Craft

Winter Solstice and Gifting

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141219 DawnThis is my favorite day of the year.  It’s the end of the seasons for me and the beginning of new.  Today is the shortest day and the end of darkness with each day becoming a few minutes longer until June.  It may not seem like minutes of daylight are increasing but I know that we are back on that swing and just knowing that makes the shorter days more tolerable.

Christmas is this week and I have 4 days to finish up all projects for the holiday.  I think I made everyone’s gift this year except one. Most gifts will be delivered today maintaining the lifelong tradition of homemade goodies for neighbors and friends.  The holiday wouldn’t be special for me if baking was taken out of the equation.  The recipes are dusted off – these cookies are only made for the holidays.  The smells and tastes bringing childhood back to me as they are molded and baked (and eaten with the numerous cups of coffee needed to pull this off).  The last things made yesterday were the dog biscuits for Chester’s friends.

The gift giving for family has been dialed back.  I’ve had to purchase some raw material but for the most part none of it remotely resembled the finished product.  I’ve given each individual a lot of thought and put the spirit of that into each piece made.  I’m hoping they feel the love because that’s was the gift is really all about, a token.

I’m fortunate to have the ability to do this.  I sometimes think that everyone is capable of making their gifts. I honestly think they should try, the gift is so much more meaningful for the gifted and the giver.  I also realize that telling my loved ones to make me something instead of buying it can put on a lot of pressure.  For those that aren’t confident in their ability to create this can be a serious burden.  I also think I say that to push them into the mindset of crafting and art.  Doing so is a gift in itself – you will never know the satisfaction of creating something with your hands until you try.

I’m putting everyone on notice now for next year.  Create your gifts, start thinking about them now.  Do a little search on the internet, you can find a tutorial for everything.  Learn a new skill, even if it’s just a new recipe. Cook a good meal, share with those you love.  For me it’s never the finished product but what went into the creation of it.  What did you learn?  How peaceful did you become while doing it (that may take time).  Put your love into the finished product and the recipient will see it – honest.

 

 

 

 

Two Things at Once

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141204 Doubleweave (2)There are some projects that just don’t go the way you expected.  This is another new structure for me – complimentary doubleweave.  I pulled out a couple of cones of 5/2 mercerized cotton using the colors that were in the studioand wound my warp.  I picked a simple overshot pattern, I figured simple would be better since I would be weaving the pattern in a whole different way.

I started Tuesday with what seemed to be little more prep than usual.  The loom only had 3 harnesses on it and all of the harnesses required more heddles.   Things went onto the beam smoothly.  Uh-oh, I just know things can’t go that easily.   The woman on the loom next to mine is doing the same project, different pattern and colors.  She was a few hours ahead of me and started to weave while I was threading my heddles.  It didn’t look the way she had expected.  The weaving was taken out and the sett changed.

I’m thinking this is a good thing.  I changed my sett to what she was now using.  Crisis averted.  I was feeling pretty smug about the whole thing.  I tied the warp on but had a lot of trouble getting the tension even.  I left it at the end of class and figured I’d tackle it today.

When I arrived at class I began weaving and found a couple of threading mistakes.  I rethreaded one and tied a string heddle for the second but now I had to tie on the warp all over again, what the heck?

I wove about 5 inches – two repeats of the pattern – and it just doesn’t look anything like I expected it to.  I took photos and if I squint my eyes it looks like there is some sort of repetition to the pattern but . . .

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Yup, I got up and walked away.  Now I’ll think about it until next week and then we’ll see what can be done with this.  One way or another I will be getting 6 doubleweave placemats out of this but at this point what they’ll look like remains to be seen.

There may be a bit of a problem with weaving two entirely different projects at the same time.  The project on my loom at home is an 8 shaft pinwheel pattern in 20/2 alpaca silk.  It requires a really soft beat in order to keep the required picks (to keep it from looking squished).141203 Scarf (1)

The fiber is more elastic and so soft.  Everything about this has gone smoothly.  Stark contrast to the red and white.

I’m thinking it could be in my best interest to work on similar projects at class and at home.  I have to say at this point I’m wishing I was weaving wool in class but I’m sure after another couple of hours the cotton will turn into something I like and I will be able to flip from one project to the other with ease.  Until then I’ll just fret.

Krokgragd Finished

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141118 Krokbragd (2)To date this project took me the longest to complete.  I started it the first week in August and took it off of the loom last week.  It’s stunning and the photographs do not do it justice, you have to feel it.  Wool, there’s nothing quite like it.

Initially I did twisted fringe for a finish and HATED it.  So I took it all out and got out my Weaver’s Companion – almost on the last page they had directions for a woven edge and I knew this was it.  Very easy to do and it’s clean.  I thought the geometry of the piece called for a clean edge and it also tightened everything up at the beginning and end.

141118 Krokbragd (3)

As I probably have posted this color combination came as somewhat of a surprise.  I was using yarn that I had.  When I got to the center I found two other colors in the weave studio I thought would work and kept weaving on.

I love that moment when you cut your warp threads at the end of a project and release the breast beam – the project rolls off and you get your first look at the project as a whole.  I was so please with this.

141118 Krokbragd (1)

It’s finished dimension is 24″x 36″.  From every angle it looks wonderful.  I have to tell you that I don’t think this will be spending any time on the floor.  I’ll keep moving it around until it finds its home.  This is one project that won’t be given away.

 

First Snow

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141114 First Snow

I woke up this morning to the first snow of the season.  I thought once the sun came up it would go but it’s mid afternoon and it’s still on the ground.

The fact that it snowed was somehow a signal to me to finish up a few projects in need of just a couple of hours of my time.  My rug is a row of twisted fringe away from lying on the floor.  Skeins of yarn were wound in anticipation of a new warp.  Drafts were reviewed with the planning for Christmas in full swing.

Twisting fringe gives you a lot of time for meditation and today I was thinking about what allows a person to do seemingly mundane, repetitive tasks that build into the finer crafts that I have been playing with lately.  I used to tell my husband that there was absolutely no way to bore me as long as I had something to do with my hands.  I think it comes from seeing multiple generations of my family always busy with their hands.  From knitting and quilting to mechanics and wood working everyone was always doing something.  I’m fortunate that they also thought it was important to pass on the knowledge and interest in one way or another.

My interest in the things I learned when I was younger has grown as I age.  When I was cleaning out the attic I came across the first piece of crewel embroidery I made with my grandmother. I think I was 8 or 9 years old.  She bought some little kit and showed me the stitches.  I would work them while she did some sort of handwork of her own I’m sure.  If she wasn’t there my mother would show me what I needed to know.  I learned many, many things from those women.  I think the most important is the work of your hands can be a form of meditation.

Doing the same small thing over and over allows your mind to work out the problems of the day (or week or month).  Almost all crafts allow you to do this.  There’s a learning curve to everything but there always comes point where the work becomes known and it’s only in the beginning stages that it requires concentration.

Every new craft that I have learned to do I have always worked to perfection over whatever time it takes to do so.  I will make one thing after another, honing my skill until I’ve worked it to death.  For a number of years I made teddy bears, not ordinary bears but beautiful, jointed stuffed animals.  The reason I did it?  I needed to perfect the embroidery of their noses.  Once I got to the point of knowing they could meet the expectations of even the harshest critic I taught others to make them.  It finally ran its course.  I know that if I decided someone needed a bear of their own I could make one with little effort and it would meet my exacting standards without the frustration of the first 10 or 20 bears that I originally made.  Also, in making that bear now, I would be able to meditate my way through the entire process, think about its recipient and put more of my good thoughts into the gift.

So it would appear to an outsider that I have craft ADD – and I do in some respect but it’s also a sick pursuit of perfection that drives what to others looks like a crazy, boring craft project.  I will work a skill a little at a time until I master it and continue to learn the possibilities within the craft.

That may be the appeal of weaving, I know there are so many aspects to it that it will take the rest of my life just to explore them all but there are little pieces of it that I can work until it’s perfected, then move on.

I think that’s the way life is, you have to break it down into little pieces, perfecting or finishing it one bit at a time.  Not everything allows meditation but with patience and practice it can all feed your soul.  For me it’s all about finding that sweet spot in everything I do.  Now the season has shifted once again and I bring out the things that have been waiting for months for my attention.  In a few more months all I’ll want to do is dig in the dirt but for now I’ll be doing those cold weather projects.

Weaving Wednesday – More Krokbragd

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140930 Krokbrogd

Today I hit the halfway point in my little weaving project.  A friend’s comment,”Simple to warp, forever to weave” was right on target with this one.

To make my life a little easier I numbered the three shuttles that I am using to correspond with the treadles I use while weaving. Krokbragd, done on three shafts, is threaded 3,2,1,2,3.  The tie ups are 1-2, 2-3, 1-3.  One pick really consists of throwing all three of the shuttles in sequence – you just treadle 1-2-3 over and over again.  This allows each of the warp threads to be covered by the weft.  It is very densely packed, requires a heavy beat and takes forever to do quite honestly.

I’m using Harrisville Shetland for the weft of this mat and have to go through the treadling sequence 32 times to make the 1 1/2 inches for each color sequence.  Next time I will use a heavier wool but this has woven up beautifully.  I thought I’d be crazy with boredom going from overshot to this but I have to tell you this whole process is fascinating and ripe with possibilities.  As usual I’m planning out the next project while weaving this one.

Handwoven magazine has a number of issues over the years with krokbragd projects.  This mat is one of them.  I like to have good instructions when I learn a new structure.  Usually by the time I’m finished with it I have enough of an understanding to begin to run with it.  Sampling always seems to come second with me.

A YouTube video called Talking Threads 17 Krokbragd explains the whole process really well for those of you who are really interested in this structure.  I found it really helpful.

More Krokbragd

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140828 Krokbragd (4)

The problem with learning a new structure is my unbridled enthusiasm.  It’s a problem because I just jump in and figure things out as I go.  This can be good but at times it’s not so good.

140828 Krokbragd (3)The mat that I’m weaving comes from an older weaving magazine.  Although I had spent a couple of weeks reading up on the process I neglected to actually read the instructions of the project I was weaving.  I had yarn, in various colors, I figured I was good.  I figured I’d just wing it, decide as I was going along.  Uhm, yeah.  That worked until I realized – four colors in – that some of them repeated and I was going to have to make it all work when I got to the center and worked my way back through the color scheme.  I thought there were 9 colors in the pattern but it turns out there are only 6.  What I had with me for yarn was not going to work.

I spent some time during my last session going through the yarn available.  I’m fortunate that the last two colors don’t really require a lot of yardage so I picked two skeins from Pam’s stash.

140828 Krokbragd (2)

I’m pretty excited about how I envision it looking at this point.  It also showed me how much planning has to go into the weaving of these Scandinavian treasures.  I didn’t plan at all and now realize that maybe I should have.  I guess that’s what class is all about for me, learning what the important things are for each particular structure and dreaming about the possibilities.

Weaving Wednesday – Krokbragd

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140819 Krokbragd

I started weaving camp last week.  This is a short course for the month of August on a technique of my choice (although it was really with the help of my instructor Pam that the decision was made).  We decided to do a rug technique since it is something new to me.  This will be a 24″x 36″mat done in  Krokbragd, a Norwegian rug weaving techniques known for its color and design.

I don’t know what my problem was the past week but getting this project warped has been an exercise in frustration.  It’s 4 doubled epi, so it should have been quick.  Between threading mistakes and a heck of a time sleying the reed (missed all kinds of threads, did it over TWICE) it took me about 8 hours to get to the point of throwing a shuttle.  8 hours – to wind and warp – there must be something wrong with my brain that doesn’t allow projects to happen in August.

Finally, towards the end of class yesterday I began to weave.  I’m using Harrisville Shetland yard so it doesn’t work up as fast as it would with a thicker yarn but oh, is it beautiful.  I chose Shetland because of the colors that were available to me (and I had a lot of it).  I have to say I’m very excited about the possibilities in color and pattern for this.

Another woman in my class woven a runner over the summer and brought it in last week for me to photograph.  It is stunning.

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She started out with a couple of muted tones and then took off with color.  It’s so much fun to look at and so exciting to think this is something I can do that isn’t terribly complicated.

I love it when I’m learning a new structure.  The drive home from class is always filled with thoughts of how to use this new-found technique.  I’m thinking of color combinations and patterns the whole way.  I can’t wait to get back into the studio with a serious block of time devoted to weaving.  Let the magic begin.

Hand Made

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Lomogram_2014-06-13_10-21-44-AM

Yesterday the weather wasn’t conducive to gardening, or much of anything outdoors.  Although there was plenty to do in the house (like vacuuming) I decided to finish up the project on the loom.

This is a 72″ runner with a linen warp and wool weft.  I made it for a friend of mine who has been one of my weaving cheerleaders since the beginning.  She has an older home and her love of blue and white traditional overshot drove the project.  I told her last year that I would make her something and that’s what lead me to the linen warp.  It was an experience.

These are my favorite projects, the ones I make for particular people.  It’s a different kind of effort.  As I said before it’s really the process not the project. Once it was off of the loom, fringed and wet finished I photographed it and then folded it and got it ready for presentation.   The gifting is my favorite part.

The end of last year I was weaving some beautiful twill towels with the intention of gifting one of them to one of my biggest cheerleaders.  The intent was Christmas as he wondered how he could get on my Christmas list.  Well, as usual, life got in the way and they weren’t ready by Christmas, or by January.  His health took a turn for the worse after the holidays and in my heart I knew this was the end.  It all but stopped my progress on that project.  It came to a screeching halt actually.  He passed away in March and with that I had to change my entire mindset on those towels.  I did finish them and gifted them to my oldest daughter – they were her colors.  In weaving the last of the warp though he was constantly on my mind.

I don’t know how to explain what happened when he died honestly.  The week after his death I was a total mess, trying to find meaning in what had transpired surrounding it.  After his memorial service I was at total peace.  Not just peace with his passing, peace with everything.  It was as though the moment he died he took all of my lifetime crap with him when he left.  I just had to be quiet enough to see it.  Now I always knew we had a connection and over the past year or two he was more than ready to lend an empathetic ear but this was unexpected.  There is no other explanation, the calm with my life came when he left.  Thank you.

The loss of a dear friend, in the middle of a project like that gives urgency to finishing things when they are made directly for someone.  I really want this to go to its intended home.  Although I have never seen her table I imagine it laying there and the pleasure it will give to its recipient.

Last year, after winning a blue ribbon on an overshot throw at the Eastern States Exposition, Paul wrote on my post about it.  “Hands made this. Hands were used by a person. A person made this. It holds and conveys the sense and feel of those hands and the spirit of that person. Yes, it is beautiful.”  There are people who intrinsically understand this about things that are hand-made.  Maybe it comes from making art of your own because I know many people who don’t get it.

I will continue to weave and create beautiful things and giving many of them away.  I think a little piece of my soul goes with them most of the time and I gift to those that can see it.

Lomogram_2014-07-31_03-28-54-PMThe bonus on most weaving projects is I always warp a little longer than required so I can play at the end.  The photo above is a small table runner I made in a variation of the pattern and that one stays on my table.

 

 

How We See

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Amanda's hands and chick

My chicks are a month old now and a far cry from the cute, fuzzy little creatures they were in the first week.  The day after I arrived daughter Amanda spent some time in the room with the chicks and I took this photograph of her hands holding one of them.  It was around nine at night, maybe later and the chicks were sleepy and welcomed the warmth of her hands.

When I loaded the photo onto the computer and opened it in Photoshop it looked nothing like this.  In fact I had no idea it would turn into one of my recent favorites until I began to play with it.  All of the photographs I took of people holding chicks had to be converted to b&w because of the red heat lamp in use over the chicks enclosure. A big part of it was having a cooperative subject and I attribute that to Amanda having spent the last 28 years being photographed – a lot. She waited, holding that chick until I went into the house and got the camera.  And it was a one on one situation.  After some cropping and playing with levels this it turned into something I love.  It speaks to me of the kindness and tenderness that is Amanda, and I would recognize those hands anywhere.

The next day I took this photo.

140705 Andy holding chick (2)Nothing like the one the day before.  The quality of the material to begin was not as good but wow, I have to say I love this almost as much.  This was manipulated almost as much, didn’t end up with the same result – but look at that face.  This is my grandson in his first chicken experience.  After a little coaxing he reluctantly held that chick. Not the same hands, not the same feel but something that really captured the experience for me.

Photography for me, when it’s good, is most often times a happy accident.  The first image more so than the second.  They were totally different experiences.  The hands were something I saw, captured and manipulated into something I see as beautiful.  I worked towards that image in every aspect – it just so happens it turned out better than I had envisioned.  The second was a capture of a moment and his face really gives away his uncertainty with the situation. It feels like he was just holding that chick just for the camera, otherwise he might have been just as happy to leave it quite alone (or watch but not touch).

These are the times that I truly appreciate digital photography.  I never would have achieved these images if I had been using film – I probably could have but it would have entailed hours of frustration in a darkroom and then I seriously doubt they would have turned out this way.  These took a few minutes and some mouse clicks to make it happen.  Minutes later I’m sharing them with family and friends.

It’s all still pretty amazing to me.  I do think photography has been diminished in some ways because of it.  Photographers used to be artists and technicians, you had to know your craft.  Technology has made us old film photographers obsolete, we can now reminisce about standing in a darkroom for hours trying to achieve our vision.  In the same breath I can say it has set us free – we can envision what we want, capture it and make it our own with the click of a few buttons.  The one thing that has not changed for us is how we see.

 

 

Weaving Wednesday

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Runner (2)

I surprised myself with the short amount of time it took to weave this runner.  I wound and warped my loom last Wednesday and took it off on Monday morning to fringe and finish.  There were a couple of rainy days but I don’t think I spent more than a few hours a day on it and not at all during the weekend.

This table runner is 18″by 72″ with a tencel warp and cotton weft with tencel tabby. This particular overshot was easy to do although I must confess I had to make two string heddles to fix a threading mistake.   That’s when weaving lessons pay off – I’ve been taught how to fix some of my mistakes without taking it apart and starting all over again.

I have one class left for the year and some of us will be doing some other fiber related craft since our weaving projects are finished. Meanwhile I’m thinking about what to put on my loom next.