Placemats, and China

We’re off to China tomorrow, and I have packed in my suitcase (oh the neuroticism) not one, not two, not three, but FIVE socks’ worth of yarn.  I have been through my packing list a couple of times and am pretty confident that I have not forgotten anything a credit card won’t solve, so I’m basically happy.  Tomorrow at 6:30pm the Super Shuttle comes to take us away…

Anyway, I have had some quality weaving time, so I spent the first part of today weaving up samples.  Here are the first two that I intend to weave, woven up in 5/2 white cotton warp and 16/2 straw-colored linen.  (I dyed the linen myself, by the way.)

(Click on the thumbnail for the larger image – the thumbnails really don’t do them justice.)

I took off and wet-finished the samples earlier this evening, and then (shortly before writing this blog post) took a deep breath and started weaving the placemats!  This will be my first “real” project on Lady Di, and I want to see how well she works.  Thus far I’ve woven one placemat, and am hoping to weave up all six in the first set before having to leave for China.