A Weaver at Quiltfest

My old friend Theresa called me in a panic. One of her 4 booth helpers was unable to help at Quiltfest this year. I thought it would be a nice change of pace to help set up, sell, and take down. The booth Bohemian Element was huge (triple size) and packed with luscious fabrics and embellishments from all over the world.

It was totally fun and totally exhausting.

And the quilts! This year Quiltfest was held in the convention center. It is a enormous space.
There were many more rows of quilts than I could fit in the picture, and the rows extended behind me as well.
I was so busy in the booth I didn't have much time to look around. The picture above was taken before they opened the doors to the public, so you don't get a feel for the crowds of people.

I only snapped a few pictures of individual quilts, and I am only showing the one below. It won for best use of color. I don't know if you will be able to see the unusual variety of fabric prints that create the shadows on the faces. Of course, I didn't get the name of the artist, but if anyone knows, please let me know and I will add it to the post.

Of all the customers that stopped by the booth, these two young ladies were most entertaining.

I'm still recovering. I'm just not as young as I used to be.

A Dream Come True!

I wish I had words to express just how pleased I am with results of The Big Commission.

Some dreams take longer to realize than others. Some dreams evolve and change.

Now the very hardest part: to ship it off to the owners and hope they are a pleased as I am.

I wish you could feel the softness of the cashmere.

New Moon at Dusk

This is what I see from the roof of my new apartment. Notice the top of Seattle's famous Space Needle off to the right. Off to the left is the whole of the downtown. I did not have a wide angle lens, so I couldn't show you the whole panoramic view. I was going for color.

Back in the Saddle

I've pulled out the bamboo yarn and am winding a Woven Words scarf. I really like this unusual palette--not my usual.

My ladder display has a new layer of weaving. The top 2 pieces are towels woven by students. I will present more about this later. The 3rd one down is the first weaving I did here in the new place. I haven't laundered it yet. More pictures to follow soon.


And here is the first section for a towel in turned weft ikat.

Joining the Big Commission

Remember the Big Commission? I just went back to find the date I began this project--February 2, 2007. Some things take longer to complete than other things.

The only parameters I received from the client was to weave a blanket 90"x100" with a bamboo warp and recycled cashmere sweater weft. I knew I was going to weave panels and join them together, but the size of the panels, the weaving technique, and the colors were all left to me. I had recently seen a textile show of the Sarawak weavers of Borneo and became enchanted by the concept of having the design come to me in a dream rather than plan out a design on paper. So that is what I did. On the side bar of this blog under LABELS is the topic Big Commission with 12 entries. (if you want to track my progress).

Then I ran into a couple of snags which stopped me cold. When I had completed 5 panels, the design seemed finished although I had only 74" in width. When I washed the panels, they became 88" long. So I waited for a dream to tell me how to proceed. That was back in March.

In March my world went into high gear with putting the condo up for sale and moving. I still continued to wait for the next chapter of the dream. As August draws near, I realized I just need to join all the panels together and finish off the top and bottom and call it finished at 74"x88"

I am not great at tailoring, but I am a fabulous joiner. It takes me between 3 and 4 hours to join 2 panels together. It is a great way to catch up on movies or recorded books. I know it is not generally a summer time project, but it is raining and in the 60's here today.

The book shown below is a fabulous book (out of print), but I was lucky enough to find a copy. I used to check it out of the Seattle Weavers Guild library, and I was the only one to ever check it out.

And what about the folks that have commissioned a larger blanket than they are getting? I have spoken to them at length, and I believe they will be thrilled with a blanket this size. It weighs almost 5 lbs as it is. I know they live in Montana, but a 7 lb blanket is just too heavy to deal with. I will be weaving them each a bamboo cashmere scarf, so they will get their extra inches in another format.

My plan is to ship the blanket on August 4th to get there in time for their 5th wedding anniversary. I will ask for pictures, but you never know.

Progress at St Mark's

Ev and Diane weaving

Big excitement! Action! The first panels of the altar cloth come off the loom. Here are three wise people: the photographer, the priest, and the weaver.

I always think this is the hardest part--releasing the warp from the front bar. I am always so excited at this point that my hands fail to work efficiently.


I must run. I am off to warp the loom for panel #2.

Success

"What is success?" asked Ralph Waldo Emerson, "To laugh often and much. To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children. To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty. To find the best in others. To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeem- ed social condition. To know even one life breathed easier be- cause you have lived; this is to have succeeded."

I found this quote in my inbox upon my return. It is even better than my definition of success:
"Success is the ability to not become discouraged between failures."

May we all have a successful day!