Deedle

Here's my 'friend' Deedle.  I've woven miles of fabric on her.  It is on Deedle that I weave my "Desert Daze" yardage which is in a 4-Harness Shadow Weave.  $29/yd. Inspired by the colors I see outside my studio windows in my high mountain desert home, I am currently on my seventh 70 yard warp of Desert Daze fabric with no sign on stopping...I never get tired of it!

I get a versatile fabric from Deedle as it can be used for making jackets, skirts, hand towels for your guest room, table runners, pillow covers and one buyer even made a simple dress that showed off the pattern and color variation which changes from the right selvedge to the left selvedge.  As can be seen by the photo of my own jacket below, I have the earth on my right sleeve and the sky on my left, just as it is as I am weaving the cloth.  The fiber content is always based in cotton, but I can weave in rayon, bamboo, nylon/mix, silk, linen or any combination of those wonderful fibers.  The resulting cloth can be quite heavy or quite light, depending on the weft that I weave in.

As I sit at Deedle and weave, I enjoy the birds outside playing or bathing in their bird baths or at the many feeders that I have hanging around.  No wonder I've come up with such a variety of colors.

I decided to make a jacket for myself just for fun, but also to show that this fabric, as well as any handwoven fabric, can be sewn just like any commercial fabric.  For those not certain about their skills or sewing experience, I also make "This-N-Thats", which are smaller pieces of finished yardage less than a yard long, to make something without much expenditure.  Don't be afraid! GO for it!!!

I made this jacket from a pattern that I created myself that custom fits me, but any jacket with a simple line and shape will do!  Like I've been telling people in my booth, "Just lay this fabric down, put your pattern on it, cut it and SEW!"  It was just a joy and now, when I'm not wearing it, it hangs in my booth to show that if I can do it, anyone can do it!!!

The last photo is a closeup to show one of the many patterns I can put into the marvelous warp.  Some of the patterns are like water over rocks, while other remind me to fire on the mountain.