Experimenting with overshot

Good morning, dear readers. I spent a lot of time in January weaving kitchen towels to replenish my Etsy shop and the galleries that carry my work. After 45 yards of kitchen towel warps, I was not sorry to move onto something else. The kitchen towels look nice, though. Here is one of the three variations that I did:

I tinkered a bit with a self-drafted overshot pattern. I am interested in seeing how this weaving structure adapts to a wearable piece instead of a sturdy household textile. The curved shapes that can be had with an overshot weaving technique seem like they may lend themselves to a shawl or scarf. Since a wearable wrap needs to have drape and, at least for me, not feel like a millstone around the neck, I experimented this week with a slightly looser sett for the warp of 10/2 mercerized cotton and a very lightweight alpaca/silk yarn for the pattern weft. The weave is definitely more “open” while on the loom; I’m hoping that a good wash will bring the threads together.

Here is a photo of the wip:

This experiment may be one for the bin, I don’t know, but I figure that it is good to try something new. The plum, grey, and bluish colors made me think of a variety of hellebore (Lenten rose). We grew these at our last home; I think I’d like to add a few here in Harrisville this year.

Next on the loom will be another overshot pattern, a colorful variation of Marguerite Porter Davison’s “Snowballs” design. The latest round of severe winter weather prompted me to pull out cones of spring green, lavender, and pink from my shelves. It’ll be good to shake out a bit of Spring onto the loom, even though Punxsutawney Phil reports that we will have six more weeks of winter. Bring it on, I say, if this is the case. I’d like to get on my cross-country skis a few more times anyway. I ski locally, either around our own property or on the rail trail not far from here. Isn’t it pretty?