CRICKET sings Saori style

Before I left Savannah I ordered a Schacht Cricket 15" rigid heddle loom.  It arrived at the boat in early June.  I was able to put it together from the directions in the box and warp it and start weaving in about 3 hours!  I had brought some silk and cotton blends and some novelty yarns in harmonious colors... So my first warp was an 8" wide sampler.  I continued playing with two shaft techniques adding wandering inlays and clasped techniques.

The summer top I created when I got back to Savannah.

My second warp was of similar colors but a bit wider - 10 inches... Because I had in mind weaving for a summer top.  The narrow band 8" was shorter and could be the center panel and the sides were from the 10" piece.  I was able to sew the resulting summer tunic together when we returned to Savannah and my sewing machine.  I loved incorporating the fringes and left novelty yarns hanging throughout the piece for a sense of whimsy.  I call it... Lake Champlain Melody... Because it sings a song of summer!

international Saori Conference

After a lousy winter of recuperating, I was ready for another relaxing summer on Lake Champlain rocking on our sailboat, playing with the wind, and being closer to our kids and grandkids.  It was all I had hoped for and then some... The "then some" being Saori.

In order to make a necessary trip back to Savannah in the middle of the summer something to look forward to, I enrolled in the Saori International Conference in Peachtree City, GA organized by Denise Prince who had come to our fiber guild to give is a presentation last March.  I've been creating Saori-like work for years... playing with colors and textures in my handwoven items often incorporating bits of handspun.

Kenzo Jo having the group help him stretch his elastic fabric

Saori-inspired work is unique and celebrates the hand and the spirit in freeform Zen-like weaving.  It embraces accidents in threading and weaving to create one of a kind work that cannot be duplicated by a machine.  The conference was inspiring being able to see the work of so many people inspired by the Saori philosophy developed by now 101 year old Misao Jo.  Her son Kenzo Jo developed and markets the Saori loom and equipment.  He has trained people throughout the world in the techniques for weaving from your heart.





Later...
It was a fantastic conference full of inspiring people, fabrics and techniques.   I am so glad that I went.  I have photos of the exhibit at Peachtree Library as well as some of the happenings at the hotel.  What a group of sharing and caring people united by an interest in the Zen-like Saori principles.  

Here I am  n front of my "It sure is Green" coat wearing the top  I woven and kit with the jacquard  bag I made.

The no sew hat I created during a workshop.. Later dyed it blue with indigo to have more of a contrast with my hair.

Images from My Google Plus...  Please let me know if you cannot get them.

Here are my Peachtree Library Exhibit pics including my "It Sure is GREEN" coat:
https://plus.google.com/111797448740173601950/posts/RDtGViMhUBk

Here are my Fashion Show pics...
https://plus.google.com/111797448740173601950/posts/YJGEYbD9JvQ

Getting Ready for the Fiber Guild of the Savannahs Show & Sale

Our annual Fiber Guild of the Savannahs opens next week at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn on Hilton Head, SC. My friend Mary has been doing most of the organizing and coordinating with the site as she lives on HH, but Ive been helping.  Tomorrow is the big reveal as our FGS members are bringing their items for the show to our regular meeting at Oatland Island Wildlife Center.  We have a very large space to fill this year in a beautiful gallery, so hopefully we will have lots of spectacular fiber art to show!

My jacket is complete as well as a top I was able to create from the left overs.  I am pleased as the jacket and top both fit me well.  (But I better not gain the weight back that I've lost!). I will also display some small framed tapestries and some scarves if there is enough room.

When the world sends you lemons... Make lemonade!  The lemons are having to come back South for a test my doctor would like in midJuly... tearing ourselves away from our summer sailboat livin on beautiful Lake Champlain.  So, the lemonade.. schedule it around the International Saori Conference near Atlanta!  I was disappointed thinking I would have to miss it... so delighted now that I can be there. I'm all registered and we have a room at the Hilton Garden Inn in Peachtree City, GA where all the fun will take place.  Can't wait!  We hopefully will return to the lake the following weekend!

Some of what I've been up to...

Though I have been less than 100% the past few month, in order to not go stir crazy I managed to accomplish some creative projects.  

This is what I'm enjoying now:  I'm weaving an 8 shaft twill Saori style fabric from my handspun wool yarns on a cotton warp for a jacket I hope to complete for our fiber Guild of the Savannahs annual show and sale at the Coastal Discovery center at Honey Horn on Hilton head.  I have woven over 4 yards and have 2-3 more to weave.  it's been fun... the Saori way... experimenting with different weave structures and textures and fibers (wool, tencel, silk, mohair, alpaca, etc.). I will enjoy the next step as well... Finding just the right way to enhance the special qualities of the handwoven entirely unique fabric.

Here's grandson Ollie with his doll Woody from Toy Story that I designed for him.

Ollie loved Woody and I thought it would be fun to create his own unique Woody.  I looked up images on the Internet and then proceeded to start with the head and knit  using Woody colors down to the boots.  The body is in one piece stuffed as I went along and then embellished... Red stitches on the yellow knitted shirt for the plaid and golden threads for the belt.  I added the arms and then started on the vest... Embellishing with duplicate stitched spots and a golden star.  What is Woody without his cowboy hat so I knit one for him in the round... And it fit!

This is the Groovy-ish Girl Doll I made for 3 year old grand-daughter, Maja.  She was delighted as it reminded her of the Frozen Princess Elsa.  (I had no idea!)  She was fun to make... all cotton washable yarn with some yellow linen and cotton yarns for the hair.  I wish I had made her with smaller knitting needles as the knit was a bit loose once stuffed.

Then for the big g'girls... 7 year old Chelsea and 9 year old Abby  I made some American Girl Doll sweaters with matching hats.

Everything was completed in time to send off for a handmade Valentine from Nana!

I'm baaaaaaack!

I'm finally getting back to my blog after 6 stressful months.  First my only brother became very ill in Berlin, Germany the end of July and I spent over 3 weeks with him at the hospital.  He passed away early in October. When I got home after his death I found I had my own health challenges to face.  But I'm back!  I finally am feeling a new normal and started back to my former job at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) as a docent in their galleries.  It feels great to be surrounded by great artwork again and having the opportunity to share what I've learned about the exhibited work with our visitors.

Right now we have an inspiring exhibition called Manipulated: Contemporary Conceptual Photography which includes to my delight three 6' x 8' double woven jacquard tapestries by the artist Chuck Close.  One image is of the artist in color from a large format 20x24" Polaroid camera, a second is of artist Lorna Simpson in black and white including threads of light blue, beige, reds incorporated from that same Polaroid camera and the third is of artist Roy Lichtenstein in stark, very detailed black, white, and grays from one of Close's daguerrotypes. 

Close has his jacquard tapestries woven in Belgium through Magnolia Editions an Oakland, California fine arts company.  They help develop a very large set of digital instructions referred to as a weave file which can communicate with the computerized Dornier loom.  The warp threads are specially dyed Italian cotton; the 17.800 threads are woven 75 rows per centimeter.  Eight different colored warp threads are woven with ten weft colors.  These color palettes are proofed to get just the right combination of values to best capture the original.  “There is more raw data in one weave file,” explains Daniel Farnsworth of Magnolia Editions, “than if you combined the text of all of Shakespeare’s plays.”

Updates...

Here a a couple pics from previous posts...

I finished my Japanese Indigo Daryl Vest just in time for the opening out our FIber Guild of the Savannahs Show at Blick. I finished the hand sewing of it just as this years Project Runway winner was announced... Michelle... perfect timing, right?  The original post is here...

Jan, Joyce and Sylvia in their wonderful nuno scarves and me in my new nuno tunic

Then Wednesday several us displayed our nuno felted creations at the Savannah Newcomers Luncheon at Ruth Chris' Restaurant. Sylvia, Jan and Joyce had all worn their beautiful scarves created in my sm'ART (seeing and making ART) group class a couple weeks ago. What fun it was to see their completed projects as when they left class the scarves were felted, though still wet and a lot of changes happen in the drying!

I wore the nuno tunic I made just last weekend (my Mother's Day celebration) incorporating some of the yummy yarn daughter Kristin ordered online through Etsy for a surprise Mothers Day present. (Imagine my shock when the package arrived from Tressa Germany one of our brand new Fiber Guild members... serendipity!  Kristin had found Tressa's shop on Etsy.)  

I have always wanted to try something larger/wider than a scarf in nuno and this was the perfect opportunity.  I duct taped 3 of the swimming noodles I use for my classes to roll the scarves together and it was just right.  I had to pay special attention to the edges at they were hard to press and roll.  I left the felted fringes on the sleeves and along the side edges.  Just the right amount of "funk!"

It sure is GREEN

We have had some soaking rains lately to feed the parched Georgia earth and subsequently the tidal pine forest behind our condo is full of luscious greens. I have noticed over the years that I am inspired by the colors around me, usually without even realizing it.  So green it is...

I had accumulated several balls of handspun yarns in greens the past year in all kinds of fibers... blue greens with angelina sparkle, yellow greens in wool and bamboo,  greens and violets in wool and silk, some narrow strips of synthetic pashima shawls that I had gotten in Dubai and cut up, some wonderful dyed locks that Jazz Turtle had given me, etc., etc., etc.  I'm sure there is mohair and cotton and all sorts of other fibers in this luscious handspun.  SO... how to use it!

I set my loom up threaded to a simple 8 shaft crepe and interlocking twill from page 15 of Carol Strickler's A Weaver's Book of 8-Shaft Patterns.  The warp was a combination of some thin charcoal wool and some soft and yummy black alpaca/silk blend yarn I got from Webs.  I made a very long warp so that I could make a wide, long scarf/shawl in blues, teals and violet handspun for my brother who lives in Berlin, Germany to wrap up during the cold damp winters AND the remainder became the warp for my coat. 

detail of the handspun handwoven fabric for my brother's shawl from the same warp

Then I started to play... SAORI... I love it.  I followed some of the treadlings from Strickler's book, but also made up some of my own combinations.  I changed from one handspun bobbin to another randomly and wove to the end of the warp.  It was fun to experiment with different yarns and fibers and patterns.

When finished I fulled the fabric by washing it in the bathroom sink with Pantene shampoo and cream rinse.  It dried to a lovely soft fabric but I had lost about 5 inches in the width.  

The fabric and my ideas of how to create a coat from it percolated for a few weeks until I felt brave enough to cut into it.  I had an idea that I wanted to have a coat that featured large lapels that drape and that allow the fringes of the warp to cascade down the front.  I wanted an assymetrical closure at the top for when we are in New York State to visit the kids over Christmas.  (Its never really cold enough in Savannah to warrant a top neck closure.)  This was an excellent place to feature some of the handmade ceramic buttons I made at the Clay Spot.   I roughly decided on the shape and what colors, etc would be on the front... took a deep breath and cut... and then multistitch zigzagged each of the raw edges.

on display at our Fiber Guild of the Savannahs Show at Blick in Savannah

The coat came together beautifully but the sleeves were not wide enough and there wasn't enough for pockets.  The trusty knitting needles came out and I knit squares on the diagonal for gussets under the arms and sewed them in.   I also knit pockets to add to the size seams which a more like thumbless mittens I can slip my hands into to keep them warm when we are up North... and store keys, etc in them.   I had to add gussets at either side of the neck opening so that the coat fit nicely on my shoulders.  Then I crocheted around all the raw edges that showed.  And... voila... it was done! 

I'm quite pleased with the results.  I think it will serve me well and is a fine example of my spinning and weaving.  It will replace the black brushed wool Daryl coat I made several years ago.  No one realizes its handmade... which, I guess, is a good thing.  But THIS Wearing of the Green Coat shouts unique and created by hand  -- also a good thing

The back of my coat looking at the Fiber Guild of the Savannahs Show at Blick