A Wonderful Birthday Gift

This card was waiting for me when I got home from the most amazing NIA class I have ever experienced.

Dear Bonnie,
For the past six years the Olympia Weavers Guild has participated in the Puyallup Fair's Sheep to Shawl. This past fall we decided to use the information you presented in your WeaveZine article, Turned-Weft Ikat for our design inspiration and the multitudinous hues present in hydrangeas for the color inspiration.

We had so much fun wrapping and tying and dying that warp. Fair-goers were fascinated with the project and the finished shawl was quite simply beautiful.

Each year after the Fair we print up cards showing the draft we used, colors, and the completed shawl. Sine you were so much a part of this project, I wanted to send you a picture of the completed piece.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge so freely! We won first place!

Sincerely, Olympia Weavers Guild

Here is Tami modeling the freshly completed shawl at the fair---September 2009


This was the very first I had heard about this, and the news couldn't have come at a more perfect moment.

All in all, it was the best birthday I have ever had! Thank you all for your birthday wishes. They were the delicious icing on the virtual cake.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I'm weaving away on my Birthday. (and it is going along really well!). One of the very best things about ikat-like warps in plain weave is the delight in watching a design unfold. Since I never make a sketch ahead of time, I am surprised at every inch, so much so that I savor every moment.
Perhaps the joy in weaving is the gift I have received for having woven for 50 years. I feel that I no longer have to strive to become the Queen of Weaving or compete for time in the "woven mile".

Remember the words in the weaving above LAUGH OFTEN()LOVE MUCH()LIVE WELL. What a gift to be weaving these words on my birthday. It's a party on the loom.

I'm having so much fun blending the computer with my woven images. That is basically what I have been doing since the new year.

Oops, I accidentally erased the picture. I have never figured out how to put a picture back. But I think the blog is all about going forward, so I will put the picture in tomorrow.

Cashmere Stash in Studio

Before I begin the weaving, I decided a complete inventory of my cashmere was necessary. I haven't weighed my stash, but it is juicy.


Since the warp is so busy, I think a neutral would be the best weft. I sent the picture below to Paula, the recipient, and she agreed that perhaps a solid black would be the best choice for weft.
So black it is. (By the way, the largest balls weigh about 2 oz) I know that knitters cringe at the idea storing yarn in balls because it removes the elasticity, but in weaving the elasticity is not a boon. Plus, the tight balls helps remove the crimp that comes with un-knitting.


So let the weaving begin! The looms were restless and decided to move around the room. Now Gary is facing North, and Grace thought it might be nice to be at a jaunty angle. The jury is still out on the move.

Here is a little peek at what I am working on that is not weaving. Since Weaving Spirit is a weaving blog, I am conflicted about posting my non-weaving divergences. Since I already have a second blog, Bonnie Inspired, I am not sure I have the energy to start up another.

Birthday Month

Some dates aren't exactly today---but close enough.

My 68th birthday.
My 50th year of weaving.
My 8th year of Weight Watchers.
My 6th year of NIA.
My 3rd year of blogging.

It all adds up to a good year ahead---everything changes and everything stays the same.

Show No Fear

There really are no knots. If the threads sense fear, then all is lost. But if I approach a seemingly impossible tangle with courage and optimism....

It's really not as bad as it looks, but it looks pretty bad. What caused the mess on this side is the series of adjustments I made in the raddle. The tangle occurred after I had wound back about 4 yds of a 6 yd warp. I usually put on a short 4 yd warp which always goes smoothly warping back to front. But the upside is I will have 2 scarves---one for Paula and one to sell.


I timed it. Winding back took me an hour, not too bad. The satisfaction of creating order from chaos is one of the best parts of this step. I always feel powerful when I have completed the winding back---like I can do anything. (Of course having the Olympics playing in the background helped )


The rest of the process is a breeze. I'm through the heddles in no time. I had this done yesterday, but I couldn't get my computer to deal with my images and had to give it a rest.


Onward!

Designing in the Raddle

My talk about the Fudge Factor has come back to bite me. I am working on a Woven Words project for Paula (who sent me 10 cashmere sweaters). Her selected words are LAUGH OFTEN, LOVE MUCH, LIVE WELL. Since she wanted her weaving to be 18" wide, I knew that I would need 5" of ikat to make up the difference.

When I say ikat, I am using my Turned Weft Ikat technique but using commerical space dyed Bambu 12 doubled and sett at 24 epi.
I wound all of the words and the ikat sections separately and put them in the raddle and dropped the bar to the ground, so I could see the warp design (for the first time)

I have to say I was not thrilled with look at all, not the least of which the fact that the ikat sections didn't line up.

I decided to sleep on it, and when I woke up I had a plan. I objected to the 1" ikat stripe between each word, but felt that there should be something to separate LOVE and MUCH. I took out 20 of the 24 ends and created an ikat border. Then I pulled the crooked ikat stripes so they would line up.
The whole process took about a half hour, and made all the difference. I love it now!
Now to wind back. This will be tricky because the bouts have been split and moved around. Stay tuned for the next step.

Best Effort

I am calling this good. Bear and blanket will get shipped off tomorrow. Gary is waving goodbye. (for now)

Tomorrow I will present was is going on Gary the loom, who has not been idle for a minute.