waiting
tea and fashion show
still celebrating!
the Victoria Handweaver’s and Spinner’s Guild tea and fashion show
held in the new, Scottish Community Center – a wonderful venue with large windows and great light
there were 23 entries from guild members featuring weaving, spinning, knitting and sewing skills
the “Noh Coat” is a joint effort by Brenda, Jill, Raven, Caroline and Beatrice
and the child’s top was woven by Donna Zwiers – very sweet
handwoven cotton top by Christine Pursefelted vest with embroidered ribbon trim – a very effective combination of materials and colour
by guild president, Bobbie Williams
lovely weave structure for this lined jacket by Jennifer Verrall
bright, cheerful housecoat by Wendy Seward – commercial fabric sleeves
if it was mine I might be tempted to spend the day in it
long tunic and bag by Lee Valentine – show organizer
kimono – a great group project by the Tuesday PM Spinners
the knitted lace sleeves are a nice contrast to the woven squares
and a final piece – a multi-coloured Mardi Gras set, complete with fancy foot wear and hair piece
these are only a small selection of the creations
the models moved so quickly I had trouble photographing
a huge thank you to everyone who worked hard to make this a well organized, entertaining event
and thank you to Sara Thornton who traveled from up-island to introduce the models and the work
prizes were awarded in 12 categories and a people’s choice will be voted on by guild members
I was very touched to receive the ribbon in the Recycled materials category
it was given in memory of Catherine Mick, who was known as the “rag lady”, she created fine, rag wove fabrics for clothing
we traveled together to the 2005 ANWG conference in Tacoma, Washington
the ribbon itself is a leftover from the ANWG Conference, “Treadly Lightly” hosted by the guild at UVic in 2017
I designed the ribbons and was responsible for having them woven
if I have made any mistakes in names etc. I apologize and would appreciate being corrected
if this is a bit discombobulated it is because there are three men in my house installing a new heat pump making a lot of noise and mess
can’t wait ’till it’s finished
a bit of everything
it feels good to finish
alongside the books from the two previous years
I won’t say “never again” but that is the way I’m feeling now
using recycled paper and the same technique (slot and tab) I made a book for the haiku
it is much easier with paper and is excellent for a small notebook – using recycled paper
working to a theme with this book took a lot more thought, time and research
much more difficult than the first two
I learned to focus on the 15 minute days and just keep going
I found it difficult to never take a day off – it helped to schedule the time, doing it at tea time each day
tucking it into the bookshelf alongside the other two is a happy reward
now on to other things
I’ve been spinning while thinking, and as the only fibre on hand is hemp, not my favorite, here is the start
and woven on a 4 inch pin loom
and I have a new weaving student
I first started teaching in my studio in 2011 after I retired from my real job – teaching weaving to a young woman with multiple challenges – in American sign language
when teaching , I start at the beginning
designing the project, discussing yarn and weights and weave structures
measuring the warp on a warping board, warping the loom from back to front
students are always surprised at how much work and time it takes before they sit down and start weaving
this student is Japanese and she has a cultural appreciation for textiles but has never woven
she has always worked in metric and Western looms and equipment work in epi (ends per inch) and yards
both of us have had to make some adjustments
she is a professor of Japanese language so encourages me to use the Japanese I learned in 1987 and have mostly forgotten
from sign language to Japanese my old brain is working overtime!
she grows a plant called “fuki”, which translates to butterbur/coltsfoot and has brought tastings of how she cooks both the stems and leaves
I’m enjoying it and it is very healthy
she has also brought roots to plant
and before or after cooking? she peels the outer fibre off the stems
in the front is my attempt to wind it into cordage – like the Artful Acorn from the Guild presentation
next it is damp and behind that it is very dry
maybe we will find a way to weave with it
while thinking about wild fibres I gathered some dandelion stems and then tulip stems, will see if they can be made into cordage after drying
now I’m off to mow the lawn and maybe weave a bit
need to finish these tea towels
c’est fini
day 100
I had literally come to the end I couldn’t think of one more map
so here is a final scrappy neighbourhood
“walk in peace
in sunshine, wind and rain
one step at a time”
and what is left? – a collection of scraps
what have I learned? – need to think about that
what’s next? – finish putting it all together
and then? – scraps
photo challenge for April
the subjects this month were teddy bear and statue
I decided to walk to local public art pieces and I couldn’t decide on one so ….
Harmony Humpbacks by Daniel Cline
carved from local marble
Lunar Transitions by Fred Dobbs
cast metal
steel and aluminum door screen
I wonder who decided where to place these pieces
they were all difficult to photograph with busy streets and power lines as a backdrop
the teddy bear was easy but there is definitely more than one
out enjoying the Spring flowers
Rosie, with Gilbert behind her, then Arthur and Little Bear and last but definitely not least, Lucy
as a child I never had a bear – don’t worry, I was loved and well cared for
but – my Mother believed that bears were for boys and girls had dolls, lots of them
the truth be told I rarely played with them
this was my substitute bear, stitched by Mom
Ellie the elephant – can you see my Brownie pin?
it has been there for 70 years
and Ellie is showing her age
looking a bit faded – like me some days!
an apology – I had posted the links to other photos and they disappeared (faded into the atmosphere)
so here they are again
https://nanacathydotcom.wordpress.com/2024/04/26/april/
and as “blossoms” was added as an extra here is my five-leaf akebia (chocolate) vine
the 100 Aker Wood
day 90
the back cover is finished – only two more pages to go!
the “P” is bent out of shape – signed and dated
I actually looked at the signs – and took pictures – on my walks around the neighborhood
this is my favorite
on a 20 foot stump on the Bowker Creek trail – a wildlife tree
and this one is not uncommon on West Coast trails
pay attention, stay safe
and don’t get lost”
guest speaker at the guild
Kimberly Nelson – the artful acorn
http://www.facebook.com/theartfulacorn/
she has a passion for wild, natural, unusual fibres
she gathers them from her garden, from the roadside and anywhere else she has permission to do so
she gets them from her mother, friends and even her two teenagers
she has tried everything – she hangs them in every room in her house to dry
and then she twists the fibres to make cordage
(click on the picture to see them clearly and read the labels)
these are tiny, some of them just fit around a baby finger
fibre from celery, rhubarb, lavender, corn husk, seaweed and dandelion are just a few
and then she weaves baskets – teeny, tiny baskets no bigger than your thumband a backpack for a fairy – the base is a button she makes from sliced avocado pits
dandelion cordage with the remnants of the flowers woven in
and a basket/pot with an acorn for a lid – it fits perfectly
see the avocado button – I brought one home, have to think of something special to use it on
do you think a bear would like a new sweater?
the creativity is impressive, I am enchanted
the presentation was as perfect as the work- everything labeled so you knew what the fibres were
individually displayed in little boxes
she works full time and has two kids at home
you can tell when someone has a passion for their work – it shines – thank you Kimberley
Scrap Happy April 2024
there are more scraps in this one project than any other project
but they are small and make even smaller scraps
which doesn’t do much to decrease the scrap stash
page 12 and 17 are stitched together leaving a 1.5 inch space at the top and bottom
this is called the tab
the same is done with pages 18 and 11
they are then stitched together – right sides together
corners are carefully trimmed, then it is turned right side out through the small slot
you now have a unit of four pages
the technique is called slot and tab
five of these units slip together to create the book – 3 slot units and two tab units
after a serious steam pressing I buttonhole stitch, with thrums, around the top and bottom tabs
if you want to try this Ann Wood’s video is excellent
here are the units slotted together with one more set of four pages left to finish
Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at).
Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan,
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa,
Lynn, Tierney and Hannah
moving forward
a labyrinth
on the 85th day – going in circles
there is a reason 100 days is called a challenge – because sometimes it really is challenging
I’m running out of ideas
finding time has been difficult the past two weeks, even 15 minutes
but I can see the end!
“walking the sacred path
a journey to the center and back
calm the mind”
I have finally got back to weaving, tea towels have been waiting on the loom for far too long
once upon a time I wove every single day but I’ve become distracted with other pursuits
hoping/planing to do better