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 When I moved into this sweet little house 3 years ago, I knew that I didn’t like the wallpaper and paint in the kitchen. Although there’s a dark alcove, most of the room is nice and bright with a large bow window, so I could ignore it for a while, but not forever.
For several months I thought I’d strip the wallpaper myself and paint. Finally I realized I’d much rather pay someone to do that. I used the NextDoor app and got some recommendations, ultimately choosing a GREAT small, local firm, Stamp Paints. Josh and Kay were a pleasure to work with, very responsive, professional, and reliable. In addition, they are dedicated to giving back to the community and make donations of both money and time regularly.
Well. I cannot stress enough just how happy I am that I hired Josh to do the job. Under that first layer of wallpaper, which came off relatively easily, was paint over another layer of wallpaper. And paint over a third layer of wallpaper under that! Hours and hours spent by a professional would have translated to days and days and curses and frustration and anger and hatred if I’d been doing it myself.
After the wallpaper was removed and minor repairs made, Josh painted the walls. The chair rail and below are a lovely blue (Sherwin Williams Ebbtide); above is a nice green (Sherwin Williams Breaktime).
I left the cabinets and other trim white for now, and painting the doors was not part of his bid, so I still have to paint the kitchen side of the two doors. I’ve just been too busy weaving to get to it. There will be time this winter; that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
I also want to replace that light fixture by the refrigerator with something that ‘fits’ the rest of the room, but that would require going to a store and shopping. Ugh.
I really like the new look – except for my mess on the counter. After I paint the doors I plan to paint my bathroom, too. We’ll see when that happens, as I’ve committed to some painting at my daughter’s flip house and my son’s new home.
I usually consider myself a quick study. I learn most things pretty easily. So I was excited back in September to take a class in triaxial weaving – weaving in 3 different directions, in this case with 1/4″ ribbon.
The first layer of weaving was simple straight lines. No problem. The second layer was weaving in a different color ribbon in a specific pattern and at an angle. Easy peasy.
The third layer was using yet another color ribbon, using the opposite angle to layer 2. I didn’t get it. I couldn’t see the patterns. I tried with paper in fatter strips, thinking maybe that would help. Nope. By the end of the class, I still didn’t get it, although others in the class did. (Clarification…I could absolutely see the pattern in a completed piece; I could not figure out how to weave that third layer to make the design.)
I came home and put it aside. “I don’t have time for this.” Then this weekend I needed to do a few hours of demonstration on Saturdsay afternoon at the Weavers’ Guild Holiday Sale. What would I demo? I wanted it to be triaxial weaving. “Come on, I can do this!” So I spent at least 3 hours on Thursday evening, looking at the teacher’s handout and a few YouTube videos and playing with ribbon.
Nope. Nada. I don’t see it.
Friday evening I probably spent another 2 hours. Same results. Nothing.
Saturday morning, suddenly I got it! I saw the pattern! I made a sample out of paper to ensure that I really had it. Yep, I did.
So that afternoon I went to the Sale and did a demo on trixial weaving. I explained to everyone who came by that I was very new at it, and therefore slow. But I am SO pleased with my results!!
Moving on, I was SHOCKED when I went back at the end of the sale to pick up my unsold pieces. There were SO FEW of them!
I sold all the socks I had dyed for the sale, and eight of my handwoven towels. But WHAT??!!
I sold that chenille jacket so beautifully modeled in the last post, as well as this cotton & bamboo jacket, which I finished Wednesday evening for Thursday morning screening.
I sold the mobi made on the same warp, also finished Wednesday evening.
I sold a rayon chenille mobi made in the spring, and the Brilliant Ideas mobi with the light weft. (I’d already sold the one with the dark weft to a friend.)
That’s all great news! So exciting and rewarding that people really liked my things!
That’s also the bad news, as now I have no jackets and only 1 mobi to bring to the Roycroft sale at the end of this month. I have to work REALLY HARD for the next few weeks!
So I got this warp on the loom right away. Cotton, rayon, and a novelty yarn in different weights, transitioning from burnt orange to dusty rose.
Now I’ve got to get back to the loom!
Although I’ve been feeling stressed about being behind in my weaving goals, months ago I’d made plans to visit another weaver, the lovely Hilary at Crazy as a Loom, and I wasn’t going to cancel it.
Hilary is talented, funny, gracious, and inspiring, eager to share some ideas about boosting sales and upping my weaving game. She and hubby, along with their sweet dog and cat, welcomed me with open arms, and cooked, too! The visit was short, but totally enjoyable.
I came home and got to it! I’d finished weaving a warp before I left, but hadn’t finished either piece yet, so did that first off. Both were going to dramatically benefit from having a human model for the photos, so I took them to the pop up shop on Saturday, in hopes that a customer would be willing to model for me. That didn’t happen, but I did sell a piece, before I even had it tagged! So I took photos on a mannequin, the best I could do.
It’s a large cowl, roughly 24″ wide and 32″ around. When worn around the neck, it’s soooo luxurious! There’s plenty of fabric there to pick it up and put it over your head for a loose hood.
Then on Sunday I took a class at the Weaving Center. I’m not a felter, and not interested in becoming one, but wanted to support the teacher, who is a friend, especially since it was her first time teaching at the Center. I made a felted vessel, which to me, is reminiscent of the human circulatory system.
The particularly interesting thing about this class is that the whole point was to take a failed felting project, rip it apart, and turn it into something new. Very fun and creative.
After class was over I got my friend to model my latest garment, a rayon chenille jacket. I am very proud of this piece, and it definitely doesn’t show off on a hanger. Unfortunately in this first photo I caught her with her eyes closed.
I would have tossed this photo, but you can see that the front drapes (although I could have done better at setting her up). Then she was willing to mug for the camera to show it to advantage.
I wish this sweet young woman lived next to me and would pose for all my photos!
Almost as an aside, I finished a piece of rayon chenille I’ve had sitting for months, turning it into a neck cuff/collar with a bit of crochet and some buttons.
Now I’ve got another warp on the loom, planned for another jacket and a mobi.
This warp is a combination of bamboo and cotton. I really like the way the colors change from all silver at one end to all gold at the other. The interesting thing is that I used several sizes of yarn, from 10/2 to 3/2, so had to think about how I would sett it. If my loom was wider I would have sett the 10/2 at 18 or 21EPI and the 3/2 & 5/2 at 15EPI, but that wouldn’t have fit on my loom. So I sett them at 24 and 15EPI, respectively. Hoping it drapes well.
Leaving you with this song from my Girl Scout days.
I was reminded just how much slower it is to use levers on a table loom than treadles on a floor loom while I wove these 22 bookmarks on my Missouri loom at the pop up shop.
I think they look rather like a fanciful turkey tail here.
After I finally finished these I brought in a rayon chenille warp AND the setup to connect the treadles for this loom. SOOOO much more efficient!
Meanwhile at home I finally finished the warp painted vs. skein painted pieces. It was interesting…while I was weaving them I alternately loved and hated them. That’s unusual for me. So I had to reserve judgement till I got all 3 off the loom, finished, and hung. Now I like them all. So, in the order woven and finished…
This shawl has a black tencel 8/2 weft. Although the picture has a bright side where the light is and a dark side with shadow, I feel that the colors are accurate, so didn’t try to make any ‘improvements.’
Next up, I think some of my customers wouldn’t like the brightness of the above colors, so decided to tone them down with a natural weft. I used 3 strands of 16/2 unbleached cotton held and wound together on the bobbin.
For the last piece, I intended to sew a 30-minute jacket with it, so wanted a cotton weft. I chose a really dark 8/2 navy unmercerized cotton. I like the interplay of the shiny tencel and the matte finish cotton.
After it was all woven, washed, and dried, and I sat down to do the sewing. Oops! Don’t know what I was thinking…I need half-again as much length for that as I had planned for and woven, so it, too, turned into a mobi.
I don’t know if I prefer the light or the dark. I do know I like the concept of using both warp painted and skein painted yarns in the same piece and will do that again.
I also know that I’m getting anxious about my weaving output. Between dyeing, towels, socks, onesies, and slow-woven bookmarks, I am nowhere near meeting my monthly goals. That means I either need to significantly over-produce in November and December — hard to do with the holidays — or resign myself to cutting out one of the great shows I do in the summer. The applications for both are due early in 2019, and I need to be confident I can build my stock sufficiently to be ready for both. Not sure how this will turn out.
Here’s the ‘brilliant or bad idea’ piece early on in the weaving. I am loving it. However I know from experience that what I love on the loom isn’t always what I love once it comes off, is finished, and I can see the whole of it from a distance. In this particular case, I think I’ll weave the second piece with a natural/white weft, maybe in cotton, to tone the colors down a bit,…may be too intense for some folks.
With the black weft, I kept trying to think of what it reminded me of: stained glass windows? Wrong color schemes. Kaleidoscopes? Not enough shifting of colors. This afternoon I think I got it. Although I’ve never seen them in person, it reminds me of photographs and videos I’ve seen of the northern lights. To those of you who have actually seen the northern lights, does it give you that impression or no?
Regardless of what they remind me or you of, I will say, I will say that so far, this concept seems brilliant to me, and I plan to do this again. Time will still tell.
I’m now thinking I’ll make one shawl, one wrap, and one other sewn piece – a 30-minute jacket. Trust me when I tell you this site doesn’t do it justice. I’ve got one pinned with a cotton warp and weft, and it’s pretty great.
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