a week of many colours

a Japanese grain storage bag – tsuno-bukuro – is stitched from  long, narrow fabric on the bias

intrigued with the folding I made a small paper pattern – I’ve never held one – so this may be original

traditional grain bags are longer, and often dyed with kakishibu,  this is the fabric left on the end of the sample warpi

the seams are herringbone stitched with indigo dyed thrums

in Japanese “tsuno” means horn and the bag is also known as a horn bag, the ends of the fabric stick up in points

on this bag I have left them and the back fabric folds over the front piece to close the bag

I’m thinking of becoming a bag lady – after receiving the bill for this year’s property tax it may become a reality! I could put wheels on a table loom and go live on the street corner. Dyeing might be a problem.

somewhere, in my research I read that it is possible to dye silk black by dyeing with logwood and chestnut with an iron modifier

well, not quite! or at least it takes more work but the taupe-y brown is very nice

and the purple – murasaki – is to dye for

once I get dyeing it is hard to stop

the yellow was dyed with something? natural and then top dyed with indigo = green

and I’m spinning paper, dyed last summer with kakishibu

tied and dyed

the “Someday Project” was a motivating decision

the first warp is off the loom

I varied the tie-up thread pattern in each sample

from left to right the wefts are; linen, paper, Merino, cotton/synthetic blend boucle dyed a light indigo and bottom right is silk covered stainless steel

with the exception of the wool they all had 8 dips in the indigo vat, the wool was dyed in logwood with an alum mordant

the linen gave the clearest pattern, the wool has retained some of the gathering texture, but not as much as I had hoped.

The stainless steel/silk was the finest weft and the material is light and feels like linen . It holds the shape when squished up but smooths out again when handled. I was excited about the possibilities of this yarn, it is expensive, but now I’m not sure where to take it from here.

I decided to change the linen warp yarn (it kept breaking) for the final yard. Replacing it with a 16/2 indigo dyed cotton. The process was rather messy but it worked.

the final piece will get stitched into a little bag.

on to the next sample warp

in the meantime I’m dyeing.

between the covers

the weather is so beautiful it is difficult to stay inside

the azalea, “Mt. Saint Helens’ has erupted

but work must go on

making a travel journal

using a commercial envelope as a pattern I make small envelopes and stitch them into center pages of 2 or 3 signatures.  They keep those odd scraps of paper safe until you can do something creative with them. I include graph paper and velum pages and sometimes city maps.

a good paper-cutter speeds the process, a gift from a thoughtful son

the covers are bookboard covered with fabric – woven, stitched and dyed with kakishibu

signature covers are  old marine charts alternating with cotton dye samples

I apply a very light, paper-backed double-sided adhesive to the fabric, a light mulberry paper to the other side and then use the fabric just like paper.

evenings, when I’m too tired to do anything else, I spin – silk/cashmere blend spun on the Turkish spindle and plied on the wheel with a gossamer fine reeled silk. You can almost hear the angels singing!

sampling

over years of textile/fibre  pursuits many ideas-techniques-designs have piqued my interest

but there is never enough time!

and so they have been relegated to notebooks, scraps of paper and “someday”

Someday Has Come!!

I’ve decided to spend some time exploring those elusive ideas

starting with more woven shibori

warp threads are natural dyes from the endless beige colour range – cotton, cotton/hemp blend and bleached linen

the weft in the foreground is silk and next is shifu thread spun from Japanese washi

the shibori draw-up pattern is a variation of the Summer and Winter pattern from Catharine Ellis’ book,

Woven Shibori  

I cut off and dyed the first sample with a linen weft to see if the results were worth continuing

four dips in the vat

I’ve been stirring, feeding and talking to my outdoor indigo vat, it has not really been warm enough but this weekend we are experiencing a record-breaking heat wave

this sample has been dipped 8 times, more samples to come!

at night, I spin. The yak/silk blend is as soft as a cloud and the blanket is finished.

“Questions lead to further questions, and inquiry breeds insight.”

Lyanda Lynn Haupt,  Crow Planet

freedom of speech

I have never used my blog to make a personal political statement

BUT

this can not be ignored

“this week, the Harper government snuck sweeping changes to the CBC deep into the last section of the budget — page 109 — granting it disturbing powers to directly control and interfere with our national broadcaster.”

direct quote from  www.sumofus.org   (click on campaigns)

the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has been the independent voice of Canadians for 80 years

if you value freedom of speech around the world please check out the SumOfUs website

it is off the loom!

thank goodness!

it is not as long as I had planned but sometimes common sense tells you to quit while you are ahead

the pattern is log cabin with four colours

the white thick and thin yarn looks like ikat

the twisted fringes will take some time

in 40 years of weaving I’ve never stopped experimenting – never settled down to one technique or style

these yarns were heavier than I generally use,  all commercial yarns and chemical dyes

the weaving was the full width of my loom – 40 inches

it is good to learn something new!

I like fine yarns, handspun, natural dyes and narrower widths

what’s next?

a day in the sun

there is going to be a bumper crop of rhubarb this year

yesterday I visited the studio of a favorite potter, Cathi Jefferson

I’d been saving my pennies for a birthday treat

the colours of Cathi’s salt fired stoneware pottery are perfect with  kakishibu dyes

on the way up Island we stopped to visit Whippletree Junction

and Leola’s weaving studio

flowers were blooming everywhere, even in the teapot garden

and now it is time to settle down and do some work