THE FESTIVAL OF SCARVES

I was going to call this--A SCARF A DAY-- but after 4 days, my back said to slow down. But let me tell you how difficult it is... The yarn is so beautiful! Thank you Mountain Colors!

And a weft of 3 shades of recycled cashmere (hereafter to be known as "Outstanding Moral Fiber")

 I am sorry I don't have pictures of the Missoula Weavers Guild visits Mountain Colors. But I do have some of the results. So I actually dyed this warp (although I dyed it in a 100 gram skein and wound the warp after).

Yes, you can make a 7" wide, 3 yard warp with one skein of Weavers Wool. Below are the 4 scarves I wove this week.

SALT LAKE SPLENDOR

 WHAT AN AMAZING WORKSHOP! 

I think it was my very best!



                                        
 Everyone arrived with their horoscope warps on the loom and ready to go.
There were 15 students (my maximum), and what a great group of ladies!
Sadly I didn't get good images of everyone at the loom ("good" is the operative word here)




Usually one student completes their weaving, but 4 weavers completed their pieces during the workshop. The reason why everyone does not finish in the 3 days is because we are learning about Almost Ikat, Turned Weft Ikat, and Woven Words (3 workshops all at once). I will make another blog post featuring these aspects of the workshop, but my experience has been problematic when I try and download too many images. Yes, I know it is supposed to work, but all too often everything gets erased and I have to begin again.

So I am smiling just looking at the Mary Meigs Atwater Weavers.

And, of course, the class is not complete for me until I make a VIRTUAL QUILT from a series of "warpies" (kind of like selfies)--- I am so grateful for opportunity to present this workshop.


                                              

FINISHED SCARF POSING IN THE GARDEN

I couldn't decide which image I liked the best, so here they all are.  The Buddha was the only model I could find. Please click here for previous details of scarf.

 Posing with blooming chives.

WHEN YOU'RE HOT, YOU'RE HOT. WHEN YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE NOT

It has been a mighty long time since I've done anything on the computer except for hanging out on FB and nothing much on the loom. Sometimes our journeys take us in unexpected directions.  So FINALLY I got out my purply and neutrally un-knitted cashmere and picked out 4 that worked for me. Better color below.

 To test out some beautiful yarn I got from Mountain Colors. (some months ago) Most of their yarn is knitting yarn, but there is this Weaver's Wool. sett 12 epi. This is my first test scarf. I am very pleased so far. Almost Ikat works really well with their space-dyed yarn. (well actually it is hand-painted.) I know this is true because I had the pleasure of visiting Diana and Leslie's wonderful dyeroom and observing how it's done.





I can't wait to feel how the cashmere combines with Weaver's Wool. I don't think this will be the only post about working with this yarn. I am taking it slow.

Tencel---Learning and Teaching

What promises to be another phenomenal Weaving Conference begins tomorrow! Interestingly enough, this Conference is taking place on the University of Montana campus (in walking distance from my soon to be former residence (but that is a post for another day).

I will be teaching 2 one-day workshops: Intentional Design and Almost Ikat. I decided to challenge myself a bit with the Almost Ikat workshop and try a new fiber (for me)--TENCEL.
My interest in tencel stems from the fact it is produced in Canada and dyed in the USA. WEBS carries an interesting array of colors, including many space-dyed options. With not a moment to spare (after returning from the Alberta Conference), I ordered up a box of assorted colors which arrived last Thursday (waiting on my doorstep after I returned home from hanging my solo show which opened on Friday evening. This, too, is a topic for another post!).


As you can see, these are not my usual colors (except for the red and turquoise, which I ordered because two of the colors in the main palette were currently not in stock). The colors were actually selected by a client who has commissioned a Woven Words scarf (so I am really "killing" 3 birds with one stone/cone of yarn).

The students in the Almost Ikat class will be winding a warp using these very yarns, so I thought I should give it a test run. I wound this warp on Sunday, a 6" scarf, sett at 24 epi.

I tested all the colors in the weft---including some tencel yarn I had from "Just Our Yarn" to see if I could combine it with the yarn from Webs.


I cut off a portion of the warp and laundered it, so I could see how a finished scarf would look. Below is how it came out of the dryer with no pressing.


With a 1-day workshop, the students will just be able to wind their scarf warp to take home and weave, so I will only be able to send images of the various warps. Since the scarf above was purely a test of fibers, the design is not as powerful as will be all of the student warps.

So if you are signed up for this class, be prepared for a rockin' good time with Tencel! Plus I have some surprises in store (grin)

Surprise and Delight

Here is the next installment as promised. What you see below is where I am at this moment.


I am somewhat stymied as to weft selection.


So when in doubt, try them all!


I am particularly delighted with the patterns created by the variegated yarn. (especially when I think of the hours I spent carefully placing each warp end to create a design) (wry grin)


Last night I sent these pictures to the client to see if she had any preference. I had thought the blue would be her choice, but she selected the greenest shade (not pictured in close-up) with occasional variegated stripes.


I need to complete this fairly rapidly (must ship by the end of the week) although my inclination is to linger and enjoy the ever changing shades and nuances.

Commission Inspires A New Palette

There is nothing like a new set a parameters to spark new ideas.

My client wants a shawl she take traveling with her---
1. light weight
2. neutral colors
3. with almost ikat
4. dimensions similar to this but the almost ikat shouldn't be as blocky

She likes the look and feel of the bamboo yarn, so I suggest we try a Color Horoscope Weaving but in a neutral palette. I sent her a Bambu 12 sample card, and together we created this palette



I learned from experience that it is best to wind all the planets first. I spent many (far too many) hours shifting the stripes at 4-end intervals to soften the effect.


If I was going to do this again, I would dye the yarn (or have someone dye the yarn) and do "turned weft ikat". I could achieve a much more interesting effect.


I was very nervous about this piece. Although I had been thinking about a Color Horoscope Weaving in a neutral palette, I really didn't know what it was going to look like. (But it is true that I usually don't know how a warp is going to turn out until I wind it back) I wrote to my client and said "Now, if you don't like this, I will weave you something else." I actually say that to ALL of my clients, and so far I have only had 1 person take me up on it.

Once I got the 10 planets wound, it didn't take very long to wind the rest of the horoscope. I believe I ended up with 16 warp chains. (biting my nails)


And then the moment of truth! I couldn't believe what I saw....so many rich subtle variations....

Since I still have not figured out how to load more than 5 pictures (and thank you all for your past advice and suggestions, but I am just not able to) stay tuned for the next installment.

I will say that it gets better (grin)

Also, I have had 2 people take me up on the towel exchange. How exciting!

Color Horoscope Weaving Meets Almost Ikat

As I settle into my new life in Montana, I notice each new weaving has moved up a notch (at least in my eyes). When I deliver a weaving to a client (and they totally love their weaving and I am trying out something a little different), I am very happy indeed.

Another test is if I can't wait to make one for myself. You would think that having at least a dozen version of my horoscope would be enough, but I justify it by saying I need it as a teaching tool. (and it is mostly true)
Although it is big enough to around, I don't think Toni is going to share her shawl with daughter, Stephanie.

It's Funny How the Least Little Thing Can Stop a Gal

Although I haven't posted in a little over a week, my life has been quite full of non-weaving (and totally magnificent things which I will tell you about at another time). I arrived at this point in winding back my "Almost Ikat/Color Horoscope Weaving" and suffered what I like to call a "duh" moment.
I was feeling so clever about winding the ikat stripes first in order to give them a smooth flow. Why I began with the stripe in the middle, I will never know. (yes, the one that dips down was the first stripe, and the one that doesn't match up was the last). I just had to walk away....
Sometimes the problem seems to go away or correct itself as if by magic, but after several days I realized I would have to take action.
So I painstakingly adjusted the stripes....

But now that the loom is all threaded---low and behold, I over-compensated. The whole thing is wonky in the other direction. And the red stripe in the center continues to be "off". Now I have to decide---is it too off? Or does it have a lively sense of movement?

I know if I bring the client over to have a look she will be too polite to tell me what she really thinks.

Opinions? Suggestions?

Here is where the "fudge factor" really comes into play. (grin)

I am teaching a Color Horoscope Weaving workshop this coming weekend. I always like to weave a cloth dedicated to the workshop and spend my weaving time just prior to the workshop focused on the group. Perhaps this workshop is all about not being perfect.

Life is good here in Montana, and I know I made the right move at the right time. I am sure the Missoula Weavers Guild feels that way since they will not have to fly me here from Seattle (grin). They had hired me for this workshop months before I knew I was going to move here.

Blogs are all about moving forward for me, but I will soon give you an overview of the past week. It was too good to gloss over.

A New Approach

For this Color Horoscope Weaving shawl in Bambu 12 (warp ends doubled and sett 24 epi), I decided to begin by designing the Almost Ikat accent stripes first and then fill in the horoscope around the ikat. Almost Ikat is really the same as Turned Weft Ikat. The difference is that Almost Ikat is created using commerical space-dyed yarn (rather than tying and dyeing the yarn myself) as I do in Turned Weft Ikat, but the designing on the warping board part is the same.



The client requested a 28" wide shawl with lots of black. The width of the horoscope portion is 15". That means 13" of added warp. I decided to put an ikat stripe on either side of each of the 10 planets. Pictured above is the red planet stripe, and below are all the planet stripes in order of where they fall in the horoscope.

Then I wound sections of the horoscope to fill in between the planets. I can't wait to wind it back on the loom to see how this approach works since I usually work the other way around---horoscope first accents second.

Meanwhile, I just had to get outside and take a little walk. Here is the street where I live. The last of the autumn leaves.

There and Back Again

I cut the weaving off the loom almost on the way to the airport. When I decided to finish it off in Columbus, I felt much better. It would become a part of the workshop. The students couldn't quite believe the difference before and after laundering. I'll attempt to get a nice picture of it being worn.

I got so caught up in the workshop that I really didn't take very many pictures---in fact these are the only ones. I just spent the whole evening trying to create a pleasing arrangement. I'm not sure which one I prefer. I love all the variations in the warps! Hopefully I will get to see pictures of the finished pieces.

There is only 1 block in the same position in both.

Which do YOU like better?

Next workshop: Color Horoscope Weaving
Location: Missoula, Montana
Date: November 13-14

I believe there are still a couple of spaces if you happen to be in the area and are looking for a colorful experience.

Five Reasons Why I Love "Almost Ikat"

I finally found the perfect name for creating ikat-like effects using commercial space-dyed yarn--ALMOST IKAT.

If you love ikat, but don't like or don't have the space to dye yarn, here is a good solution.


It is so much fun to weave because the design unfolds before your eyes.


There is minimal planning.


I can use Almost Ikat as a stand alone design (as simple or complex as I desire) or use it as an accent with other techniques


I am about to cut the scarf off the loom and toss it in my suitcase on the way to Columbus, Ohio. I will finish it off and launder it at the workshop.

Check out my little YouTube tutorial for instruction on how to create Almost Ikat.