Weaverly

Leap Year Sale

Lulu.com has just sent me a message about a one-day sale. They are offering a 29% discount on any order (up to $250) through 11:59 pm February 29, 2012. If you have been thinking about purchasing Network Drafting or Liftplan Connection (or both!) this would be a really good time to do it. Just enter the code LEAPYEAR305 at checkout.

Somewhere in California, 2007

Going through a folder of pictures from five years ago, I found some that really caught my attention; perhaps I'll work on them some more. Maybe adapt them for weaving. I don't know where they're from, except that the folder says California. Terrible record-keeping! Let that be a lesson to me.

Then there was this strange compilation with ladybugs. The image size is 880 pixels in width, so I guess I was working on a woven composition (my jacquard loom has 880 heddles). But I have no memory of it!

Change of topic (Crash of cymbals, horn interlude):

A beautiful super-saturated picture of a weaver at the loom, 1947, studio of Dorothy Liebes. Thank you N. Miami for spotting this. Interesting routing of the warp on what is essentially a horizontal loom. I'm wondering how they managed the tension with the pile-weave areas on the right. Wonderful to weave with a blossom in your hair. I'm going to try that.

 

In Between

This is an odd in-between time for me. I'm working on several projects that I can't write about. Then there are these projects that are not very secret or glamorous, but keep up the creative momentum.

Some hand stitching, which I find very relaxing in the evenings while watching British mysteries:

Here's a new warp for the dobby loom (I am eternally hopeful):

And then I am proofreading this:

 

Discovering

"Discovering Shape" is the title of the workshop I attended yesterday; it was taught by Terry Jarrard-Dimond at the Greenwood Arts Center. Terry's a good friend—I've known her for 40+ years and have enjoyed following the evolution of her work, but this is the first time I've actually been to a class with her. It was an exciting experience. The students came from diverse backgrounds (jewelry, origami, clay, weaving, bookmaking, quiltmaking) but we were all interested in pursuing Terry's topic, which was discovering shape in two dimensions. We bagan with cut paper exercises and moved on to expressing our ideas in stitched cloth. For me it was an eye-opener. A day away from the computer, getting my hands into cloth, scissors, and glue, was just what I have been longing for; it was a real incubator for new design ideas. Thank you, Terry!

 

Skies, a Tapestry, a Featherweight

For the past few days I've been photographing skies—they have been so dramatic! No surprise. Tornado warnings today. These are my favorite exposures:

No, that one's not turned wrong. That's the way I saw it, looking up. Out in the middle of the street, too. Lucky no one came driving by.

Raindrops started to fall.

And what should arrive at my doorstep this afternoon? A tapestry from Tommye! Is this a coincidence? I don't think so.

Isn't it beautiful?

Now I'm inside waiting for more rain, which appears imminent (tapestry safely inside, too). I'm oiling my Featherweight, preparing for a fabric workshop tomorrow. I bought this machine 17 years ago; it was lovingly restored by a collector in Oklahoma. I've used it occasionally when traveling. It's a treasure— sews a better stitch than any machine I've ever used. Calling this machine Featherweight is kind of funny—it's almost too heavy for me to lift.

Look at the beautiful metalwork on the faceplate:

It's a Model 221 and was manufactured in 1946. They don't make 'em like this any more. Nosirree. 

Shirts, Shoes, Flags, Crepe

Just because I like them. And really, they're all connected. A day in the life.

Hands

My winter-roughened hands. And I can never seem to get them warm, either. Here I am clutching my favorite coffee mug with my first cup of coffee for the day. It's like a tiny private furnace. Photo courtesy of Bruce.

Pattern Central

More pattern material from the archives. These are from five years ago. And another 16-shaft crepe, for good measure.

If you'd like to download the WIF for the above draft, here it is:

Download 1601 Max float 4!

Nano

Reblogged from N. Miami:

An animation of "nanoscale planetary gear." I don't pretend to understand what's going on here, but it's beautiful! If you'd like to read more about it and see some pix that look remarkably like textiles, check this out.

Along the same lines, but bigger (much bigger), here's a picture of a staircase I took at Winterthur a few years ago. 

Over the next few days I'll be retrieving some more of these photos from my archives, as I await more loom parts. Maybe before the equinox I'll be dobby weaving again! Keeping my fingers crossed.

Zig Zag

The set of building logs in our spare room gets dragged out whenever the kids come over. Even though the children are a bit old for this toy, they still enjoy constructing things, and I must admit that I like putting together a cabin or two even though getting up and down from the floor is not as easy as it used to be. Karl builds forts and towers and other guy stuff, but when Catalina is here by herself, as she was yesterday, it's all about horses. 

I love the zig zag fence and the perfect horse barn, complete with stalls and aisle. I did notice that the gate is open…

This all got me thinking about networked fancy twills. Here's one based on a 6x4 rosepath-type initial. Plenty of zigs and zags here. And doesn't it look like a corral? Couple of horses thrown in for good luck. 24 shafts. Maximum float 5.

The WIF file if you'd care to try it:  Download Horses24  Please give appropriate credit. And send me a picture!