A Different Vision

For the last 8 months I've had the pleasure of working on an exhibit called "A Different Vision".  It is sponsored by the Plymouth Art Guild in Plymouth, MA, www.plymouthguild.org. The guild sponsored this exhibit in 2010 and then decided to do it again in 2013. A Different Vision is a tactile, innovative, and exciting art exhibit where the blind and the visually impaired as well as the sighted can enjoy the art.  Everything is touchable. Really, it's all touchable!  No please do not touch the art signs here, only Please Touch!

So my job was to help publicize this event by starting A Different Vision Face Book page.  You can find it at www.facebook.com/ADifferentVision.  It's been fun to connect with a whole new group of people on the page.  As administrator I am trying to get the word out to people who might not have heard of this event, artists and folks who would enjoy the show.  My goal is to have 100 Likes on the page by the opening which is May 11 at 7pm.  So stop by the page and give us a "Thumbs Up".

As an artist I was challenged by this exhibit to make something in my medium.  My normal wearables, while they feel very soft to the touch, were not going to be the thing that got them accepted into the show.  So I looked at the yarn on my shelves, put my weaver's thinking cap on, and decided to do something totally different than what I normally do. I knew I was going to create a scarf but it had to have a lot of texture and something special about it that a visually impaired person could see with their hands.

Yarns used to sample

I remembered taking a workshop one year at Convergence (Handweavers' Guild of America's biennial conference) on Shibori.  Normally Shibori is used as a resist dying technique.  But this workshop used it as a resist technique for texturizing cloth!  (find out more about Shibori at http://shibori.org) So when I was thinking about ways to texturize my woven piece for the exhibit, I thought about creating bubbles in handwoven wool cloth by using the Shibori technique. Wool shrinks and fulls (felts) so the resist would cause the bubbles to form. Then my mind took it one step further.  What if I made the bubbles spell out the colors of the scarf in Braille!  Oh sometimes the creative mind gets us into all kinds of trouble!  After trying several methods (round marbles, flat marbles, thread) for creating the bubbles, I settled on a method which used very tight elasticized bands. This proved to be the best tool to use. 

After much sampling (several 1 yard samplers) I realized that making the bubbles spell out the Braille words was just not going to work effectively in a scarf.  It was hard to scrunch up the fabric in the correct line that it needed to be in order to be read. Each time I applied the band to one area it threw the cloth out of line and I couldn't see if the next bubble was going to be in the right place. So scratch that!  Back to the drawing board.  I thought I had a good idea using the Braille but how was I going to make it happen?

Ah Ha! BEADS! Oh those wonderful glorious beads that come in all sorts of colors! That would do it.  So I wove beads into the scarf at the beginning and end to spell out the main color of the scarf.  It worked beautifully.  I was able to line the beads up in the correct place for each letter. One scarf was Blue and the other was Purple.  I decided to put the Shibori bubbles throughout the scarf which gave it a funky very textural feel.

Drawing up a pattern guide for placement of the beads. This spells purple.

Weaving the beads in place.

I added beads to the fringe and twisted the ends together to form a loop scarf.

I have to say creating these scarves took me out of my "box" and comfort zone but I love the chunky, funky look of these scarves!  

"Bubble Wrap" - blue

If you live near Plymouth, make sure you stop by the Plymouth Center for the Arts and visit the show.  Let me know what you think of my "Bubble Wrap" Scarves. 

"Bubble Wrap" - purple

How to Tie a Scarf.......

How to tie a scarf.......or I could title this post, "A Star is Born"!  You see I've had this idea........... for a long time I've wanted to do a video on scarf tying.  I repeatedly hear from customers that they never know how to tie a scarf or what to do with it. Along with how to wear a shawl, it seems to be the biggest fashion challenge for many.  So I am always demonstrating ways to wear scarves and shawls.  After I do this the next comment is usually, "Oh can you come home with me?  I'll never remember how to do that!" (Does this sound familiar?)  So I've been on a quest to find someone who could film a video of me tying scarves.  I could then put it on my website and customers could watch it anytime and remember how to tie the scarf that they purchased.

So one day a funny thing happened. As I was in conversation with a friend who had just lost her job in publishing,  she was telling me how she was looking at new options and what she might do.  When I asked what she was exploring, she told me about a class she was taking at our local TV station.  Plymouth TV has this wonderful program where they teach classes on videography along with providing assistance to help students make their own films.  Can you hear the wheels starting to turn in my brain?  Excitedly, the next words out of my mouth were, if you need a project to work on, I've got one for you!  After explaining my idea to video me tying scarves she was intrigued.  (I have this added bonus that she likes my work and what I do!)

After thinking it over she e-mailed me to tell me that she had been thinking about the possibilities and much to my surprise was not only interested in what I proposed but expanded the project.  Seems that when she ran it past PACTV they were interested in doing a series of shoots and putting them on the TV. Oh my gosh!  "Moi" on TV!!!!!! Of course immediately I started thinking, they say you look 10 pounds heavier on TV. Yikes!!!!!!!!! How fast can I loose some weight!

So Robin and I began to plan the project, what we would film, when we would do it, and how we would go about it. We started filming in May and met on Tuesday's as often as our schedules allowed and by the end of summer the filming was complete.  Not only had we filmed tying of scarves but also the weaving process, studio set up, and an interview, all to be aired on our local TV station, PACTV.

After Robin did the editing, corrections, and adjustments (I'm sure these are not the technical terms), the video was ready to be aired.  The first showing was this past Sunday, October 21.  The reality of it being on TV didn't hit me until the first frame appeared with the title "Scarves in Motion" and there I was talking to viewers about how to tie a scarf!

I don't know how many people saw it.  It is a small TV station and viewing audience but I couldn't believe I had actually done it and I have to say it looked pretty good!  (And no I didn't loose any weight before it aired.)  My husband thinks I came across with the presence of an HGTV host!  I may be hard to live with after this!!!!!!!

In case you missed the show and live in the Plymouth, MA area, tune into Comcast 13 or Verizon 43
at 8pm on one of the following Sundays - 10/28, 11/4, and 11/11.  Let me know what you think.  I'll be waiting to hear from my adoring fans!!!!!!!!!! :-)

      

Thanks to Robin MacFarlane and PACTV for making this experience a possibility. You are awesome!

Recycling in the Studio

I love re-purposing materials. Weavers use a lot of paper when putting warps on the beam.  The paper acts as a separator for the layers that are wound onto the beam.  This keeps the yarn from snuggling down into the previous layer which in turn causes tension problems.  Tension problems can cause an irregular cloth that will do strange things to the finished cloth.  Tension problems are the "bane of a weaver's existence"! It is to be avoided at all costs. Unless of course you do it on purpose! (There is always the exception for the sake of design!)

Since these papers don't last forever when they get used day in and day out, a weaver needs a fresh supply. Now it can't be just any paper.  The weight of the paper makes a difference.  Too thin and the yarns will still sink into the previous layer.  Too thick and it builds up on the beam and long warps will not fit. It also makes it difficult to keep each layer tight.

OK, so what is the right paper.  The answer --------- Packing paper!

Now you can buy it at a packing supply store which I have done but I am always delighted when packages come and they have this great packing paper in them which is filling up the empty space in the box.  Voila! Eureka! New supply of paper to use when beaming the warps! Maybe a little crinkled but no problem.  Just iron it, roll it, and put it in my stash of paper, sticks, raddles, and lease sticks bin waiting to be used.

More Vacation Inspiration

One of my favorite shops to go to when I am in FL is a bead shop called "Beads F.O.B.". Sometimes I try to stay away because just like in a yarn shop, I am lured by all the pretty and fascinating beads, definitely candy for the eye! But, I had a great excuse this time as I am running out of #6 seed bead. Oh my, too bad. I was forced to visit "Beads F.O.B."! Since this is the size bead I have been using on my Necklace Scarves and my local bead shop went out of business, what was I to do! I have to replenish my supply, right? The Necklace Scarves are attracting a lot of interest and I want to be prepared for my fall shows, right? Sooooooooo here is the result of my trip to the bead shop................

Who wouldn't be inspired by all these colors!

Where do you find inspiration on vacation?

"Next Ruffled Scarf" Series

I rarely do pastels.  I decided that I would like to try pastels for these scarves as my next group in this series.  I am trying to reach customers in warmer climates and also provide scarves for three season wear. Not that bright colors cannot be worn in warmer weather.  Sometimes the brightest colors are evocative of spring flowers and summer heat.  However I thought it would be fun to see how pastels might work in this technique. Here are pictures of the warp going onto the loom. In weaver terms this is called "beaming".  The whole process of putting the warp on the loom from beaming to threading to tying on is called "dressing the loom".

 

New Scarves

I just finished four new scarves.  They are in the Collapse Weave technique. I wrote about this in previous posts. Check out http://studiojottings.blogspot.com/2009/07/collapse-weave.html & http://studiojottings.blogspot.com/2009/08/this-and-that_10.html to get more information on how these scarves are made.  I love making these scarves!  Better yet I love how they feel after they are finished.  The weaving on these scarves is very labor intensive!  It is slow and exact in order to have the technique work effectively but the results are wonderful.  The time it takes to weave them is worth it. The wool/silk yarn that I use is beautiful and soft and I love working with it.  It is like butter to the fingers! At shows I always get the comment that wool makes people itch.  Some wools many times do because of the processing the yarn has gone through at the mill.  Unless you are allergic to Lanolin, the itching is most likely due to the shortness of the wool fiber in lower grade wools or the chemical processing that the yarn has been exposed to. That is not the case with the wool/silk yarn I use and believe me I would know as the yarn is always going through my hands and fingers through out the whole process.  I never itch once! And I love to scrunch up the scarves and feel them in my hands.

In making any handwoven item, the yarn must be measured before going onto the loom.  This process is called warping.  While warping it is important to make a cross in the yarns so the sequence for threading is there and the yarn does not tangle. When all the yarn is measured it is removed by putting it into a chain.  When in the chain form it can be stored safely without tangling until ready to be put on the loom.

Here are a few pictures:


Warping Mill measures the warp



Warp Cross



Warp Chain



After weaving the scarves look like this.  They have a stretchy quality to them due to the technique I use and the over spun wool crepe yarn which is the second yarn used in these scarves. 



Four Scarves



Close up of four scarves 



During December you can purchase one of my Collapse Weave scarves at Guilford Art Center in Guilford, CT, http://www.guilfordartcenter.org/, Some Things Looming in Reading, PA, http://www.somethingslooming.com/, or my studio in Plymouth, MA.   

Craft Show Artists are "Jacks of All Trades"!

So what's it like to be a craft show artist?  You travel to many places.  You meet interesting people.  You have friends in many cities. You see artist friends and are inspired by them. Days of preparation lead up to exhibiting your work to hopefully an appreciative audience who will fall in love with your work, purchase, and enjoy it everyday. Halt!!! That's the romantic side!

The unromantic side is you are exhausted from staying up late and working hard to have enough choices for customers.  Your body aches from packing up the car and then unpacking the car at the show (not to mention that this happens on the other end when you go home).  You have to set up your tent and display pieces.  You have to get up early to be at the show to finish displaying your work. As inventory changes your booth display changes.  It is always a challenge to create an effective and interesting display which will draw the customer into your booth.  If you not a morning person as I am not, you have the added challenge of trying to wake your brain up to complete all these early morning tasks.  And if I don't have my high test tea, I am in trouble!

So this past weekend when I set up my tent at the Wheaton Arts Show, I was able to set up the day before. This is always a blessing. My friend, Bette, was there to help me.  Everything was going along fine until I went to look for the bottom leg extensions for the poles to my tent.  They were no where to be found! "He who shall remain nameless" forgot to put them in the car. "Uh Oh" was my thought (actually that was the mild version!).  I am in trouble.  My tent will only go up less than 6 feet high without the extensions and this is not an item that the local Home Depot carries.  While we started setting up the tent, I began to think.  What might be a tempoary substitute that would raise the legs of the tent?  BINGO - bed risers!  Would they be high enough, sturdy enough to work?  So off we went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond to look for bed risers.  Thank goodness they had them in stock!  So for a $15 fix, I bought them and crossed my fingers that this was going to work.   It did! WooHoo!  My creative leg extensions were the talk of the craft people around me.  I was amazed how well it worked and much to my surprise it didn't look bad!

Here are a few pictures:

Not bad, Huh? I may just always keep these in the car just in case......................................


   

New Fall Scarves

Four 14 yard warps for 24 chenille scarves

I've finally been able to get back to the loom to do some weaving.  Before my mother died I had made four rayon chenille warps for 6 scarves each totalling 24 scarves.  They have been sitting in a basket ready to be woven and I was finally able to do the the first warp this week.  Here are the results -------

Weaving scarf #1



   6 finished rayon chenille scarves

Next warp to go on loom - six more scarves!



New warp being put on the back beam



"The Dog On The Loom"

Sampler for Liturgical Stole

Those of you who are weavers who read this blog, probably know what "the dog on the loom" means.  For those of you who aren't weavers, it doesn't mean that cute little pooch who sits beside you waiting to be petted has jumped on the loom!  What it does mean is a warp (which is the group of yarn threads which make the lengthwise of the woven fabric) is "mis-behaving"!  And not only mis-behaving but giving you so much trouble that you are ready to rip it off the loom, say a few expletives and throw it away!  Now what could cause such a temper tantrum?  Well ------ when threads stick together in the shed (opening when weaving) making it difficult to weave without skipping over threads or when threads keep breaking while you are weaving.  It could be that the tension is all wrong and can't be easily fixed.  In any event the warp gives you lots of problems and it takes you alot longer to weave the piece and your patience wears thin.

Recently I had a "dog on the loom".  I started a project in May.  It was to be a stole for my husband who was celebrating the 40th anniversary of his ordination. The first problem I had was running out of the gold yarn that I was using.  It was an older yarn that I had pulled off of my shelf and I thought I had enough to do the job.  So when I ran out and I knew I could not get any more of this yarn, I had to go back to the drawing board and be creative. This should have been my first clue that this was not going to go well. But being the "let's make lemonade out of lemons" type I perused my shelves for an answer. I found another yarn on my shelf which after a little redesigning of my original plan worked fine.  I actually liked that yarn better.  So part of the gold threads were made up of the old thread which was a white cotton thread with gold wrapped around it and the new gold thread which was all gold.

Gold threads going onto the beam

Close up Gold threads going onto the beam. White threads are already beamed.



Two beams are wound with yarn

OK, I thought I was good to go until after my first 12 inches when the gold on the gold/white thread broke!  One repair didn't bother me but when it kept happening over and over again, I was annoyed and frustrated.  Why were they breaking?  This didn't happen when I did the sampler. Was the yarn too old and the rubbing against the reed was causing it to break? Again, this didn't happen in the sampler.  So what was going on?

After this happened several more times, I realized that one big reason it was happening was I had forgotten to add one piece of equipment to my loom that I needed while using the second beam.  I had put the gold yarn on a second beam because I knew the tensioning of it would be different than the white tencel.  What I forgot to do was add the second back beam so the two yarns would be separated as they traveled from the back of the loom to the front.  This caused alot of friction on the gold threads causing them to POP!  Hence "the dog on the loom"!


Second back beam

Well, I was unable to finish the stole for the anniversary, we went away to Florida for 2 weeks, and then life invaded my weaving time, we went on vacation for 3 weeks, and life again invaded my weaving time until finally a few days ago I was able to finish weaving the stole and take "the dog of the loom"!  A few Hallelujahs were said along with some dancing and the warp was off!

Now I just have to finish repairing all those broken threads (ugh) and sew the stole in time for my husband to wear it the next time the liturgical color of white is worn which I think is Christmas.  Can I get it done?  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

T-pins hold the broken threads



Close up of broken threads ready to be repaired

Wish me luck! When it's finished I'll post a picture.  Stay turned.

Sweden on the 4th of July

I had the experience of being out of the country on the 4th of July. It's a strange experience to be away on a special national holiday. The funny thing was we did celebrate in a very special way.  We have friends who live in Sweden and they have been our hosts while here.  Our families have stayed connected through the years. We have visited with each other (they have come to the US more times than we have gone to Sweden). We have met their friends and learned about each other's lives.  So on the 4th of July we had a picnic!  One of Ingemar and Kristina's friends is a transplanted American who is married to a Swede.  We went to their house and had a little touch of America in Sweden!  We had grilled hamburgers, chips, and strawberries along with some wonderful elderberry juice that they made from the flowers on the elderberry tree in their yard (that's the Swedish touch).  We played Bocci (not quite an American game) and had a great time.  What a special time to remember.

One of the highlights for me was seeing our Swedish friend's loom and her weaving. Elisabeth has a large (maybe 60") countremarche loom and she was weaving a beautiful blanket of yarn's she had hand dyed with natural dyes. It's interesting to me that weaver's share a common language and it doesn't take long to begin to talk pattern design, thread counts, and yarn diameters. (The world is not so big!) A weaver's signature is always there in the weaving hand of each person and is what makes each weaver's work special. It's so much fun to see another weaver's work and learn about their process.

So I share here some pictures from my wonderful 4th of July.  Hoping that you can share special holidays in new and interesting ways.

Elisabeth's Loom

Close up of Elisabeth's blanket

International Friends Celebrating

Return to Triangular Shawls

I've returned to making one of a kind triangular shawls. I actually stopped working on this one midway so I could work on the Habitat pieces.  In this shawl I combined 4 yarns and used them as one.  This is what I am known for in my work - the use of many colors to form one.  It pushes the limit of this loom since it is made for a single use yarn.  I am not one to let color be stagnant.  The color must move across the cloth. This provides depth and keeps the cloth from looking flat. I am so happy with the way this piece turned out.  I think it is the best so far. What do you think? Not only did I combine several colors, I also used yarns with a lot of texture.  There is a very slubby variegated rayon yarn, a smooth rayon and silk yarn, a smooth rayon ribbon,  and a small nubby rayon yarn. They all combine to make an interesting warp and weft of colors and textures. I also used an open weave novelty yarn with a lovely sheen to it as an accent yarn.

Working with 4 yarns at once is a bit of a challenge but that is what this process has been all about,  challenging not only myself but the equipment I use. It seems like I am into challenges these days.  That is what the Habitat project was also about. 

So here's the latest addition to my triangular shawl inventory.  Let me know what you think.  This blog encourages discussion, thoughts, and ideas.




On the loom in process



Close up on the loom



Finished Shawl - "Spring Garden"



I think I will give these shawls a rest for a while.  I have other ideas I want to work on and I am anxious to get back to weaving on my floor looms. I miss the rhythm of weaving on a floor loom.  Stay tuned to see what I do next.