"Complex Weavers is as simple or complex as you want to make it for yourself... " - Lillian Whipple. See Complex Weavers Thoughts about Complexity

For the current prospectus and entry form for "Glamour, Glitter, Glitz" click Glamour, Glitter, Glitz

January Showcase

Beiderwand Swirls

Beiderwand Swirls - Judith Yamamoto In January, our showcase features Judith Yamamoto's "Beiderwand Swirls". Click on the thumbnail for a larger version. Click on Thick and thin draft to download the WIF.

Judith writes: "I first met beiderwand about 20 years ago in Else Regensteiner's study group. Since then, I hadn't touched it, so the Anderson/Gordon/Towner book provided a good review of the basics. But the real inspiration was Bonnie Inouye's article, which was circulated among the Sixteens Study Group via email in February /March.

"In Else's group we'd thought in terms of block designs, which are, well, blocky. Bonnie inspired me to try curves. What fun! I developed a number of designs on the computer before settling on the one used in this sample.

"The weaving was a royal pain, but that had nothing to do with the structure. My loom simply misbehaved: unwanted shafts rising randomly required a lot of unweaving and reweaving. The issue of differential tension between the two warps was the subject of much email discussion among the Sixteens. I beamed both together with no extra weighting and had no trouble. Of course, it was only a three yard warp, perhaps a contributing factor!

"The fabric is rather heavy; it might make good upholstery or perhaps panels for a jacket. Recently a local weaving friend suggested it would make a lovely evening bag. (Good idea, except I'm not into evening bags.) I'd like to try this in different yarns to see what other effects could be had: smaller images? different color blends? a more supple fabric? "

Used by permission.
This is the one hundred-fifteenth item in our showcase of what members are doing.
For more information, see Judith Yamamoto's article in the February, 2011 issue of Complex Weavers Journal, page 25. This was part of a study for the Sixteens Study Group.
Watch this space - something else will be here around the first week of February, 2012.
The webmistress apologizes for not having a Showcase for December 2011. She was occupied by a move most of the way across the country and by some health problems.