Twill I? Or Twon't I?

GUILD NOTE: Guild will meet at Erin's house Saturday January 26, from 11am until whenever. Bring your loom if it travels or your wheel if it travels. You can bring both, but really? Gonna do both? Bring show and tell - got a project you are particularly happy with? Proud of? Wanna show off? Bring it! Coffee, tea, water available. Not planning snacks but you are welcome to bring something if you are so inclined. Very informal at this point in our guild life, but on that day we will focus on learning to weave. Hopefully more hands on than not, because first things first: measure a warp. You'll be shocked at how much time some of these things take. Don't worry if you don't have yarn, or you don't think you have the right yarn. The guild has plenty and it will share.

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I was reading a post on Weaving Today about twill and how the writer always imagines she'll do a huck lace or a bronson lace as her next project, but always finds just one more amazing twill pattern that is calling her name.

I can appreciate this.

I sought high and low for this one book of twill patterns. Set aside for a moment that I'm not content to merely search and acquire twill patterns online and that I must have a book. I was searching for this book which it turns out is out of print. I searched eBay. I search Amazon. I searched LibraryThing. For a year I looked for a copy of this book that wasn't more than $75. Because, let's face it, scarcity increases value. I emailed the editor of the book. She had no copies, and hoped the publisher would someday decide to do another printing. Finally Kerry said, well, have you contact the publisher?

Me? Email a publisher? Right, my email is going to go into some generic customer service email box and be lost forever. But a few weeks after she suggested it I thought, well, what have I got to lose?

It didn't get lost. It found a human who hunted through the office and found ONE copy of this book in a box under someone's desk. It's probably the last remaining unsold copy of this book in the world. And it had a bent corner so she charged a discounted rate and threw in free shipping.

That's how much I appreciate the siren song of twill.

I want to do every pattern in the book. All of them right now. Immediately. But dang, I only have three looms. Oh wait. I have three looms. Hehehe. Could this be my personal weaving challenge for 2013? Work my way through Twill Thrills on three looms? Two are eight shaft, one is four shaft, and there are only a couple of projects in the book requiring more than eight shafts. 36 projects. Uh. Maybe just chapter 1 in 2013. That's half the book and I have to time balance with band, flute choir, knitting, and sewing. And work.

Project 1: Blue Tick Hound. 4 Shafts. Adorable. 2/2 Twill. It wants a 16" weaving width, which means either Bam Bam or Minerva. Dot isn't wide enough (she's the 10" table loom). I don't have to make the stuffed toy but it would be fun to sew on my own handmade fabric. And It would make a nice gift for a certain little one in Maine.

The color in the photo SHOULD be blue and white, not blue and pink-ish. Except for that little doggie bed, which is mauve.


Happy New Year and Happy Weaving!
Erin