Well, Hellooooo! How are you? How have you been?

If I were to meet up with someone I hadn't seen for a long time, I might be a little embarrassed for not connecting with that someone for a while, but I'd be delighted to see them all the same.

So.... "Well, Helloooooo! How are you? How have you been?".

I'm doing well, thank you. A bit hot just now as Tucson is feeling more like Phoenix lately. Gah.
Monsoons have semi-started but they are absent this week and we're cooking. It's about 102 degrees in the shade (1:15 PM). The phone says it's 108 outside. Gah.

So.....I'm off school for the summer, back to working 6 days a week, doing a little knitting, working on the to-do piles around the house and considering what I want to do for my Weaving Independent Study in the Fall. The 3 options currently being considered are Ikat (primarily with Indigo), Summer and Winter Weave or Backstrap Weaving.

Backstrap weaving has been on the "list" for a while and I picked up a book on the topic at the last Tucson Handweaver's and Spinner's Guild stash sale. We shall see. I think I'd need to "build" a loom but I haven't read enough to see if I want to go there just yet.

I dabbled in Summer and Winter Weave last semester - seeing it as a type of DoubleWeave (i.e. weaving with multiple warps). I started with heaver yarns and was thinking rude comments like "ugly bedspread" as I started my test. I worked my way down to thinner weft threads and began to see the pattern improve from "ugly bedspread" to "Huh - kinda cool".
{?!? Seriously - I didn't take any pictures of the test on the loom at school?!? Sigh/Head-desk.}

I also read up a little on Ikat last semester and even setup a test during our Indigo dye session. As I understand it, there are three types of Ikat dyeing - Warp based (just the warp threads {which allows more control}), Weft based (less control), and Double Ikat where both warp and weft are dyed. With limited time amidst other class projects,  I decided to setup a card weaving warp with some Ikat resist. (Card Weaving is essentially all warp - you can only see the weft on the edges of the woven strip.) The dye/resist worked well but I have yet to weave it up.

Well, this post went pretty much as though I'd run into you somewhere and I started babbling about the current thing on my mind. Except I couldn't see when your eyes glazed over as I waxed rhapsodic about one of my favorite things. {wry grin}

I hope your favorite things are enhancing your summer and keeping you out of the Arizona heat.

I hope I run into you again soon!

How My 1st Weaving II Project Went Successfully Awry

I know…I've essentially skipped blogging about the entire Fall Semester. I keep dashing from project to paper to the next project. I'll get back to the Fall Semester eventually. 

In the Spring 2014 semester, I'm enrolled in Weaving II and an Independent Study of Weaving. Neither class has a set structure beyond the techniques/projects I indicated I would pursue in the Independent Study contract. (i.e. the possibilities are endless and a little overwhelming. Well, only endless to the point approved by the instructor. {wry grin})

Not surprisingly, I had contracted to weave fabric to create a Fulled Woven Bag. {Yes, the bag-lady in me is alive and well!}

In support of this project, I investigated Double Weave - a method where one set of warp threads are used for two pieces of fabric - joined on one side. Double Weave has a whole range of nifty things that it can do and I'm hoping to explore several aspects of this technique.
This time I played with the Tube version of Double Weave where the two fabrics being woven are joined at both edges and open at the top and bottom.
(As always, please click on the photos to enlarge.)

Using this technique you can create multiple openings, pockets, puffs or mini-pillows as part of the woven fabric.

 

Yes, the warp is divided into 3 separate sections and I
stuffed them with leftover yarn before
weaving them closed. 

I planned to use the Tube Double Weave technique to weave a tube of felt-able wool, closing off the bottom and top and then full (felt) the hollow rectangle into a denser fabric. I would then cut the fulled (now non-ravelling) fabric to make the bag with a strap and extra fabric for a flap over the bag opening and a pocket for the inside.
Well, that was the plan.

I pulled wool from the stash - a lovely solid blue for the warp and Noro Kureyon for the weft.

I found that I needed a few more yards of warp, then found my stash wanting {shocking, I know!}, and broke down to shop for warp. I couldn't match the blue yarn so I settled on using black on the bag sides and put together my warp.

I was pointedly delighted with how the Noro colors laid out and reveled in how easy it was to maneuver around the knots in the yarn that interrupted the famous Noro Color progression.

And I decided it was fun to take pictures from inside my warp!

Ta-da! A picture of me I actually like!
{There's a pun here relating to the lines on my face
being more prominent.} {grin}

A view of the warp as it progressed - from the inside:

And the view of the warp as it progressed - from the outside:

The instructor had noted that the blue warp enhanced the colors whilst the black warp would be more noticeable/prominent. What do you think?
I think she was correct.

 

The weaving went quickly and I used up every possible inch of the warp - even lifting the loom harness by hand to allow for a few more weft throws.

I cut the closed tube off the loom and fulled it the following weekend.

Yep, I secured the ends before I tossed it into the wash.

Tossed it into the wash with a variety of things to
help the fulling process. 

{I'll try to do a blog post on how I full stuff in a front-loading washer, but for now I'd like to caution folks don't just toss items to be fulled/felted into the washer. I place them inside a zippered pillow case (or 2) to minimize the amount of fuzz transferred into my washing machine. Yep, think about it…pipes or an expensive machine coming to a screeching halt, clogged with wool fibre…shudder.}

And it fulled beautifully! I am particularly smitten with how the warp pops through to create a nubbly, textured effect on the fabric.

However…it was a bit small for the bag I had planned.

Yes, I had planned for shrinkage, but not that much shrinkage. I showed the fulled, hollow rectangle to the instructor and admitted it would be a smaller bag than I had planned. She suggested it become a pillow.

A pillow??
!!A Pillow!!
With the current group of knead-happy, goat-cats in my home I had despaired at ever being able to weave pillows for my home. But if I fulled the pillows…!! Woot! They wouldn't be kitty-proof, but they'd be kitty-resistant!

I had a new plan!
I carefully cut open the hollow rectangle,

stuffed it with recycled fiberfill,

and carefully sewed it back up.

I've got the next Fulled Pillow Warp measured and I'll be putting it on the loom tomorrow. I'm planning  at least 2 more pillows before I revisit the Fulled Woven Bag Project.
Oh yes, there will be a bag too.
Although, I have to wonder where else the Fulled Woven Bag Project might lead me...

What a difference a year makes!

Hola, Folks.
Crimony! It's been over a month since I last posted a blog. Sorry about that.
When I consider that I posted a blog nearly every day in November and December of 2012 and then I look at the paltry number of posts for this holiday season…
{sigh} Ah well.

However, when I consider that since last November/December I have been actively pursuing a Fiber Arts degree, that I have met a wide range of radically interesting and inspiring people in the last 10 months, and that my creative interests have bloomed dramatically in 2013…

What a difference a year makes. {Happy Sigh}
But I do miss writing on the blog and seeing from whence visitors come and if comments are left. As I'm sure you've guessed, I have been spending a great deal of time in the Ceramics and Weaving labs. And I am generally very pleased (and surprised) with the results of my time. The semester is nearly over and my Ceramics and Weaving projects are done/turned in/pending grading. I still have some more work to do for the Clothing Construction class so I'm not done yet.

But a little bit of down time before the next semester is up-n-coming and my to-do lists are being jotted/revised and "Blog" appears often on those lists. A fair amount of knitting and UFO pursuits are plotted as well.

Until the next blog "to-do" is fulfilled, here are a couple of quick pictures from the school adventures of the last few weeks.

Two "nose-level" views of my final project from my Weaving I class:

The collection of pots that came from the 2nd Glaze firing in Ceramics I:
{Yes, I like throwing pots on a potter's wheel!}

And…here's 3 more pictures.
These are the photos I entered in the 11th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest.
I know - it's ok. I don't actually expect to win.
{grin} I've seen the winning pictures from the 2012 contest.

However, I'm glad I did it. It's something I've never done before and I like the idea of trying even though I'm well aware of how remote the possibility of winning is. I'm mostly hoping that one of my pictures might be deemed interesting enough to be posted on the Smithsonian's Photo of the Day.
The finalists will be announced in March 2014 and the winners and Reader's Choice Winners will be announced in Spring 2014.

You've seen this picture before. I included it in the September 28th "More Landscape - this time in ink. Plus Photos from an Inky Dark Night" blog post. I took the picture a little after midnight with a flashlight held between my knees (so the camera could "see" to focus) and whilst dodging a large sphinx moth. {grin}

I tweeted out this picture in October after pausing in the breezy pre-sunset afternoon to take the picture at the Pima College West campus. This was taken with my aging iTouch - and the Smithsonian has a new category this year for photos taken with phones-n-such. 

Hmmm - I'm not sure how well this will come through on the blog (or to the folks at the Smithsonian).

This is a 360 degree picture taken with my iTouch and the Occipital 360Panorama app as I stood in the back of my little pickup truck and viewed alllll of the sunset-drenched Tucson valley and sky. It was spectacular and the photo doesn't quite do it justice.

You can also view this photo on the Occipital Website as a larger "flat image or in the original 360 degrees (use your mouse to click-drag-shift the image left/right). 

I plan to post again soon. Hope your holidays are going well!

Plaiting Paper instead of Hair

Continuing the belated Spring 2013 Fiber Arts Degree posts:

Once upon a time I had very long dark brown curly (aka "naturally tangled") hair. When unsprung, it stretched well past my waist. The best way to keep it from attacking innocent bystanders was to braid or "plait" it.

When I heard "Plaiting" as the next project in the Mixed Media class, I thought about my unruly hair.
{Which is much shorter now and hasn't attacked anyone in years.}

We've all seen plaited purses and baskets but did we think about making them?
Ok, I kinda did, but that is just an example of why I'm on the Fiber Arts journey....

But I didn't consider plaiting them with Paper.

In the first class about plaiting, we were given some yardage of paper - brown and white. We were to go home and cut the paper into strips and fold it like double-fold bias tape.

I went home, spread the old cardboard cutting mat on the living room floor and started measuring and cutting. {See, I don't just use the cutting mat for Treadmill reading!}

Of course...I had some help making my bias paper plaits. {sigh/grin}
(As always, please click on the picture to enlarge.)
Please note - enlarging will not improve the blurry pictures. The cats are just too fast for camera focus some times. (most times)

 

 

The short or mis-cut paper strips littered the floor of the house for a few weeks
{but nooooo, my cats aren't spoiled...}

CooPurr

Gryphon {at rest and not blurry!}

A few days later, I was back to class carrying (and trying not to crush) long strips of paper.

Our instructor had us do some basic plaiting, a la plain weave,

and then we went a bit free form and tried some turns and folds....

 

The instructor gave us some patterns to emulate, and after a false start, I got the hang of it and plaited this:

Yep, we use T-Pins to position the strips and keep them from wandering off and we perform the plaiting.

We were then ready to plot our large plaiting projects.
I had a concept to use calendar pages with a spacer and did a little testing of my concept with construction paper and magazine pages:

I liked the effect so I thought I'd try it with a page from an old Laurel Burch calendar:

Kinda cool but...uh...how does this make a Large Plating project?
What would I do with it/make from it?

Stumped, and inspired by a comment from the instructor, I played with the painted Pellon Interfacing from the Surface Design Play day.

And I wasn't particularly thrilled. {Ugh}
Neither was the instructor. She suggested some yarn be added....

{sigh} {Ugh-er}
I didn't feel this would get me a decent grade so I went back to my calendar-paper plaiting plot, stared at pictures on the Internet, and I ended up plaiting two small baskets.
(The Square basket is approx. 3" x 3.25 & 2.75" tall. The round basket has a diameter of 2.5 and is 3" tall)

The paper is from an old cat poster/calendar.

 

Yep, this is the paper from the Laurel Burch plaits I practiced upon earlier; cut even smaller. 

These small baskets didn't seem like much of a "Large" project, but I was out of time and presented them at the next class.
And I believe the instructor was rather impressed.
These two small baskets got me the "A" in my plaiting large project!

The view of the bottom of the baskets.

There's the numbers from calendar page - and
some of my to-do scribbles. 

You are correct, there is no glue used in this,
just a lot of tucking.

I am most fond of this wee Laurel Burch-ish basket. 

Apparently sometimes the small things can equal a viable large project.
And yes, I would like to try plating with other materials.

Tom Knisely Presentation

By the way, at the beginning of our plaiting sojourn, our instructor allowed me to skip a class {Thank you!} so I could attend the Tucson Handweaver's and Spinner's Guild meeting where Tom Knisely spoke about Loom Maintenance.
Mr. Knisely is an instructor at The Mannings Handweaving School in Pennsylvania {yes it is a wishful dream of mine to attend The Mannings}. He is also known for some books and especially two videos: "The Loom Owner's Companion" and "Weave a Good Rug".
It was a very informative and engaging presentation and I found him to be a charming, fun, and very knowledgeable speaker. He complimented our guild on it's organization, communication, outreach and our many Study Groups. {Woot!}

He started from the back of the loom and worked forward discussing the applicable loom maintenance. He suggested Silicon Spray as a lubricant for the metal parts and he likes Whatco Danish Oil (which appears to be available locally at Lowes & Home Depot) but he also commented that Howard's Feed-n-Wax "smells wonderful". He also suggested we give our loom a birthday and give it a thorough cleaning on that date.  I took pages and pages of notes that I will not repeat here. {Bet you're a little glad I won't type it all in here...}

Many questions were asked about a wide variety of looms and he appeared to be intimately familiar with each loom. Pretty spiffy! I didn't take the workshop he taught that week - partially because of the financial diet and mostly because {grin} I'm pretty sure I'm currently too weaving ignorant to attempt it.

My weaving class in the Fall semester is progressing. We've been learning how to setup the warp and put it on the loom. There is so much to learn.

This warp is actually Royal Purple. I have
no idea why it looks blue in this picture.