It's not the New Mexico sky but I'll take it. Happy Spring. Who says blue is a sad color?
The blue heron grows bolder every day. I turn a corner and there she is. I am allowed to get up close.
Indoors, there is this. On the other side of the world, but right here in my living room. Formula 1.
And by pure coincidence, this is my current spin. Corriedale (75%) and lotus fiber (25%) from Hilltop Cloud. I will eventually ply it and use it in a warp.
This morning in Simpsonville. I have no words.
But it does segue into a new warp story. Shades of red, burgundy, orange, brown, and pink.
Warp chain ready for my 8-shaft loom.
Tied down and ready to go.
The weave structure is the Park Weave, beautifully explained by Marcy Petrini her article Determining Tabby Order in the current issue of Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot. The interpretation is my own, along with the handspun wool yarn used as pattern weft. Warp is a combination of cotton and Tencel, tabby weft is fine brown cotton.
Department of Books:
Just finished reading Julie Otsuka's The Swimmers.
I believe a Bunched Arrowhead has been sighted. Very excited to have seen this.
Also on this morning's walk at the Preserve a fine display of tree fungi. Stripes anyone?
This past Wednesday I had the good fortune to accompany friends for a stroll at the garden of Jane and Boris Bauer. These gardeners have in 40+ years started and nurtured the most marvelous display of magnolias, over one hundred varieties, as well as other regional plants.
The array of colors and subtle differences in tone & shade among all these plants was inspiring to me. I am very grateful to have seen this wonderful garden.
Also inspiring, although totally unexpected, was an array of "expired" camellias under a bush. You never know when a new color scheme will jump out at you.
Back in the studio I stitched a label onto a recently completed blanket. It's just in time for the 21st birthday of a super terrific person.
In the Department of Books: finished reading Hugo Hamilton's The Speckled People. Recommended!
Hello friends. Since we were last together, I've had company:
And I've been to the mountains. It was early spring there.
The old post office is still there, and still in use as a post office.
I saw some interesting examples of complementary colors on my walks...
And when I got back home I finished another halvdräll towel. This one is hemmed and laundered. Cotton & cottolin. No shrinkage events here.
Up close and personal.
Recently read: Max Perkins: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg, and Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner.
Registration is now open for Complex Weavers Seminars 2022 in Knoxville, TN, July 10-13. I will be teaching a seminar via Zoom: Amalgamation Celebration. Go here for more information and to register.
Amalgamation is wild and crazy! Join the party.
There was actually a sneak peek at my most recent warp in the last post -- it was a coiled-up warp chain. Said warp has now made it onto the dobby loom. A view yesterday from behind the heddles:
...and here it is in front, ready for action.
And as of this afternoon, some progress is being made. Amalgamation on 16 shafts. I'm sampling various colorways, and so far this is one I like:
Did I tell you about Friday's hike at Raven Cliff Falls? It was a winner. We didn't get close enough to the falls for a fancy picture, but trust me, it was a beautiful hike and a gorgeous day in the woods.
At this time of the year I feel especially lucky to be living in South Carolina.
Back in the studio, taking a break from weaving, I spent some time on the computer, messing about with non-parallel interleaved threadings. This one needs work, as it has several overly long floats, but I think it has promise. 16 shafts.
Now for the Department of Books. Recently finished reading Fates and Furies, by Lauren Groff; All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days, by Rebecca Donner; and The Narrow Road to the Deep North, by Richard Flanagan.
While watching today's Formula 1 race from Sao Paulo, I noted that in lap 59, due to some excessive weaving on the straight, driver Max Verstappen was shown the black and white flag for unsportsmanlike behavior.The amazing Lewis Hamilton won the race. I wager that not many of you watched the race, because you were weaving, as you should have been, but Formula 1 is de rigueur around here, and I am here to tell you that it was an amazing race. We are still celebrating.
What strikes me as hilariously funny, however, is that "excessive weaving" earns a penalty! If I had to pay a penalty every time I engaged in excessive weaving, I'd be out of luck!
I'm still looking to replace an old bumper sticker that says "I'd rather be weaving." Anyone know where I can find one? Short of printing it myself?
OK, with with all the racing & such, I have no weaving to show you this week. I'll show you a few snapshots of my untidy studio however. Enjoy.
And there's always the call of the great outdoors at this time of year.
Have a good week! And enjoy some excessive weaving, if you can.
A group of Woodlands folk went hiking this morning at Ashmore Heritage Preserve and found that it was a perfect day for a hike: cool but not too cold, slightly overcast, and a rapidly clearing fog cover.
Meanwhile, back in the studio, the third section of the 4-section blanket is nearly finished.
I'll cut it off tomorrow and wash it. Then the final section will be beamed. Perhaps it will be finished before Thanksgiving. I'll have one more thing (among many) to be thankful for.
Doodling around at the computer, I came up with this 16-shaft draft with amalgamation. I'm still tinkering with it, but will probably use something similar as my next warp on the dobby loom. Click to enlarge.
Meanwhile, I've been enjoying hiking. These pictures are from yesterday at the Carrick Creek Trail at Table Rock State Park.
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Just finished reading Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller. Gorgeous.
With the return of good weather, we had the urge for a road trip yesterday. We drove to the University of Georgia, State Botanical Garden of Georgia, in Athens, GA. What an amazing place! There are miles of trails and multiple themed gardens. The Heritage Garden is the star, with its many regional plantings and displays.
Hanging long-necked gourds. A real show-stopper.
There were masses of this 5-ft. tall perennial in bloom: Tradescantia virginiana. For your information it's otherwise known as Common Spiderwort. I much prefer the scientific name! There is nothing common about this beauty.
Back at home the first towel on the halvdräll, the one with the red tabby, is finished.
For the second towel, I'm using the same hemp pattern weft, but this time with a gold cotton tabby. It's subtly different.
For a long time I've felt the lack of adequate lighting in this room, particularly when it comes to threading heddles. I purchased a strip lighting kit and installed lights under the castle. Here's what it looks like with the strip lights on in an otherwise dark room, kind of Halloweenish.