Weaverly

A Pause

Trying to put aside the news from Washington & Wall St., at least for a little while. Here at Pt. Judith, RI, we have just missed the Block Island ferry, and are walking on the beach instead. It's a nice place to spend the New Year. Best wishes to all!

 

Mystic Aquarium

The photos of the rope walk will have to wait, because Internet service is spotty. Meanwhie, here are some clownfish and anemone at the aquarium. What colors! I could watch for hours.

The Bliss of a Rainy Day

Overcast days are wonderful for color photography. The colors are super-saturated. Today was such a day in Norwich, Connecticut, as we donned our rain ponchos and took to the country roads.

At the Norwich Memorial Rose Garden in Mohegan Park, the last of the roses were enjoying a drenching rain, and we dodged the very aggressive mosquitoes for half an hour in order to photograph the late blooms. 

Fitchville

A brook near the farm in Fitchville, Connecticut, where Bruce spent summers as a boy.

It's Always About the Yarn

This morning at WEBS was so much fun that I forgot to take pictures. I was running around looking for 8" dpn's (which I found), and finding 3 more skeins of wool to finish knitting a vest for which I had ordered insufficient yarn (they did have the wool in the same dye lot—hooray), and selecting 4 cones of 3/2 cotton to use as weft in my current warp tapestry project. 

Bruce found refuge at WEBS because it was still pouring outside, and took enough pictures for both of us. So here is one of his images (fiber content unknown, but still yummy). Thanks, Bruce.

And here's another picture from yesterday's visit to the Bridge of Flowers. I've started to alter it in Photoshop in preparation for weaving.

The Rains Came

Our gorgeous weather has come to an end. No problem. I spent a rainy morning at WEBS. Now we are at this Indian restaurant in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts

After two days on Lake George, and a visit to Fort Ticonderoga, we have made our way to Massachusetts and the town of Shelburne Falls. A prime attraction here is the Bridge of Flowers, a defunct trolley bridge over the Deerfield River; the bridge has been made into a fantastic flower garden, and is now abloom with seasonal flowers. Here are a couple of dahlias.

Just beside the bridge entrance is Vavstuga, a shop/school devoted to Swedish weaving and folk arts. 

Becky Ashenden graciously let me tour the weaving studios, where a group of local weavers was busily throwing their shuttles.

Here's a view of the back porch, where several warping mills stand waiting for the next warp, and overlook the Deerfield River and the Bridge of Flowers. I can't imagine a more delightful place to weave!

Becky teaches workshops in basic weaving, drawlooms, Swedish techniques, and drawloom at her studio, and also provides accommodations. More information can be found at Vavstuga's website.

Fort Defiance

A view of Lake Champlain from Fort Defiance.

Election Time in Vermont

We'll be out of Internet range for a few days.

A Visit to Bhakti & Mark

Here we are in Randolph, VT, visiting Bhakti & Mark. Bhakti is my friend and co-author of The Woven Pixel. She is living in a wonderful old house on a tree-lined street. Here is her living room:

Here is Bhakti:

Here is Mark and their woodpile (it will be a cold winter):

One of the wonderful things about this visit is that we get to talk non-stop weaving. Bhakti showed me some of her work on the TC-1. These were studies to show students some of the various structures discussed in our book.

Bhakti is offering tutorial lessons in all types of weaving and Photoshop for jacquard in her home studio. Everything is tailored to the specific student's needs. Contact her at bhaktiziek@gmail.com.