Weekend Project: A doozy and the zoo!

What a player does best, he should practice least.

Practice is for problems.

--Anonymous

This weekend I worked on weaving my first Christmas-gift kitchen towel. You remember the great start to this project when I cut 3 yards, instead of 4, for the warp (length)? At the time, I hoped that all of the future mistakes associated with this project had been wrapped up into a single doozy of a mistake, and it would be smooth sailing from then on.

Apparently my idea of a “doozy” and fate’s idea are not the same size… ;)

I’ll spare you the painful details - let’s just say that this towel has been relegated to a practice piece and ne’er shall Christmas wrapping paper touch its waffle-weave. ;)

Here’s a full shot of the first few inches:

And here's a close-up:



I’m guessing (i.e., hoping) that once the fabric is not under the tension of the loom it will shrink-in a bit and form the bumpy waffle pattern…?

I am way overdue at replying to some comments that folks have left for me over the last few weeks. Julia had a wonderful idea for the lace on my pink skirt. She suggested that I cut away the fabric behind it. I’m not going to try it on this skirt, because I think it would be problematic given the way I positioned the lace relative to the hem of the bottom band. But I love the idea and will keep it in mind for next time! Thanks, Julia!

Thank you also to MJB, Meredith, Sew-Ann and LaKaribane for their advice on how I should arrange the border print of my paisley jersey for a dress. I’m going to play with the layout of the pieces and see what is even possible, before I make any final decisions - but you all gave me some good things to think about!


And, as for meeting online sewing friends - Meredith, you hit the nail on the head with the word "classy"! Cindy - I can't wait to meet you too, and I can't believe I've met two people from other states before meeting someone from my own state! And Gwen - you are definitely invited to join me and Lori the next time we get together in Missouri, but you may want to skip one trip, as I'm probably going back in January, which is not the ideal time to visit that part of the country! ;) After that, I'll probably go back in May, which will be much more temperate. :)

Parting shots: The first fall-weather day in Florida was a perfect day for a trip to the zoo, with my sewing student Ana, her friend Marguerita and Marguerita's five-year old daughter, Mariana (of the princess dress and the alphabet quilt). Riding a camel...

And a tiger! ;)