…and we have a winner!

By weaving like a maniac, I finished weaving up the second sample tonight, and like it much better.  Here they are side by side:

The right-hand one, with lined-up color changes, has a stiff, stilted feel that (to me, anyway) clashes with the organic flow of the color.  The left-hand one, with a semirandom arrangement of stripes, is much more pleasing to the eye.  Well, my eye, anyway.

The difference in chroma between the left and right samples is not a trick of the light, by the way.  You may recall that I painted part of the warp with “dark” colors (4 tsp dye per cup of water) and the other half with a “medium” shade (2 tsp dye per cup of water).  The left-hand side is the medium shade, the right-hand side the dark shade.  I like the intensity of the dark shades much, much better and plan to use them in the final project.

I have also tested wool and silk wefts.  Tentatively I like the silk weft better, because it has better gloss, feels nicer, and drapes beautifully – but I need to talk to Sharon and get her opinion on what will go best with the pattern.

Off to bed!  Tomorrow morning I need to start prepping samples for my guild program on Thursday (I’m the featured speaker).  I’ll be talking about “The Creative Process” – the first half of my presentation is about the fears that stop people from creating, the second half is about the actual process of creation, generously illustrated with examples from the wedding-dress.  I’ll also be bringing LOTS of samples from my other woven pieces to show my creative process.

So if you’re in the San Francisco/San Jose area, please stop by the Black Sheep guild meeting to say hi!  (Directions can be found here.)