The Next Thing: The Towel Exchange

I noticed this morning that today is the end of the first half of 2008; that's six months to Hanukiah, Christmas and New Years. (Sorry, I'm ignorant about other celebrations, but I know Ramadan ends on September 30 and Diwali is October 28.) So I thought I'd gauge interest for another wee thing now, because I hear some people live intelligently and plan ahead and even get around to putting on a warp or two of gifts in time for the holidays!! If only I could...

There is room for improvement in the plan, so please feel free to jump in.

* * * The Kitchen/Tea Towel Exchange * * *

We weavers are tactile people, and I think we deserve a present at the end of the effort, as well as a show, so here's what I've been thinking.

1) You weave one or two or three or however many kitchen/tea towels you wish.

2) Then you name each towel, and email me the name/s and one photo per towel. Also email me you real name and a physical address, PO Boxes permitted, of course. Keep the towel/s for now.

3) I collate the photos and put it up on the web much like SSVE.

4) I'll ask a neutral party, like Nancy or Ben, to mix/match towels and select exchange partners. (I just discovered that an old Japanese draw system doesn't exist in the West and there is not even a word for it, so I'll have to show you in another post! But it's a fair method.)

5) I email you the recipients of your towel/s, and you post it/them to him/her/it/them.

6) You wait by your mailbox to receive your towel/s, and maybe email the sender when you receive them to say you've got it/them. You will receive the same number of towels that you send, naturally, but from one weaver or from multiple weavers will depend on what I get.

Note 1) In place of a kitchen/tea towel, you can also weave two (?) guest towels, or two (?) face cloths. I was overcome with envy when I saw Susan B's handwoven face cloths, (and then about towels in italy), and knew this is one of those ultimate pampering luxuries I can make. I need help in figuring out the equivalent sizes/volumes to a kitchen/tea towel of these articles, please.

Note 2) Loom knitters: can you use fine cottons or cotton/linen mixes or some such to create a towel-like cloth? A knitted article would be far more absorbent and so I guess the scale is the issue: enlighten me if you want to investigate this.

Note 2a) No excuse for Rigid Heddle weavers if you're think RH can't handle this: my first set of table napkins/serviettes were woven at 10DPI in a 30DPI/10DPI space/cram stripe in those colorful Swedish cottolins.

Note 3) Due dates. I want to propose two due dates; one at the end of October and another at the end of November. New Zealand have early due dates for overseas posting where various overseas postal services guarantee delivery before the holidays. Usually they are early November for Economy Post and early December for Air Post/Air Mail. I'd imagine Australia has similar, and by complying with these dates, if my memory serves, we possibly save money on the postage, which is not insignificant when posting from this end of the world to North America and Europe/UK. I want to make the Exchange as economical as possible for everybody, so I thought if we have early birds from Downunder, they can chose to take advantage of this. Plus, you in the US of A might receive a special something to show off at Thanksgiving. This is the issue I really want to know how you all feel. The on-line exhibition can be opened at two different times, or at once, or even as I receive each towel pic/s.

Note 4) I go back and forth between an exclusively Christmas design. I for one love Christmas colors and motifs, but don't celebrate Christmas as such. In respect of religion, nationality, or ethnicity, I try hard to keep things inclusive. By the same token, I hate to be a PC weaving police to put a damper on anyone's enthusiasm or creativity, or negate anyone's beliefs. So can you think of a way to get around this one? The only option I can think of at this moment is for you to specify "I don't wish to receive motifs" in your email, then Nancy/Ben can be mindful when match-making. Oh, and if you weave a religiously/ethnically significant motif, make sure you let me know because I'm pretty ignorant about these things. Personally, I have always been keen to design menorahs in pickup with Hebrew scripts flowing , but is it a no-no for a Japanese lapsed-Catholic to weave such a gift?

Help me.