Water-Lily Pond

Inspired by the serene colors of Claude Monet's painting c. 1915-1926, Water-Lily Pond is a pointed twill that has been woven with a dense warp (30 EPI). The warp is 95% Egyptian cotton/5% organic cotton. For the weft, I chose a variety of colors and fibers, including cotton, Egyptian cotton, superwash merino wool, cottolin and hemp. The wrap that was entered in the Fall 2014 Competition of Weavers was made with a purple Egyptian cotton weft. You will see it in the photographs below as v.7.

The theme of the weaving competition was "Work of Art". In thinking back on works of art that have inspired me in the past, a memory surfaced of being 18 and sitting on a bench at the Smithsonian Institution, totally mesmerized by one of Monet's waterlily paintings. I remember it as a pure fascination with his use of color and texture. In recalling this memory, I realized that this painting embodies the characteristics that I strive to create in my weaving. I poured through the series of works and this one in particular pulled me in. When I learned that it is permanently housed in an incredible museum in Japan designed by Tadao Ando, my choice was made! 

Water-Lily Pond, Claude Monet c. 1915-1926

This was such a fun wrap to design. Working on 1" embroidery cards, I created combinations of 3-4 colors that drew from my inspiration piece. I planned the sequence of colors to make smooth transitions between the color groups across the full width of the wrap. When the warp was complete, I experimented with a number of different weave structures. In the end, I chose pointed twill because it provided a little interest without too much distraction. I like the way the appearance of the pointed twill changes over the width of the wrap depending on the warp and weft colors. In places the weave structure is obscured by similar colors, in others it is distinguished by contrasting colors. Working with a variety of wefts gave me further opportunities to play with color and the appearance of the weave structure. The result is a playful wrap, infused with light and love. I hope it will bring the same comfort and tranquility that I feel when viewing Monet's paintings.

final color combinations

weft samples

beaming

color details

Following is is the full collection of wraps:

Water-Lily Pond v. 1 hand-dyed hemp weft 4.55 meters $546 

Water-Lily Pond v. 2 silver blue cotton weft 4.8 meters $504

Water-Lily Pond v.3 lapis superwash merino wool weft 4.9 meters RESERVED

Water-Lily Pond v.4 sapphire superwash merino wool weft 4.9 meters RESERVED

Water-Lily Pond v.5 barely blue cottolin weft 4.3 meters $451.50

Water-Lily Pond v.6 light blue Egyptian cotton weft 3.6 meters SECOND QUALITY - COSMETIC FLAW $321.30

Water-Lily Pond v.7 purple Egyptian cotton weft 4.35 meters $456.75 *Competition of Weavers Entry*

Water-Lily Pond v.7 purple Egyptian cotton weft 3.55 meters $372.75 

Rainbow Color

“Red happy colors

Orange proud colors

Yellow sunny colors

Green grassy colors

Blue sad colors

Purple surprise colors

Rainbow colors.”

— Sophia Bromwich

Rainbow Colors is twill weave with an Egyptian Cotton and Organic Cotton warp and a black Egyptian Cotton weft. It weighs approximately 325 grams/meter^2. 

A late-summer treat

Pluot is a pointed-twill weave gradation of the deepest purples through magenta, coral and bright orange. The fiber content is 92% Egyptian Cotton/8% Cotton. It is a dense weave with more ends per inch than previous wonder woven wraps and weighs approximately 350 grams/m^2. Weft color and lengths available are shown below.

2.9 meter deep plum weft with minor cosmetic flaws $290

4.45 meter wrap dark purple weft $467.25

4.65 meter deep plum weft $488.25

It's time for some traveling....

August has arrived! This month we will be celebrating our 5-year old graduating from preschool, preparing our almost-3-year old to begin and taking our very first road trip as a family of 5! All this craziness will mean far less time at the loom. I thought that instead of leaving the cloth wound about the cloth  beam while I go off and have fun, it might be nice to send some wraps on vacation, too! If everything goes according to plan, I should have 2 wraps finished by the end of next week to send wandering. If you live within the US and would like to host one of these wraps, send a PM to wonder woven LLC. Please include a link to your feedback profile. I will be looking for hosts with at least 10 positive feedback comments and no negative comments. Preference will be given to those who have not previously hosted one of my wraps. I will be selecting 6 hosts for each wrap. If you are selected, you may keep the wrap for one week before shipping it via insured Priority Mail to the next person. It would be greatly appreciated if you could post photos to Loom2Wrap while the wrap is in your care. If I choose to use your photos (with your permission, of course) in my web gallery, I can offer you a Stalk-free Pass for future listings. When the wraps return back to me, they will be for sale by draw for anyone who has hosted and would like the opportunity to purchase. Thanks so much for keeping these wraps company while I am away!

Ready to Tie Up the Treadles!

My current warp on the Glimakra is beamed, threaded, sleyed and tied to the front beam! All 960 threads. Now for the fiddly part of tying up the treadles. I need to pause and enjoy it for a bit just the way it is! Here are some pics from along the way. 

Early morning, winding onto the beam from the spool rack.

Late afternoon, continuing the same.

The completed warp.

Close up of the colors - they range from purples, through magenta, coral and orange. 

Threaded onto 8 shafts - my first 8-shaft project on this loom.

Sleyed - this is a 15-dent reed.

A view of the warp under tension.

This will take me some time to complete!