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My tips & hints for weaving a V-Shawl I’m always excited once my V-shawl is  finished, off the loom and unfolded to get my first view of how warp and weft converge to create a unique plaid design, created by this double weave technique. My newest design was just published in the March/April 2012 Handwoven magazine and is available as the Parallel Fushion V-shawl kit woven in Bambu Lace from Cotton Clouds. Once you experience weaving this V-shawl, you’ll be ready to design your own.  Let me share some tips on weaving and then designing your own V-shawl. What is a V-Shawl?  It’s a double weave shawl with a V-shaped...

I love weaving on my Rigid Heddle Loom and I love making towels! Stripes, plaid, checkered and now waffle weave! You can’t imagine how excited I was when I realized that waffle weave can be achieved on a 2 shaft loom, using plain weave and just one pick-up stick. Aurora Earth 8/2 cotton is the basic yarn used in these towels.  Two strands are held together to warp 400 ends in a 10 dent reed. I used for the warp Aurora Earth Solid  and Aurora Earth Variegated for the weft. It was amazing to see the textured squares form with an easy pick up stick sequence. Here...

A Dream Come True Several years ago  I had the idea of designing twelve towel projects to share with my fellow rigid heddle weavers. I wanted to give them towels that were easy to weave, yet looked professional.  I started with basic plain weave, adding simple stripes to jazz up my towels, then as the ball got rolling, or should I say the shuttles flying, I expanded on simple plain weave with some of the many weave structures that our rigid heddle looms allow. Towels so easy to weave! Weaving towels on my Schacht FLIP Rigid Heddle Loom has always been the most rewarding weaving for...

What’s the perfect way to stay motivated in your weaving all year long while making a great group of projects? A weaving club! Cotton Clouds offers many 6 and 12 month clubs for weavers of all skill levels. Check out these great club options for every weaver’s favorite project: towels. Towels are a perennial favorite among weavers, and for good reason. With such a simple shape and relatively small size, there are endless ways to experiment! Cotton Clouds Kit of the Month clubs are a great way to try your hand at a lot of projects while reaping plenty of...

If you love to spin cotton, it does not get any better than this! My spinning study group had the wonderful opportunity to go into the experimental cotton fields of the University of Arizona and pick as much cotton as we wanted. I caution against greediness here. There is an amazing amount of fiber and seeds on those little bolls. Taking the seeds out by hand takes a lot of time. Find the pointy end of the seed and peel the fiber down from this end much like peeling a banana. Although we thought this was great fun, it did give...