decisions
this is a warp to experiment with and play on
at some point decisions have to be made
indigo dyed handspun ramie singles – looks good – but I need a rest from BLUE
kakishibu dyed 2 ply shifu and ramie – a little too heavy, it distorts the pattern – it was the one I really wanted
paper moire yarn from Habu Textiles plyed with handspun cotton – nice texture
handspun silk singles dyed with my home-grown madder
???
there are more choices waiting in the stash
indigo ramie, the paper moire, recycled blue jeans handspun fibre plyed with cotton
kaki shifu, handspun cotton plyed with reeled silk, 2 ply handspun hemp dyed with walnut husks
this is the second year I’ve been weaving almost exclusively from “the stash”
I found this 2 lb. 3 oz. cone of Bombyx noil silk boucle -whooee! It’s years old, probably couldn’t afford it now
I wound off 3 skeins and dyed it with indigo
it soaked up the dye – back to blue – can’t seem to escape
gromwell root ( Lithospermum erythrorhizon ), another of the old natural dyes reported to be temperamental, difficult to dye with and non-light fast
it gives purple or murasaki. In the Nara and Heian periods the colour was reserved for Imperial ladies
this piece caught my eye when the “indigo sisters” were shopping in Tokyo. At first I had a much larger piece until Bryan pointed out the price, I took it’s smaller cousin.
the price tag is still on, I can’t believe I paid that much for a hole-y, faded bit of cotton
it’s a treasure, look at the shibori! I’ll find a nice place for it out of strong light
this is so rich–I love the textures, the colors
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thanks, Ali. I love working with natural dyes as they always seem to look good together.
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Looking at your stash items makes me think that I need to really be ruthless with my own stash. Your stash is full of little worksof art. Mine is a little too full of too many irrisistable bargins. Time for a stash cleanse!
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Judith – I learned to say “NO” some time ago to those odd bits of stash stuff, not enough shelf space and I keep creating more and more handspun. I think it is neverending
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jean-gromwell for dye. don’t know about paper…
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the prices i paid for textiles while in japan!!i still look at them and my eyes gleam.
the yarns are mouth watering,the murasaki cloth divine.
and dyeing with shikon can be a bit finicky though nothing compared to ai.
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Neki – in 1987, at the Kyoto markets, you could buy a kimono for the price of a tiny scrap now
Kathy – 3 weeks ago it was pink, that’s why the pink warp. see you on Sun.
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Carrie is excited to come and weave with you on Sunday, but do you have any yellow for her to work with? It is her favourite colour once again. 🙂
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You have such beautiful muted colours, Jean. I love the weaving design too. Got your disc of photos today, thanks.
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First, love the stash! And you working from it must be so satisfying.
Second, I just recently got into the idea of a sampling of stuff to see how I want it to look. So this was an interesting insight into your process. Can I say that I like the distorted pattern the best? It stands out…draws my eye. Don’t think that is what you were looking for though was it?
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oh delicious delicious!!!!! and then on top of it all gromwell. do you have a source for seed?? tatiana ginsberg says it will grow here!
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Velma – I’ve never grown it and don’t know where to get the seed, maybe that should be a project!
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i tried and tried a couple of years ago and couldn’t source it. there are lots of gromwells, but getting the japanese one proved difficult (japanese name and the latin all got difficult for me, here, in the eastern u.s.)
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Velma – I know what you mean, the latin is very confusing and there are several very different gromwells. I’ll put it on my shopping list for the next visit to Japan – don’t I wish! can you use it to make paper or do you want it as a dye?
Renee – the paper is just too thick for the warp and when off the loom will buckle and ripple. I could dye some of my handspun shifu and it would be finer – onward!
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