I love creating things!!!

I promised photos of my Jacquard sample travel bag. So here it is... I am using it every day already to carry my STUFF to and from work and my yarn projects to knitting. It's exactly what I wanted and needed!



The lining..


A detail... Can you see my initials??? S W H ???


These are some photos of a small bag that I made from another piece of fabric from my Jacquard workshop.

Pune's gift and Words of wisdom from O

I am one lucky lady... In less than two weeks I am flying to Dubai to see my oldest son Erik and meet his lady friend, Pune. I can't wait... It will be such an exciting adventure. I promise lots of photos and a quest to find textile treasures! I never imagined visiting Dubai... Though I must admit I've been very intrigued with the exciting things happening there. I wanted to make a couple of things... something special for Pune and a large bag to carry my Stuff on the plane. I'll add more about the bag in a later post...


I decided that a light weight handwoven shawl would be perfect. To weave the shawl I alternated the Queen Anne’s Lace from Henry's Attic and a 10/2 cotton from Webs in the warp using the Ms and Ws draft on page 36 -#154 of A Weaver’s Book of 8 shaft Patterns edited by Carol Strickler. Changing the draft created 2 larger blocks against 1 block. I used Henry's Attic's Rapunzel which is natural cotton with a ply of stubby rayon and my handspun silk as the weft. I had a small ball of spun Bombyx silk in my stash and plied it with some silk hankies I spun up for the project. There was some Bombyx left over so I plied it on itself and added a shot of it occasionally to integrate it into the woven fabric. After washing the finished shawl became very soft and drapey. I’m very pleased. The actual color is somewhere in between the ones captured in the photos. Finished size is 22x74 plus 8” fringe each end.

Detail...


I took these excerpts from an O Magazine article. They do a great job explaining why it feels SO good to create!

Make Something...

"...creative work causes us to secrete dopamine, a hormone that can make us feel absorbed and fulfilled without feeling manic.
...
Research indicates we're most creative when we're happy and relaxed and conversely that we can steer our brains into this state by undertaking a creative task. To get a dopamine "hit," make something that pushes you to the furthest edge of your ability, where you're not only focused but learning and perfecting skills.
...
The aftermath to a creative surge, especially one that involves a new skill, is a sense of accomplishment and increased self-efficacy -- which psychologists recognize as an important counter to depression.". O Magazine, Feb 2012. P44.


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Weaving for Art Shows

I promised to add some pics of the weavings I created on a cotton/linen warp on my 8 shaft Schaht Mighty Wolf. I wanted to capture the essence of the aesthetics of Japan and the minimal abstract qualities of the Bauhaus. My thought was to create two long narrow panels using my handspun yarns for the weft and bits of Japanese kimono fabric from my 2005 home stay with a family in Tokyo as accents. The first one I completed, I call Marshland because the colors and textures and movement of the marshes are an ever present reality here in coastal Georgia.


The second is not quite finished but I call it After Kandinsky (one of the Bauhaus Masters). It's much more abstract and plays with shapes as well as the textures of the handspun. I will share the "before" here... But I'm not quite happy with it so, I'm going to do some playing with it...


The last is After Albers. Josef Albers was one of the few Bauhaus students who later became one of the teachers (Masters). He is known for playing with color and line and shape and his most popular and best known works are his Homage to a Square series that he did after his Bauhaus years. But before this he drew and painted several line images. Most weavers have heard of his wife, Anni Albers who wrote several books and taught with him, when they emigrated to the US, at Black Mountain College outside of Asheville, NC.


The framing and display of these weavings was a real challenge. I did not want to display them hanging on a dowel rod! I wanted them to be woven art pieces. I think of cheap hanging printed towels when I see woven pieces hanging from dowels. Sometimes weavers are fortunate to find interesting free form wood pieces or antique pieces or items from other cultures to hang their work on and that works. But I wanted my woven pieces to be framed. And that became a challenge... The two finished pieces had two different resolutions. For Marshland I added black ultra suede fabric by sewing it to the finished tapestry to mimic the borders on ukiyo-es. I, then, stretched it using 11x28 stretchers. I found angle molding strip for the outside frame that I had Home Depot cut to size and then got my hubby to help me cut notches into it to have them fit at the corners… No easy task! I spray painted the frame with gold… Again to mimic the ukiyo-e look. For After Albers I wanted to create a line drawing on the 8-shaft twill fabric that I wove. I stretched the handwoven cloth over and around the edges of the 9x9 inch canvas stretchers. Then I stitched into it with black wool/mohair blend yarn. I outlined the small square with stitches and then created a warp of the yarns and needle wove into it to create the woven square. I did not like the edges of the woven piece showing on the stretcher so I added some black ultra suede to cover them… Right side against the stretcher wood, a piece of cardboard the size of the wooden stretcher side stapled down on top of the cardboard. Then I folded the ultra suede over the cardboard and pulled it to the back of the stretcher and stapled it. it created a nice frame effect, but I wanted a mat-like look. I purchased some 1/4 inch plywood and had Home Depot cut it 13x13 and spray painted it black. I tacked it to the back of the stretchers with 1/2 inch brads. because I wanted the piece to stand out from the wall I covered 2 inch by inch foam core pieces with some ultra suede and hot glued it together and to the back of the piece. I am still thinking about an appropriate solution to mounting After Kandinsky! Displaying handwoven art pieces is ALWAYS a challenge! viewed 7 times - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Happy New Year!

I am embarrassed that I have not posted for so long. I have been busy creating... Mostly knitting for grandchildren for Christmas. I guess I have kind of put blogging into the background.

Wabi sabi for me means a kind longing, like homesickness, for things loved. My grandkids and kids are so important to me and living away from them can be really hard sometimes. Oh, don't get me wrong... we love our new life in Savannah and especially enjoy being able to go to the beach in shorts and a tshirt to soak up the sun... and walking under the spreading live oaks dripping in Spanish moss... BUT there is absolutely NOTHING in the world like a grandchild's hug! - and those great hugs from your children. Skype and FaceTime certainly help, but you can't send those hugs through the Internet. At least not yet! They make your toes curl and your heart skip a beat! They are a taste of heaven here on earth! So I guess you can say... part of my search for wabi sabi... is found through family!

The heart ache was getting to me for those hugs, so I convinced my dear hubby that we needed to go get some hugs!!! We took the sleeper train out of Savannah Christmas Eve as I had to work at the SCAD's Gutstein Gallery that afternoon. We arrived about 5:30 Christmas night into Boston where we were staying with daughter Kim and her wife, Laura and their daughter Maja.

Kim fixed dinner and we sat down to relax and who should arrive, but... not Santa... But Kjell and Charlene and little 4 month old Ollie who looked huge to us as the last time we saw him he was brand new and his knees were still curled up to his chest! What a wonderful surprise as we didnt expect to see them until Monday, but they made a special Xmas visit from their home in Providence, RI. Ollie's a happy baby boy and came in his wool sweater that I had made for him! Oh... my heart was singing!!! What a wonderful Xmas.

Better yet.. Kris and hubby Bobby and our other two grandchildren Abby (almost7) and Chelsea (5) came for a full family gathering the next day from Albany (unfortunately Erik in Dubai and my brother Jeff in Berlin were missing,) but it was wonderful! A very very merry Christmas, in deed!

Let's see... What have I created?

I started making a sweater for me... That I wanted to wear with a handwoven shawl to some of the many the holiday parties we were fortunate to enjoy with our new Savannah friends.

Then I went into Swedish Yul Tomten production. Using an Alan Dart pattern, I created - if I don't say so myself - adorable Swedish Christmas gnomes. Each grandchild received a Tomte of their own and a book by to go along with it. My next project is to make a tiny one to sit on my spinning wheel of my own handspun yarn.

Then I knit fair isle sweaters for both Ollie and Maja (now 16 months) And matching mittens and hats. I used a cute Norwegian helmet like hat for the pattern that I found for free on Ravelry, but unfortunately the one I first knit for Ollie was WAY too big and he has a big head. Maybe he will be able to wear it when he's 12!!! I measured his head and made adjustments and knit him a smaller one! The smaller size fit Maja perfectly too!

I designed and knit some items for Abby and Chelsea as I heard a secret from Santa that they were getting new American Girl dolls. Abby wanted the Hippy doll Laini, so I knit her a turtle neck sweater to wear with the jeans I bought on Etsy...and for Chelsea's Kit doll I made a poncho and slouchy hat to go with her Etsy skirt set. The best news was that they fit!

In the train station waiting for the hour late Amtrak, I took out my #15 needles and my first handspun art yarn I had created during the Jazz Turtle workshop last May. I rolled into a soft ball and knit a simple hat top down to make sure I had enough yarn - I had JUST enough. I only had about 18 inches left - and it fit - warm yet light for cold wintery Boston. (though the weather was quite mild when we were there.)

So that's about it... My current project is on the loom... A light airy cotton shawl for our oldest son, Erik's partner, Pune as a housewarming present. You see, I have more hugs to collect... I'm going to spend my next big, bad birthday in Dubai with oldest son Erik and Pune and their 2 pups in their 37th floor apartment overlooking the city!!! So think of me on that long, long flight the night of February 4th! I'll be back home a week later very tired, but grinning from ear to ear!

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S HUGS to YOU!!!

Challenge

What draws me to weaving is the TEXTURE. I'm feeling the need to really explore TEXTURE... what better way to do this than to use my handspun yarns. I've been accumulating these beautiful skeins of thin, thick, thick n thin, art yarns and I have decided that its time to use them.

I'm also feeling the need to explore abstraction and make some wall art. Two things are driving me forward... I recently joined the Landings Art Association and have reserved a booth at their sidewalk art show Oct. 29 AND am entering this abstract tapestry weaving in their big Fall Art Show. THEN #2 i took a class at the Jepson Art Museum last Saturday with Betsy Cain, who is a local painter showing at the Jepson right now. I lOVE her work... abstract richly textured paintings and cut-outs. We did both in the class. So I have a stimulus and a little bit of knowledge. Dangerous combination...

My goal is to create a couple of tapestry-like abstract weavings on my 8shaft Mighty Wolf that incorporate my love of the Japanese and Bauhaus aesthetic using my handspun yarns on a cotton and linen 8-shaft twill threading.

The first challenge was to warp my loom with 10/2s natural cotton and some tow linen singles that I had found several years ago. I wanted the contrast of the soft cotton with the scratchy, stiff linen. I decided to use 3 strands of tow linen alternating with the 10/2 cotton. I decided that 28 epi would work best for the twill and set about threading the read to warp front to back after winding a 3 yard warp. I hoped to get 3 long narrow weavings from this. The finished weavings will be about 10x30. To get 28 epi in a 12 dent reed I had to thread the reed 2/2/3/2/2/3/2/2/3/2/2/3. It would have been SO much easier to do 24 epi and 2 threads per dent... but no, I wanted a challenge! Threading done... pulling warp through the heddles done... then on to winding the warp on the beam... challenge #2! The tow linen's greatest joy is to tangle! Patience and leaving it several times to regroup... and several hours later... I had the warp beamed! I won that battle! ... more to come!

I drew out an idea to scale on some graphic paper and started to weave using my stash of handspun dyed yarns. I wanted the bottom 1/3 to look like marsh grass. I used a reverse twill treadling to show the wavy effect and hand laid in pieces of handspun from about 6 different skeins and followed each "pattern" shot with another shot of 10/2s in the same shed. In this way, where the handspun yarns didn't meet... white cotton reverse twill resting spots appear. When I came to the part I wanted to represent trees... I used some plied green handspun and pulled it up to create nubs and separated these with natural cotton tabby areas. The sky was woven in a straight twill in natural 10/2s broken up occasionally with shots of light to medium blue handspun.

Then came the fun part... the sun/moon shape... I had been adding strands from kimono fabric remnants I had in my stash and decided to use one of the pieces cut in narrow 1/3 inch strips as the circle... building it up row by row while weaving across the entire width keeping the straight twill treadling.

Then to frame it all! I had some black ultrasuede upholstery cloth (left over from reupholstering our Barcelona chairs) and decided it would be the perfect border. Should I mount the weaving ... then mount this over a stretched black ultrasuede... it might work, but I thought it also might be problematic... so, I decided to sew strips of ultrasuede to the edges of the weaving and stretch this pieced piece on the 11x28 stretchers I bought. A lot of tweeking and it looks great. To finish it off I got some 1 1/4"angle molding, spray painted it gold and then cut it to fit the stretched weaving for a frame. Perfect. Now all I have to do is nail it together and cover the back with brown paper as a dust cover...

Challenges are great... and another abstract challenge is on the way... post Betsy Cain class... Stay tuned...

I'm embarrassed

I'm embarrassed that I haven't posted for so long. My excuse this summer was that our internet server at the marina was down most of the summer, so I didn't have access. Thank goodness for our cute little iPad that helped us stayed connected with the world outside of Plattsburgh, NY. But I really don't have a good excuse now because we have returned to Savannah and are enjoying the extended summer weather. I'm also back working as a docent at SCAD and that's taking a bit of time. Excuses, excuses... I'll TRY to be better... Anyway, here are a few things I've been working on...

Last summer I kept busy... knitting and doing some drop spindle spinning and lots of boat upholstery and curtains. I knit several items for our new grandson Ollie and a pink cotton surplice-stlye top for me. I finished a nice little tapestry on the boat using embroidery floss in a variety off mainly blues and greens. My $20 Bavarian tapestry loom with its pegs was perfect for this and a stripped piece.

Once we returned to Savannah I started knitting a black cotton raglan top and weaving tapestry styled design on my 8shaft Mighty Wolf using cotton, linen and handspun. Its been fun playing with adding handspun color to the weft. And fun to see the different twill stuctures emerge. I've taken this on as a Weavolution Halloweave challenge.

I started this frame loom tapestry during Tropical Storm Irene. We were rockin and rollin. (BTW that's my hubby's beer...)

DH in the sweater I made him last spring...

Time flies...

Where has the summer gone? Well, actually it's just starting up here in the North Country where summer never really begins until after the 4th of July. We've been enjoying our first days of high humidity though the temps haven't gotten above mid-80s. In Savannah they are suffering through their 55th consecutive day above 90 with many of them having a heat index of over 100!!! NOT FOR ME! I love our summers up here on beautiful Lake Champlain living on our sailboat in a marina just north of Plattsburgh, NY. Life is good -- very uncomplicated and comfortable especially celebrating the summer days in the gazebo and dipping in the pool when it gets too hot!

I have managed to get a lot done. Knit wise -- I finished a layette for our youngest son and his girlfriend's upcoming baby due early September. I tackled an Elizabeth Zimmermann classic -- the Baby Surprise Jacket. The surprise was on me when I had a terrible time "getting it!". I could have knit 3 of them for the number of times I frogged (rip it rip it) but I finally won and it did turn out rather nice despite being a little larger than I expected. (I was aiming for a newborn size bit it's more like 3-6 month size.). I then made a cute cap and some booties and a soaker to complete the layette. In finished just in time for their shower in Providence, RI over the weekend of the 4th.

I'm also working on a summer top for me in a yummy shade of pale pink. I'm adapting a couple of pattern and adding basket weave to the center front and back. I think I'll split the front off center at the edge of the bw so it can be worn either open or buttoned closed and boat necked. I'm almost finished withnthe back and will start the front above the armholes decreases as I knit the bottom with circular needles.

I've also been doing a little weaving on a cute Bavarian frame loom I bought on eBay for about $20. Perferct for the boat. And I brought my drop spindles and have gotten some spinning done too.

But... My biggest project has been decorating the interior of the boat. I made upholstery for the cushions in Savannah in April and May. I was excited to find they fit quite well when I got up to the boat in early June and could fit them on the foam cushions! Then we needed curtains... I had purchased some striped cloth to compliment the upholstery blue from the outlet store in Coventry, Georgia so I just needed to figure out how to mount them on the boat! I bought rowel rods and had Lowes cut them to size for me to stretch the gathered cloth on. My dear hubby came up with the idea of attaching the rods using plastic zip tags using the screws and holes already in the aluminum window frames. I just finished this morning - all 6 sets of curtains-- and they look pretty good! Now to make throw pillow covers and upholster the complicated captains navigation chair!

So I have been busy... While finding plenty of time to relax and read and of course, go playing with the wind! Life is GOOD!!!