I wrote about my value experiment last week and it paid off in spades just two days later.

I love it when that happens!

I needed to pick up some artwork in Kansas City and was looking at 4 hours of possible weaving time (in the passenger seat, thankfully). I still had all the EPiC yarn laid out, because I’d been meticulously cataloging the values from light to dark. We (my daughter is visiting and loves stuff like this) picked out 5 values for starters: 1 light, 1 dark, and 3 medium.

Once I knew my plan, I needed background and foreground colors, too, so added four more.

Quick check with the camera to confirm I’d covered my bases on the value range and ready to go.

It was a long day  - 2 hours of driving each way. Usually going to Kansas City is a treat, because we can stop at a favorite restaurant and shops in Lawrence on the way home.  But not this time…

I felt bad that it was grueling for my driver husband,  but not a complete waste for me. I got a lot of weaving done!

I started this piece, thinking of incorporating Soumak into it for my online course. (Shameless plug: The Many Faces of Soumak is open for enrollment!). 

Much like the Prairie Colors piece I’d done recently, it was fairly free-form, with just an outline of shapes to go on. I’m enjoying this way of working more and more. This is where it led.

The first (hmmm, what to call it… petal, flower, leaf… pod?) was done with 3 strands of EPiC in all-over Soumak with no weft in between. The second one has a row of Soumak Dots - which I’ve discovered are really fun to do!  I can see lots of possibilities in these dots.

The foreground and background are 5 strands of EPiC and the sett is 8 EPI warped with 12/6 Cotton Seine Twine (in case you’re interested).

Do you use the Soumak technique in your weavings?

I’d love to see what you’ve done!