Off to the East--Really

I was trying to find the perfect image to symbolize my trip while my ride to the airport is due here in 5 minutes. I will be visiting my favorite Aunt at the very beginning of my trip, and this is her pig collection (actually just part of her pig collection). And since this is the year of the pig, I thought this would do.

After my last trip and a 2 week silence from the blog, I realized I couldn't do that again. What I didn't take into account is the only way to keep the continuity is to have a laptop. I don't have one, but I will attempt to make some entries along the way.

I have so many topics I want to write about, so don't give up on me if the quality and quantity of Weaving Spirit is diminished for the next 25 days. Besides it summer!

My first order of business on this trip is to find the perfect Maryland Crab Cake.

Big Commission--Chapter 6: Blanket Meets Saori

I just couldn't go away leaving this warp sitting on the loom. Since I am going to a Saori Conference, I decided to weave a test panel in what I believe to be the Saori way. After I come back from the Conference, I will have a better idea of exactly what that philosophy is. But this is what I did:
1. Weave what I feel.
2. There are no mistakes.
3. No planning ahead. For me, this meant "no counting" "no measuring"

Who knew I was a compulsive counter!

What started out as a frustrating exercise soon became lots of fun.


So here are 3 of the proposed 7 panels of the blanket. It was challenging to find a place where I could get far enough away from the panels to actually see the whole thing. (60" of the 90"). You can sort of see that the panels are not put together. My sort of plan is to intersperse four 8" panels. I thought it would be interesting to make the 8" panels a weft faced design using the colored recycled cashmere. I will still use the same bamboo for the warp although not ikat dyed. The weft will still be triple strands of unknitted cashmere sweaters. Because the warp will still show, the weft will be muted. The colors are full of nuance. I did much color blending, and the gray warp keeps the colors from jumping out too much.


The panels are folded over a rod, but you can get the idea. You're seeing about 60" of the length.

Not writing anything down or taking any notes is quite a challenging exercise, like working without a net. Ladies and Gentlemen, do not try this at home. It takes a lot of years and countless attempts. It takes a lot of faith. But mostly it takes knowing how to set up very tight parameters. Even though I don't really know what it is going to look like, that is the only variable I have. Showing you every step of the way is my attempt to demonstrate a process of weaving into the future.

I realize just pulling a piece off the loom is weaving into the future--at least it was for me the first 20 years or so. Weaving offers a lifetime of lessons, a lifetime of healing, and a lifetime of creativity.

Saori in New York

I am so excited about attending the upcoming Saori Conference!
A good picture is worth a thousand words. I copied this picture from the Saori New York Website, and couldn't figure out how to make it any bigger. Check out this beautiful website. They have many fabulous pictures.
I will have lots more to say about Saori weaving when I return.
Click here for other Saori links.

Yes, I Really am Leaving

I thought this was a particularly interesting section of warp. I've been experimenting with form and freedom in this warp and in The Big Commission blanket. Some areas have a controlled pattern with adjacent sections wound randomly. I haven't decided if I totally like it, but I intend to experiment some more before I make up my mind.

Where many folks are challenged by using lots of bright colors, I struggle with pastels and light colors.


Here it is just cut off the loom. I flipped it over to take this picture because I didn't want any of the lose threads to show.


I won't be doing any of the finishing now. I will take it with me on the trip and work on it as I go. I'll be interested to see how much it shrinks and if I will be able to get 2 towels out of the warp.
I did have some problems with my edges, but I won't go into that now. I want to mull it over a bit.

What's true is there are always little glitches to work out when you switch to a new fiber. At least that has always happened for me.

OK, is this the official goodbye?
No, I'll be back in a few hours. I have more to say.

Must ...Not ...Weave... Must ...Get...Ready...For...Trip

I never thought weaving could be a form of procrastination! I am so jazzed about seeing how this 8/2 unmercerized cotton in turned weft ikat weaves up that I can't seem to turn my attention to getting ready for my 3 cities in 3 weeks trip. (coming up in 5 days!) But now I have to take this piece with me. It is only a 3 yard warp after all...


The weaving light was on, so the color is distorted, but I just had to try a little weaving before I officially start my day. The sett is 24 epi, and I thought I would try using the same yarn (since I have 25# of it) for the weft. I wondered if it would wash out the ikat too much, but I don't think so from looking at this first inch or so.

White (or off white) goes a long way--especially here in the Northwest. But for towels, I think white is an exception.

OK, I really have to make my train reservations now (Baltimore to NC and then NYC to Springfield MA), but I'm sure to hit the loom again before the day is over.

And The Beat Goes On

Once again, I am faced with a weft choice; and once again, I decide to try all the colors. The warp is 5/2 cotton, and the weft is 20/2 cotton doubled. I couldn't stop weaving. It is slower to stop and change colors every few inches, but it also affords the necessary breaks to minimize the impact on the old body.

Another trick I use during the weaving process is to wind an inch of ikat whenever I take a break. By the time I finish weaving the blanket, I have the next warp all ready to go.

I got so excited to see it off the loom! You should have seen me running around the place looking for a spot to hang it or drape it so I could snap a picture.

Oh yes, I was also equally excited to see what 8/2 ikat would look like on the loom.


Two warps with one picture!

I can hardly wait to see and feel the blanket after washing, but I promised myself I wouldn't work on it until I got to Baltimore. I will have some days there before I deliver the blanket to its owner, and it will be nice to have a project to work on. Besides, I now have this other test warp crying out for completion.

Promotional Considerations

One of the things that has slowed down my weaving progress this week was the need to complete and send out a portfolio displaying the Color Horoscope Weaving. I procrastinated on it a couple of months, and finally had to just do it. First I had to locate and order archival quality black sleeve inserts and archival plastic sleeves from Light Impressions.


I poured through my thousands of digital images and selected 60 or so and printed them out myself with my Cannon Pixma MP500. It's been working really well for me this past year, and the learning curve isn't very steep at all. I just checked the Cannon website, and it seems a year old printer is less than half the price is was! (although the ink is still just as expensive)


I know it is possible and probably better in every way to do the whole layout on photoshop, but I certainly have no idea how to do that. I haven't gotten beyond "cut and paste" (cut with scissors and paste with a dry adhesive by Bainbridge). When I finished, I had 23 pages and scanned them all.


These are just a few of the pages that appealed to me this evening. Since they are scanned, they are not as sharp and clear as the originals. Having the scanned copies will make it easier to duplicate by hand or have them printed in the future. The background paper really is black, not the strange dark reddish color.

The good news is I shipped it off on Friday. Funny how that nagging backache that had bothered me these past couple months just seemed to disappear as I walked home from the UPS shipping station. Now I just have to wait and see what sprouts from these digital seeds.