If spring refuses to come and we have no garden to speak of, we can still have veggies!
These please me no end. They were fiddly to weave but never boring.
I did two with eggplants.
Then I ran out of purple thread and, since I am no fan of purple, I didn’t want to buy more, so I wove two towels without aubergine (did you know I’m bi-lingual?)
And then, because I was running out of warp, I wove a table topper or short runner–all carrots, all the time! On this, the veggie design is on both ends.
And of course, these towels needed their own special hanging tabs.
This project was good for me–kind of a stretch, something new, and perfect for the season. And now we have fresh veggies!
** Credits and details: The original pattern for these towels was in the May/June 2000 issue of Handwoven magazine, the only issue from that year that I don’t have. I used Amanda Cutler’s variation from her blog, Weave-Away–thanks, Amanda!
The warp and the tabby weft is 8/2 unmercerized cotton. The veggies are done in 3/2 mercerized cotton. The pattern takes 8 shafts and 10 treadles.
Love Those "Hands at Home" 
How pretty they are! It’s been a cold spring in Maine, too, and my worry is that the heat will come crashing down on us rather than warm up gradually, the way it usually does. But, weird is the new normal, and we must get used to such things.
Thanks, Laurie!
I absolutely love these! All those little veggies look exquisite.
I can’t get over the fact that there is something called a tabby weft. 😺
Hooray for being bilingual as ‘aubergine’ sounds so much better than ‘eggplant’.
Thank you! I love them, too. And if you learned about tabby weft, sleying, heddles, and dents, you could be bi-lingual, too, in weaving jargon!
Ahhh, another way to enjoy veggies! Kerry ,the towels are delightful!
Thanks, Deb–they were fun to make!
Kerry, once again blown away by your weaving. These towels are so adorable and a welcome to any kitchen.
Thanks, Sharon! The towels do make me smile. Soon, I want to try the same technique, with flowers!
You know, those two rows above the eggplant/aubergine look like gardening tools: a trowel and a garden fork. Not just vegies, but something to dig them out with!
I like the way you think! I need to do some graphing, to see what else is possible with this approach.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Love the finished product! What are those white ones? Kohlrabi?
Thanks, Susan! I think they’re meant to be green onions but kohlrabi works!
And when you do more (because Kate’s comment about gardening tools will inspire you), Texas A & M has created maroon carrots. Around here, the grocery stores sell bags of multi-colored carrots — the maroon ones, plain old orange, and then the pale parsnips. The maroon ones are only maroon on the outside — when you slice them they have pale insides with pale orange centers. I think it would be cute to score them vertically before slicing, and then they would look like little flowers.
I’ve seen red carrots and I think there are yellow ones, too? And we could have fantasy carrots in blue and purple!
What fun! I love these.
Thanks, Margaret–they were fun to make and will be fun to have around–I’ll keep a couple for myself!
Oh I love those!
Thanks, Kathy–they make me smile!
What fun! I am so impressed by these, they are amazing! And the matching ribbon! Wow, you are a rock star!
Where you live bilingualism would be helpful, I think. I confess I like the back even more than the front.
The back is really cool, isn’t it? I thought it would be a problem because there are longish thread floats but it’s fine and such a neat look.
They are terrific!!!!! Thank you for weaving them and thank you for sharing them with all of us.
Thanks, Will–I’ve waited to weave these for a long time but wasn’t sure my skills were up to the task!
I’m just amazed by your work. Don’t understand any thing in that last paragraph, but gee whiz, I’m impressed by the outcome.
Yeah, the last paragraph is just there for weaving nerds, like me! As long as you like the finished product, I’m happy!
All this creativity and bi-lingual as well, there’s no end to your talent! Those towels are works of art and I hope you will use them yourself and enjoy your veggies every day ❤
Thanks, Pauline–they stretched my skills a little and I am really happy with how they turned out. I ended up with 4 towels and the carrot table square–I’ll definitely keep and use some.
You made me laugh. I love that you are bilingual as well as so very creative. I have to admit that I love the aubergine in there but hey are all beautiful and better than anything you could find anywhere.
I know–I kind of missed the eggplant when I stopped weaving it, even if it is purple. I don’t know what my problem with purple is!
You learn to love it when you get old. 😉 Not a color I wear often but more now that I’m old. It kind of says “I don’t give a darn”. 🙂
What a cheerful and optimistic design superbly executed. This would make me happy to look at every day.
That’s how I feel about them–they make me smile. A lot of what I weave is pretty to me but fairly straightforward. These stand out as different from all the rest.
Every morning I get up, make coffee, check the outside temperature, and raise the thermostat on the furnace. May 2, and it was 38 this morning. I am tired of being cold and being unable to work outside so thank you for showing us these gorgeous towels. They are amazing. I cannot for the life of me figure out how you do it, but I bow to your skills. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I may need to weave flowers next, since nature isn’t providing us with any! Re: understanding what I do–there’s a logic to weaving that, once you understand a few basics, the mysteries reveal themselves.
They’re wonderful, love them!
Thanks, Margaret!
Oh, these are heavenly! How talented you are, Kerry!
Aren’t they cute?! And, I say this every time–it isn’t talent. It’s practice and persistence!
These are gorgeous! They have such a bright spring and summery feel to them. I can’t imagine anyone not admiring them with a lovely smile on their face! 🙂
I have one of them hanging on the handle for the oven and I grin every time I see it!
Wonderful! And so colorful. Do enjoy them in this difficult time of year. ;-D
I took a class in that sort of weaving/drafting. I can’t remember the woman’s name but she made all sorts of special textiles – napkins with birthday cakes on them and beautiful Christmas ones as well. For the life of me, I don’t remember why I didn’t make some of my own as they were so delightful. Maybe we moved! That often interrupted my train of thought.
You’ve moved so often, I can see how that would get in the way. And this sort of project takes focus and is slow-going–I’ll do something similar again but not right now!
what a terrific design!
Isn’t it fun? I’ve wanted to make these towels for a long time!
I actually like that the row of purple aubergines stands out!
Truthfully, I do, too. And if I make the towels again, I will break down and buy more purple thread, just for the aubergines.
Lovin’ the weaving! So pretty Kerry!
Thanks, Nanette! The towels were such fun to weave!
These weavings are wonderfully awesome! Not a fan of purple myself, but I must admit I like that piece. I scrolled back up to take a look see after reading Kate’s comment. What a good eye. 🙂
I agree–the purple does add a splash of color that looks really good with the other colors. I’ll make an effort to include the aubergines next time!
Wow, I’m impressed. The towels are beautiful. You are such a skilled weaver.
Thanks, Sheryl–it took me a while to work up the nerve to try these. And I’m glad I did!
Gorgeous, Kerry. I love that the pattern looks geometric from a distance, and then you get the veggie detail as you home in. 🙂
Thanks, Liz. Yes, at first you just think it’s pretty rows of bright color and then it dawns on you what they depict.
wonderful weaving/patterns/towels, the colours are very cheerful for a cool Spring. I have been busy in my garden weeding, mowing and now even watering, everything is blooming at once.
Thanks, Jean! They were a different weaving approach for me. I can’t believe you’re having to water already–the ground is SO saturated here!
I love them, Kerry! Vegetables are such a good choice as many of them have such distinctive shapes.
Thanks, Clare! That’s true, and the shapes are balanced on left and right–that’s critical for this sort of weaving.
They’re fabulous Kerry, I think they’d bring a little bit of joy to any kitchen.
Thanks, Andrea–I have one hanging on the oven handle right now, where I can see it from where I am sitting . . . and it does bring me joy!
I’m delighted, too, and I had nothing to do with these gorgeous weaves. They do appeal to my garden sensibilities. Here we had summer like weather in April and now spring like weather in May. It’s upside down for sure. No snow though, so I’m not complaining. I do wander how the garden will adapt. Nicely done, Kerry.
Thanks, Alys. I don’t garden veggies–too lazy–just flowers, so it’s kind of fun to grow my veggies in fabric instead!
Well then, there you go!
beautiful. Thanks for sharing
So cool!
So cool! I’m diggin’ those veg…at least the root veg 😉
Ha! Thanks, Benjamin!
Amazing!!!!!
Thanks! They were fun to make!