Progress Shot #1

Progress shot of the upside down tomato plant...

It looked like this on March 28th...

Continuing Education

I find it quite amazing I can listen to a continuing education web cast on financial planning while taking an occasional note plus weave. This four harness twill stuff is amazing! I can entirely focus on something else while weaving this simple twill pattern. I guess it's like people knitting while they watch TV.

Here's a bit over 2 yards completed, wet finished and drying outside. Looks and feels yummy. Plan to put more warp on...I have a hours and hours of continuing education to complete this year. I figure by the time I have my hours, I should have enough material to piece together a jacket...or something.

On Vacation

I forgot how delightful it is to weave something that does not require thought.



I picked up an eight harness table loom yesterday from a weaver who had passed away. I had warped the loom for her several years ago in a four harness twill. The entire warp, of unknown length, had not been touched. I decided to weave off the warp. The warp colors were pleasant and I had a variegated weft yarn that worked wonderfully with the stripes in the warp.

I could have just cut off the warp but I am so happy I didn't. It truly is delightful to simply weave. No thought required. No looking at grids to figure out what harnesses to raise. No worrying about color changes. No sticky spools or bobbins. Simply thick variegated yarn on a stick shuttle and a four combination pattern requiring no memorization. I can go more than a foot before refilling my shuttle.

It's fascinating I can actually think about other stuff while I weave and not make mistakes. When my mind wanders while doing taquete I always make mistakes. If my mind wanders when I weave tapestry, I generally stop weaving. I could actually listen to a book on tape weaving this way.

Wow, what a different weaving lifestyle. Kinda like being on vacation from work.

Words and Weft

There is always great excitement at the discovery of a novel concept.

Remember this scarf?

Right after writing that blog entry I went and warped my loom with seven yards...yes seven yards of bamboo with a basic twill set up. My idea was to weave fabric to make a jacket for a wedding I was going to. I wove one inch of tabby and one inch of an undulating twill then stopped. I have not touched that loom in over a year except to move it to three different positions in our living room. Needless to say, the wedding came and went. I just could not imagine myself weaving seven yards of undulating twill. Or at least I think it was seven yards...I have yet to find my notes on this project.

Now I have an idea to accomplish many things.

1. Actually weave the warp on the loom instead of cutting it off.
2. Create something for our guild challenge on upcycling which is due in early October
3. Create another something to submit for the yardage exhibit in Convergence next year...I have always wanted to submit more than one piece.
4. Keep me inspired to both weave the yardage and write my first draft of my mystery story
5. And much later have completed both a novel and a jacket.

Yes, I am quite excited to be figuring out how to structure both a weaving and a mystery to tell the same story.

So cool, one story but two mediums with two different results. The same story in words and weft.

Bugs and Time

For those of you who like bugs ...Mike Libby is simply fantastic.

Results of the Raffle

Yes, these are all mine. I won five beverage bags at the CNCH charity auction.

I came in on Sunday morning to find all five of them sitting at my spot in my tapestry workshop. What a pleasant surprise. I had tried to win back the beverage bag I made but it went to another lucky raffle winner. There seemed to be hundreds of beverage bags in the raffle...all different...all quite creative.

I have a jacquard one by Sheila O'Hara, a lovely twill by Judy Calder, a beverage bag made of paper rush done in plaiting wih a twist by L. Oller and a really fun one made of yo-yo's by Kay Tirsheck. My favorite is the one on the left - by Jan Muts called 'Revamped' - created by recycling old calendars, an empty cannister and fruit netting.

Beverage Bag

I need to bring a beverage bag for the upcoming CNCH meeting. Here is what I came up using my sampler from a Theo Moorman workshop I took. They are to be auctioned off for some charity...I think I'll put a real bottle of wine in it vs. leaving it empty or using the cranberry juice bottle as pictured in the photo.

Long Horned Beetle

Here's a photo of my first beetle on the new warp.

It's a kind of shake down cruise. I find every warp is a bit different. And this one is no different. The legs of the Pachyeteria dimidiata beetle are a bit elongated due to soft beating which I eventually corrected.

I need each piece to be at least 10 inches long...11 would be better...12 is a bit too long. My technique is to measure before I advance the warp and project how long the piece will be....and adjust my beat accordingly. I will probably have to do a few more beetles before I can stop measuring so often.

Feet Appear!

Weaving

I'm off weaving a beetle...life is good.

Loom is All Ready

The loom is already for weaving. Just need to review my designs, select some colors and away I go.

As you can see, I have two warps so I will get two of everything thing I weave. I will be using two colors which will be common to both pieces and the closure weft color will vary. The pieces will have fringe on both sides so I need a closure weft to keep the warps from shifting around. The closure weft turns on the last warp vs. on the supplementary warp on each side.

There is about 9 yards of warp so this will be quite a production line. I expect this will take perhaps three months to get through. So far I only have one or two designs completed so there will be a lot of designing also.

The process of rolling on the warp was not the best nor the worst experience I have had. Both the first and second warps rolled on at the same time. Most of the problems were in the first, probably before I found my threading process. I take awhile to figure out the best method for threading. Although I always go front to back with sewing thread, it seems each time I warp I do things just a little bit different. Probably depends on where I put the loom, what shoes I am wearing, how I feel and perhaps if its Tuesday.

That warp did stay very neat in that metal contraption. However, going through the reed and heddles did not provide enough tension to keep things straight. It usually does on thicker warp. I kept the leash [popsicle] sticks on the second warp taped to the loom which provided enough tension for that warp. The other warp got a bit twisted. And once there is a twist...it is there for the rest of the warp. Next time I will try to remember to keep them on for both warps.

Now off to the dentist...and then I can design.

1.4 Miles of Warp

I have a long list of projects I want to complete which happily uses all the same warp; a dark value warp in polyester serger thread.

The last time I put on a long warp in sewing thread was way back in 2007. I had a 20 inch wide warp of sewing thread hung in a trapeze like structure in our dining room which worked out quite nicely. But I have never warped the same way twice and the trapeze deal seemed like an overkill for the width I am putting on. Ah, so what to do?

It is important to keep this thread under tension and the twist going in the correct direction or the threads just twist around themselves and it takes quite a bit of patience and time to wind them onto the beam. I had just put on a short warp on a few days ago where the twist was especially lively. I didn't want a repeat of that experience.

I was intrigued by a comment that Peg made about someone using a niddy noddy for keeping the warp at an even tension. I don't have a niddy noddy but I do have some type of metal contraption I bought at a Guild sale for five bucks. I thought I'd try it.

Here is the result. 1.4 miles of thread all ready to be rolled onto my loom. Sure doesn't look like that much.

I will report back on how easily it rolled on...or not.

A Bit Off Topic...

My DH got this contraption for Christmas from my sister. It is used to grow tomatoes in small spaces - upside down. Here it is on day 2.

DH has been nursing some Black Prince tomato seeds under lights and heating pads for several weeks and was finally able to plant one of the seedlings in our new upside down planter.

You put water in a dish at the top and there are wicks to wick the water down to the plants roots. It is supposed to be hung at least four feet from the ground and no staking is required. Quite interesting.

I will update in the future as to progress.



PS. in the bottom right is our fava bean crop.

Tapestry Spiral

Here is a picture of my spiral tapestry which I have been working on for what seems like forever. It was woven as a tapestry, thirteen yards long and four inches wide with 182 darts of negative space. Once completed the negative space was removed by pulling the warp and closing the spaces. On one end, the original warp was braided and retained. Using this method a wonderful spiral was formed similar to tricolor fusilli pasta or a colorful spiral staircase.

Another view is here along with a description.

When it is opened it can take many shapes. In the top photo it is draped over a cylinder. I am experimenting in how best to show it.

It's first showing was in Riverside at the Color Connects conference where it was draped over a box. It received a first place in the multi-dimensional weaving category.

I have experimented with hanging but gravity seems to take a lot of the 'fun' out of it. It is also difficult to achieve a full shot with any level of detail since it is so long. The braided tails on one end are over six yards long. I just purchased three different sized hooks and will try hanging it like a snake over a branch and see how that looks.

More later...

Half a Dozen Bugs on a Scarf

I finished up my first bug scarf in taquete & silk... 20/2 silk warp and 60/2 silk for the tabby and the pattern. There are six different beetles each with their inverse on the back side. The piece has fringe on all four sides and from the photo needs a much better ironing.












The drape is not quite like the sample but perhaps it isn't completely dry. The sample seems smoother and silkier. The next one I will do will have a tighter sett. This is at 24epi which is a bit too loose so I will probably try 30 on the next one.

From a weaving standpoint, It took a couple of weaving periods for each bug. What is a weaving period? It starts when I am in the mood to weave and continues until the dogs want to go on a walk or I have to un-weave too many rows. Usually it's about 90 minutes to perhaps two hours.

Spiral Tapestry - almost done

I have been having a fun time finishing this tapestry. It is probably the first time I have really have enjoyed the finishing process. I am also excited about the end result.

What I am doing here is drying the yellow orange warp in the middle of the photo. I just dyed the white warp that color to match the yellow weft in the piece. I may add a few beads there and that's it.

The warps at each end were twined with my handy four clip fringer. Remember that I pulled about 13 yards of warp through the tapestry so was lots remaining on each end. One side I cut off fairly short. The other end...the one wrapped in plastic...is also twined but the ends are not short. The longest end is probably 6 yards long. It took awhile to twine those puppies. I was standing all the way down the hallway. I keep them wrapped up to avoid tangling.

It's a great organic piece. I tried hanging it but gravity gives it much too uniform look. It is much more interesting just 'lying' around.

Bugs in Silk

I finished my sampling of a 20/2 silk warp in taquete so I can now start weaving. Here is the first beetle. There will be six different beetle species in a mixture of blue, light blue, yellow and orange. The background, beetle and fringe will vary by section. It's a silk bug sampler scarf.

Before I started I had asked a number of folks what sett they thought I should use to get a real nice drape for a scarf with 20/2 silk in a summer/winter or taquete technique. I got numbers from 18 to 40 epi. "It depends." When I asked on the weavetech list the recommendation was 2/3rd of a twill set-up. ie. 22-28epi. Since I make less mistakes sleying if I use a multiple of 4 or 2 I decided to go with my 12 dent reed and a 24 sett for my sample.

I played around with a variety of 20/2 silk colors for the pattern and tabby weft and didn't really like any of them. My original selection of colors was thrown out quickly. I got out my 60/2 silk which I have never woven with and tried that in combination with 20/2. Then I did some with only 60/2 silk. I took the sample off - threw it in the washing machine and dryer to see how it would wet finish and ironed the puppy. The best feel was the part using 60/2 silk for both the pattern and tabby weft. It was really soft with a lovely drape. So much softer than anything I have woven before. The parts with the 20/2 weft had that heavier stiffer feel which was not what I wanted. The 24epi sett may be a bit too loose I am not quite sure...it does tighen up in the finishing process. I decided to try this set up for one scarf. I have warped enough for two.

So now all I have to do is tweak a few beetle patterns from my extensive collection and weave away.

Warp Ends

I had taken a workshop with Linda Fry called Gamps Galore. The workshop was a round robin affair and my loom was warped with a summer and winter setup. My loom/pattern was not too popular so I had a bunch of leftover warp.

To keep my sanity, as the days to Color Connects countdown quickly I decided to weave a bit everyday on the leftover warp in a nice friendly beetle patten. Nothing more calming than a beetle. I modified the tie up a bit so there would only be one pattern and used a multi-colored rayon/linen weft as the patten weft.

I designed a quick beetle and wove it over and over again in taquete. I really have never woven taquete in just two colors...I am normally using at least 3 but more likely 4 or 5 shuttles with different colors. It's comforting using only 2 shuttles...and is quite easy to weave. The result is nice since the pattern shows up on both sides - the basic summer and winter concept.

I will eventually use this in a jacket or something like that. I have several cones of complimentary yarns which I bought many many years ago. Eventually I will get to weaving the yardage to go with this piece. That's a longer term project...

In the short term, I am going to try this in silk. I'd love to have a scarf with beetles on it with a really nice drape.

I finally found some time to work on pulling my spiral tapestry. And this evening I just finished the pulling. Hard to believe that was 13 yards of material!

This piece is going to be exhibited in the Spectrum show at Color Connects - the ASCH fiber conference in Riverside Ca in early March. On the entry form I had to say how big it was. Since I really had no idea of how big it would be I indicated it was smaller than a bread box. It sure would fit in my bread box...at least in this configuration.

It's now resting. Tomorrow I will play with it a bit...then...snipping, sewing, ironing, weaving the ends and figuring out the best way to display. What fun!

Mounting Mr. Clean

Here's a little something I just finished. This is a tapestry I did way back in 2006 for the ATA Small Format exhibit. The Seaside Tapestry Group did a group contribution to the exhibit called Vintage TVs. If I recall, each of our pieces had to be 4 inches by 6 inches and include some gray values.

My piece was Mr. Clean - the man of the kitchen in the 1950's and 1960's. He's got the huge biceps and the small earring. And there he is winking at you. The cabinet doors can be open all the way, part of the way or be closed. The television portion was woven in embroidery thread. The rest was in chenille.

I finally decided how to mount the piece. It has come off my bulletin board and moved onto its own wooden TV cabinet. The newly constructed TV cabinet has the cutest little feet. Mr. Clean can stand on its own or be hung on the wall. I think it is the perfect way to exhibit this piece.

I am going through all my older pieces and making sure they are mounted the best they can be. Another filler project...as if I need more projects!

Robert Burns

It's Robert Burns Day, the national poet of Scotland from the 1700's. To celebrate we had haggis, mash potatoes and turnips, peas and a bit of scotch.

We did not follow the formalities of the traditional Burns Supper.

We did however eat haggis.

Our version came in a can and required four minutes in the microwave. It kinda looked and smelled like a lamb flavored dog food. It actually did not taste bad; seemed like a combination of lamb liver, oatmeal and spices. Just goes to show how easy it is to exceed the lowest of low expectations.

I survived haggis and was able to weave another day.

Beetles Out and About

Here are some photos of pieces from My Beetle Collection. These plus others are currently being exhibited at the library at the LA Arboretum. The exhibit will be up until the end of March. They are designed to be realistic but artistic and woven with sulky sewing thread.



The pieces look especially nice coupled with baskets.


The Arboretum did a lovely job of hanging the exhibit.


So check it out if you are in the Pasadena area.

Back to Pulling

Well, the holidays are over and its time to start pulling again on my tapestry spiral.

Now that I am focusing on this, I have found a good way to pull that seems efficient and as quick as I can make it without making a mess. You may recall this woven tapestry material is over 13 yards long and there are 32 warp ends. That is a lot of warp to pull.

The crossed out boxes on the spreadsheet indicate a triangle that has been pulled. It indicates I am about half done.

I think it will still take several more weeks of pulling before its all pulled. I am alternating between weaving my tapestry of Uranus and pulling this spiral. Both need to get done soon. Then it will have a bunch of finished, steaming, tweaking and mounting.


PS it really is not as neat and tidy a process as this photo would imply...

Drape

Here is a photo of the silk scarf I decided to keep since it looks really nice with jeans...as you can see it is quite light, airy and is like wearing nothing...not a winter scarf.

Mushroom Foray

FOR-AY

noun

1. A sudden raid or military advance.



2. A venture or an initial attempt, especially outside one's usual area: an actor's foray into politics.
   
   

Yesterday, we took to the El Cariso Big Woods in the Cleveland National Forest with the Los Angeles Mycological Society. It was the Society's first foray for the 2008-2009 season. It was our first ever mushroom foray.

Of all the days to foray in Southern California we chose a cold and raining day. The spoils were meager but fun was had by all.

Here are photos of our spoils...

Hobo Scarves

I took this fun workshop with Brecia Kralovic-Logan on off loom weaving with silk strips.

We dyed various types of silk with Color Hue Dyes, tore them into strips, wove them and sewed them into place. To keep everything together for sewing we pinned the strips to plastic bags which dissolve in water. Once sewed we simply dumped the scarves in hot water and the plastic dissolved. The result was a light, airy and colorful scarf. I like to call them silk Hobo scarves since the silk strips are ripped and rough. Not like a typical silk scarf. They definately stand out when you wear one.

I used the same techniques to make some Christmas presents this year. My sister helped in dyeing the silk strips. It was nice having someone else dye the silk since she selected some colors which I would not have. The Color Hue dyes are so simple to use and work like a charm on silk. We dyed the strips in plastic bags over the kitchen sink. So easy. So fun.

Here are the results of all our labors...

I bought a variety of silk blanks from Dharma Trading and there were enough to make five scarves. I really wanted six scarves for my gift requirements this year so I could keep at least one.

Fortunately, I lucked out at our Guild's gift exchange this year. I brought one of these hobo scarves as my contribution to the gift exchange. The gifts are wrapped without labels so no one knows who gave what. Each person selects a gift in a predetermined order; either an unopened gift or they can take one away from someone who has already opened a gift. In our group, a lot of gifts are taken way. I got to select a gift about 2/3rds of the way through the exchange. Folks were getting a bit tired so I selected my own gift in hopes that no one else would take it away. And I was indeed lucky, I actually got to take home the gift I brought. Not an easy task to accomplish with our group.

Looking at the photo, the pieces look like they are made of plastic due to the reflection from the flash on the high value colors. Actually the pieces are soft and subtle with a variety of nuances from the variety of silk used in the scarves.

ps J,C,P,B,M - do you have a favorite? I'll be wrapping them next week!

An Exhibit Not Viewed

I wrote an article for the Complex Weavers Journal on My Beetle Collection.

Two of my beetles were on display in Florida during the Tampa Bay Convergence as part of a Complex Weavers sponsored exhibit. Photos of all the pieces are on the Complex Weavers website. I am bummed I was not able to view the exhibit in person - many of the pieces look exceptional.

Now back to my 'weaving wanna do' list...

Conversations in Fiber

The Southern California Handweavers Guild had their annual Weaving and Fiber Festival at the Torrance Cultural Center on Sunday. I was on the committee that spearheaded the Guild challenge for this year - it was called Conversations in Fiber.

This was the first exhibition of the Guild's annual challenge to its members. Each artist was challenged to have a conversation in fiber with either Georgia O'Keeffe or Piet Mondrian and use at least one of the conference colors from the upcoming fiber conference in Riverside called Color Connects. These conference colors are vibrant and saturated. These pieces will be exhibited again...in a different format at the conference in early March 2009.

Check out the photos. There were some simply outstanding pieces and of course great conversations everywhere! Thanks to all the artists that participated and to Carolyn who displayed the pieces with finesse and artistry.

Tapestry Spiral - 2 more yards done

Another couple of yards are done on my tapestry spiral. I am now up to 7 yards with 6 yards to go. It actually doesn't look too much different than when I had 5 yards done. I find it hard to believe there are so many yards on this...



Studying the photo you can see that the woven part has been removed from the front beam since it got so wide. I have it wrapped around an empty Christmas paper tube between a couple of rulers to keep it straight. When I am weaving, I put a metal pole in the tube to get a nice tension. Seems to work quite well.

The Story of the Hat

Our challenge this year for the Southern California Handweavers Guild was to have a conversation in fiber with either Piet Mondrian or Georgia O'Keeffe and use at least one of the Color Connects conference colors. All the Conversations will be exhibited at the Weaving and Fiber Festival on November 2 at the Torrance Cultural Center in Torrance California.

I created a hat. It is a 'Little Joe' cowboy hat covered in a mosaic of egg shells with a Mondrian inspired hat band.

These were the inspiration for the colors of my Mondrian Over Easy hat that I recently finished and will unveil to the group on Saturday. These are flowers from a garden down the street - we walk the dogs by these flowers almost everyday. They match nicely with the conference colors.

The band was straight when I wove it but during wet finishing I nudged it into a curve so the band would fit better on the hat.

Using egg shells as a surface design takes a bit of finesse, patience and steady hands. But the result is well worth the effort.

I love the hat. Can't wait for the Exhibit to be over so I can wear it.

If you are in Southern California on Sunday November 2 stop by and check it out in person at the Weaving & Fiber Festival taking place in the Torrance Cultural Center from 10pm to 4pm.

Mondrian Over Easy

Title: Mondrian over Easy, my conversation with Piet Mondrian

The Conversation

Piet: I construct lines and color combinations on a flat surface, in order to express general beauty with the utmost awareness.

Nicki: I use egg shells to make my lines emerge and metallic thread to make my colors pop but since the earth is round I prefer my curves to your flat surfaces.

Piet: Oh, curves are so emotional.

Nicki: But emotion ignites inspiration.

Piet: Nature inspires me… but I want to come as close as possible to the truth and abstract everything from that, until I reach the foundation of things.

Nicki: I understand. But does that not beg the question- which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Piet: Intellect confuses intuition.