Weaverly

A Dilemma and Two Birds

The samples have been washed and ironed, and a dilemma arises. The samples are both from the same threading but the warp yarns are different. The one on the left is more pleasing to my eye and the one on the right feels better in my hand. Must think about this some more. Ground rules: I want to make this decision without buying more yarn. Hm-m-m. What Would Mary Atwater Do?

Heading out on my walk. Wear a jacket? Not? A peep of blue.

Took off the jacket half way. Sun came out. The blue heron is standing on the log usually covered with turtles. Is that a good sentence? You know that the heron is not covered with turtles. 

The black swan came out of the lake and waddled toward me. It makes a sound like a kitten! 

A surprise. I've been hanging some old weavings. I found this one, based on a photo of the Savage River in Alaska, in a storage box. It's dated 2005. I hung it on the wall over my bobbin winder. Surprise! It gets good light from a nearby window, and suddenly I saw it "in a new light." It has a depth I never noticed before. I enjoy seeing it first thing in the morning when I go into the studio.

I wove it on my TC-1. The structure is "warp tapestry." Warp tapestry is a term used in industry to describe a form of double weave jacquard with a many-colored warp. It is not weft-faced tapestry as handweavers use the term. I no longer have the TC-1. Sometimes I miss it.

My New Studio

Some of you have asked about my new studio. Here it is! Love & thanks to Bruce for the pictures.

Unearthed

While dismantling a tapestry loom for temporary storage during my move, I unearthed a tapestry I wove a year ago but never cut off. I had left the warp on the loom because there was still enough for a second tapestry, which, as sometimes happens, I never got around to weaving. The tapestry was hidden inside the continuous warp loop, so really hadn't been viewed by human eyes for a whole year. Actually, its very existence had been forgotten.

So-o-o, cut off day arrived and this nice surprise emerged. To tell you the truth, I don't even remember having woven it. But it is my loom, and those are my handspun yarns, so I'll claim it as mine. Lassie come home, and all that.

What the Inside of My Head Looks Like at the Moment

Click to enlarge (if you dare). I'm getting ready for a studio sale, which will be held on Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. If you're within driving distance of Upstate SC, please stop by! Lots of fantastic bargains. Yarn, hundreds of knitting & weaving books, small looms, sewing machines, sewing supplies, patterns, finished weaving & yardage, and did I say books? If you'd like location details, please email me (click on link in sidebar).

 

A Gallery Talk and a Tapestry Decision

This past Tuesday I gave a short gallery talk about some of my work at GCCA. I started out with my usual 30-second definition of weaving and went on from there. Here's a picture Bruce took while I was talking about the Lampas diaries. Why was I dragging my purse around? Only the queen and I know for sure.

A little tapestry study I did last summer in a class taught by the wonderful Tommye Scanlin at Arrowmont has been languishing on my worktable. Yesterday I decided to finally mount and hang it. After I got it stitched to the background, I had to decide which way to orient it when putting the hanging hook on the back. I wove it in orientation #1, but as I turned it around and around, it was apparent that it might be better in another mode. Here are all four, in order from 1 to 4. I'm now thinking I like #4 the best. What do you think?

The Antidote to Confusion

Today's lampas diary entry is a quotation from Maira Kalman:

    Washing dishes is the antidote to confusion. I know that for a fact.

Here's a detail to show the multiple bundled strands of 20/2 cotton used as pattern weft.

And now for something completely diff'rent. I've had these two little pieces on my tapestry loom for weeks.  This afternoon was cut-off time, and I finally got to see their right sides for the first time. They've been steam pressed and still have to be mounted. The first one, shown drying on my ironing board, is woven with commercially spun wool weft from various manufacturers.

The second one features handspun dyed Corriedale and gray Welsh wool

 

Backlit

Last night while watching the Olympics and spinning, with a very bright reading lamp in a very dark room, I noticed how this green wool roving was looking other-worldly with backlighting. 

And today we drove up the mountain to see the Tapestry Weavers South show at the Folk Art Center. Don't miss it! If you're anywhere within driving distance of Asheville NC, it's a must see. After looking at tapestries for an hour we walked in the woods. Picnic lunch. A lovely break in the weather. 

Then home to work on my own tapestry for a while, newly inspired. I will definitely be revisiting this show several times during its run (Jan. 22 through April 29).

A Small Tapestry

Slow. Very slow. I take deep breaths. Hours pass. This is a very different kind of weaving!

Cotton seine twine warp, 10 dpi. Weft all handspun.

6" x 8". Woven turned 90°. 

Never leave a naked loom. Here's the start of another one.

The green is waste yarn. The white is the hem portion of the new tapestry.

Which One of These Its Not Like the Others

I haven't been to the mall in two years, but yesterday we had to get a watchband repaired. So off we went, and were treated to Santas and other seasonal mall entertainments. I was so glad to get home!

I spent a few minutes on my tapestry exercises before lunch. Working from the wrong side is an adventure and a leap of faith. You never know what you're going to get until the piece is cut off.

You may be interested to know that I'm not the only one in the family working with fiber. Karl amazes us with his beautiful hand-tied flies. Here is his latest opus. It's jointed in the middle and wiggles alluringly.

 

Moonstruck

A couple of nights ago, as the waxing moon rose, the troops rebelled against yet another turkey meal, and we set off for the local hamburger emporium. The decor is ersatz Fifties; the teenagers working there probably have no idea of the cultural references. But the burgers are good.

The colors remind me of a felt circle skirt I wore at age thirteen. Yes, with crinolines and a nylon blouse. 

A slight detour ensued Monday. It was an opportunity for a jacquard sighting in a waiting room.

But now I'm on track again. Weaving from the back. A leap of faith; I won't get to see the front for several more days.

Here are a few reading recommendations:

"A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles. I loved his "Rules of Civility," but this one is even better. Read it!

"Charlotte Brontë: a Fiery Heart" by Claire Harman. I've read several CB biographies, but I think this one is my current fave. Harman draws on material previously unavailable. Fascinating and horrifying.