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Weaving with meaning in the warp and the weft . (re-post from Aug 24 2011)

This lifelong 'playing with fibre'  fascination teaches me so much about myself and others, about the materials and  their characteristics, about  what has been done and the "wonder if...." 's of the potential and  the happiness  of connecting with others who share the enjoyment,.

I was taught to spin using a potato and a chopstick and I cannot say I 'got it' immediately;  there was an attraction, though, and spindles began to appear at garage sales and then fleece and .... I gave it another try.  And later, another.  The day came when I 'got it', when that 'inner knowing' happened.  Oh!  I don't mean that I achieved a certain standard.  No - I hope I always retain the ability to spin as if it is my first or second time - it was the hands suddenly  'remembering' how to do it and the  feeling of being part of a long long line of people who had taken a handful of fluff and some sort of a stick and a disk and twirled  it and let the weight keep it twirling and joined in the fluff and .... fibre.

Nowdays I explore using polyester batting as the fluff because many years of  working with animal fleece  and rope and rough twine and dusty string tickles my nose too much and it is hard to spin when you are sneezing!

That all has meaning.  

As does taking a piece of fabric and draping it around myself, this way and that, pinning and folding and cutting and folding and sewing a bit and coming up with a garment,  an article of clothing that feels good and fun to wear.  It has meaning.

I finished this piece on the back strap loom and considered a number of means of making it wearable.  Something is evolving but it is not here yet;  in the meantime I joined it simply with a safety pin and  it perches on my shoulders like a toddler being carried thusly.

Now that it is 'out of my hands', so to speak, I can observe it more objectively.

And I realized it embodies my wish for meaning in my life.  It is full of meaning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the warp I used this rayon, the spools a fibre archeology find on a thrift store dig, and from the label on the core and good ol' Google I traced them to a place on Rhode Island, no longer in existence, but was likely twenty or more years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Used here as the weft  are sprigs of Australian bushmint, one of my favourite scented plants, which has grown big and bold and bushy on verandah, deck and now kitchen over a number of years.  The fragrance is exquisite and  a wearable garden is high on my list of delights.  The leaves do dry and crumble and leave a scented trail of my day.  The stems retain their perfume and respond to a scratch-and-sniff.

 

 

 

 

The linen yarn here was also a fibre archeology treasure discovered at a church sale and I traced it to a company and store that was in Sweden in the 1960's.  I could get no history on it since then but it pleases me to think someone had it in her (or his!) stash across half a century.

The bits and pieces - thrums - from other fibre projects get saved and used as weft.  

I cannot say I recall the origin of them all - but they do give me a history.

Here I am experimenting with chunks and introducing them as weft using my hands in the shed.  There is something deeply satisfying about such direct contact with the loom, the materials.

These are strips from an old pair of Super Hero pyjamas and 'weaving in' a grandson makes me grin.

I have yet to ask him what he thinks about this;  I look forward to his 4-year-old response.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A chunky chunk;  wanted to see how the warp would receive it;  I like how it dealt with being confined by expanding and opining freedom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More chunks and stretchy denim strips and letting them 'drift' through the pickets of the warp.

I am also discovering how the rigid heddle on the back strap loom which is used as the beater can do its job horizonatally  but is flexible enough to compress vertically and create waves and ridges!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It feels like sculpting on a flat plane.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like so.  With more of the stretchy denim but this time wider strips that are more herd-like than individual.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is an earlier piece of  weaving that became a bag using the  exquisite design  which I found here:  I love the simplicity of the folds and only three seams.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the lens inviting focus I took the time to gaze at it in detail again.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 'icicles' (ascending and descending patterns) are Saori style;  I used two different colours for the warp;  the strips of fabric fleece are from  a lounge robe made last year as the cooler weather approached.  

I wonder if that bag design could be used as a hat with ear flaps if the single back-to-front seam was adjusted .....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Backstrap loom ; boat shuttle ; Saori style

(re post from  April 26 2011)

The backstrap loom weaving adventure continues.

I was using the long notched shuttles that came with the backstrap loom and starting to get the hang of them.  

Then I wondered how the boat shuttle would work.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had used it with Saori looms and found it simply wonderful;  for some reason it did not immediately occur to me that it would be as fantastic on the backstrap;  something to do with having to work with the shuttles that came with the backstrap, I suppose.  Metaphor for life here, somehow.

Anyway -  as I was sailing along with the boat shuttle (it glides!  it can dip above and below the warp threads on its journey across;  the bobbin twirls easily and releases the weft succinctly;  the bobbin can be loaded easily and succinctly;  it feels great and looks lovely) I wondered who had invented it.  Had some  thought it might have been a Saori design.  But no,  good ol' Google gave me this. 

Now I want to make one.  I am thinking  an ocean shore stroll and looking for a boat-shaped piece of driftwood.  Or maybe repurposing some kitchen utensil or piece of furniture or child's wooden toy or ....... 

The boat shuttle is shown at rest ..... and .... at work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Saori mindset,  the Saori influence is clearly evident.

I am intending to weave a piece about five feet long and then fold it into an intriguing bag with only three seams that has aspects of origami (orikeito - cloth folding, actually) and a sense of moebius as well.

 

 

 

Hat; Saori; the process

(re-post from March 22 2011)

Sunday I went to the Saori gathering at Knotty by Nature and on Tuesday I rented the piccolo loom from them! 

It's light and portable (folds up and fits in back seat of car).  Here it is warped and ready to go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not many minutes have passed ....

It is a lot of fun.  The loom is user friendly;  friendly is actully a very appropriate term here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the boat shuttle that 'sails' through the shed and across the warp,  carrying the weft.  In the jars are thrums, the saved  bits and pieces resulting from sewing and knitting and other fibre projects. I put them into the shed on top of the warp threads and wove them into the piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first piece completed.  It is intended to form the bodice of a vest or tabard.  This could change.  I also want to make a cover for a pillow and maybe this will be used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second length to dance off the loom.  Intended for a hat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And hat it became.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At first the crown was pinned flat.  Then an insert was considered.  Finally a lenght of strong cord was threaded  along the top edge and pulled taut, cupping the head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A green fleece panel was used to join the two edges together (I used a zig zag stitch) and this gave a bit of give at the back where hats meet the neck.

It feels good to wear.  Spring weight, made from the skeins of  linen I bought at a garage sale  two summers ago (I doubled the yarn to get a denser fabric).

Now I want to weave one for summer, likely on an ivory flax warp,  likely using cotton or cotton blend.  Maybe with thrums again.  And likely sprigs of herbs like rosemary and southernwood and sage.  The sprigs of Australian bushmint I wove into the first piece (pos. vest bodice) are drying and releasing their fragrance.  A wearable garden is a delight.

 

 

 

Saori : weaving ; mindset

(re-post from March  14 2011)

A Saori gathering on Sunday hosted by Marie Suzaki at Knotty by Nature was most worthwhile.  Marie, who teaches Saori weaving and clothing construction,  shared  woven  pieces,  garments,  techniques  and ideas of the Saori process:   incredible!     She worked at the Saori headquarters in Japan and is now in Victoria.  Students and guests then shared their creations.  

A few years ago I learned of a Saori weaving course being given at Knotty by Nature by Terri Bibby  (Saori Saltspring), (who was at the gathering and  has blogged about it),  and the philosophy appealed to me;  it resonates with my mindset about life, about my work.  This  is  one of the two pieces I wove in that workshop.  

For the Saori gathering I turned that weaving into a hat;  I used the length as 'clay' and 'sculpted'  it to fit my head. (A mixing bowl was used as the form.)

At first I was hand sewing the joins (and there were lots of them) but then decided to use safety pins because 1) it was a heck of a lot faster 2) I love safety pins, figure they have a bad reputation, so use them often, usually visible 3) the pins allowed for more flexiblilty of the design with the increased tactilization required 4) it will be easy to unpin the hat and return it to a length.

It sits nicely and the pins tend to anchor it and hold the adjustment for more - or less - visor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had an idea of front and back during the process of creation but was open to this changing.  Listening to the material and being willing to let the hands 'speak' is one aspect of freeform or intuitive fibre art that I value. 

 

This is the other piece.  I wanted to turn it into a vest and this required cutting it, which was a bit unnerving and took some courage.  I had never cut a piece of weaving before. A wearable frame on which to mount the weaving, once cut, was necessary as I did not have a big enough piece and this suggested something that would allow the open and airy weaving to be honoured.

After many thoughts  polyester window screening came to mind which I have worked with before and used in a garment.  This also replaced the linen I had thought to use as the stabilizing material along the woven peice before I cut it and then matched the seam length when put together.

 

 

 

Here is the front.  It is attached to the screen with long running stitches.

 

 

 

The back.  I kept the simple pagoda- shaped shoulders because I like the look and it also retained the integrity of the weaving.

The back piece did not wish to be tacked down and I agree.  It flows and moves in a free rhythm when being worn.  Even in response to the wind from an open window!

Once I was a Clown.

I believe that most of us, if not all, have an inner clown that benefits self and others from outward expression like telling jokes or enthusiastically turning everyday events into stories or making funny faces at babies of all ages - you get the idea. 

Some of us take a few extra steps and take on a clown character.  That is an amazing experience.

Years ago I took a clown workshop which gave me the motivation, courage and confidence for Sunshine to emerge.

And got me thinking about the potential of bubbles.

(I wrote this six years ago and it has been sitting in the 'draft' box ever since.  It was called  Teeny  tiny tutorial with video:  bubbles.   The video I produced to go with it has floated off into space. )

 

 

 

Nature ... right here, right now.

(repost from Oct 2 2012)

Zork likely said to his son, "Zog, stop scratching pictures on the walls of the cave.  Go outside and throw rocks at something.  Try not to get eaten by anything

Today we are also concerned about our children and their lack of connection with nature. Studies are being done, books are being written.

Hooray for this increasing awareness.  But let's not think the only solutions are complicated or involve programs and agendas or require large expenditures of time and money or going somewhere else.

Nature exists in the city and the country.  We are part of nature. It is our attention and interaction, nature - human and otherwise, that makes all the difference.

That fly or ladybug or spider in our homes is an opportunity to use our eyes and really look at a marvel of insect architecture, to inspire wonder about filmy wings that unfold from under armor, feet that can hold on upside down, webs that can appear overnight between pieces of furniture.  And that amazing Web can answer all our questions, satisfy our curiosity.

A bare branch brought indoors during the cold of winter, stuck in some water, will soon be tricked into a spring display of leaf or flower: for the learning is which bush or tree will produce forsythia flowers or cherry blooms or willow leaves.  And which stems will go on to produce roots and can be replanted in the earth.

After a rain there are earthworms to be rescued from puddles or flowing along in the gurgling water in gutters.  In the autumn sewer grates may become clogged with leaves and a stick or a foot can get the water flowing again.  Rain collects on branches in lines of jewels.  Frost on the windshield forms patterns that heat away under a palm or stick in the mind to be later described on paper with paint or with words.

Herbs hang over fences for touching and sniffing on city streets: rosemary, lavender, fennel, southernwood, tansy, bay............

Leave a foot square piece of lawn to grow long and silky and watch grass flower; discover how many types of grasses there are in an ordinary lawn.

Notice the difference in how the body adjusts to walking on pavement, cement, gravel, grass, playgrounds, bare earth, sand.

Feel sunlight on the face.  Feel starlight on the face.  Feel wind.  Rain.  Sleet. 

Listen to car tires on wet roads.  Listen to bird song mixed with traffic song.  Listen to people stopping to chat on street corners.