Finger-Manipulated Lace, aka MAGIC

Here is the beginning of my series of hand towels, using Leno, Mexican Lace and Brook's Bouquet. I'm using 8/2 Homestead Cotton from Halcyon, because I thought it would show the lace well, and they would work well as hand towels. 360 ends, 24 epi, 12 yards of warp, and off I go! It is so fun watching the lace appear at the end of a somewhat tedious and uncomfortable picking of threads all the way across the row. I should probably find a better chair height, other than my weaving stool, but switching chairs every row would be a bit cumbersome.

Below is the first towel's edge, including 1 1/2" for hem, the lace the hem stitches to, and the border.

The border is 5 passes in one shed, 1/1 leno, 2 rows tabby, 2/2 leno, 2 rows tabby, 1/1 leno and 5 more passes in one shed. My

left selvedges are very good, my right are not. In fact, they get worse at the end of this towel! When I noticed it, I started concentrating on them and they got much better.

At the right, you see the technique

for picking up the threads. You hold the

shed open, hold the top layer of threads to the left and pick up one or two threads from the bottom, depending on which lace you're doing, drop one or two threads from the top, and repeat all the way across the row. Pull the stick towards the twists to set them, set it on edge to widen the shed, pass the shuttle in front of the stick, pull the stick toward the new thread to set it and remove the stick. Beat, beat, beat, change the shed and pass the shuttle through again.

The next towel is Mexican Lace, which is lovely, and if I had the patience to download another picture, I would show you! But I don't! Next week, I'll have that, as well as photos of the Brook's Bouquet, which I am so excited to be able to weave today. I don't care if it snows today! It's my day off and I'm weaving!

Happy weaving to you!

Maggie