But Enough About ME, What Do YOU Think of Me...Part 2

Here's a lovely postcard, front and back, advertising the Whidbey Weavers Guild Sale
I am proud to say I am a member of this unique and innovative guild, but sorry to say I have not managed to have any weaving to show at the sale this year. I have promised myself I will have some work ready for next year.

If you are planning a trip to the Northwest in the next couple of weeks, Uncommon Threads is the event to attend.



I am now in the early stages of getting ready to fly to Houston to teach a Color Horoscope Weaving workshop to the Tall Pines Weavers Guild. I will give more information about this as I get closer to leaving.

I think I have successfully replaced the rope on the Fireside Loom. I will give it a good test tomorrow.

But Enough About ME, What Do YOU Think of Me...

This is a wonderful event worth attending if you happen to be in the area! I have been so caught up with weaving commissions that I haven't been able to turn my attention to the guild sale this year, but each year it gets better and better.For information about the Seattle Weavers' Guild click here.

Seattle Weavers' Guild Annual Sale
October 25th -27th

Many thanks to the wonderful customers who make each year's sale a success. We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you again in October!

Thursday, October 25th	5pm - 8pm
Friday, October 26th	10am - 8pm
Saturday, October 27th	10am - 5pm

Cash, checks, and credit cards accepted.

Scarves - Baskets - Jewelry - Rugs - Linens - Garments - Gifts - Tapestries - Children's Items - Hats - Bags - Yarn - Blankets - Pet Accessories - Household Items - Demonstrations

This year's sale will be held in Bloedel Hall at St. Marks Cathedral (1245 10th Avenue East;
Seattle, WA.) Drive around the back of the cathedral to find the Hall on the lower level. Parking is free.

If you would like to receive a reminder postcard for the sale, please email your name and address to postcard@seattleweaversguild.com.

From Gathering to Sorting

The 3 fabrics on the left are Guatemalan cotton ikat. The fabric on the right is one of my bamboo ikat/cashmere blanket panels.

I was at a party earlier today and was chatting with a woman who was teaching sewing at an alternative high school. She was bemoaning the lack of funds for supplies. I mentioned that I had a box of fabric scraps if she was interested. She was very interested.

I began excavating in my closet (something I had been meaning to do). I could practically reach my fabric box and managed to knock down 3 additional boxes in the process. The dust was quite thick on the top of the fabric box. Back in the 80's I did quite a bit of sewing. Actually, I did the designing and cutting, but mostly found other more skilled people to do the actual sewing. For a while there, I was "making" jackets, huipils, back packs, tote bags, and a wide variety of small bags and purses.

Not liking to throw things away, I saved all the scraps. I even made a quilt top about 15 years ago using the scraps from the cotton linings of the coin and cosmetic bags. I'll have to see if I can find a picture of it, but I digress.

As I was sorting through my fabric to see what would stay and what would go, I found some Guatemalan fabric scraps that I didn't remember ever seeing before. I vaguely remember somebody giving me some fabric scraps (I don't remember who it was), and I don't remember what they looked like or how long I have had them.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing! These were 3 different ikat patterns that were so much like what I have been doing with ikat bamboo this past year. Yes, I have changed the scale, and yes I am creating the designs in Turned Weft Ikat rather than Warp Dyed Ikat. Although some of the motifs in the Guatemalan cloth are quite a bit different from my example, I have woven those motifs and could easily create them.

I feel like all the 100 monkeys rolled into one:)

What does this have to do with weaving philosophy, you might ask? I believe there are 3 stages of weaving that mirror the 3 stages of life: Gathering, Sorting, and Surrender. When I set out to weave, I gather my materials. (With the cashmere, I collected sweaters for several years before I knew what I was going to do with them.) I always gather more than I will need, so I have to sort through and decide what I will ultimately use and what I will not. Surrender has to do with the time it will take to wind the warp and set up the loom and weave and weave and finish and sew in the label. I always feel these steps will take absolutely forever! Once I let go and surrender,(something much easier said than done) I am amazed to see I have completed every task.

Have you noticed all of those books out there about "clearing clutter"? My personal favorite is "Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui" by Karen Kingston. It is because so many of the baby boomers have reached the sorting stage of life and struggle with the challenge of moving out of the Gathering stage and into the Sorting stage. I am one of those people, but I am sure working on it.

If you want a good laugh, check this out! I forwarded this to at least 200 people in my address book. http://birdloversonly.blogspot.com/2007/09/may-i-have-this-dance.html

Unusual Towel Exchange, Woven Labels and Loom Trouble

There is this big wind storm going on outside. Hopefully I won't lose power. The beautiful towel I received from Maureen McGuinness acts as the backdrop for my part of the exchange. Several months ago Maureen (long before the towel exchange) asked me if I had any of my wrapped silk brooches for sale. Alas, I had stopped making them because they were just too labor intense (and I am on this new kick to stop cranking out "stuff"). When Maureen sent me this lovely towel, I asked her if she would rather have a brooch in exchange. She examined some pictures on my website and gave me an idea of the size and colors she liked. I will ship it off today. Maureen is going to send me another towel sometime in the future so that I will also send her a towel.
My only requirement for the towel is some sort of label, so I can remember whose towel I am using. When I first decided (back in the 80's) I needed some sort of label, I hand printed them. I do not have any examples of that label. I began searching for a label company that would produce a custom woven label in reasonable small quantities. I went to the library and searched through the Thomas Registry (now available on line). At that time I found only 6 companies and wrote to them all. Of the 6, only the Minnewawa Label Company in Knoxville Tennessee produced a label that met my requirements. The top label was my first 1000 labels. They lasted me about 10 years. I had a friend redesign the label and ordered another 1000. (the middle label) They took me through the 90's. When I went to order another 1000, I discovered the Minnewawa Label Company was no longer there. I went on line and began another search and found ITC Labels(bottom label) I wish the label was more satiny, but the great part about this company is you can order as few or as many labels as you wish. Plus they send you a sample and you sign off on it before they make the labels.

If there are others out there who have a good label source, I would be interested in passing that along.
So I'm weaving along on my 10 year old Fireside Loom last night thinking how wonderful the piece is coming along---no problems. This morning when I went to start weaving, I noticed the slack tension. I went to give the toggle a little twist (as I have to do from time to time) and noticed THIS!
Words like GAK! ZOT! (a new word sent to me by a weaving friend, Russ) and others too terrible to mention, sprung from my lips.

Well, then I had to chuckle because I have often said there are an infinite number of mistakes to be made in weaving, and this was indeed a first. As you may or may not know, Fireside Looms is now located in Pennsylvania with new owners Larry and Michelle Lesniak(no longer in Washington state in easy driving distance from me). I started to write a pathetic whining email to Michelle, but I decided a phone call would be in order. She was most helpful and a new rope and assembly directions are being FedEx'd to me as I write.

I use my Fireside more heavily than most, so I'm not faulting the rope device for wearing out in 10 years. In fact, the tensioning system was one of the main selling features (along with the worm-drive and the removable breast bar) I didn't see a picture of the removable breast bar, but it is a thing of beauty. Anyone wishing me to take a picture of it and post it, let me know.

So "Gary", the loom has to take a little rest. Fortunately my ikat towel experiment is up and running on Grace, so my practice of weaving every day doesn't have to stop.

Yes, I'm Still Weaving---Every Day

The bamboo/cashmere snugly shawl/throw moves along at a pleasant pace. I'm not rushing along or bogging down.
One of my favorite moments in weaving is when the last paper drops. When I first started weaving, I used brown paper (white paper if I had it). One day I discovered corrugated cardboard and switched to that for several years. The cardboard is great until it begins to break down (which is rather rapidly), and then I start having tension problems. It took me a couple of years to discover the root of my tension problems, but when I switched back to brown paper...problem solved!
On the other loom (Grace), I have the beginnings of my ikat towel experiment.

How do I select the weft color? As a rule of thumb: the weft is the color you have the most of. In this case, I have enough of all of the colors . I begin by weaving a small stripe of each of the colors in the warp to see which one I like the best. I was hoping the white would be the one, (because I have the most white) but alas it is not. I don't care for the dark either. (which is good because I have the least of the almost "black")

Blog Action Day

The Blog Action Day project asks the question, “What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day? One issue. One day. Thousands of voices.” The issue today is the environment. I came upon Blog Action Day when very recently I discovered a wonderful blog by Virginia A. Spiegel.Once you check her out, she will be on your list for sure.

As I searched through the hundreds of pictures to find just the right image, I was shocked to discover this is the only picture not related to weaving or food I have taken this year.

"September Morning on Whidbey Island" This beautiful magical island in the Northwestern USA is the home of many artists (sadly I am not one of its residents) who share a passion for the environment. When you visit here, it is like going back in time. Interestingly enough, I consider Whidbey Island to be one of several weaving centers in the United States. I wonder if there is a correlation between deep appreciation for making things and a deep appreciation for the environment?

And if that is true, why do I only have one outdoor picture taken in 2007? But on the other hand, Rivers and Tides is one of my favorite movies. And Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver is my favorite book of the year.

Nice Matters Award

Christine of SpinWeaveKnitandCake, so kindly tagged me with this award:

"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you’ve been awarded, please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award."

First and foremost, is Sara Lamb of Woven Thoughts. It was her mentioning me in her blog that got me to read a blog for the very first time. Within days I had set up my own blog, and the rest is history. Talk about inspiration!

Once I began checking in on Sara's blog, I noticed the WeaveRing icon. I clicked on it to see if there were any weavers I knew and discovered Sandra Rude had a blog as well: Sandra's Loom Blog. The thing about Sandra's work is that it is totally mind blowing. Her weaving demonstrates the vastness of the weaving journey. I am awed.

No list would be complete without Syne Mitchell's WeaveCast. I believe what Syne is doing to promote weaving in the 21st century is what Mary Meigs Atwater did to save handweaving at the early part of the last century.

Karen Madigan of curiousweaver has been a constant source of delight and a fount of knowledge. It's like I found a kindred spirit on the other side of the world. (well, a kindred spirit that keeps good records and works with complex weave structures)

Kathleen's Vegetarian Kitchen is the blog I would have wished I would have written had I written a blog about good food well prepared. It is a delicious feast for the imagination.

Stef's distracted muse keeps me coming back for more. I love seeing what she will try next. I have gotten to the point in my life where I wake up in the morning and say to myself, "No new crafts! No new crafts!" I am glad there are those out in world who can give me a vicarious craft adventure.

What list would be complete without Ruby Reuseable's Olympia Dumpster Divers. There is something so inspiring to me about making art from recycled materials!

I hope you enjoy my list as much as I enjoyed making it.