Friday, June 27, 2008
Reverse Decorating
Take away the things that do not relate to the current life.
Here is the scarf collection I've woven since I begin the process of moving.
(Actually there are 3 more I didn't photograph)
These are all Woven Words, bamboo warp and recycled cashmere weft.
Another aspect of reverse decorating is the pack away what you want to keep and create arrangements from the things you want to sell. Any beaded bag collectors out there?
Staging yarn for packing can be decorative as well.
By tomorrow I might discover just how much I have left to do before moving day.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Loom Humor
Meanwhile at the other end of the apartment...
Quandary: Should I move the cedar chest full or empty?
When I say "I", I actually mean the movers.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Urban Nature
A bountiful harvest from the rock garden. This was a wonderful day! It was the perfect interlude between sorting and tossing.
I have finished going through all the old letters, photographs, negatives, greeting cards and postcards. Tomorrow I will ship off photographs and memorabilia to original owners. I have no more words.
I thought I would take pictures of it all, but I have been too absorbed.
Next Tuesday night I will be sleeping in my new apartment....
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Festival of Moving Rock Garden Bloom Immanent
It may not seem like I am staying on target, but I am totally focused on the Festival of Moving.
On Friday in celebration of summer and 18 happy years in my apartment, I am planning a mini-Potlatch. If I get it together, I will make it "virtual".
The dictionary says:
A ceremonial feast among certain Native American peoples of the northwest Pacific coast, as in celebration of a marriage or accession, at which the host distributes gifts according to each guest's rank or status. Between rival groups the potlatch could involve extravagant or competitive giving and destruction by the host of valued items as a display of superior wealth.
[Chinook Jargon, from Nootka p'achitl, to make a potlatch gift.]
A mini-Potlatch stops well short of competitive giving and destruction of valued items
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
On the Other Hand....
The center "thread" is tencel from Just Our Yarn, and the other two "threads" are ikat dyed bamboo from Habu. All of the yarn is leftover from weaving projects. All of the yarn is wrapped around matte board shapes.
I love wrapping yarn. It is the perfect blend of mindlessness and mindfulness.
I hear a file drawer calling me....
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Piles
Here is a small pile of un-knitted cashmere scraps. If there is a spinner out there who wants me to save and send thses, let me know.
Then I have piles of thrums. This pile happens to be mostly bamboo although I have silk thrums and chenille thrums galore. If anyone has use of colorful thrums, now is the time to let me know. I will happily send for the price of postage.
Ah, now cashmere sweaters are piling up again. These will get sent East to the Un-knitting Factory.
I am not moving far, but I am moving deep. I am excavating papers. (some of which go back almost 40 years). The blue bag is recycle, and the white with red letter is shredding
The things on the shelf have made it through the first cut. As I progress, I get more ruthless and have to empy the bags more often. I have 8 file drawers full and several loose boxes of memorabilia and photographs. Compress!
Friday, June 13, 2008
INSPIRED BY BONNIE
WOVEN WORDS present a novel way to introduce color into a woven shawl.
Click over to her blog for more delicious pictures, details, and praise.
My experience with woven words:
I am an experienced weaver and love to weave with many colours.
Whenever I visited your blog I was always impressed by the horoscope and woven-words cloths.
I usually try to make the colours flow in my weaving.
What I like about woven words is the very unexpected arrangement of the colours and the way they harmony. What pleased me is that I do not have to bother the colours look nice.(or not) They are just there and they will find there own place and they look nice.
Irma
So finally both cloths are finished and I like them both. The red/pink one is warmer and woven with wool.
The turquoise one was woven with two threads of thin silk and is more a summer shawl.
They both have a very good drape. I think the silk one will wrinkle a bit while wearing, the woollen one doesn’t wrinkle at all. It was nice to do the woven-words weaving. Thanks again for all the information.
Irma
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Virtual Packing
I have gotten carried away with my close-up lense. When I use the cashmere for the weft, I triple the strands. Whereas I love this picture, I do not love the single dark strand.
So I switched to 3 lighter strands. I kept a little bit of the dark in there. I may or may not take it out once I have finished the weaving.
I hope to complete this scarf today, so it's time to get back to the loom. Plus the sun has actually just come out. Most people around the Northwest will be glad, but chilly rainy weather encourages indoor activity--the very thing in which I am engaged.
Back to work!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Moving Spirit
From left to right:
All the warps are Bambu 12 (each end doubled)
1. Sett 24 epi (before wash) 7 1/4 x 72 (after wash) 7 x 63
2. Sett 20 epi (before wash) 8 1/2 x 76 3/4 (after wash) 7 3/8 x 66
3. Sett 18 epi (before wash) 12 3/4 x 76 (after wash) 11 1/2 x 67
I know I wondered if the shrinkage would be greater with a looser sett, but I didn't notice a great difference. Anyone good enough at advanced calculations could figure out the relative shrinkage.
All the wefts are un-knitted cashmere sweaters tripled. I am sorry you can't feel them. I know you would agree with me that the 20 epi feels the very best. (soft, resilient, and loft)
I'm almost finished weaving Jane's words LOVE, HEALTH, GRATITUDE. I decided to sett at 20 epi
Meanwhile I am trying to decide on the weft for Marjorie's words LOVE, HUMOR, NATURE
Concerning my impending move: I signed a lease yesterday. Here is the floor plan of my future home. It is quite a bit smaller than where I am living now, but this will be my opportunity to simplify.
Condominiums include studios, live-work spaces, lofts, and one- and two-bedroom condos. There are 153 units ranging in size from 340 to 1,066 square feet. There’s also 8,800 square feet of street-level commercial space housing 5 businesses.
To encourage social interaction, there is a 14-seat theater, fitness center, library/lounge with gourmet kitchen, several gardens with rooftop views and waterfalls, an art studio/hobby room, Pea Patch and a billiards room.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Moving--Step 1--Virtual Yard Sale
Terms: Negotiable. Buyer pays shipping.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Taking Stock and Loose Ends
Oops, I accidentally erased the picture show the next Woven Words off the loom. I will show you more on this, but I kind of liked this picture. Here we see 3 different setts: left 18 epi (unwashed), top right 20 epi (washed), lower right 24 epi (washed)
It is too late for me to wash and dry the 18 epi piece, but I can't wait to do that tomorrow. I will wash and dry it exactly like I did the other two.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Ta Dah!
Stay tuned for the next segment---where will I be living a month from now? Will Grace and Gary be happy in their new home? How much will I have to dematerialize?