Beating the Heat with Summer Weaving

The vibrant and sunny Pure Delight Towels make for a perfect wedding gift to celebrate summer.

Though it is still very much spring in much of the Northern Hemisphere, my little bit of Southern New Mexico has been enjoying summer for the past month or so and will probably be entering into the season of ultra-summer sometime in June. (Southern New Mexico has six distinct seasons: Autumn, Winter, Spring, Windy, Summer, and Ultra-Summer.) This time of year I tend to have the same sorts of weaving-related thoughts on my mind.

Portable Weaving Now that the weather is getting nicer, I’m taking weekend trips every couple weeks and camping is on my mind more and more. (In fact, the day this newsletter goes out I’ll be just returning from a weekend in the much cooler mountains.)

Card weaving is, of course, perfect for travel. Inkle looms are fairly small--they even have special travel-sized ones now!--but if you want the ultimate in portability, you can easily forgo the inkle and just grab the cards. Most weaving cards are small enough to fit in your pocket, and with weft-faced designs, you only need to bring one cone of weft thread with you for easy weaving on the go. Easy peasy and won’t take up too much room in your carry-on or a tent!

	This stylish woven hoodie is ideal for chilly nights.

Wedding Weaving As soon as May hits, my mailbox is suddenly filed with piles of wedding invitations and “Save the Date!” cards. In the past year or so I’ve started weaving wedding presents, typically a set of towels or napkins. They are always appreciated and I know they’ll get used. Sometimes I design my gift based on items I see in a registry, but I also love weaving projects from Handwoven because I know how the towels in question will turn out (no sampling!). I recently wove up the Pure Delight towels (which were true to their name and a pure delight to weave) for a friend’s wedding, and now I’ve got my eye on the Moscow Nights Towels for my cousin-in-law.

Weaving for Colder Weather As much as I’m happy to bask in the sun, I love weaving for the cold (and yes, it does legitimately get cold down here). Scarves and shawls have long been my poisons of choice (especially ones woven in soft alpaca), but I’ve recently fallen in absolute love with a few of the projects in the Sara Goldenberg's book Simple Woven Garments. Sara’s simply titled "Hoodie" is gorgeous and so cleverly designed--Minimal sewing! Not too much cutting! It looks like something my hip cousins back East would wear!--all while being completely wearable. I think I’ll have to give it a go. There are lots of other gorgeous projects in the book, but that one in particular is calling my name at the moment.

Summer is probably my favorite season. It’s a season of hot days (and I do love the heat), fabulous fruits (peaches just don’t taste right in January), and new adventures in weaving. Of course, whatever the season, I can always find a reason to spend some time at my loom.

Happy Weaving! Christina