Today I had lunch with a group of my weaver friends. A great gathering! Everyone brought something for an lunch with an Italian theme, and there’s not a bad cook in the bunch. The table was beautiful and festive. The power went off for a while, but that didn’t matter. We sat around the table visiting, solving the world’s problems, and, of course, discussing weaving. All the while we were visiting the weather got worse and worse–colder and windier–but friends make it all better. I recently read a painter’s comment about how visiting with a friend and discussing art was good for her. Discussing our passion is probably good for all of us, and is something I want to make more time for.
Baby, It’s Cold Outside
When I went to the grocery store today, it was 77. By the time I finished my errands, the temperature had dropped 15 degrees! And the winds are still gusting at 30 mph. Winter is NOT my favorite time of the year.
Grapevine sale
Our guild is participating in a local art sale to benefit the Grapevine library this Saturday, so I spent the afternoon finishing up a couple of pieces and pressing others that have been stored. I hemmed one of the smaller pieces, something that I don’t usually do. Then I cut the board and put the Velcro on it for displaying. Tonight I made labels for each piece to put on the back of a business card that I’m using as a hang tag. Each card has a picture of the piece it’s hanging on.
Chaos
Instead of doing what was on my list today, I did what was planned for later in the week. I moved furniture. Now there is chaos everywhere! Instead of finishing up one project first, I have just jumped in with all projects at once. So, the plan is that tomorrow I will weave for the first half of the day and finish at least one project in the afternoon. This will be great once it’s done. I moved what I call my design desk into my office. That will give me room to use my smaller loom in the studio. I have some ideas for small pieces to weave, but don’t want to tie up the big Cranbrook with one of those small pieces. Weaving the small pieces will also be a break from some of the larger pieces that just go on and on sometimes.
The one thing that I accomplished that was actually on the list is getting the new PO box. I have been thinking about this for a while and finally sprung for it. I really don’t want my address on my website, yet there does need to be an alternate way of being contacted.
It’s pretty chilly in the mornings right now, so I’m really looking forward to having a fire in the stove and weaving. That’s a very warm, cozy thing to do in the winter. Love it!
Sunday Again
It’s Sunday again, the day I plan the coming week. What I really want to do is weave … I keep procrastinating by using the computer. I have, at least, taken a photo of my studio for Main Street. I will get all the paperwork for them mailed this week. Our guild is participating in a sale on Saturday, December 6, that benefits the Grapevine library, so there is preparation for that this week. The good news is that I made a lot of progress with the current weaving this past week. If all goes well, amid all the other things on the to-do list this week, I could be cutting it off the loom by the end of the week. Yay!!!
Giving
I’ve really been thinking about giving this past week. My large family has decided to forgo gifts for donations to a charity. In addition, this past summer I decided that I would start giving 10% of my weaving sales to a cause and/or charity. But which one? I am tempted to give to a school or find a family to help through the school counselor. Or just a random act of kindness like paying for someone’s dinner. I will need to decide soon. But it doesn’t always have to go to the same place, right?
Keeping up
The new warp, all 33 yards of it, is on the loom, tied on the front, and weaving has begun! But today is a “keeping up” day–catching up on housework, planning for the coming week, etc. I am hoping to weave a bit later this afternoon.
Last night I rewound on balls the yarns from my last project and got the ikat yarns organized for the current project. The problem with the ikat yarns is that they have to be organized in the order that they will be used. If I have to stop in the middle of that organization process, I have to write myself a note about where I was. But I love the effect that woven weft-faced ikat has, so it’s worth the extra effort. If you click on the image at the right, you can see the “fuzzy” edges of the ikat part.
Fine Art Department
Tracy Helgeson has started a new blog called Fine Art Department. Read about her idea on her blog. So far, I love all the art on the page. Great idea! It’s nice to see art from various artists collected in one place.
Art Festivals
Tonight I accepted my invitation to Main Street and paid for my booth. A scary thing to do! I’ve read all the iinformation for artists and feel overwhelmed by it all. I’m just hoping that I can get all the paperwork in when it’s supposesd to be in, and learn how to set up a booth quickly and efficiently before the big day arrives. The booth didn’t cost as much as expected because I am entered as an “emerging artist.” Since I didn’t have a booth shot to enter for the jurying, they allow emerging artists to enter without one. However, emerging artists’ booths are not on Main Street, but on a short side street. This will be a way to gain experience–and to get that oh-so-necessary booth shot!
I’ve really got to do lots of weaving AND get through the holidays with all the usual happenings. I’ve two shows coming up: Main Street Art Festival, which I mentioned above, is in April. Then in November, I’ve been invited to the American Craft Council Show in Charlotte.
Warping the loom
I’ve been busy doing other things, but it’s finally time to get that warp on the loom. Some of the things I’ve been doing are actually excuses to NOT warp. But other chores have been absolutely necessary–going through old files, getting the plumber out, etc.
I’ve got one of the first warping wheels made by AVL, and since I only warp about once a year, I forget everything I need to know in order to warp again. Plus, the counter on the wheel doesn’t work (does anybody’s?), so I have to count every time I hear a certain sound. But at least it’s easier to count 11 revolutions at a time than counting 33 revolutions, which is what I’d be doing if I was using the tension box and winding directly on to the beam. My mind goes walk-about way before getting to 33. The number is not magic. It’s just a number I came up with when buying cones of yarn and figuring out exactly how many cones I’d need.
The ikat weft is dyed and ready to go. It has purple sections on a black background. After dyeing those colors, I decided that I didn’t like the greens I’d dyed to go with the ikat. I pulled out some orange and golden yellow skeins that I like better. The greens will be used for another project, maybe another weft ikat with the green on one side and another color on the opposite side. I’ll experiment with that on the computer and post a possibility. You can see what I have (and had)planned in the picture above. I’ve also included pictures of the purple yarns tied with the ikat tape before over dyeing. You can also see the ikat board in one of the pics. I should have left the yarn stretched out on the board before taking the picture but I forgot. I love this Japanese You Tube video of someone tying yarns for ikat. The video is totally silent except for the squeak of the ikat tape being tightened: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BUY1t13bg0
Web Site
The learning curve is high, but I finally have my web site (http://www.sherriwoodardcoffey.com/)up and running. It’s not like I want it to be eventually, but it’s up. It’s like everything else, you think you’re done, but then you find places to improve. I hung locker baskets in my studio to hold my dyed yarns. The perfectionist in me wanted to go back (after they were hung) with the level to make them exactly right. I’ve resisted the impulse, but it’s hard!
Finished
The drawing in the previous post became this piece. I really like the blues, which look quite striking against the almost-black background. It’s called Sine Wave.
In the previous post I also mentioned dyeing greens for a commission piece. That piece is also finished. It was a lot of fun to weave because the colors are so different from what I usually do. When I started the second piece of the triptych, I almost panicked because I suddenly realized that they were going to hang together, and it was really important that they be exactly equal!
Weaving finally!
I’ve been weaving what I call my optical illusion piece–bars in gradations of blue from a turquoise-y blue to a deep, deep royal blue on a background of black. Each bar is a different length, so that the bars make a shape that appears to curve. (The drawing I did in Canvas is on the left.) While weaving this one, I’ve been thinking about using the same concept to make other shapes appear. Off to the computer! I love my Canvas 11 program. I can make a design and experiment with colors without having to erase my colored pencils. Before I start weaving though, I still draw the design on graph paper and make all my notes to use during the weaving process. When the project is finished, I put the design sheet and samples of the yarn colors, along with a picture in a plastic sheet protector. Those notes have come in handy for commissions.
I’ve made the dye sheets for new dye projects. These will be some greens for a commission. I don’t usually use much green, so I’m dyeing extra skeins. Maybe that will entice me to use more green! I’m looking forward to this commission piece, which will be a series of nesting squares in bright colors.
While the dyepots are going, I plan to mow the yard. Then treat fireants. They are really prolific this year. I’m using organic methods, but tomorrow I’m going to use some Sweet and Low sweetner on a mound. I read that it’s pretty effective. Then, since it IS a holiday, maybe we’ll take in a movie in the afternoon.
It’s supposed to cool off a little by Wednesday, so I plan to work on cleaning out the room which will become the dye studio. The new propane stove I bought should be much better than what I have now. Can’t wait to use it!
Dying to Dye
This has been a productive week for me. I’ve dyed 20 skeins this week. That works out to 10 pounds of yarn. Colors range from violet to scarlet to oranges to golden yellows. I’ll be dyeing shades of blue next-nine shades from turquoise to a really, really deep royal blue. That will complete all of the skeins that I have on hand. I’ll be making the next ones on my adapted horizontal warping reel/skein maker. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to find someone to make a real skein winder for me. Using the warping mill has disadvantages. I have to completely take the reel off its stand in order to remove the skeins. But I am able to count the number of revolutions so that I have a rough idea of how many yards there are in a skein.
I’m also measuring and tying off a violet yarn for the ikat portion in my next piece. After it’s tied in the pattern with the ikat tape, it will be overdyed with blue. Then I’ll be ready to weave, finally! I’m really looking forward to getting started. The ikat part has to be done first because quite frequently the width of the piece has to be adjusted to fit the ikat yarn.
I’m also excited about some design possibilities using Photoshop or Canvas to manipulate photos to either transform them in some way or to just get colors from the photo to use in a piece. We live in a wonderful world!