Half Done

About 20 years ago I was asked to weave some curtains for a lodge at the top of Mount LeConte. What a huge honor! I was replacing curtains that had been there for many years, woven by someone who obviously had been in the mountains a long time, a master weaver. They were pretty, nothing too intricate but still nice. However, the curtains were falling apart after being up there so long. I was told how long to make them and given a scrap of the old and an idea of how they wanted them to look. So, I wove curtains. Thinking of the rugged area and the way the cabins looked, I chose carpet warp for the fabric. Carpet warp is pretty indestructible and I knew they'd hold up quite well. So that's what I used.

Most of what I wove looked like this:

 

 However, there were bands of color near the bottom of the panels.

 A wide strip, then a narrower one.

 Hmm, which side should I use for the front? The picture above or the one that you see as it winds down onto the cloth beam? Jury's out on that one....

There's another band near the top of each panel that I forgot to take a picture of.
So I wove the curtains. Each year they would call and ask for a few more until the dining room and the office had curtains as well as the cabins. The last time I wove was in 2002. I thought I was done. However, in December I got a call. Some of those original curtains are 20 years old and the kerosene heaters and just the use have made them look a bit sad. Each year they take the curtains down and bring them back down the mountain (probably on the llamas that bring supplies up a couple of times a week) and wash them before they are air lifted in March for the next season.
So, I pulled out my records and figured out my warps. I have to weave for 10 windows. That's 20 panels. I can warp enough on my warping board to do 10 panels so that's what I did. I've got the first warp woven and the second one was wound onto the loom yesterday. Today I'll thread it and begin to weave. I hope to get it done in the next week or so.
I have til the end of February to get them done, but I'm heading north soon for a couple of weeks. I want to get the weaving done before that.
That's what my weaving week looked like....and this coming one as well!!
Not always an exciting pattern or color to look at but knowing that they'll spruce up the cabins up there and make the hikers feel cozy in their cabins each night, especially after the long, tiring hike up there, is inspiration for me to keep weaving them!
Until next week, keep weaving!!
Carol