The next piece has been decided, yarns chosen, and warp tied. In fact the first couple of inches have been woven. After the first section, will be two broad (9-inch) stripes of some sort of blues. I finally decided that they are in the turquoise category and planned what to dye.
One of the stripes will be a darker, turquoise-y color as in the top left in the picture. I want the other color to be lighter. On the bottom left is a color that appears lighter, but also may be too blue to suit me. It’s dyed with a 50/50 combination of turquoise and blue, so I decided to up the turquoise and dye a 60/40 combination. The darker turquoise has a bit of black in it, so I’ve got another pot going with that combination of colors in the same proportions, but instead of a 1% dye, I’m going with 1/2 of that. In decimal land, a place where I pretty much remain a stranger in a strange land, that would be 0.005 instead of 0.01–I think. At least it will be easy to over dye the experiment if needed. Oh, and that other ball of yarn on the lower right–it was dyed just like the top left one, but in a different pot. That’s what they mean when “they” say make sure you get enough yarn in the same dye lot.
Category Archives: Weaving
Washout!
Ready to steam/press.
This week is going to be a great week! It’s so nice to feel good! Do you ever feel grateful for feeling good after a spell of not feeling good? That’s where I am right now.
Last week was pretty much a washout. After a night with coughing spasms, an appointment with the doctor seemed in order. Now have allergy stuff AND a cough, along with no voice–isn’t it amazing how exhausting having no voice can be? All of this goes along with the fact that the to-do list went no where last week. I did get invitations for a party designed and mailed, though. A couple of things that I had planned to go to were laid aside because I was afraid I’d cough too much.
So, main goals for this week:
- Steam and press two pieces
- Dye yarns
- Clean studio–Does anyone else make a huge mess in the studio? I seem to like to have all the colors I’m considering out on the floor so that I can see them together. Now it’s time to put them back, roll up and label the cartoons used, and just general cleaning. Amazing how much lint and dust is generated during the weaving process!
I can’t believe I’m actually posting this! How embarrassing!
What’s your process in the studio? Do you make a mess? Are you one of the neat people? It’s funny, the whole time I have been feeling bad, I’ve wanted the comfort of going out and weaving–not chicken soup–weaving!
Goals and the to-do list
Struggling with goals and being accountable has been a problem the last couple of years, so I have decided to take a Master class with Lisa Call. I have some goals that I want to accomplish, but feel frustrated with breaking those down into small bites. Overwhelming! One of those goals is a certain number of finished pieces by April 30. I can get in the studio hours to finish, but everything else falls to the wayside.
One of the things that I knew needed work on, in addition to the everyday stuff, is being able to critique art—my own mostly, but it applies to all art. Well, only the art that I like! I need to know what is in the art that makes me like it. Turns out that critiquing art is a component of this class.
Just throwing the shuttle until it’s finished. Cut it off Tuesday.
From the goals that I have, I make a weekly to do list. This is where things start falling apart for me. They include studio time, yard work/summer exercise program, designing, dyeing, and socializing. Each week those vary, according to what’s going on. For the studio, it’s mainly logging in the hours weaving, and being the nerd that I am, I made a spreadsheet with increments of 15 minutes. Writing it down in a notebook just wasn’t working. I am fairly liberal with what I call studio time, though—finishing work, dyeing, designing. This other stuff like writing falls under another category, although I don’t know what to call it. Here’s what my lists have looked like for the last couple of weeks.
This week—July 12-18
—Finish piece on loom
–Clean studio
–Do finish work on two pieces (not my favorite thing to do)
—Clean off table, sort and put away stuff currently on table—required for the above
–Begin dyeing yarns for next piece
- Plan colors
- Weigh yarns
- Print spreadsheet with formulas for each batch
- Set alarm
- 3 hours yard work
- Extras: –Design
Last week—July 5-11
25 hours in the studioYep, did it!- Get ready for guild sale on Saturday—Done
- Go to docent tour of Wari exhibit (this is my socializing “chore.”)—Going next Tuesday. Will have to work really hard to not back out.
- 1 hour of doing yard work 3 times—Only did one hour. I have to get up really early because it’s so hot right now, so setting alarm is on my to do list for next week.
I did get more socializing in this week—visited with friends.
Two things on my list are causing angst: yard work and socializing. The yard part I understand, but the socializing? Frankly, I am pretty content to stay at home and do what I do. When it comes to getting out the door, which involves dressing appropriately, well, I’d just rather not. But I’m working on it! And besides, it rained this week. Obviously too wet now.
Yesterrday I planned to new set of yarns that I’m going to start dyeing–grouping the skeins by weight and assigning colors to each group. This afternoon will be spent on finish work, not one of my favorites, but I’m grateful to have some pieces that need finishing! Studio time to log in. Yeah!
Next week? Finally get out in the yard? Cut brush? Haul it away? Stay tuned…
Hot, hot, hot! And rain!
So what else is new? It’s hot here, but there’s nothing new about that. But…yesterday we got a little rain. The wind came up, thunder rolled in, pea-size hail beat against the window, and it rained. And my electricity went off. For 13 hours! It was a kind of warm sleep last night. But around 5:30 this morning everything that was on yesterday afternoon came on. I was so tired that I just got up and turned off the lights, turned on the ceiling fan, and went back to bed.
I have a goal of weaving six pieces by April. That may or may not be doable. On the piece I’m weaving now, the only part that remains is throwing a shuttle for 15 more inches. I’m glad I’ve got a good book to listen to since shuttle-throwing can get boring. Those 15 inches are all one color, so no color play to watch even. Oh, and that goal of having six new pieces includes the finishing. I’ve got a few that are off the loom, but unfinished.
If you’re in the area, the area, our guild sale is tomorrow. For the first time, we have separated our sale from the biennial show.
I always like to get towels at the sale–they are so absorbent and beautiful.The potters guild is also having a sale and show in the same location. Plus, lots of openings tonight for the various galleries at the Community Arts Center.
A constant surprise
You know those scratch-off thingies your sometimes get for earning prizes? That’s what my weaving is like, except in reverse.
As I watch this black and white sections grow, it’s like a little surprise with every pass. Keeps my attention! However, getting to this spot was very frustrating. I think I took out, redid, and cut off about a dozen times. Not really, but it seemed like it. The problem is getting the ikat section to fit the warp, and since the ikat is already dyed, it’s the warp that has to change. Finally, today, it worked. I had to start at the other end of the ikat yarn, though. Now we’re cooking!
And speaking of cooking, I went to the farmers market on Saturday and picked up a few things–cantaloupe, blackeyed peas, and blackberries. As I was shelling the peas, I wondered about their nutrition, so I looked it up. Even though there are recipes for fresh blackeyes, there is not nutritional information available. Only for the dried peas, which I really don’t like. Interesting. Anyone else like fresh blackeyes?
Steps and inspiratiion
I have gone from this
to this
to this.
Today I plan to finish the last few inches of the piece on the loom. I’m going to ball up the first section (hope I know which end to start with). Then comes the part of getting the width of the warp correct for the ikat weft. Once all of that is taken care of, the weaving goes fairly quickly.
Inspiration–does anyone take pictures for inspiration? I’m wondering if I can make myself take a least one picture daily with colors, shapes, or textures that are inspiring in some way. And when I say “make myself” that doesn’t mean not wanting to; it means remembering and making the effort. Thinking….
June
Gosh, it seems like a long time and not long enough. The boys went home yesterday. It was really hard to send them off, but now it’s time to get back into some kind of routine. It seems that everything we did was hot and sweaty!
One of the things we did while they were here is ride the train to the Dallas World Aquarium. The creature left
is one of the many pictures I took. The boys wanted one last trip to Benito’s before heading to the airport. They waited for me outside as I paid the bill. Waiting for me with newspapers in hand was a joke for me.
On the way home from the airport yesterday, I took a detour to
buy an olla, which I’ve been trying to find for a couple of years.
I dyed part of the ikat yarns while they were here, and my night hours are spent cutting the wraps off of those yarns. I put them on a towel because they’re still damp. This ikat
tape makes a mess, even though I try to be careful. You can see just a couple of the bits that get scattered (marked by the arrows). Multiply that by about a thousand. There’s still one more section to dye. I decided to dye them in sections because of probable dye lot variations. My evenings in the near future will be spent cutting off ikat tape–a mindless activity to be done while watching a movie.
Question–does anyone know of a way to convert treadles on a loom to treadles for a standing loom? Maybe there’s an engineering type out there that can think of a way. I really wish there was some way to stand and weave on my Cranbrook. I get really tired of sitting!
Another wishful-thinking field trip
Another field trip is in order…Denver. Wonder how long it would take (and how much it would cost) to travel from DFW to Denver, down to Santa Fe/Taos, then on to Flagstaff, Scottsdale, and Tucson? The train between Albuquerque and Flag might be fun.
Anyway, this Denver Museum Spun: Adventures in Textiles exhibit looks to be a great one. This picture is amazing! Look how the pieces seem to be lighted from behind; they seem to glow, don’t they?
Today will be another day to the same–weaving, wrapping ikat. Gosh, I hope my math is right! If not, I’m doing a lot of wrapping for nothing. Maybe I should plan on a stand-up wrapping table. I am going to weave standing today.
Same song, same verse
You know, it’s amazing how exhausting one can get weaving for several hours and/or wrapping ikat. I’ve been splitting my work day fairly equally between the two, but geez, it’s uncomfortable sitting so long. I am seriously considering a walking loom. Does anyone have any experience with one? I’m wondering how weaving for hours standing would be, or would I just be complaining about how tired I am after standing all day? The day started out with a small rain, a wonderful day for weaving. And, oh, too bad, no mowing today! Now there are all kinds of storms swirling around, some with tornadoes, and even grapefruit size hail. That’s a new one for me. Grapefruit? So, I go from room to room carrying my flashlight just in case. And they say that these warnings will be here until 1:00 AM! And then I went through all my bank transactions looking for an $800 mistake. At least it’s in my favor, but I’m one of those people that balances a checkbook to the penny–well, at least I used to. Now I like to at least be under a $50 error.
Miscellany
mis·cel·la·ny
/ˈmisəˌlānē/
Noun
- A group or collection of different items; a mixture.
- A book containing writings by different authors.
It’s probably time for me to really give up on this idea that I can have a somewhat balanced life. In an ideal world, I would weave, work on other projects, take care of the housework, etc, all in one day. So far, that just doesn’t happen. Instead I spend the day weaving, then guess what’s waiting for me to do. Yep, housework! But it does feel good to weave! And something else I should do–reallythink, while I’m designing, about how many butterflies will be needed at one time. Geez! They get all tangled up, there are so many!
Several weeks/days ago I read about an art exhibit that sounded interesting. It’s called Drawn to Nature at Wave Hill. Several artists’ works are exhibited, each with a different take on their inspiration from nature. Because I’m a dyer, this quote from the NY Times article caught my attention.
Ellie Irons keeps her eyes to the ground in her Bushwick, Brooklyn, neighborhood. She is looking for plant life, invasive species that pop up beside tree roots and between cracks in the sidewalk. She plucks what she finds and, back in her studio, researches their identities and their origins. Then she crushes them to produce colors she uses to paint maps tracing their journeys to New York. I love this idea! Look at what she’s done with this idea here. Hate to say it, but my first thought is about how to get color from those plants. Some plants look like they would give wonderful color, but just give drab brown. And because of my kind of obsession with clouds, I love these small watercolor and charcoal paintings of Samm Kunce.
And for a last bit of miscellany, this just shows you how crazy we Texans are about our bluebonnets. This year has not been a banner year so far, but it’s also been cold still. We had 37 this morning, but the drought is the biggest culprit. People stop anywhere to get a picture of their kids sitting in the bluebonnets. Nuts! They hop fences, take no notice of private property (but that’s a topic for another day), even sit on cows. And those fields of bluebonnets get smushed. But I have to admit, when I see the first bluebonnets in the spring, I feel like everything is going to be better, that life is good.