runs are lengthened to widen the rays.  Areas of point and straight twill are used along with some satin.

"Twill Thrills" includes a very good article on composing Snowflake drafts and would recommend the acquisition of the book.

On the move again ...

Yes, sneaking away for a five day weekend to the Professional Weavers Network annual get together, this year its near Timaru in the South Island.  You'll hear about it next week.

I have been busy getting a wardrobe ready for a wee granddaughter due to arrive late April (last I heard).  It doesn't look like many garments but every stitch worked with love from GranD.  I did make the stockings on the knitting machine and other garments will knit up in no time on the machine.

My mother left a bag of bits of baby yarn so I've made up a pattern to use them in the yoke of the jackets.

The buttons for this wee cardi have been around since my daughter was a baby.  Everything gets used eventually.

The wee singlet I got for half the half price because of a few holes near the neck.  Don't you just love the little woven patch and lazy daisy I fixed it with.

Don't look too closely at this cotton blanket.  I couldn't count so the horizontal patterns don't match in all areas but I figured baby would puke and poo on them anyway.  I thought I was making receiving blankets (yes there is another one) but they're too big and the cotton isn't soft.  After I joined the strips down the centre I brought them to the boil in a soda ash and teepol solution to remove the dressing but still not soft enough.  Where do you weavers get your soft cotton?  Table cloth maybe.  I could do that some time as the pattern takes 8 shafts and I have 16 I could make a double layer table cloth with floating selvedge.  Hmm ... sometime.

Starburst snowflake scarves

Late in January I caught the sun awakening on the horizon, interesting because of the smoke haze from the fires in Australia, the other side of the Tasman Ocean.  I can't imagine the horror of being near one of those big blazes.

And now the big reveal of the snowflake twill scarves/ wraps/ table runners.

 Table runner you ask!  I called to see a weaving friend and after our show and tell she insisted on having the black and white piece as a runner for her rather large antique dresser.  Her comment was "Its the most beautiful piece of weaving I've seen".  I have to say it is very striking.

 And the green one.

 Can you tell I'm trying different ways of wearing a scarf?

Last post I showed a piece of shibori when I had just removed the resist threads and said I couldn't show you cause it was put aside for an exhibition in April.  Well a lovely Scot lass saw it and it now has a new home.  I quickly grabbed a photo before it went out the door so excuse the draping.

Note to family:  I need a laptop with a decent photoshop program on it.

Snowflake Twills

While I was preparing for the exhibition "Japonisme" I had to stay really focussed on the sewing but I did dangle a carrot in the "I want" part of my mind.  I was going to weave the most amazing place mats anyone had done, weave the finest linen lace pillow cases ever, the most colourful rep weave table runners, etc.  Finished the exhibition and ... zilch.  Apart from four runs of blankets (i.e. 8 blankets) which, once I've dyed the yarns, I can weave on auto pilot, I have just waffled.

Until this post by Susan when something spoke to me.  Now I have collected every article I could find on Snowflakes; Weavers 13, 18, 20, 30 and the hearts in Spring 1997.  Twill is my first love of weave structures ever since Bonnie Inouye's visit down under in 2002 and she presented "The Big Twill" which included a draft for Snowflake.  Now was its time.  After much fiddling with Fibreworks PCW I finally decided to just get on with it and try something so threaded for a slightly modified version of the Starburst threading, issue 13.  (There is a correction which appeared in issue 15 of Weavers.)  I have to say its wonderful to be able to use the computer program to tell me which shaft to thread on a draft such as this.

And I sampled.  Same honey 16/2 cotton weft, a natural slub cotton weft which shrank and looked dirty and white mercerised 16/2 cotton weft.  Now I've been dithering for days which weft to use.  The little bit between the navy blue threads was trying a networked twill on the starburst threading.

 I like honey on honey and my white china looks great on it but without any contrast of even dull/shine it doesn't show up the pattern

 whereas the white has a bit more body and a sheen.  It also shows up the wee diamonds in the bottom right hand corner of this pic.

In the meantime I've been working on another run of blankets, Rata this time, for Pauanesia.  Brilliant Christmas red.  I can't work on them at night as the red keeps me awake!

Now here's a strange thought.  Does any one else have to lean in the window at the back of their loom to tie the new warp to the back apron?  Guess not!  I wouldn't dare try to move the loom now, so when needs must ...