At last I have figured out why I seemed to be accessing--and sometimes posting--to two blogs. There actually were two blogs. Now there is only one, but I wanted to save one of the posts from the 'phantom' so it is out of chronological order and appears under today's date even though it was written on the 16th.
Now that I have recognized what I did it seems obvious, as these things that puzzle us always do. Sorry for the confusion although it was mainly confusion on my part.
Now that is cleared up I can finally get to the loom!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
I am determined to update and refresh the look of my website (http://www.sharonalderman.com/) and to do that signed up for two classes through the Salt Lake Community school: Phtoshop CS3 (which may not last because of low enrollment) and Web Site Design, which met tonight for the first time. We were assigned the creation of blogs and having had a dormant one for quite a long time, I have decided to re-activate it.
The object of this blog is to record my weaving which will help me date work as I make it and share the joys and tribulations with you, Gentle Reader.
Today I finished washing and ironing a dozen cotton towels woven in autumnal--appropriate!--colors. I had finished weaving the last one yesterday, cut the warp from the loom, serged them apart and hemmed them before putting them to soak over night. Today they were washed vigorously by machine in hot water and then ironed dry.
The warp before this one was a creamy white, linen singles (20/1) that I wove in a two block pattern so that warp emphasis and weft emphasis alternated catching the light nicely. There are four of them, the fifth had a law that couldn't be corrected by needle-weaving so it is going into my own collection; its usefulness to me won't be at all affected by the flaw in it but such things never leave home!
Prior to that warp I was trying to figure out a way to use some silk/stainless steel. I hve just 300+ yards of it so there isn't enough to make a very big sample. My best guess is that this yarn, unlike pure silk, won't shrink very much if at all, so I need to capitalize on that quality. It is very fine (from Habu, NYC) but 300 yards is just that: 300 yards. It isn't stiff, so I think I will put it into a finely woven scarf. The more I thought about it and the more I hunted through my yarn stash to find the proper silk to put with it the less it came together but a very fine silk shawl did come out of it, not using the silk/steel at all. I used a very pale 40/2 tussah for the majority of the shawl and a darker tussah (20/2) as outline threads to make squares with three-end huck squares within each at one time or another along its length. It's lovely.
I am determined to update and refresh the look of my website (http://www.sharonalderman.com/) and to do that signed up for two classes through the Salt Lake Community school: Phtoshop CS3 (which may not last because of low enrollment) and Web Site Design, which met tonight for the first time. We were assigned the creation of blogs and having had a dormant one for quite a long time, I have decided to re-activate it.
The object of this blog is to record my weaving which will help me date work as I make it and share the joys and tribulations with you, Gentle Reader.
Today I finished washing and ironing a dozen cotton towels woven in autumnal--appropriate!--colors. I had finished weaving the last one yesterday, cut the warp from the loom, serged them apart and hemmed them before putting them to soak over night. Today they were washed vigorously by machine in hot water and then ironed dry.
The warp before this one was a creamy white, linen singles (20/1) that I wove in a two block pattern so that warp emphasis and weft emphasis alternated catching the light nicely. There are four of them, the fifth had a law that couldn't be corrected by needle-weaving so it is going into my own collection; its usefulness to me won't be at all affected by the flaw in it but such things never leave home!
Prior to that warp I was trying to figure out a way to use some silk/stainless steel. I hve just 300+ yards of it so there isn't enough to make a very big sample. My best guess is that this yarn, unlike pure silk, won't shrink very much if at all, so I need to capitalize on that quality. It is very fine (from Habu, NYC) but 300 yards is just that: 300 yards. It isn't stiff, so I think I will put it into a finely woven scarf. The more I thought about it and the more I hunted through my yarn stash to find the proper silk to put with it the less it came together but a very fine silk shawl did come out of it, not using the silk/steel at all. I used a very pale 40/2 tussah for the majority of the shawl and a darker tussah (20/2) as outline threads to make squares with three-end huck squares within each at one time or another along its length. It's lovely.
Utah Symphony
I had a ticket to the performance of the Utah Symphony tonight. I went early to hear the pre-concert lecture by our new conductor, Thierry Fischer. I had heard him talk before and as then found him articulate and very engaging.
The concert itself was brilliant. The first piece was a very early Stravinsky called "Fireworks" followed by Hilary Hahn playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. If she isn't the best violinist living, she'll do. What a wonderful performance!
After the intermission the orchestra played the entire Firebird ballet music. At the intermission I wouldn't have thought that anything could be better than what we had just heard but this performance was at least as good if not better. It was a great concert and suggests that we are going to have a wonderful season under Fischer's baton. Of course, there will be quite a few guest conductors because his appointment wasn't made until this season was settled.
I have spent most of the day involved with laundry and ironing and here, working on my web design homework. The assignment was a good one because now I have a pretty good idea of what I want my web site to become. And, of course, I keep fiddling with the layout of this blog....
Now to bed so I can be ready for Sunday.
The concert itself was brilliant. The first piece was a very early Stravinsky called "Fireworks" followed by Hilary Hahn playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. If she isn't the best violinist living, she'll do. What a wonderful performance!
After the intermission the orchestra played the entire Firebird ballet music. At the intermission I wouldn't have thought that anything could be better than what we had just heard but this performance was at least as good if not better. It was a great concert and suggests that we are going to have a wonderful season under Fischer's baton. Of course, there will be quite a few guest conductors because his appointment wasn't made until this season was settled.
I have spent most of the day involved with laundry and ironing and here, working on my web design homework. The assignment was a good one because now I have a pretty good idea of what I want my web site to become. And, of course, I keep fiddling with the layout of this blog....
Now to bed so I can be ready for Sunday.
Friday, September 24, 2010
The morning after...
Last night was the second session of my web design class. Wow! We looked at the blogs posted by all the class members and there were some wondeerful things. It was humbling to say the least. What's a simple weaver to do?
I've decided that this class is a 'time sink'; that is, it will absorb all available time and I must weave, do laundry, cook for myself, eat, bathe and sleep as well. As always it is a balancing act.
The weather is perfect these days: sunny, warm--but not hot--days and cool nights. It is likely that if this is all we got I wouldn't like it as much but I'd be willing to give it a try! Ragweed, sagebrush and chenopod (tunbleweed) pollen levels are very high making those of us who sneeze keenly aware of the serpent in Eden.
This morning I have added some photos to the margin of this blog. I am trying to figure out how to alter the background (currently blue) without noticeable success. That is why I am taking a class, after all.
Onward!
I've decided that this class is a 'time sink'; that is, it will absorb all available time and I must weave, do laundry, cook for myself, eat, bathe and sleep as well. As always it is a balancing act.
The weather is perfect these days: sunny, warm--but not hot--days and cool nights. It is likely that if this is all we got I wouldn't like it as much but I'd be willing to give it a try! Ragweed, sagebrush and chenopod (tunbleweed) pollen levels are very high making those of us who sneeze keenly aware of the serpent in Eden.
This morning I have added some photos to the margin of this blog. I am trying to figure out how to alter the background (currently blue) without noticeable success. That is why I am taking a class, after all.
Onward!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
I signed up for two classes run by the Salt Lake Community School: Photoshop CS3 and Web Design. I am determined to update my web site (http://www.sharonalderman.com/) and change it in a number of ways. This class, which met for the first time late today, should do the trick. Hallelujah!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Back to the loom
A new cotton towel warp is on the loom and underway. This one contrasts--as is usually the case--with the one for the just-finished towels. It is light with a ground of natural, creamy white and borders of medium orange edged with blue violet. Within this frame there are narrow stripes of light colors within single warp ends of a gray/white marl. I am enjoying weaving these.
Meanwhile, our anomolous weather continues. In the last week we have had several days with high temperatures in the mid 90s (Farenheit), one day in the high 70s. It is very dry and sometimes windy which fosters wild fires. There are two burning in the state right now although some years they begin as early as July which makes this year luckier than most...but tell that to the families whose homes burned to the ground on Sunday!
I am still working on posting photos. I seem to get closer by tiny increments.
Meanwhile, our anomolous weather continues. In the last week we have had several days with high temperatures in the mid 90s (Farenheit), one day in the high 70s. It is very dry and sometimes windy which fosters wild fires. There are two burning in the state right now although some years they begin as early as July which makes this year luckier than most...but tell that to the families whose homes burned to the ground on Sunday!
I am still working on posting photos. I seem to get closer by tiny increments.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
I set up this blog in December 2006 and more or less forgot about it until today when I logged on to read my arborist's blog. So, there is a long gap.
I am recovering from a broken leg which has slowed my work to a crawl. I am feeling much better now and finally getting weaving again. The hardest thing has been snow removal which--using a cane in one hand--is just about impossible! My very, very busy friend, Teri Jo, has come to shovel several times which surely has given her a special place in Heaven.
I am working today on the third of three fabrics for an upcoming issue of Handwoven magazine. The assignment came to me late in the game so there isn't much time to waste to get it all done, written up and sent. I love designing new cloth so it has been more or less pure joy to have the chance to do it again and be paid--albeit meagerly--for my effort.
Today it is sunny between snow showers. Because Salt Lake City depends on a large amount of snow falling in the mountains for us to have water in the summer, each storm is welcome. They tell us that storms will continue intermittently for the rest of February which is good news.
The new warp is all measured out and ready to put on the loom. I am using white 20/2 silk which is a very manageable size yet fine enough to make a nice, supple cloth. Why do I like working with silk? Let me count the ways.... The yarn is smooth and strong, lustrous if given floats in the cloth, and very supple--all this while being low density so it is quite light, unlike rayon which is often used in place of it. (Big mistake in my opinion.)
Soon I will begin travelling to teach. The first trip takes me to a conference in S. California where I will teach three topics, two for a day each and one for three consecutive days.
Time to beam the gleaming, white warp so I can see if my idea for it works. I think it will!
I am recovering from a broken leg which has slowed my work to a crawl. I am feeling much better now and finally getting weaving again. The hardest thing has been snow removal which--using a cane in one hand--is just about impossible! My very, very busy friend, Teri Jo, has come to shovel several times which surely has given her a special place in Heaven.
I am working today on the third of three fabrics for an upcoming issue of Handwoven magazine. The assignment came to me late in the game so there isn't much time to waste to get it all done, written up and sent. I love designing new cloth so it has been more or less pure joy to have the chance to do it again and be paid--albeit meagerly--for my effort.
Today it is sunny between snow showers. Because Salt Lake City depends on a large amount of snow falling in the mountains for us to have water in the summer, each storm is welcome. They tell us that storms will continue intermittently for the rest of February which is good news.
The new warp is all measured out and ready to put on the loom. I am using white 20/2 silk which is a very manageable size yet fine enough to make a nice, supple cloth. Why do I like working with silk? Let me count the ways.... The yarn is smooth and strong, lustrous if given floats in the cloth, and very supple--all this while being low density so it is quite light, unlike rayon which is often used in place of it. (Big mistake in my opinion.)
Soon I will begin travelling to teach. The first trip takes me to a conference in S. California where I will teach three topics, two for a day each and one for three consecutive days.
Time to beam the gleaming, white warp so I can see if my idea for it works. I think it will!
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