Poppy Overshot Draft

Mystery Red Flower Overshot

Photo from The National Museum of Australia.   This weaving is attributed to Effie Kyprios.

 

Mystery Red Coverlet

I saw this coverlet on eBay, but could not identify the draft.  The seller said it was whig rose, which I knew was not accurate.   The price on it was quite expensive for a vintage revival (not antique) coverlet, so I thought I could make one for much less -- But due to the trouble in finding the draft, I put in an offer just so I could study it and maybe try to work out the draft.  We'll see if the seller goes for it ...

I was so enthralled by this overshot pattern, that I poured through all my overshot / coverlet reference books in search of the draft:

• The Coverlet Book Early American Handwoven Coverlets 2 Volume Set by Helene Bress
• Frances L. Goodrich’s Coverlet and Counterpane Drafts
• Frances L. Goodrich's Brown Book of Weaving Drafts  
• American Woven Coverlets by Carol Strickler
• A Handweaver's Pattern Book by Maguerite Davison [The Green Book]
• The Handweaver's Pattern Directory by Anne Dixon

But to no avail!  I didn't find anything that matched the flower motif instead of wheels.

I used a Google Image search to see if it turned up anywhere else on the internet, and yes, there was a museum in Australia that had an "Effie Coverlet" made by a young Greek woman in the 1940s.  She was only 17 when she made it.  

It's also listed in the out-of-print book, Keep Me Warm One Night (p.175). It's listed as coming from Greece (See the Effie note above).   Not all overshot hails from America!

I finally resorted to crowd-sourcing and posted it to a few Facebook weaving groups.  At first, I got a fair number of responses--People wanted to help, but most answers were not that useful, leading to similar, but not the draft I was looking for.  Some were not even close.  Some people suggested that I draft it out myself -- Unfortunately, I don't have those skills--yet.    

Someone even suggested this book -- which is now on my wish list as yet another reference book for weaving drafts.   ;-)

By the next morning, Bill Crawford and Robyn Spady (A Few of My Favorite Things blog) identified this pattern as "Poppy" on the 4-Shaft Weaving Facebook group.  Mystery Solved!

Bill Crawford said that he'd designed Poppy for Veteran's Day, and made a table runner out of it.

Robyn Spady and Bill Crawford provided versions of the draft above. 

This is on my list to make a coverlet someday!  I might need to put in a new order for yarn -- Maritime Fibers have singles dyed in deep and luscious colors.  Maybe red or dark maroon or even light blue?

2B D11 : Color Storyboard - Poppy Dream & Darling Buds of May

The lesson today was about creating a color swatch storyboard--with a new method, different from the one Kim showed us last year in Beyond Layers.  

 I'm trying out a new camera.  I've become enamored of the new Olympus OMD-EM5, so we're trying it out for the weekend.  I want to test it out before I make the investment.   This is taken with the kit lens set to macro.  You can even see a little lake fly at the top of the sun-lit poppy.  

Not bad, huh?

Layer by Layer Processing :

Layer 1 : Background Image   (This image is essentially straight out of the camera.)

Layer 2 :  Extend canvas with black background so colors POP!

Layer 3 : Copy Background image;  Screen blend mode 24% opacity.

Layer 4 : Dark Green Color Sample

Layer 5 : Medium Green Color Sample

Layer 6 : Light Green Color Sample

Layer 7 : Dark Orange Color Sample

Layer 8 : Orange Color Sample

Layer 9 : Golden Yellow Color Sample

Layer 10 : Text - Quote in Apple Chancery Font with Clive Barker Font for attribution; Normal 74%

Layer 11 : Text - Poppy Dream Title; Normal 74%

This is version number 1.  I honestly gave it the old-college-try, but the swatches looked flat and artificial next to the vibrant pink and white apple blossoms.  In the end, I decided to let the petals speak for themselves.    The quote is classic Shakespeare in a font to match, paired with Zapfino. 

This could also be another one for my "gutter flowers" series.  They were on the  sidewalk outside the front door last month.   Beautiful textured debris--oh so fleeting.  The poppies are considered weeds, too.