Weaving a Log Cabin

I'm a relatively new weaver. . . well, nearly four years now, but in that time, I've not done a lot. There are so many different fibery things to do & try, and I want to try it all. What can I say, other than I get side-tracked a lot. (I consider this a *good* thing, because I know that I'll never be bored.) In any case, in an effort to learn in a more systematic manner, I joined a weaving study group. We're doing plain weave for the next few months (over one thread, under one thread, etc.). I thought that I'd like to do a log cabin design. Although it's plain weave, some interesting things happen because when you warp the loom, you alternate light & dark threads, then periodically reverse to dark & light threads. The weaving is done the same way, alternating light & dark, then changing to dark & light at intervals.

I decided my strips (or changes in light/dark>dark/light sequence) should be about 1" wide. I'm using 8/2 unmercerized cotton sett at 20 ends per inch. I did a small on-loom design change resulting in a godawful tangle which, fortunately, we were able to sort through. Thank goodness that my hubby had the day off. He was able to be my second set of hands. Plus, he puts up with my foibles and helps make sense of what at times looks like utter chaos.

So what the piece looks like now is rectangles of stripes which alternate from vertical to horizontal. Ideally, they would have been squares. (Sigh) Despite the fact that I'm *smooshing the bejeebers* out of the weft in an effort to achieve 20 picks per inch, it's just not happening. Next time, perhaps I'll try a sett of 18 epi for the warp. When this is finished, it will be kitchen towels, six of them, if my arithmetic is correct. :-)