weft to my own devices

Spinning & Plying at Loscon 38

2011-12-01T10:50:00.000-08:00

Here's what I spun up and chain plyed at Loscon this weekend. It's Joan Contraman's Dolphin Tails. I love Joan's batts. We used to be in Designing Weavers together, before she moved to Montana.

Fiber Artist Bio

2011-11-19T17:28:00.000-08:00

I had to make a bio page for an art gallery show I'm in, and tho I couldn't upload it here, I was able to more or less recreate it on my facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=789000690&sk=notes#!/notes/ellen-shipley/ellen-shipley-woodcuts/10150417474201520

It's weighted toward printmaking because that's what I've got in the show. ;-j

Double Woven Edges

2011-11-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

Brilliant! Check out Alice Schlein's Weaverly blog post featuring double woven edges:
http://weaverly.typepad.com/weaverly/2011/11/829-finished.html

I detest weaving edges, whether on a shawl or a towel, what-have-you. Fringe takes forever to twine, and I don't like leaving it loose. I've never cared for folding over and sewing either. But this technique shows promise.

Start and end with double weave (and on a later post she shows you how to do that even on 4 harnesses:
http://weaverly.typepad.com/weaverly/2011/11/double-weave-hems.html). When off the loom tuck the ends into the "tube" and whip closed. Nice clear finish. 8-]

My SCA Device

2011-11-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

This is the mini-tapestry of my device for the Laurel's Cope. I'm unsure how to deal with the back of the tapestry. I've only ever mounted mini-tapestries to be framed, never to be work on a garment as a badge, and I'm unsure what is required.

front

back

And here it is on the Laurel's Cope at Coronation. 8-]

Sneaking a try-out of the cope. ;->

Fiber Frolic 2011 - Pictures

2011-10-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

My sprang class -- all my serious students!

Steph finished her bag in class.

Ta-da!

Rebekah all but finished her bag. She worked on it all day. That's dedication. ;-]

Woody's fiber prep class:

There's Rebekah working away on her sprang. ;->

The trick is to make the roving "unzip" from the drum just the way Woody demonstrated it.

Woody makes it look so easy.

Success!

Some other classes:

Tablet weaving

Some really kewl tablets made out of Home Depot color chips...with hole protectors.

Lucet

Bjeux tapestry

Spinning circle:

Dyeing station:

Felted scarves:

Indigo Tye Dye:

Some of the merchants:

The end of a long, happy day:

Sprang Class - Fiber Frolic

2011-10-06T16:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of a student working on a sprang loom. Note the cord pushed to the top. Loom was warped in the easy figure-8, with a string to hold the cross pushed to the top.

~*~

Stretcher bars came and I'm putting the looms together. Had to buy all new looms this time so I ordered smaller bars to keep the cost down. Still plenty of room to weave.

~*~

Sample loom for the class on Sat.

250 wraps on the bobbins. Enough for two sprang bags. 20 loops on the looms. 4 skewers, 4 string place holders. Tapestry needles.

Woven-Felted Scarves

2011-08-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

Here's the original concept -- felted bit added to a gauzy material to create a crinkle or seersucker effect:

Zen Garden

This is a loosly-woven scarf with filmy bits of roving felted on that wouldn't distort the matrix very much:

Starry Night

This is another loosly-woven scarf with more substancial felted bits. The idea was to allow the felt to create a seersucker effect:

Stones in the Steam

Sky Blue Necklace

2011-08-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

Working on a new pin-woven tapestry necklace.

The previous ones were spacy black. This one will be sky blue. With longer raindrops.

A combination of this:

And this:

~*~

Adding beads now.

You can use a tiny crochet hook to add the beads if they're large enough.

More beads. I'm in the compulsive phase now.

~*~

Weaving now. Beads tend to move around or get shoved out of the way before they're locked down.

~*~

A few more hours of weaving.

It helps every now and then to trim the strings. They only get in the way.

~*~

The new cloudy moon is larger than the old cloudy moon:

They're actually side by side, not an overlay. I prefer the way I handle the stars now, passing the weft under them instead of isolating them.

~*~

Not much more to weave. Then I can start in on the arms and clasp.

~*~

Tuck, tuck, tucking threads to the back. Still a few patches left to weave.

Ends all tucked to the back. Now for blocking and weaving the arms.

My SCA Device

2011-07-25T23:39:00.000-07:00

Mini-tapestry of my device for the Laurel's cloak project. 3.5"x4". Just need to block it and trim & tuck stray ends.

After blocking:

Fiber Retreat 2011

2011-06-28T23:30:00.000-07:00

My sprang class and assorted Tent City shots. 8-]

Sprang Class Handouts

2011-06-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

Useful images

There were others, and as soon as I figure out how to import PageMaker images to my blog, I will.

Sprang Sites and Links:　

Phiala's sprang site:
http://www.stringpage.com/sprang/sprang.html

Regia Anglorum sprang site:
http://www.regia.org/sprang.htm

Contemporary sprang work on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1410201@N23/

My sprang site:
wefttomyowndevices.blogspot.com/ (duh - you're here) ;-j

Sprang on large loom:
http://lunula.twoday.net/stories/2214501/

Viking Girl’s sprang hats:
http://www.vikinggirlsworkshop.com/spranghats.html

Graciela’s sprang site:
http://gracielaforadoritecnicastextiles.blogspot.com/

Blau’s sprang site:
http://www.denblauwenswaen.nl/public/sites/english/techniques/sprang/sprang.htm

Patterned sprang bags, scarves, sweaters:
http://www.b-oberholz.de/sprang/01.htm

Standing sprang loom - Oseberg loom:
http://news.webshots.com/photo/2468504770068722989GIJpqJ

Bronze age craft article:
http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/12/2010/exploring-craftsmanship-in-the-bronze-age

Sprang bags at Pennsic ’06:
http://genvieve.net/sca/sprang.htmhttp://

Blue's sprang lessons on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2pcDEnN3Jk

Spanish Peacock's sprang site:
http://www.spanishpeacock.com/sprang.htm

Another Sprang Bag

2011-06-15T19:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a slightly larger sprang bag.

40 loops wide, about 12" on the loom.

Sprang Sample 2

2011-06-12T18:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a smaller sample in 8/4 Maysville cotton warp, ideal for sprang.

24 loops, a little small for a bag. 50 might be better. Also a little longer I think.

~*~

Finished and off the loom.

Not too small afterall.

Preparing for Sprang Class

2011-06-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

I'm preparing for my sprang class at the Fiber Retreat in a couple weeks. Here's a sample piece I'm working on. Freya and Loki are helping. ;-j

This is to refresh myself and work out any kinks that might arise before the class. Our class piece will be smaller, don't worry!

The loom is a frame made of stretcher bars with doweling and wooden skewers. It's nice and portable and can be worked on my lap. Another nice thing about this set-up is that you can turn it upside down and work it. This helps you keep the beating even (you can't help beating harder down than up). You can also switch direction of the slant.

~*~

Almost finished.

~*~

As a critique: too wide, too long for a cap. Center seam needs to be tighter.

Last-minute Xmas Gifts

2010-12-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

Finally finishing up my sample mug rugs from my class this summer, and started another set. Giving them for Christmas gifts. ;-]

These are the blue jeans selvege ones.

And these are the fabric strip ones. They weave more like rag rugs because they squoosh down.

Working on the last one.

This one is still on the back. Can't be cut off until both are finished. The system works great.

Blue Jeans Mug Rugs

2010-04-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

I have a bag of blue jeans selvage from Pendleton Mill that works great as weft for mug rugs. It adds an interesting texture and weaves up quickly.

I warped up a board with natural cotton rug warp. I used blue jeans selvage in a basket weave pattern as weft with tabby shots of cotton rug warp between. Here the tabby is bubbled before beating with the tapestry needle.

tabby weft with bubbling

Here the blue jeans selvage weft is pulled straight while holding onto a loop at the other end. This keeps the mug rug from pulling in.

blue jeans weft pulled straight

And here's the finished mug rug. Note the hem stitch. I won't take it off the board as yet because I can weave a second mug run on the reverse side.

mug rug with hem stitch

I won't take it off the board as yet because I can weave a second mug run on the reverse side.

warp on the reverse

Here's a rag weave variation:

sample rag woven mug rug

The weft is cut from strips of fabric.

~*~

Supplies:

canvas art boards
self-sticking label squares
cotton warp
bamboo skewers
tapestry needles
blue jeans weft
scissors
6" ruler
ziploc baggies
pencil & paper

Waiting on the Canvas Boards -- Mug Rug Class

2010-04-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

Time to get ready for my Mug Rug class at Fiber Retreat, May 14-16. Waiting on the canvas boards for the looms. 6"sq. I'll warp them up double-sided and each student will get 2 looms for a set of 4 mug rugs.

I'll bring tapestry needles, yarn, cotton rug warp, but I suggested students bring their own yarn as well. They can be free-for-all or twill, or any fancier pattern than someone might want to weave. I'll have books for basic weave patterns, or just make handouts.

They can be worked on after the class and taken home to finish if necessary. Pretty basic.

These are sample mug rugs -- woven on a table loom -- but pretty much what we'll be doing.

~*~

Yay! The canvas boards just showed up!

Doesn't look like much, but what it is is a very sturdy board with a tooth, which helps to keep the warp in place and separated.

~*~

I warped the canvas board with black Maysville cotton warp. 1/2 inch margin on either side. The warp is wrapped around the canvas board with each wrap the distance of a thread apart. It is tied off at either end, either the top or the bottom. We will be weaving on both sides of the board.

It might be easier to weave on the back of the board if the text is covered with white paper or tape. Perhaps blank label paper.

~*~

Picked up some extra tapestry needles at JoAnn's. Must remember the better tapestry needles are to be found in the crafts section rather than the sewing notions.

The Maysville rug warp came today. Think I have everything I need for the class.

Sock!

2010-02-21T22:23:00.000-08:00

I have some elements to work on. This cutting and unravelling didn't quite work out as it was supposed to, but I muddled thru. I somehow made my opening a whole row too wide. Don't know quite how I did that, but I ended up with two cut pieces on either side instead of one.

It's done! It was scary going there toward the end. I dropped a lot of stitches trying to figure out the binding off (the book had an improvement that I couldn't grok so I skipped it). Then the same thing happened closing the heel. I simply couldn't figure out the 3 needle bind off and dropped a lot of stitches in the process, so I made something up and it seems to have worked.

On the bright side, I can now repair dropped stitches. ;-]

Now I'd better get to the second sock before I forget what I just did.

Olympics Challenge

2010-02-17T15:49:00.000-08:00

There's a Craft Olympics Challenge and I've decided to knit a sock (hopefully two). Here's the sock so far:

I'm almost to the mid point -- at least the mid point in the leg, where the slit will go. Never attempted a sock like this before (I've attempted a couple of socks, but they've never gotten much past this point anyway). So I have high hopes for this technique.

It's from one of Cat Bordhi's books, Personal Footprints. I like it so far. Tho I don't have complete confidence in my footprint. I'll see how it turns out.

~*~

Curling works really great for knitting.

At this point I'm supposed to leave the heel 'til later and begin the leg. But first I have to cut the yarn!! I think I'll look at it a little longer before I do that....

Blast from the Past

2009-06-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

Here's Will and me demonstrating spinning at the Antelope Valley Fair in 1990. Will is seven here. He's spinning on my turkish spindle -- actually winding up the wool he's spun. He also carded for me. We're dressed in SCA garb. 8-]

Tree & Moon

2009-06-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

This is a piece of digital art, a distortion of a photograph of a rock. ;- j I love doing this. And trees and moons are a recurring theme of mine.

I think this one would make a particularly striking tapestry. 8-]

I wonder how difficult it would be to duplicate the metalic fluid effect?

Fiber Retreat 09

2009-06-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

Joey hard at work. ;-]

Courney and Cora and a pal.

A couple tent city pics.

I remembered to pull out my camera during my classes this time. ;- j

A happy weaver. ;-] Glad you liked the class, Dawn.

Some more tapestries at the show & tell. I thought I was having deja vu seeing "my" tapestry all over the place. ;-b

Eowyn really took to the mud dyeing. I liked her indigo over-dye. Kewl idea.

Mud dye amongst the show & tell.

Just can't get away from that paleo-theme. ;- j

Baskets and more mud dye. 8-]

Here's my brazilwood and kamala offerings. Meager things, but mine own.

Tent city and the exhausted dye station.

Astra's Bjo tapestry project in the process.

Tie dye! Looks like a fun class Ercil. ;-]

This was just too much fun. I'm pooped. Wish I'd taken more pics. But I was just too busy having fun!

Other photo sites:
Lauri:
www.flickr.com/photos/25463531@N06/sets/72157619331093737/
Carol:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/carolspinner/sets/72157619389674566/
Jennifer Tan:
http://www.syrendell.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Kemp:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lady.ianuk/2009GriffinDyeWorksFiberAndDyeRetreat?feat=directlink , or http://tinyurl.com/mvocul
Terri:
http://tenderlovingwork.com/Site/Griffin_Dyeworks_Fiber_Retreat.html
Eowyn:
http://eowynsartifacts.livejournal.com/
Melissa:
http://lissamc.livejournal.com/275345.html#cutid1.
Ercil:
http://mixed-upmelange.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html
Catherine:
http://picasaweb.google.com/CatherinedeWinter
Eilidh:
http://gallery.griffindyeworks.com/v/2009-retreat/

Spin, Ply & Dye

2009-06-01T10:05:00.001-07:00

Eilidh showed me how to spin and ply from a single drop spindle at the Fiber Retreat this weekend. W00t! That's a kewl trick.

I bought a wool/bamboo blend from Camelion Colorworks to play with. After a spun and plied a small hank, I dropped it in the kamala pot to dye it. I'll send it along to Astra via Bruce at work for her Tapestry project.

I was really pressed for time at the end -- I dunked it in the only pot I could find on Sun. morning. ;- j Otherwise I might have overdyed it with indigo to make a more useful green.

Blue Sky - Mini Tapestry

2009-05-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

Blue Sky -- mini-tapestry

~*~

Starting over on the mini-tapestry sample for my class. Shawn the Sheep was just too complicated and large a project for a short class.

So I'm going to do the top portion, the blue sky, complete with moon, stars, cloud and beady rain. Should be sufficiently interesting and pretty for a class project.

I'm warping a new sample shortly. Something like this:

~*~

Another thing to add to the class supply list: fray check or white glue, for any broken or damaged warps that may arise. Murphy's Law, you know.

Also long jewelry pins to hold beads before adding to the warp.

Sewing thread works best for threading on beads -- finer than floss.

And don't forget a disposable tablecloth for catching beads that inevitably get away.

~*~

Here's the board warped up with the new cartoon:

Next I'll add the beads.

The warp isn't that messy -- the pins holding the beads loosened when I had to flip it to scan. Once weaving has begun it won't do that.

~*~

Wow, I have a full class -- eight students -- with four wait listed already. Maybe I should have two classes.

~*~

Here's a good start on the weaving. I've pinned the beads down to keep them from loosening the warp until I can get some of the cloud woven. I'll do that next.

It's compulsive. Time to take a break.

Almost done. Just one more push and it'll be finished.

I need to move the cloud over toward the center a couple of warps. It's a little too close to the edge, which makes color changes problematical. Also make the rain beads a little longer. They eat up too much of the bottom of the cloud. I wanted it to hand down a little below the tapestry.

~*~

I'll need to make up more foam core boards -- enough for a second class. Also see if I have enough tapestry needles and dental floss.

~*~

Almost there. The closer it gets to filling in the harder it gets. Threads have to be pushed out of the way to make room to weave. Pins often help hole areas back. At this point you have to make sure there are no loose areas. Push them tighter with the tapestry needle and fill in the blank spots.

~*~

Finished weaving. I've tucked the last of the thread ends to the back.

And here it is blocked.

I spritzed it with a water bottle and pinned the sides to keep it from pulling in. That's the cheater way, I know, but I didn't feel like taking it off the loom, wetting it thoroughly, and pinning it back down again. But it does wreck the cartoon and graph paper beneath.

~*~

Here's what the back of the tapestry looks like before trimming the tucked ends.

Ta-Daa! Here is is:

Shawn the Sheep -- Mini-Tapestry

2009-04-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here is the foam core board loom set up with its dental floss warp and cartoon. I cut two pieces of fcb 7"x11" and taped them together with clear package tape (wide and sturdy). This makes the loom thick enough to keep the pins from pushing through the back. Next I taped a piece of graph paper to the loom, to better space out the pins for the warp. Next I traced and drew the cartoon for Shawn the Sheep (Wallace & Gromit) wearing a sweater and added a cloud, moon and stars. It is approx. 4.5"x7.5" I laid the cartoon on top of the graph paper and placed the pins at an acute angle to the loom. The pins are hard to push, which is probably a good thing. We don't want them wiggling loose and falling out. The top layer of pins is placed on every line; the bottom layer of pins is placed between the lines. This makes for a very slight zig-zag warp, which should be pulled tightly and anchored to outlier pins by wrapping several times. The floss is waxed and will not slip.

Next I threaded the star beads, moon button and eyeball beads onto the warp. To do this I pulled up the appropriate pin over each element on the cartoon and threaded the bead and button onto the loop of warp.

For the stars, which have very small holes, I had to make a leader thread from a short piece of floss and loop it through the warp. This system usually works, but if the hole is very small (see the star to the far left), I can also unhook the warp and thread the star directly onto it. I prefer to have the beads on a double warp thread, but a single is also workable.

So as to keep the eyeballs from looking cross-eyed, I threaded one from the top and one from the bottom. This leaves a thread between them.

~*~

So here is the start of the weaving. I chose a blue at random and started weaving more or less in the middle of the sky. The idea is to give a wavy, windy patch of blue. Be careful to bubble while weaving to keep the warp from pulling in. Watch the edges for draw in. If necessary, a temporary pin can be placed to hold the edge in place.

Note the short wooden skewer under the warp threads to lift them off the board. This facilitates weaving.

~*~

Working on the sky and cloud. I can see the cloud is complicated and superfluous. I'll leave it out of the final cartoon and shorten the whole thing. It's a lot of weaving.

Also I don't like the way the eyes are working. Looks like a bandit sheep. I'll see what I can do about the eyes -- maybe a larger white bead behind the black one or something.

~*~

Came to an inevitable conclusion today. There is no way my students can make any headway on this tapestry. It's too complicated and too big.

What I need is something more this size:

In fact, that's what I'm going to do. A piece of sky more like 3"x4" . I'll include a cloud, in fact, I'll have it hang down like I do in my cloud necklaces, complete with rain beads.

I need simple, quick patches of color that will cover a large area at a time. This will be better. I'll fix up another sample shortly.

Woven Beaded Necklaces

2008-10-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

Cloudy Moon

Bronze Goddess

Spiral Dance

I decided to upload a few of my woven, beaded necklaces to my etsy shop: http://ellenshipley.etsy.com

Food Color Dye on Bambu -- Fail

2008-10-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

Failed experiment -- or nearly so, but I expect it to fail all the way shortly. ;-j

I tried dyeing bambu with food coloring in the microwave. I mordanted half with vinegar and half with baking soda (I got a suggestion from one site to do that for the pH). I used black food colorint (really dark, dark green), but when it came time to rinse it out, it all ran away except for a pink. But that's pretty pale and I figure that'll go away too. So no joy.

I think I'll have to spin the bambu white (boring) and then dye the yarn with something designed for cellulose. I know it'll work with indigo with the proper mordant. But that's an experiment for another day.

Kimono Jacket -- B&W (Bubbles & Waves!)

2008-08-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

seeing spots

attaching the sleeves

ta-da -- don't go blind!

My fold-out work table works just fine. With the loom on coasters, it slides right out of the way.

I like working with fleece. No hems and everything attaches with a blanket stitch.

And here it is completed:

bubbles!

and waves!

Catfluff Yarn

2008-07-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

catfluff & merino rolags

catfluff & merino singles & skeins

A friend had a beloved Maine coon cat who passed away, but before he did, she lovingly collected his combings because someone once told her she could have them spun into yarn.

Enter me. I had to detangle 10 years’ worth of cat combings stuffed into ziplok bags. I blended them with a little merino to make them easier to spin.

She has the yarn now. I’m not sure if she plans to knit a sweater or a throw, but whichever, she’ll be able to cuddle with her kitty again. ;-]

Kamala Shibori

2008-06-17T18:10:00.001-07:00

This is my kamala-dyed loom controlled shibori sample. Note the knife-edge pleats. That's because it sat for a year before I dyed it. I'm thinking I'll leave it this way as a demonstration piece.

It's approx. 12"x18", tabby with a twill pattern shot thrown after 4 tabby shots.

Twill really lends itself to loom controlled shibori. Not only is there a sharp color pattern, but there is a second paler color pattern.

Fiber Retreat '08

2008-06-16T16:03:00.001-07:00

Fiber Retreat - Natural Dyeing

2008-06-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

Two skeins of pima cotton dipped in the natural dye pots at Fiber Retreat '08. I had so much fun bopping from pot to pot and dunking my yarn. 8-]

First I dropped the skein in kamala, then I dipped it half way in broom, onion, osage. Then I gave it a half turn and dipped it in brazinwood. A little bit of variation in the depth gave me more gradual shade change.

This skein was dipped in kamala, then broom. I then gave it a half turn and dunked it very briefly in indigo. A little variation with the depth gave me a gradual change in shade. I like how the yellow-oranges gave me a teally blue when the indigo hit the yarn.

Shibori - Brindle Twill

2008-06-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

Cotton & cottolin warp, 22", 8-dent reed, twill, turns at center.
? weft -- still testing samples.

Ok, going with 3 white threads for weft, with shibori pattern every four passes.

getting started -- note shibori shots do not go all the way to the edge -- this will give me a dark border

Edge on. You can see the pattern better under the fold.

Off the loom, strings all pulled. Just out of the indigo pot -- note how everything first comes out green, then oxidizes to blue as it rests.

Shibori is in the middle -- it has turned dark blue -- a fresh indigo pot.

Sozzled in soapy water, then rinse water. Now it's handing up to dry on the line. In the 90+ degree heat it dried fast.

Ta-da! It worked better than I hoped. I got my brindle pattern.

Detail. Scarf hasn't been washed out to relax the pleats yet.

Brindle Project #1 -- blue-green shawl

2008-05-14T08:20:00.001-07:00

I found a warp chain in the right colors.

Is there enough here for a weft instead? I'd rather use white in the warp and blue-green in the weft.

The idea is to weave a scarf in the brindle twill pattern to see how it looks, then tie on a new white silk warp for a woven shibori in the brindle pattern.

Winding on the warp. Going with the turqy shawl to test the pattern. If I shake a leg, I can wear the shawl at Dee's wedding on Sat.

All tied on and ready to weave.

Not quite there yet. Still looking for the right weft.

Weaving along.

Pattern rather vague -- can just see it edge on.

Hanging up to dry -- pretty, but a bit gauzy for my tastes.

Cave Painting Tapestry -- The Process

2008-04-15T17:19:00.001-07:00

Cave Painting -- the finished tapestry

The Process:

drawing the cartoon cartoon -- it sits under the warp threads while I weave

pastel -- a guideline for choosing threads and yarns

beginning the weaving process -- frame is a foam core board with waxed linen wrapped around pins

getting the unicorn right -- there is no set order to free-form needle tapesty

needle-shaping and filling in spots

ends all tucked in -- I prefer to work from the front because this style of tapestry is very textural; the back is smoother and more like conventional tapestry

Tapestries

2008-04-15T16:03:00.001-07:00

Time Warps: Greek Vase (double woven tablet weave)

sketch

finished vase -- frame give shape to the vase

detail

Time Warps: Proof of Alien Contact

alien vase in shaped frame

close-up

Needle woven tapestries

Hippolita -- Lascaux cave painting

Cave Unicorn -- Paleo-Mythos series

Cave Painting -- for Tina's b'day

Unicorn Tapestry -- Lin's b'day

Cat & Mouse -- Karen's b'day

Dove Ewe -- for Jeane

Needle Woven & Beaded Necklaces

Moon Faze

Noah's Arc

Sea Foam

Sprang &tc

2008-03-31T14:18:00.000-07:00

Sprang cap with tablet woven band (Viking runes in double weave)

Sprang cap in photo with EB below

Another sprang cap

Tablet woven bookmarks (sewing thread) in elvish

Me in a Lord of the Rings elvish cloak (actual fabric from NZ!) at a Loscon

My Y1K coat -- or Viking caftan -- with tablet woven band in ramshorn

Dr. Elizabeth Barber (w00t!) with my sprang cap at the San Diego Handweavers Guild Conference, mid '90's. I later gave it to her.

My New Weaving Studio! 8-]

2008-03-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time it was Will's bedroom...

Bill applies a little paint...

Ellen applies a little more...

Much later...

Rolling up the carpet...

Elliott lends a hand...

Steph, Julie & Will lend a hand too...

It was a long day...

Eichling spans the hall...

Bill touches up the trim...

Loki and Freya check out the room...

It's a loom room!

Complete with tapestries on the wall.

And sheep in the window. ;-]

Seckon Sockum 8-]

2007-08-28T09:35:00.001-07:00

This one's a toe-up version with a spiraling pattern. I like the toe, and the pattern, but I'm not too happy with the cuff. Really no cuff. I'm too tight yet. If I could do it looser it might look better.

Now I'm on to my 3rd sockum. 8-]

Purls of Wisdom ;->

2007-08-25T17:12:00.001-07:00

I'm a knitter! 8-] I just knit my first sock!

Ok, it's only a baby sock -- a baby only a mother could love -- but it's my sockums.

:-]

I picked up the kewlest sock book at the Fabulous Fiber Fest last weekend, a funky little book about how to knit asymestrical socks. Well. Mine are going to turn out asymetrical anyway, so that just seemed right up my alley! One down and I'm working on the second. She has you knit her weird socks in mini form first, which is sure a good thing. So much less to rip out!

Naturally I'm using some pricy yarn I picked up at the Weavers' Cottage, but hey, at least it feels good running thru my fingers.

Fiber Retreat '07 -- Part 1

2007-06-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

Let the fun begin!

More fun

Dyeing yarn for self-striping socks

Preparing skeins for mordanting

The tents

Oh macharena...!

Banners in the breeze

More dyed silk scarves

And yet more

Basket-making

Tools of the trade

Basket makers

Bead making

Hands-on assistance

Tent city lights

Night life in the tent city

Denizens of tent city

The night is young

Late night chat

Block carving class -- Janet's rabbits

Michelle's dragon, Lauri's kitty -- check out those tails!

Who's fleur block? You left it behind -- check with Philippa

Lovely deer hunt block!

Fiber Retreat '07 -- Indigo Pot

2007-06-27T10:17:00.001-07:00

Indigo pot in the making

Bjo clues us in

The pot is ready

Dunking commences

Green oxidizes to blue

Dunk, rest, rinse and hang

Carol's tie-dye

Bjo pulls it out green and it turns a lovely blue

A range of colors from one indigo pot

Thea's spangly expanse

Check out the gloves and shoes.

Joe's indigo-dyed hand-made basket

The amazing range of indio...

Thea's shibori, some overdyes.

All of this from one pot (well, two)

Philippa's woven shibori unbound

Ta-da!

Fiber Retreat '07 -- Part 2

2007-06-26T17:46:00.000-07:00

Fluffy sheep

Indigo on the line

Rainbow colors on the line

Mother-daughter indigo dye team Michelle and Melissa

Tent city traffic

My tie-dye experiment

Janet at the crossroads

Blue!

More yarns on the fence

Parents, do you know where your children are...? ;->

Everyone gets in the act.

Lauri's kitty

Some great prints

Clean up...

Bru's great wheel in action

Close up

Janet on the way into lunch

So long, fare well...

Michelle with her indigo tie-dyed outfit

Philippa exhaust(ed) dyeing

Look closely -- you'll see the green paint bear prints!

woven shibori

2007-06-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

My woven shibori project to go in the indigo pot.

my eclectic little loom

sleying the reed

stringing the heddles

ready to tie on the back beam

and wind on the warp

ready to weave

weaving

and weaving

off the loom -- pulling the pattern strings tight

close up

wetting and pulling even tighter.

soaking before the alum pot

the indigo pot getting started

mine is the dark one next to the greenish one

cutting the pattern strings

shibori

front and back together

pattern opened up a bit

other side

even flatter

washed, hung and dry -- 12"x3' cottolin