waiting

Happy Mother’s Day

mothers come in all shapes and sizes – and feathers

can you see her in the Japanese maple tree

the nest is just outside my kitchen window

covered with lichens

she doesn’t leave the nest for very long

there is a male flying around

so we are waiting

hope everyone has a lovely day

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

fine 2 ply, as strong as rope

and woven on a 4 inch pin loom

what to make with them??

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

Gardener’s Gown by Bev Peton

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

Photo Challenge April 2024

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

who could resist an adventure with that silly old bear?

and as yesterday was my birthday I received a very appropriate card

and now there is only one more page to finish

oh no! here’s the haiku

“hand in paw we walk

in the 100 Aker Wood

Pooh and Piglet and me”

 

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

 here is the original

“read the signs

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