Our Fiber Guild of the Savannahs hosted Daryl Lancaster for a 2 1/2 day workshop (Vested Interest) and morning presentation on Color Inspiration. I was disappointed when only 12 signed up, but even more frustrated when 4 dropped out at the last minute. Daryl is a fantastic workshop provider and I had taken this class and one on jacket construction with her through the Hudson Mohawk Handweavers Guild several years ago when we lived in Albany, so I knew she would be great.
As I was hosting her at our place, I picked her up at 11:30 from the airport and we spent the afternoon exploring Savannah. We shared a wonderful pan seared perch for lunch at the Pink House and then explored the Gabriel Dawe exhibit's last day at Gutstein Gallery and then on to Blick so she could see our guild show there. We treated ourselves to some Leopold's ice cream before I wound our way back to my condo stopping at ShopSCAD, passing Forsythe Park's fountain and then a quick spin through Bonaventure Cemetery which is minutes from home.
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| visiting our Show and Sale at Blick - with a branch of our Oatland Mightly Oak Fiber Art Installation |
Daryl started the first day of the workshop (April 19) by fitting each and every one of us individually to "muslin" (actually scrap fabric) vests and showing us how to alter them to fit our body type. We then traced her pattern for the different types on red dotted fabric paper... "A" for no boobs, and "B" to boobs... with colored dots for each size... making the alterations as needed. I needed more length at the hem, some give and take on the side seam and some additional at the back neckline. It was interesting to learn (relearn) that in order to make things join at the center front you have to alter at the side seam. That seems counterintuitive, but Daryl explained you must always keep your lines parallel and perpendicular to the floor.
Once we had cut out bindable interfacing we were ready to lay our fabric pieces out on the gridded cardboard foundation in designs we liked. She warned us to use large fabric pieces which would cut down the time of piecing and then adding the bias "bridges" to cover the pieces once them were ironed on and bonded to the interfacing.
We took time out Saturday morning for a very informative Color Inspiration presentation where Daryl explained how she wraps yarns around 3 folded index cards in different proportions. She often uses photographs and magazine pictures from which to pull colors. She talked of the importance of adding just a little bit of a colors complement (ie yellow, purple) so that it creates energy. (Funny... my brother Jeff the artist had just made that suggestion to me during a Skype conversation!)
I have been working on adding the finishing touches to my vest - Indigo Memories that is made of piece of indigo based fabrics from my trips to Japan. Some were from one of my daughter Kristin's host father Mr. Tanaka who had a kimono store and shared samples of fabric with me, some were from my trip with the Japan Fulbright group of teachers and were given to me by the grandmother (Obanson) of the family I stayed with one weekend, and some were from the 100 Yen Store in Tokyo (Dollar Store). Each one holds a memory... and that's what its all about... I hope to wear it to our guild's Opening Reception for our annual show and sale tomorrow night at Blick.
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| My Indigo Memories Vest in progress |
love your vest, I am taking a workshop in surface design at the Intermountain weavers this month with Anita Mayer...she makes the most marvelous coats and vests. Am excited about all that I will learn.
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