It's the Perspective

 

I meant to crop the yellow out of this photo and forgot 

And this was what I was 'hiding' when I so artfully posed the towel

Because I wove that entire warp with yet another threading error in it.  I swear that at times they crouch to hide.

Now that threading error isn't going to cause any sort of grief, the towels will still dry dishes.  And to be honest (if not a little boastful) they turned out really nicely.  I'm pleased with them.  And relieved, because frankly I've not done this particular combination before and wasn't entirely sure I'd chosen the right density.  

The warp is unmercerized 2/16 cotton at 36 epi, the weft is mercerized 2/20 cotton at around 36 ppi (around 30 for the towels below).  I've done the 2/20 as both warp and weft, and hadn't been entirely pleased with the results.  The fine mercerized cotton gets saturated very quickly, which is fine, but then once the cloth is saturated it can't really soak up more water, so then they are too wet to use effectively.

However, the slightly thicker unmercerized cotton seems to feel less 'wet' for longer.  Would a mixture of one for warp, one for weft actually entice the best qualities of both to come forward?  Or not.

Figuring that they were, after all, 'just' tea towels, I completed the warp and I have to say - I am quite pleased with how they felt coming out of the dryer.

This warp was my tentative attempt at using the two different yarns in one cloth for tea towels.  Before I began, I had two other yarns that needed using up and they turned out quite nicely as well.  

These in particular, are much better than I hoped for and will make lovely hand towels (or small bath towels if you don't want huge ones).

These towels are more subtle, and I wasn't sure how the cotton/linen ply would feel once wet finished, but I have to say, they feel lovely.  I wondered if the beige of the linen would make the cloth look 'dirty' but instead it looks like 'oatmeal' in terms of colour, the cloth has a wonderful hand, and they should be very thirsty.

I actually liked these enough I'm tempted to buy more of the cotton/linen ply yarn.  But here I must stop and rein myself in - because I've got pounds and pounds of the 2/20 merc. cotton to weave up and I'm determined to do that before I buy in more of anything.

But this is one combination I am going to remember.  I hope.