Candidates Three and Four

There is a degree of freedom in weaving Exhibit(ion) pieces, because I only answer to myself, without worrying about the client's possible expectations. Having said that, I am still trying to get my hear around the merit of the individual pieces vs. the integrity of the Exhibit(ion).

The second warp was in brighter mid-blue 100% merino wool, 110/2; the sett was 18 DPI, and once again, in 14-end straight draw; Shafts 15 and 16 weaving two ends of plain weave at both selvedges.

In the third piece, I used a teal-colored possum/merino/silk blend in the weft. The main part with long curves is woven in a modified version of #44659 from Kris Bruland's Handweaing.net; at each ends there are short portions of modified #31216 to represent the sand and the water's edge. This is the more-my-style effort after the hissy fit concerning the first two pieces.

I contemplated for a very long time whether to embellish this piece with small glass beads, not only in the selvedges and fringes, but in the main body of the shawl to accentuate the curves, but in the end I vetoed the idea, as I would really like the pattern (weave structure) to be seen. I like this piece better than the first two, because if nothing else, it looks and feels a little more familiar to me, and it shows off the weave structure, but I am aware this (or anything in "my style") may not be a particularly noticeable piece in an Exhibit(ion).

I was also reminded that "my" weaving is harder to photograph as there is usually less contrast in hue/value; my camera was whizzing trying to find good spots to focus.

In the fourth piece, I used the same 100% merino as in the warp, but in variegated pale blue, a combination expected to produce the thinnest textile thus far. The weave is a modified version of "Merk's Fabric", (the pink dinosaur) on pages 12-13 of "The Best of Weavers: Twill Thrills" (XRX Books, 2004). I chose this weft color because I wanted to show the sea foam as well as the water, but in retrospect I wished I had chosen a color more similar in value to the warp to show off the weave structure. (Although, because of the contrast, this piece was much easier to photograph than the third piece.)

This shawl has particularly fine (2+2 ends) fringes which were intended to match the weave and the anticipated fineness of the cloth: the shawl fluffed up in the wet finish, and the fringes are too light-weight to hang properly, so I think I will return to my regular size (4+4 or 6+6 ends) fringes, which also takes up far shorter time. The textile has a lovely spongy feel.

Thus far, I have created four pieces with quite diverse looks and textures, and the phrase that keeps haunting me is "all over the place". "My style" is less striking from a distance and I worry how they would look in an Exhibit(ion).