Weaverly

Observations

An outdoor weekend, for a change. Sunrift was having a big sale, so we checked it out. This display looked like Tent City, except it had no residents. 

All paddles on sale! No excuse to be up the creek without one now.

An evening trip to the gardens to find a new walking trail. Done.

And back home, waiting for the elevator, a jacquard sighting.

Intersection

The two diagonals have met, intersected, and then gone their separate ways. Dr. Livingstone, I presume? 

Here's another view.

And now on the absolutely opposite side of the color wheel, I would like you to see this amazing tree bark I spotted on my walk yesterday evening at dusk. Yes, those were the actual colors! The evening light had something to do with it, but still...

A Few Messages From the Universe

It seems there are some messages for me out there. Now to decode them. The first was in the parking lot when I went for groceries.

Then, on my walk, I saw this tidy pile of sod in front of my neighbor's house. It looks a little like a dessert recipe in my file. Then again, maybe the beginning of a fiber project, with bolts of fabric assembled. What exactly is the message here? Requires further study.

Later on my walk. A proto-newspaper. Trying to read the fine print.

Meanwhile, downstairs, a sample of two-heddle weaving, with a ground and tiedowns. Stay tuned.

And finally, a sneak peek at my new studio. 

All in all, I would say that the news is good.

 

Brocade & Rigid Heddle

This morning I warped up my little rigid heddle loom for some brocade experiments. I wanted to do brocade with special tie-down warps, Theo Moorman style. I chose the direct warping method, but the tangling behind the heddle was annoying; next time I will use the indirect warping method.

I used a pickup stick for one brocade shed, and string heddles for the second brocade shed.

Here's a closeup of the brocade motif. The ground warp & weft are 5/2 cotton at 12 epi. The tie-down warps are 20/2 green cotton @ 6 epi. The brocade weft is embroidery floss used double.

And now for no particular reason except that it makes me happy, here's a view from my back deck yesterday morning. At a certain point every morning, the sun casts a sword of light across the grass. This trick lasts about three minutes and then is gone. When seen through the deep bronze leaves of the redbud tree, the effect is magical.

Movers and Shakers

Saturday's studio sale went very well; thank you for asking. Lots of nice people came and bought things, and many of my tools, yarns, and woven items found excellent new homes. I couldn't have done it alone. Here's a shoutout to my strategic planners: Pat on my right and Patti on my left. You are the best!

As if that weren't enough excitement, here's what greeted me out front Monday morning:

Yes, road closed! After many years, the county has decided that today's the day to start repairing the damaged sewer next door. If they had started two days ago, the studio sale would have been (ahem!) a washout.

This project is expected to last about two weeks. 

Warm Colors

Today was a day for the warm side of the color wheel. First, an early morning appointment and a jacquard sighting:

Then on the way home a quick trip to the grocery store:

And this evening, just as the sun was setting, the redbud tree in the back yard blazed into life:

 

Welcome, Sweet Spring

On my walk today. This needs no words.

Now to the annals of the laundry room.  The most recent batch of samples has been washed, dried, and steam pressed. 16/2 cottolin, designed with the technique of amalgamation, a close cousin of network drafting. There's more information about amalgamation in my book Network Drafting: an Introduction (see sidebar).

Click on any of these to enlarge.

I hope Spring is beautiful where you are, or will be soon.

Something Spiky and Something Soft

Get your greens today! Here's some new green in my front yard, displaying a wonderful contrast with the old green. I love their spikiness, and the fact that they look like a hastily wrapped birthday present. Happy birthday, you-know-who.

Now down to the studio. My 8-shaft loom is finally reassembled after its move, and it's in perfect working order. I put on a new warp this week, cottolin, for some amalgamation samples. It looks like an underwater pattern, quintessential network drafting. Click to enlarge.

And come even closer:

Emerging

The third amalgamation warp is a wrap. Samples hemmed, washed, ironed, and laid out on my cutting board for a quick photo. These are from a 16-shaft draft. Click to enlarge.

I think the next amalgamation warp will be for my 8-shaft lobby loom, but I need a few more heddles for that loom. They're on order. At least I can wind a new warp in preparation. Now here's a picture of something that can't wait:

My daffodils are emerging! Even if we have a couple of frosts, I think most of them will make it. These gals are tough.

Blue & Gold

Bronson lace on the rigid heddle loom. Gearing up for January.

One space left in the class "Color and Texture on the Rigid Heddle Loom." See sidebar.

A last blast of color on my street.