Here is the beginning of my Friendship Afghan project, with the Clinch Valley Handweavers' Guild. It's white cotton flake in the warp and variegated cotton flake in the weft. Pat brought her sample to Tuesday Weaving a few weeks ago, and we all commented on how "muddy" the design was, due to flake crossing flake. It's very soft and will make a cozy afghan, once completed, but you can see in my beginning that the design doesn't show up, except when the dark is predominant in the weft. It's a simple twill pattern, but I really think plain weave would have done just as well! Or the simplest of twills, to make it drapier.
Here it is, farther along in the rectangle. The back side is darker, but just as muddy looking. When we were planning the afghan, someone suggested variegated for everyone, and I thought that was the plan, but since then, I've received Carol's and LouAnn's yarn, both lovely jewel-toned solids. I'll bet they show up better than my variegated. Once done, sewn all together, mine will be okay, I think, but very washed out looking. It's disappointing, though, to work on something one only thinks is "okay."
Tina warned me that the flake in the warp will be very weak, and sure enough, my right floating warp has snapped already. I'm trying to beat only once per pick, as I've somewhere along the way picked up the habit of two beats per pick.
I do like the way the bare naked warp looks, though. I can imagine it making other wefts look much better! Something bright and shiny, like perle cotton! In, um, HOT PINK!
On a more positive note, my friend, the amazingly talented artist Amy Campbell has agreed to my very first Artist Barter! Amy has been painting a series of small paintings of iconic signs from around Knoxville and Maryville, and said she'd like to do some small food paintings. I've asked for a butter yellow cupcake painting to hang in my kitchen, and she's asked for a scarf. She's going yarn shopping this week to design her scarf, very excited about it! View some of Amy's work at http://www.amyloucampbell.com/, and you'll be excited for me, too.
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