…to me!

I spent the day at student, Angie Lewis’, house helping her to warp her new loom, weave off her scarf, and rewarp her loom for her next project. I arrived at 7 in the morning and we worked all day long ending up with a fulled and damp scarf that she should have gotten at my workshop earlier this month.

The lesson to me is this: Don’t make assumptions about yarn – read the label to make sure it is what you think it is.  The original wool from which she wove her scarf ended up being superwash, and, therefore, didn’t do what it was supposed to do when placed in the washing machine.

This time it fulled beautifully and she was ecstatic with it.  She was happy dancing all over her living room with it and here she is posing with it and her rewarped loom.  Angie’s design sense is very fun and I am looking forward to seeing more of her designs.

Her new loom, by the way is a LeClerc Nilus – 22″ with the stand and treadles.  She got this for an amazing deal off of eBay and it is a sweet loom.

While she wove, I spun.

This is a nice wool in a colorway called Emerald and I am over half-way through the 8 ounce ball.  I’m not sure if I’m going to Navajo ply this or spin an equal amount of a navy blue wool I have somewhere in my stash and ply the two of them together.  I like the idea of the navy blue because I have Blackwatch Plaid in mind as I spin this.

We will be going to my MIL’s on Thanksgiving to spend the day with them, Scott’s sister, and Scott’s brother and family up from Kentucky.  I’m going to take the spinning wheel and see how close I can get to having this fiber spun.

And then, starting Friday morning, I am painting!  I had intended to paint two weekends ago, but it didn’t happen, so I will be painting Scott’s den this weekend, as well as tackling the reorganization I want to do to the laundry room.  I may even get the laundry room painted, too.  We’ll see.  I have enough paint, but will I have enough energy?

I wish everyone, in the US, a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, and all the rest of you, have a lovely rest of the week.

This weekend at the Indiana State Fairgrounds is the 33rd annual International Festival.  Our friend, Vandra Pentecost, told us about it last Sunday at the art center, so we decided to go.  We had intended to go Friday night, but I had spent the previous two days sick in bed with some sinus bug, and I was exhausted after work on Friday.  So we went yesterday.

There was a huge area set aside for various artists to come in and do live demonstrations of art from various countries.  Here is Vandra working on the one for India.

And here is the one Vandra already completed for Italy.  Go and check out her art on her website – she is an amazingly talented artist.  In fact, I have one of her colored pencil pieces in layaway and have only three more payments to make on it.  It’s something to go into my studio and when I finally get it paid for, I’ll be showing it to you.  You’ll see why it is meant for my studio.

There were several dancing groups there.  This one from South Africa was very good and even got the audience on their feet and taught them a few dance steps.  Sorry for the blurriness of this picture, they were very active!

I don’t remember where these young ladies were from, but they were very graceful and their performance was lovely to watch.

These dancers had to be quick on their feet and it was fun to watch them.

And then there were all the countries represented – I’ll show you just a few of them.  This one was Burma.  The textiles in this booth were amazing and I could have stared at and studied them all day.

The gate way to China, and of course,…

…good old Confucius himself was present.

Isn’t Germany known for anything besides beer?

The entryway into the Iranian space,…

…and a close up of the interior.  Lush, lovely and comfortable looking.  Backgammon anyone?

Ahhh…yes!  Men in kilts.  To look at me, you’d guess I was mostly of Germanic descent, but let me tell you, there is plenty of Scottish blood running through my veins, and I do love me a man in a kilt.  Also, over to the side of this booth was a friend of mine spinning…on a Kromski wheel.  Hmmm…  A Polish wheel in a Scottish setting…

I loved the Philippines booth.  They put a lot of work into it and it was one of the best ones there.

This one intrigued Scott the most and we spent quite a lot of time there.  With Scott’s Medieval History background, he and these guys had a lot to discuss.  The chainmail they are helping this guy to put on is fully riveted and weighs 35 pounds.

Those who know me well, know I am a sucker for dolls, but I especially love dolls in ethnic costumes.  There were several there that caught my attention.  These dolls in the African booth were wonderful!

These from Hungary were sweet.

There were two Iranian dolls that I found stunningly beautiful. Just look at the details on this one, for example.

And this little lady almost looked like she could talk to you.

And who could turn down this wee Latvian miss with her domestic tools and her pet hedgehog?  By the way, check out the woven table cloth.

This Latvian lady was a bit big to be called a doll, but I loved the simplicity of her costume and she looked so forlorn because everyone was paying so much attention to her small companion.

And the last picture.

Kids crack me up.  This girl was very much into her art and, if you could see her face, you’d see her tongue stuck out to one side in concentration.  And how lucky for her that her dad was willing to join her in this.  I hope this is something both of them will remember for years to come.

Well, my washing machine has kicked off and I have another load of laundry to take out and hang up.  It’s pretty cool outside today, but the sun is out strong and there is a good breeze blowing.  I’m taking advantage of what may well be the last chance to hang my laundry out for the year.  This means I have to get my dryer fixed, doesn’t it?  Rats!!!  Climbing into a freshly sheeted bed or putting on a shirt that has dried on the line brings back those wonderful smells of late summer and autumn with them.  I’m going to miss this and can’t wait until it is warm enough to go back to hanging out my launry next spring.

Well, it’s over, and I am tired and content.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves very much and I have been singularly blessed with my students.

Cindy was the first person to complete her scarf and here she is with the knots over the back beam.

And Cindy tying the knots on her fringe.  I apologize about the quality of the pictures in this post.  I’m afraid my cheapie, seven-year-old camera is on its last legs.

Cindy showing off her scarf.  Her pattern made the scarf mostly the weft color on one side and mostly the warp color on the other.  Nice and reversible with a bit of irridecence when it moves.

And Cindy showing off all she made in the past three days.  She really ought to be proud of herself.  AND she is lucky enough to own a Schacht Mighty Wolf (in need of some repairs, but that is a different story), so she can continue from what she has learned here.  Also Cindy is a very talented tie-dyer and art-glass jewelry maker.  As soon as she gets her Etsy store up, I’ll give you a link to it so you can see it.

I told her the story that I was told on Dye Day about gifting the teacher so that you may retain what you learned, and she brought me a wonderful spoon rest that she made.

The next person to finish was Angie.

Angie weaving.

Angie with her finished scarf.  She chose to add in a really cool chenille type of yarn as an accent piece that shows off the jewel tones of her color choices.  By the way, her shirt was tie-dyed by Cindy.  Told you Cindy was talented!  We are hoping that Cindy will have a couple of classes – one on tie-dying and one on shibori dyeing.  I have volunteered a huge indigo pot for the shibori class.

And Angie with her sampler.

The third person to finish her scarf was Beth.

Beth REALLY hates having her picture taken, but I reminded her that I had asked before the first class started to take their pictures and they all had agreed, so here she is.  Her scarf is woven out of suri alpaca from animals owned by her brother, Kipp, who drove her to class each day, and learned to spin downstairs in the shop while his sister learned how to weave.  This suri alpaca yarn was incredibly soft and silky.  Beth forgot and left her sampler at home so I can’t show it to you.

Sarah came this afternoon after her church let out, and she wove like a little speedster the rest of the day.

Luckily, she owns her loom, and was able to take it home to finish her scarf.  She is very close and the knots on the warp apron bar are near the back beam.  I have the feeling it’ll be done before she sees another day out.

So, here is Sarah with her sampler.

I loaned Angie my LeClerc Nilus loom for a couple of months and we wound off two more warps for her.  It thrills me to no end to see a student so enthusiastic over her next projects that she has to start them before leaving the workshop.

This workshop has gone the smoothest of any others, and I have a couple of ideas to make the next one go even smoother.  I love teaching this workshop so very much.  Watching the looks of concentration and joy of the new weavers is one of the best things I can think of to do.  Comments of “I wish I had learned how to weave years ago,” and “I find this very relaxing,” make me feel like I am doing a great thing.  But knowing that my teaching people to weave will insure that this practical, creative craft will continue on out there in the world, and that one of these people may in turn teach someone else how to weave, fills with with a feeling on continuation – of being part of a long line of weavers and instructors who have brought this down through time to this point.  Being part of that long line is the best part of this.

I have warped 3 looms today – my aching back!!

And, today,  we moved three looms to the classroom, one of which I warped last week.

And the third loom warped today.  This loom belongs to one of my students, so she has the added bonus of learning how to weaving on the loom she will be using quite a while.  As you can see, this loom has some, make-shift parts, but they don’t interfere with the weaving at all.  This loom is a Dorset loom, so if any of you know anything about Dorset looms and the company who made (makes?) them, please let me know.

Technically, you can see all four looms in this photo,…

…but here is a better look at the first two.  In this class, there is a Wolf Pup, two Harrisville Design looms (one about 30 years younger than the other), and the Dorset.  I would like to purchase a couple of good, used Wolf Pups to add to my workshop loom collection for future workshops.  Eventually, I’d like to have a full class of seven students without having to beg, borrow and nearly steal other people’s looms to have enough.

And, then there is the beautiful, cherry, 4-harness, 60″ wide Norwood I own halfsies with Susan.  Sometime after the New Year, I intend to get it set up and weave some blankets on it.  Then, of course, it, too, can be used to teach students how to weave.

Just a few more items to finish up and I’ll be ready for the workshop beginning Friday morning.

This past week has been busy getting ready for the beginning weaving workshop I am teaching next Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

One thing I have learned from previous classes is that it is much easier if each student has his or her own supplies, so I thought about what best to do.

I still want to get tape measures included, but here is what I have included so far.  Scissors is one item that no one can seem to find when it is needed, so every student has a pair all to themselves.  A shuttle and set of bobbins, a heddle hook, a ruler, a calculator, a couple of binder clips (for attaching the tape measure to the side of the woven cloth while weaving) and an ink pen are included as well.  Blank paper will be included in each folder of instructions and such, so that is taken care of for now.  But what about a sleying hook?  Well, I’ll take one, show them what it is used for and explain that with smaller looms such as these, they really aren’t needed.  I thread smaller looms by sleying the reed and threading the appropriate heddle all in one step with the heddle hook, and I teach this to my students.  I’ve had only one student decide to sley and thread is separate steps, which is fine with me.  On small looms, though, where you can easily reach all the way through with the heddle hook, I find the two-step process a waste of time.

And five, color-coordinated kits for five students.  Except there are four now due to one having to have some minor surgery this week.  That’s okay, it’s always good to have a spare.

I like the idea of the color coordination, too, because each student can keep track of their own supplies, and, when it comes to packing up after class, organization should be much easier.

Another thing I have learned is that several students sharing one or two large warping boards is not fun and slows everyone down.  So, I am using as a model an old warping board that I acquired someplace and am making each student a warping board to use.  These warping boards will perfectly do a three-yard warp and are the right size for a beginning class.  I’ll show you the pictures of them finished as soon as they are all done.

Five warps all prepared for my warping the workshop looms.  One is done, and I’ll do the other three tomorrow and get the looms all set up at the class room where I am teaching.  The 5th warp will just have to wait until the next workshop, probably in March 2010.

Susan Markle’s newly built shop for her Trading Post for Fiber Arts has a second floor that was designed for classroom space.  Nancy Bush and Judith MacKenzie-McCuin christened it this past spring, and this will be my first time getting to teach a class in it.

From stairs to the northeast corner…

…and across toward the northwest corner…

…and looking into the northwest nook…

…and looking from the northeast corner back toward the stairs.  Needless to say, this place is going to be a comfortable place to teach and learn, and if anyone needs a nap, there’s a daybed all made and ready to go.  Heh!

Actually, with its kitchen, bathroom, shower, high-speed internet connection, daybed and lots of lovely yarns, books, spinning wheels, looms and toys, many of us have asked when we can move in.  Susan just smiles at us indulgently, but she has mentioned a slumber sock-knitting party in the future, and I’m there when it happens!!!

Tomorrow will see me warping the last three looms, finishing up the individual warping boards, and getting the looms set up.  I’ll take the rest of the supplies and kits over next Thursday night and get them set up for the class.

I really am looking forward to this.  And, we even have a bonus coming with this class.  One of my students’ mom is making brunch for us all on Saturday morning!  YUM!!!!

This past week, I found out that local fiber artist, Bobbie Vance, is no longer weaving and wanted to sell her remaining weaving yarn stash.  Most of it is 10/2 and 8/2 cotton, but there is a cone here and there of 12/2, 14/2 and a couple cones of 8/4 carpet warp, of which I have immediate need.  Also, there are a couple of mongo cones of cotton flake that looks like lots of upcoming weaving fun.

I think it is sad that a weaver no longer weaves, but I can assure you and her, these wonderful yarns will not be wasted.  Just taking them from the boxes and stacking them to take their picture, and feeling them, and looking at the colors,…  Well, I am anxious to tie up the final loose ends of the remaining projects on my list and get something onto the looms for my weaving pleasure.

I still have not gotten the chance to get the Herald loom downstairs, but the new studio is ready for it.

Just to the right of Sir Henry, where the warping bard is currently leaning against the wall, is where the Herald will go.  The warping board will be hung on the wall above that loom so that it is out of the way in between uses.

And here is the south wall to date.  The few bags, baskets and containers still have not found their permanent home, and are now wandering around the room trying to keep out of my way.  Some contain WIP items, and some are empty.  I’m still trying to decide the best way to store my bags and other containers with handles.  I don’t know if a shelf with pegs will do the job, or if I need to find a good, wooden coat tree and stand it in a corner with everything hanging from it.

And, then there is my weaving yarn stash at the moment – wool on the right hand shelving unit and cottons on the left hand unit and on the floor in front of it.  Needless to say, I have far more cotton yarns than wool, so I will be having fun weaving towels and table runners this next year.

The weather here in central Indiana has cooled off quite a bit this past week.  The peak autumn tree color was last weekend, and, now after the rains, a lot of the leaves are on the ground.  Still, there is color here and there in the more protected areas, and driving through the Geist area to Bobbie’s house today, I realized that the colors I saw were the same colors you get when using native, Indiana dye plants.  Lots of yellows, golds, soft yellow-greens, oranges, russets and browns of all sorts were still left and they are so pretty.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and a little warmer and I hope to mow my yard for the last time this season.  Luckily for us, since we live on the prairie, we never have to rake the leaves.  The wind blows them into the fields around us and the leaves become the food for next year’s crops.

Already, when I go outside to my car in the mornings to go to work, I can smell the wood smoke from my neighbors’ houses from their fireplaces and stoves.  Gosh, I love that smell!  We heated with wood when I was growing up, and there is no warmth like that of a good wood fire.  Once we had our chores done after school and work, and supper and dishes were done for the night, one or more of my family could be found lying on the living room floor, feet propped up on the hearth, asleep with our toes toasting in the heat.  Pure comfort!

WE HAD SOOO MUCH FUN TODAY!!!

Okay, I’ve gotten that out of my system.  We were blessed with wonderful weather, rather cool in the morning, but great for starting fires…

…and getting the pots filled and onto the fires…

…and getting the whole line of fires and pots going for the day.

We ended up with 15 pots going (combined the indigo into the indigo overdyes later in the day and forgot to bring a pot for the copper).

And I have to give a special thanks to two of our helpers this morning, Ryan, who helped with the fires and kept them going nicely all day…

…and his sister, Sarah, who helped me with the indigo pots, filling pots with water and helping to explain things to people who were there for the first time.

I have asked Sarah if she is interested in being my apprentice with the natural dyeing, and she has gladly agreed.  Susan and I have begun to discuss the idea of hosting a two-day natural dyeing workshop next spring geared mostly toward the home-schooled kids in the area, and I’ll have Sarah help set it up and work with me during it.

Both of these kids are impressive.  I had the chance to work with them some at the Huddleston House this past July, and I would be willing to work with them at any time.  Thank you Sherri for bringing them, and for all your help getting all the dyestuffs ready for the pots and for making the coffee.  You guys made today run so much smoother than if Scott and I had had to do it all alone and we are extremely grateful for all your help.

And it went better than any year since I have taken over the annual dye days.  This is my fourth year doing this since inheriting it from Marsha, and each year I learn how to do it better.  Of course, the best thing this year was the weather.  My first year it was in the 70’s; the second, it hit 91 degrees and we all about melted away working over the open fires; last year was in the low 80’s, and while an improvement over the year before, it was still too hot to be dealing with open fires and pots of boiling liquid.

Today, it started out cloudy and very cool, it sprinkled a couple of times (just enough for people to look up and say, “It’s sprinkling,” then go back to what they were doing), then the sun came out and I think it had to reach near 60 degrees.  Lovely!

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, happily playing in the pots,…

…we had a bit of half-time entertainment courtesy of Sarah and Carley, the two Great Pyranees,…

…and then this talented group of people pulled out various projects and relaxed, talked, and created!

And one talented person in a different way, but still with colors.

And then, what we were all there for…

The colors!!!

We had four incredible indigo pots (a light one, a dark one, and two overdye ones) that started early and didn’t give out until the end of the day.  The blues were better than I could have wished for for everyone, and the overdyed colors interesting, varied and intense.

Two young ladies, for example, brought several pieces of cotton cloth, some plain, but some with a white on white print.  The printed part stayed white and the background dyed and the effects they got were truly beautiful!

Another lady brought a linen cloth that had a metallic thread woven into it, and we had lots of fun dyeing and overdyeing it, and that metallic thread just sparkled!

We had pieces of silk that nearly glowed with the intensity of the colors, and there was handspun llama knitted up into a baby hat and booties that were dyed pink and purple, wool yarn and roving in every shade dyed the most wonderful colors.

Sarah is taking my weaving workshop in November, and I believe some of the wool yarn she dyed is destined to become her scarf in that class.  Now, how cool is that?!

I have to repeat it.  We had FUN today, and I can’t wait until next year to do it all again.  Our turnout this year broke records for us and we could not be more pleased with how it went.

Thank you, everyone, for coming!  And thank you Usha, for the hat.  As soon as I get the information on it from you, I want to show it to everyone, but I will give them this hint.  All the stitching on it was done by hand by some very talented ladies from Usha’s native India.  I’m sad that you are going back to India next month, and I hope that one day we can meet again!

And thank you, Indianapolis Chapter of the Embroiderer’s Guild of America for coming today.  What lovely ladies you all are and what fun we had!

Yes, I have much to be thankful and grateful for today!  And I had FUN!!!

I will be in the SWIFT booth in the Pioneer Our Land Pavilion building (see map – look for the building next to the big red tomato) from 2 – 6 today with the spinning wheel and from 10 – 2 tomorrow with my inkle loom. Come by and say “hello!”

Today, Scott and I drove out to Huddleston House to pick up our canopies, the little loom and my grill (it was too hot to bring home on Tuesday, and the rest was left for their use the rest of the week).

I asked Karen how it went and she had nothing but positive, glowing terms for the whole week of camp for the kids.  They were introduced to llamas, thanks to Mike Hoopengardner, they learned how to knit, spin on drop spindles and make bread on the hearth.

One young lady took to the knitting so well, that she was thrilled to death to learn that she could take her knitting needles and yarn home with her.  In fact, she went home and taught her little sister how to knit.  I told Karen to feel free to send some extra balls of yarn home with the kids if they wanted it.  Anything to encourage them to continue knitting.

The same young lady couldn’t wait to get her spinning off of the spindle so she could weave it into the cloth on the loom.  Karen said the girl would like that part of it to keep, so I’ll be cutting it off and mailing it to her.  Also, I’m going to invite her, her sisters and their mom to join us on BASK night.

One thing I have come to love about working with kids (and, mind you, this is my first attempt) is their lack of inhibitors.  You show them how to work a loom, hand them a stick shuttle with yarn on it, point out other yarns they can play with and turn them loose.  We adults want patterns so we can “make something.”  Well, kids do not need patterns to make something.  They just create.

And what they created was 4 feet of something that is fun, remarkable and very interesting.  You can see where they followed what I had showed them about twills, tabby and basket weave, and you can see where they left the well-trodden track and made their own paths.

Would we have woven something like this and considered it a success?  Most likely not, but this, my friends, is truly a successful thing.  I’m thinking that we adults care too much for perfection in the eyes of the world, and I know I am going to take away a lesson taught to me by these wonderful children.  Play, experiment, be freer in my creativity, and I might create something beautiful.

By the way, the young lady who wants the part with her handspun in it?  Hers is the lime green portion.

Today we did the natural dye demonstration at the Huddleston House in Cambridge City, Indiana.  We woke up to glorious sunshine and cool temps.

Before I go any further, I want to take this time to introduce you to my two helpers for the day.

On the left is Ann Rockwell, a weaving student from my March class, and someone who has become a friend.  Ann is fun, smart, enthusiastic and a hard worker.  She and Scott (on the right if you couldn’t tell), worked hard helping me get the fires started and the dye pots going.  Also, Ann helped one of our campers who was in a wheel chair and couldn’t get too close to the fire.  Thank you, Ann!  You made the day so much easier with all your hard work.

I had taken 10 sets of yarn to dye as well as a book with terminology, information on the three dyes we were using today (indigo, cochineal and Osage orange), and a bibliography.

While the yarn was in the pots, Karen Trent, the manager of Huddleston House wrapped bananas with the skin split open and marshmallows and Hershey’s kisses stuck inside into aluminum foil to bake over the fire until done.  Those were wonderful and we have decided we will have to do them again at Dye Day in October.

I took several items I had either dyed or made from dyed yarns…

…as well as binders full of sample cards from dye days and other dyeing experiments from the past 10 years.  I could have taken so much more, but this worked for today’s event.

And the kids got beautiful colors!

Karen had wanted them to be able to weave, too, so I warped my little Nilus loom (and all this time I thought I had a Dorothy!) and showed the kids how to work the loom.

Then I stood back and let them go with it.  I found it very encouraging at how often over the course of the day one or more would go back to it and weave on it.

I know that one of these kids will be in my November weaving class if not a couple more.  I found that working with kids is really easy.  They don’t need a lot of instruction and are game to try their hands at anything.  They asked a few questions, but for the most part, they pushed levers, raised and lowered shafts and watched how the weft yarn went in and out of the shed. Also, they are much more likely than adults to experiment with patterns and were less concerned about what their weaving looked like as they were about having fun with color, textures and pattern.

I left the loom there for the week and I can hardly wait to see what it looks like when we remove the fabric from the loom this Saturday.

During times of waiting for the dyepots to do their thing, there were many stories, lots of area histories, family histories and tales of experiences being told.  I am a true lover of history and I was fascinated at some of the stories I heard today.

We ended the day around 3:00 this afternoon, said good-bye to the kids, gave and received hugs all the way around, loaded up the car and left.  The day was fun and educational, and I’d do it again anytime I’m asked.  If just one of these kids take up the fiber craft (and I know one young lady, Sarah, already spins and is taking my weaving class), or looks back on this day when they are adults, remembers the fun they had and starts weaving or knitting or felting or spinning, then I will be happy.

Last, but not least, I wanted to show you one of my favorite tools that played a huge part in my getting the yarn samples ready for today.  This is a click, or clock, reel.  Scott found it at an antique mall here in Indianapolis a few years ago.  It was in complete working condition and only needed a bit of cleaning up.  And we only paid $65 for it.  I love this reel and use it to wind off my handspun yarns when I am done plying it.

And, I know I haven’t gotten any further with my studio set up, but with with today behind me now, I can start concentrating on getting my room set up and ready to use.