When the weather turns gray and drizzly, I find myself compensating for the dull colors around me. I dress in extra bright colors, play unapologetically happy music, and, if I’m lucky enough to spend time weaving, I prefer to work on something vibrant and happy. Today as I write, the world is gray and rainy, so I can’t help but wish I had the time to weave up Elisabeth Hill’s smile-inducing Grellow and Yay scarf from the Loom Theory: Four-Shaft Scarf Collection 2019.
Elisabeth’s scarf is so very simple: plain weave with areas of warp floats wherein the warp has also been crammed. The plain weave is a neutral shade of off-white, Mushroom to be precise, while the warp floats are the sunniest, happiest shades of yellow with just a hint of orange on the edges. It’s hard to look at it and not smile—it simply radiates joy.
To create the beautiful, plumpy texture of her warp floats, Elisabeth crammed her dents with 3 different colors of Jagger Spun Zephyr.
It’s not just the colors that make me smile but the wonderful texture of the piece. I can just imagine how wonderful the plumpy warp floats (Elisabeth refers to them as “ponytails”) would feel to weave and wear. Because the scarf is woven in Jagger Spun Zephyr, a delicious blend of merino and silk, each of those warp floats feels like a tiny little pillow. I can imagine wearing it on the grayest of days and smiling as I’m surrounded by so much sunshine.
Of course, I live in southern New Mexico, and while we do have our share of rainy days, the sun shines more often than not, even when it’s scarf weather. So instead perhaps, I’ll weave Elisabeth’s scarf in Pewter as the base with shades of blue—Aegean Blue, Ice Blue, with a hint of Blueberry—for the floats to remind me of those gray, rainy days that happen so rarely down here. With Elisabeth’s elegant, simple design I can imagine even more palettes possible: Aegean Blue with floats of White or Pewter with Turqouise and Teal. Just thinking about it fills me with joy even if the weather outside is less than joyful.
Happy Weaving,
Christina
PS: You can find Elisabeth’s design as well as 5 other fabulous 4-shaft scarf patterns in our Loom Theory: Four-Shaft Scarf Collection 2019 eBook, and you can read about the other designs here.