My Book Is Now Ready for Purchase!

It's a book about weaving design especially for inkle weavers and band weavers. Learn what you need to know about color and design for weaving narrow warp-faced bands.  This book is a feast for the eyes, containing many inspiring, full-page, color photos. 

Take a look at this video for a sneak peek inside! https://www.facebook.com/annie.machale/posts/10218311760173904

In the book I distill color theory into some basic guidelines specifically for band weavers and demonstrate how to get extraordinary while using a simple plain weave. The art is in the warping and the possibilities are endless!

This book is available in a spiral bound 8 1/2 x 11" paperback or an ebook.

It includes:

* Color terminology and color theory basics
* Pattern design basics and advanced tips
* 115 pages
* 105 color illustrations
* 200 interactive pattern charts -Open them using the online program "Inkle Loom Pattern Editor"

The book is divided into three sections:
Section One is a discussion of color theory and band design including my best tips from years of experiments. Get ideas and resources for choosing color combinations.
Section Two illustrates how to create plain weave patterns by breaking it down to the various elements which make up a design. Learn how to to use chains, teeth, stripes, etc. and how to balance them to get pleasing results.
Section Three is a catalog of 200 individual interactive patterns plus tips for turning these into thousands upon thousands more.

Scroll down for a sampling of pages. Click on them to enlarge.

To see pattern samples and get a preview of the way they work interactively, check out this blog post: http://aspinnerweaver.blogspot.com/2018/10/free-interactive-patterns.html

CLICK HERE TO BUY A COPY!

Musical Harmonies and Color Harmonies

A while back I received this enthusiastic message, "I have been searching high and low to find a strap to match one of my guitars. I am so happy to have come across your website! I absolutely love your straps! They are exactly what I’ve been looking for."
(My website is here: www.WeaverGuitarStraps.com)

 "I would love to have one made to match my guitar if you’re interested. The guitar is a 3 tone sunburst Telecaster. It has a few subtle appointments that make it what I consider to be a very beautiful guitar, off white binding and abalone dot inlays on the fretboard."

I can never resist a creative challenge like this. So, what would I make to match this guitar?
Since I LOVE color blending, I started with a design which played off of the color gradation, or "burst" as they call this type of paint job on a guitar. I used 9 colors and loved the progression!

But, it didn't include any of the colors from the abalone, which he really wanted. So, Jason, being very clever, found his way to the "Band Weaving Pattern Editor", my favorite design tool and created his own strap pattern, shown below! Good job! Not enough threads, though.

He and I kept playing with variations on this design until we got one that he liked. 

I sent him some photos of yarn, so he could help choose the colors. Then, magic happened!

He wrote, "When I started looking at a color wheel to help pick the colors for the guitar strap, I realized that it was separated into 12 sections just like the circle of fifths used in music." 

 (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_of_fifths)

"You and I had already discussed some possible colors inspired by the finish adornments on the guitar so I had an idea of some bass notes, or base colors to look for. 

I used the I V vi IV  musical progression and set the C note to line up with orange on the color wheel which gave me:

I - C - Orange

V - G - Yellow

vi - A(min) - Green

IV - F - Purple/Wine red

There was the palette!  I used that as a base when I set up the colors in the pattern editor.  

So what we have represented in the colors is: 

The red, orange, and yellow gradient from the sunburst finish on the guitar body. 

I really liked the first weave you did with the really elaborate gradient, It was beautiful! I wanted to make sure we paid homage to that.

Then we have the green which was matched to the slight tint of green in the pick guard and also one of the colors in the abalone inlays.

There is also a deep purple / wine red which matches the abalone and the darkest shades of the sunburst finish.

Black as a background color.

And finally the off-white from the binding on the guitar.

We checked all of the boxes from the original inspiration!"

So, I wove Jason's design, sent him a photo and it was a hit!

His response, upon receiving the strap,  " It’s awesome!  It looks even better in person!

I am so happy with it!  It matches the guitar beautifully. I’ve attached a picture for you.

Thanks again!  This was a great experience.  You are a master of your craft!"

So then, he made me this color wheel combined with the circle of fifths so I could experiment!!!

"You could find the chords to a song you like and see how they correspond to the colors on the color wheel - or vice versa- You could use the color from a pattern you create and then see how it translates musically.  Bear in mind too that you could shift the color wheel or the circle of fifths in either direction to get different combinations. Like if C lined up with blue instead of red, you could still use the same intervals and get a harmonious color palette.

Depending on ones knowledge of music theory and/ or color theory you could dig kind of deep with this.  You’ll notice that a lot of the same harmonious relationships exist on the color wheel and on the circle of fifths.  

Using this method, any piece of music could be interpreted as color and any instance of color could be represented by sound."

I'd love to  hear from anyone about experiences designing with musical harmonies!
~Annie

Readers' Gallery of Works in Pink

There are a lot of talented people out there who read my blog!
Last week when I asked for photos featuring pink items, I was happy to receive the following photographs. What fun!'

Marieke Kranenburg wove this belt in a combination of plain weave and crossed warp.

She gave me the following link to explain the crossed warp technique as I had not heard of it.
https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/periodicals/wj_08.pdf

Pam Groff  of Wide Sky Ranch sent me this photo of a PINK skein. This is what she told me:
"As an alpaca breeder for the past few years and as a result of having my own white yarn, after much consternation, I faced the challenge of learning how to dye yarn and have not looked back! I simply love the process of researching popular color ways, finding or developing the colors with Gaywool acid dyes, and then the fun application of dyes. It’s simply magical." 

This band was woven by Kathryn Nielsen to hold the detachable pocket. Click the photo to enlarge it and see the lovely detail in the band as well as the hand-embroidered pocket!

Judy Chapman needle felted these little piggies with wool around wire armatures.

Cynthia Loveall sent this photo of the second band she has woven on her inkle loom. She says" I like hot pink, fuschia or magenta but not pastel pinks." This is a sentiment that she and I share. 

Nancy Ayton sent this photo with the following note: "The yarn is a little more rose color in real life, but still pink.  This technique is from Laverne Waddington’s Complementary Warp pick up book, done on the inkle."

This is my dose of pink for the week. I'm working on a custom order and these colors were the customer's choice. 

What's Your Favorite Shade of Pink? Reader Participation Requested! Send Me Your Photos, Please!

Pink is not a color I've ever been especially attracted to. I rarely wear it, and it rarely 

shows up in my weaving. But, lately, I've been thinking more about it.

On a Christmas Day road trip last year, we went to Gallup, New Mexico. It is known as "Heart of Indian Country" because it is on the edge of the Navajo reservation and is home to members of many other tribes as well. It's a great place to shop for Native American art because there is such a high concentration of galleries and trading posts there. I loved looking at all of the sparkling silver jewelry which happens to be one of my favorite things ever. What surprised me though, was how much I loved the paintings. Especially what we saw at Richardson's Trading Post, and especially those by J.C. Black. I loved them all, but settled for one of the smaller ones to bring home. It is very pink! The colors are all rich and beautiful and the patterns in the landscape where patterns shouldn't be just thrilled me! I love patterns! You know this, right?

***Do you use pink in your craft? I'd love to see photos! Send me a photo with a short description. 

 I'm planning a "Readers Gallery" next week here on my blog in honor of Valentine's Day.  

Email me: iweavestraps@gmail.com***

I do have a couple of favorite pieces that I've done in pink. The one below was inspired by the flower on a camping trip. It's woven from linen.

This one was a custom guitar strap. The challenge was to use the colors of the rainbow, replacing red for pink. As weird as this seemed, I always liked the design.

I sell my favorite yarn here in my Etsy shop. Recently, someone asked which pinks I carried.

Since I don't use them myself, I had neglected to buy any pink. 

So, I added a few to my newest order. They are all lovely! 

They arrived today. I'll be adding them to my Etsy shop as well as using them in my own work.

This is one of my favorite color websites to play with. It's a Color Dictionary and Thesaurus! 

There are so many variations on any color and its fun to contemplate them!