I know I refer to photos below but the gremlins are preventing me from posting them here, alas. When I work that out, I will add them. Promise.
I know, I know, it has been some time since I posted here. I haven't been idle, though.
I got back last week from teaching in Hartford, CT for a wonderful group of weavers at the Hartford Artisans' Weaving Center. I have never seen so many looms in one place and there was a storage area with more of them which I did not see. Wow.
I have been creating binders for some round robin workshops, and have boxed up those I am taking to Omaha, NE on Thursday. I have developed a new workshop on profile drafting that is also a round robin and worked out the drafts and instructions for that one. I will present it in late October in Albuquerque. The Omaha weavers selected the workshop on structures to create dots. The workshop in Hartford was partially that, and partially structures for stripes.
It took me a while to figure out how to import a full draft into my word processing program and then to design the pages to my satisfaction so that I could print them.
I realize that I have not posted photos of the radio grille cloth. I wove one whole version of it then decided it wasn't just right (too light and the warp/weft balance was off) so I bought more thread and did it all over again. The darker fabric here is the one that I sent:
The last time I posted here I showed hemp towels and the start of a very fine singles linen warp. I sett the latter much too close and found that the threads abraded each other to pieces so that they turned to fuzz and then broke. What to do!
I re-calculated the sett for what would be very close to plain weave which made the warp much wider than I usually make towels. Then a suggestion from a friend (thanks, Rita!) clicked. I will weave square towels of this fine, natural linen. They could also serve as formal sized napkins and could be used either way or both ways. It was a brilliant suggestion and got me moving back to the loom where I double-checked every thread to be sure that the broken ones were whole and in place and that the new sleying was correct. Now the warp is ready for the shuttle.
Today, though I have spent most of my time sorting and packing examples for the workshop I am giving in Omaha. I like to pack my "teaching bag" so that the first fabric piece is on top, the next one under it and so on. And now that part is done. Tomorrow: packing clothing.
Meanwhile, I needed fresh flowers in the house and couldn't decide between nasturtiums and caryopteris, so I made bouquets of both.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
It's nasturtium time!
I know there are folks who look down there noses at nasturtiums, call them "nasties" and consider them beneath consideration, but I love them. I love their bright colors, their circular leaves with veins radiating out from near there centers and their radish-like flavor when I put them in salads.
Once I ate the centerpiece at a place where all the fruits and vegetables were cooked to mush. I was longing so much for fresh, raw food! (Remember that, Jean?)
These are on my table in one of my favorite vases, one I bought in the summer of 1964 at a supermarket in Albuquerque and have cherished all this time. It's a deep, deep cobalt blue and with all these red oranges, oranges, yellow oranges, yellows and pale yellows, the combination just sings to me. If you look closely you will see the edges of the washed and ironed second batch of hemp towels:
Click on the photo to see them more closely.
In between I worked on replicating the grille cloth for a 1930 radio for a gentleman in North Carolina. The first time out, I wasn't satisfied with the result and so I bought more warp and did it all again. The second time I hit it right on. The warp was tiny black threads and the weft a gold colored embroidery machine thread in rayon. I am pretty sure that I duplicated not only the look of the original (minus the dirt and holes) but also the fiber content.
Today I will sley a warp for some fine linen towels woven of a singles linen. It is a wet spun (the smoothest and most refined) and about size 20/1. The honey color is the natural hue. I have threaded this warp similarly to the second hemp warp, a point threading with borders at both selvedges and at each end but of course the pattern will be different. It's such a versatile threading!
I picked 5 green beans from my vegetable garden the night before last and had them steamed and on my plate wihin 10 minutes. They were delicious! I love green beans and also love to look at the 6 foot green tepees they make as they grow up the bamboo stakes I put in a circle and joined at the top when they were starting to grow well. Except for the weeds, I love everything about my vegetable garden.
It's still hot which doesn't delight me but the tomatoes and squash plants adore it so I am glad some of us are happy!
Once I ate the centerpiece at a place where all the fruits and vegetables were cooked to mush. I was longing so much for fresh, raw food! (Remember that, Jean?)
These are on my table in one of my favorite vases, one I bought in the summer of 1964 at a supermarket in Albuquerque and have cherished all this time. It's a deep, deep cobalt blue and with all these red oranges, oranges, yellow oranges, yellows and pale yellows, the combination just sings to me. If you look closely you will see the edges of the washed and ironed second batch of hemp towels:
The are just a few left from this batch. If you think you would like to own one, click below and send me a message to that effect.
Here is a photo showing the patterns I still have:
In between I worked on replicating the grille cloth for a 1930 radio for a gentleman in North Carolina. The first time out, I wasn't satisfied with the result and so I bought more warp and did it all again. The second time I hit it right on. The warp was tiny black threads and the weft a gold colored embroidery machine thread in rayon. I am pretty sure that I duplicated not only the look of the original (minus the dirt and holes) but also the fiber content.
Today I will sley a warp for some fine linen towels woven of a singles linen. It is a wet spun (the smoothest and most refined) and about size 20/1. The honey color is the natural hue. I have threaded this warp similarly to the second hemp warp, a point threading with borders at both selvedges and at each end but of course the pattern will be different. It's such a versatile threading!
I picked 5 green beans from my vegetable garden the night before last and had them steamed and on my plate wihin 10 minutes. They were delicious! I love green beans and also love to look at the 6 foot green tepees they make as they grow up the bamboo stakes I put in a circle and joined at the top when they were starting to grow well. Except for the weeds, I love everything about my vegetable garden.
It's still hot which doesn't delight me but the tomatoes and squash plants adore it so I am glad some of us are happy!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Still very hot and very dry
It has continued to be very hot here, hotter than normal, and very dry. Most of Utah is going up in flames. Besides being hot with very low humidity (8 to 10%) we are experiencing brisk winds. All in all, it is a firefighters worst nightmare.
I live in the city and am pretty safe but the trees, plants, animals and structures that have been lost are many. So far only two human deaths have been reported, but that's two too many.
Meanwhile I have been keeping the lawn mowed, the gardens watered, picking raspberries and making jam:
It makes sense to stay inside, out of the sun and heat, when possible and of course, I have done that, too. The new hemp warp is well under way. Here is the fifth towel (third pattern):
And of course no matter where I go, I am accompanied by my sweet companion, Bob:
I am eager to begin working on the reproduction of the radio grille cloth, but have to clear the loom first. The threads for this cloth are all very small and will be a challenge. I know I can do it, though.
I live in the city and am pretty safe but the trees, plants, animals and structures that have been lost are many. So far only two human deaths have been reported, but that's two too many.
Meanwhile I have been keeping the lawn mowed, the gardens watered, picking raspberries and making jam:
I am eager to begin working on the reproduction of the radio grille cloth, but have to clear the loom first. The threads for this cloth are all very small and will be a challenge. I know I can do it, though.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Busy days
I've been working steadily and have things to show for it. First, the hemp towels are woven, finished and ready to go to good homes. I will keep one of them but that leaves six. Here they are:
I am so pleased with the hemp yarn that I have beamed and nearly finished threading a second warp of towels. Instead of threading a twill block pattern, I am threading the new ones into a fancy pattern, using 16 shafts. You'll see them later.
Raspberry season is on here. That means that every other day I need to pick raspberries and then make jam. Yesterday I picked for several hours and made several batches. The temperature got to 101 (Farenheit) which meant it wasn't pure joy picking them. The humidity was just 5% and it was windy, to boot, which helped me a little bit but made the work of firefighters who are battling wild fires south and a little west of here very difficult.
There is something very satisfying about looking at jars of richly colored jam lined up on the table:
The entire picture, then, makes me feel as though I have accomplished a lot, even with the heat we are experiencing:
It's summer as the ripening raspberries attest, and I have a bouquet of Shasta daisies, larkspur and achillea (a variety called Moonglow) for my kitchen table. None of the flowers are fragrant, which is too bad, but they are a treat to my eyes, nonetheless.
I hope to finish threading the towels tomorrow and also go shopping for the tiny threads I am going to weave into grille cloth for a 1930 radio for a man who restores them. The threads are tiny, black in the warp direction, and sett quite closely. Finding the coppery-looking threads that run in the weft direction may be challenging, but what's life without challenges?
(Boring, I suspect.)
Raspberry season is on here. That means that every other day I need to pick raspberries and then make jam. Yesterday I picked for several hours and made several batches. The temperature got to 101 (Farenheit) which meant it wasn't pure joy picking them. The humidity was just 5% and it was windy, to boot, which helped me a little bit but made the work of firefighters who are battling wild fires south and a little west of here very difficult.
There is something very satisfying about looking at jars of richly colored jam lined up on the table:
I hope to finish threading the towels tomorrow and also go shopping for the tiny threads I am going to weave into grille cloth for a 1930 radio for a man who restores them. The threads are tiny, black in the warp direction, and sett quite closely. Finding the coppery-looking threads that run in the weft direction may be challenging, but what's life without challenges?
(Boring, I suspect.)
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Back Again
Where have I been? Here in Salt Lake City, mainly. How have I been?
As my father would have said "as busy as an ant on a hot rock". Yes, scurrying and getting things done.
When I wrote here last I was headed to the Art Ball at the Springville Museum of Art. It is a formal affair that takes place every year shortly after the annual Spring Salon opens there. I drove down that Saturday evening and mingled with the folks at the Ball and a while after I got there my friend, Lee Benion, also arrived. Lee is a painter (that's sort of like saying Isaac Stern is a violinist) and a dear friend. [She also makes Mom's Stuff a salve that smells of pinyon pine and works wonders. www.momsstuffsalve.com] There was a light buffet and then the awards ceremony. Lee got a cash prize; I got to stand up and be recognized. Still, out of about 1000 entries, 224 were accepted and mine was the only fiber piece. There were a handful of photos, fewer sculptures and just one fiber piece.
I had a student here in my studio which meant finishing something on the loom and dressing it for her use and tidying up after myself. I had been keeping my head down and working hard and tidying was needed.
In between I have been cutting the lawn, weeding, nurturing my vegetable garden, doing laundry, volunteering at the nursing facility, exercising and spending one whole weekend volunteering at a festival in the heart of downtown.
Right now I am waiting to hear whether I have the go ahead on a project reproducing the grille cloth for some radios built in 1930. I have done the analysis of the teeny, tiny black and gold fabrics so I am ready.
I have wound a warp using a fine hemp yarn, the first I have ever purchased. It is 16/2 so is pretty fine and a light tan color. It's nice stuff and I put on enough for six or seven large towels woven in a two block twill. Here is how they look on the loom:
I'm hoping that the pattern shows up a little better in the lower photo. The twill blocks form circles (almost) over and over again across and down the cloth. I am weaving the fourth towel now and really want to see how they look after being washed and ironed well. The warp is sleyed 4/dent but vigorous washing ought to even things out. I believe that they will be very absorbent and perhaps rival the linen towels I have made and use with pleasure daily.
The raspberries are starting to ripen. I had enough for a generous serving over my morning cottage cheese for two days now and took a close look while mowing in the back garden. I might be able to make a jar or two of raspberry jam in the next day or so. Oh, boy!
As my father would have said "as busy as an ant on a hot rock". Yes, scurrying and getting things done.
When I wrote here last I was headed to the Art Ball at the Springville Museum of Art. It is a formal affair that takes place every year shortly after the annual Spring Salon opens there. I drove down that Saturday evening and mingled with the folks at the Ball and a while after I got there my friend, Lee Benion, also arrived. Lee is a painter (that's sort of like saying Isaac Stern is a violinist) and a dear friend. [She also makes Mom's Stuff a salve that smells of pinyon pine and works wonders. www.momsstuffsalve.com] There was a light buffet and then the awards ceremony. Lee got a cash prize; I got to stand up and be recognized. Still, out of about 1000 entries, 224 were accepted and mine was the only fiber piece. There were a handful of photos, fewer sculptures and just one fiber piece.
I had a student here in my studio which meant finishing something on the loom and dressing it for her use and tidying up after myself. I had been keeping my head down and working hard and tidying was needed.
In between I have been cutting the lawn, weeding, nurturing my vegetable garden, doing laundry, volunteering at the nursing facility, exercising and spending one whole weekend volunteering at a festival in the heart of downtown.
Right now I am waiting to hear whether I have the go ahead on a project reproducing the grille cloth for some radios built in 1930. I have done the analysis of the teeny, tiny black and gold fabrics so I am ready.
I have wound a warp using a fine hemp yarn, the first I have ever purchased. It is 16/2 so is pretty fine and a light tan color. It's nice stuff and I put on enough for six or seven large towels woven in a two block twill. Here is how they look on the loom:
The raspberries are starting to ripen. I had enough for a generous serving over my morning cottage cheese for two days now and took a close look while mowing in the back garden. I might be able to make a jar or two of raspberry jam in the next day or so. Oh, boy!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Progress
I have been working on a series of four fabrics--all meant to be worn--that will co-ordinate with each other. The first one had loop mohair squares arranged in a half-drop pattern on a plain weave ground. The next two are woven and finished so that they look like this:
The cloth on the left, a skirt fabric, is woven of 2/20 worsted using a 5 shaft satin. I wish you could touch it because it is smooth, soft with a very nice hand. The fabric on the left, intended for a vest or a jacket, is woven of 2/8 worsted. It's also very soft to the touch.
The fourth fabric of the series, intended for use as a blouse or similar garment is woven of 10/2 cotton with an accent yarn, a blend of cotton, rayon, linen and hemp. You will notice that part of it is checked and part is striped. I had in mind that perhaps the yoke of the blouse could be checked with the remainder striped. Now that is something you could never buy off the rack!
In between weaving I have been working outside, preparing my vegetable garden (tomatoes--four varieties--swiss chard, pattypan squash and straight yellow squash) and mowing the lawn. Last summer and fall I couldn't work much in the garden because of the now-replaced knee so I am having to catch up with work not done then. Little by little...
There was a spot of color in my quiet existence last Saturday. I went to a ball. I had entered pieces in the Springville Art Museum's annual Spring Salon and won a merit award. Now a merit award is pretty modest as awards go but when you consider that a woven piece was up against all kinds of paintings, sculpture and some photos, it isn't bad. The Art Ball is a formal affair--not my natural habitat: I am wearing shorts, tee shirt and sandals as I write!--but I have one dress that qualifies so I suited up and went.
It's an interesting life!
I have been working on a series of four fabrics--all meant to be worn--that will co-ordinate with each other. The first one had loop mohair squares arranged in a half-drop pattern on a plain weave ground. The next two are woven and finished so that they look like this:
The fourth fabric of the series, intended for use as a blouse or similar garment is woven of 10/2 cotton with an accent yarn, a blend of cotton, rayon, linen and hemp. You will notice that part of it is checked and part is striped. I had in mind that perhaps the yoke of the blouse could be checked with the remainder striped. Now that is something you could never buy off the rack!
In between weaving I have been working outside, preparing my vegetable garden (tomatoes--four varieties--swiss chard, pattypan squash and straight yellow squash) and mowing the lawn. Last summer and fall I couldn't work much in the garden because of the now-replaced knee so I am having to catch up with work not done then. Little by little...
There was a spot of color in my quiet existence last Saturday. I went to a ball. I had entered pieces in the Springville Art Museum's annual Spring Salon and won a merit award. Now a merit award is pretty modest as awards go but when you consider that a woven piece was up against all kinds of paintings, sculpture and some photos, it isn't bad. The Art Ball is a formal affair--not my natural habitat: I am wearing shorts, tee shirt and sandals as I write!--but I have one dress that qualifies so I suited up and went.
It's an interesting life!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Back at last
I have not dropped from the face of the earth. I have been weaving and doing the usual things in my life. It turns out there is a long list of the latter to which gardening and lawn mowing have been added. Phew! Anything that gets done at my house is done by me. No exceptions.
The tartan was finished, including inspection, correcting and washing and pressing a couple of weeks ago. The man who commissioned it picked it up Saturday a week ago.
While I was waiting for him to come and waiting, too, for some yarns to arrive I made a silk scarf from 20/2 hand-dyed silk I bought from RedFish Dyeworks. I had purchased it some time ago and it was getting close to Holy Relic Designation--that thing that the longer I keep it the more valuable and untouchable it seems so that I can't bear to weave with it at all at the end. Well, these skeins escaped that fate.
The warp is a shade of blue green and the weft a frank purple. The cloth is iridescent, as I had planned it would be. The colors reverse on the back except for the plain weave field in which the figures appear. I like it a lot.
The yarn I was awaiting arrived and the first cloth from them is well underway. The taupe-y color is worsted wool and the fuschia is a loop mohair. I arranged for the mohair to appear in small squares on the right side of the cloth. The squares are arranged in a half-drop:
Those thigs alone would make me very happy--and they do--but to add to that is the fact that the lily of the valley is in full bloom. My whole front garden is scented by them. (O! Bliss!) A small bouquet is in my kitchen table:
If only you could smell them!
The tartan was finished, including inspection, correcting and washing and pressing a couple of weeks ago. The man who commissioned it picked it up Saturday a week ago.
While I was waiting for him to come and waiting, too, for some yarns to arrive I made a silk scarf from 20/2 hand-dyed silk I bought from RedFish Dyeworks. I had purchased it some time ago and it was getting close to Holy Relic Designation--that thing that the longer I keep it the more valuable and untouchable it seems so that I can't bear to weave with it at all at the end. Well, these skeins escaped that fate.
The warp is a shade of blue green and the weft a frank purple. The cloth is iridescent, as I had planned it would be. The colors reverse on the back except for the plain weave field in which the figures appear. I like it a lot.
The yarn I was awaiting arrived and the first cloth from them is well underway. The taupe-y color is worsted wool and the fuschia is a loop mohair. I arranged for the mohair to appear in small squares on the right side of the cloth. The squares are arranged in a half-drop:
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