Monday, September 20, 2010

Have a Cowl Man!

Oh Cowls...the new rage. At least for me they are. I have been thinking about making cowls for about two years now. They are so nice to wear as a scarf wrapped around your neck or even pulled up over your head like a hood. Very nice addition to a wardrobe especially if you live in a cold climate where you need that extra warmth!

Drapes beautifully around your shoulders and neck.

So far I have created two and I like they way they turned out. The first is the Autumn Cowl. Nice rusty reds and oranges with some teals, yellows and greens throughout. I didn't knit this one in the round, but instead I just knitted a rectangle. Then I sewed up a seam to join the two shorter sides of the rectangle creating a tube.

The cowl worn as a hooded piece. 
I knitted my next cowl in the round with circular needles. So much fun! A little harder to keep track of where I was so I put a safety pin in where I started. Worked like a charm! So instead of buying all those little plastic stitch holders that are expensive there is a tip...safety pins do the same thing! I have named this cowl Orange Crush. It is so very soft and really flows well.

The Orange Crush cowl worn as a scarf.
Love them! I am going to make one for me even which just doesn't happen, but I am determined to have a black one in the softest material like Orange Crush.

Take a look around out there on Etsy. There are tons of style... so big that loop a couple times around you, some are narrow and just for your neck, some are very open weaves and look just gorgeous! There are also a lot of free patterns out there if you do a search.

So "Have a Cowl Man!" and make a fashion statement this year with you wardrobe!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Val Weaves Like She's Playing the Piano

That is what my friend told her grandma the other day after watching me work at my loom. It hit home with me. I talk about this all the time to people who will listen. Like everything in life, there is a rhythm to weaving with the treadling of harness changes and passing of the shuttles. I can see where she could see that in weaving.

That passing back and forth, working the loom, and watching the weaving grow into my art is relaxing for me. Once you get the rhythm down you fly. Before you know it you've woven several feet of material. It's like I fall into this zone and the music I set in the background helps me keep pace with what I am doing.  I always have music on, or I am thinking of music in my head, or singing when weaving.

There are days I do not find that ease and grace...there are days I struggle with just how much to beat the material into place and those days drive me nuts! I recently had one. I was weaving with my favorite ~ pearl cotton. Beautiful material ~ deep violet, but for me who was trained and worked as a rug weaver was finding it hard to do that "lack" of whacking the reed against the material. Meaning I needed to be more gentle and consistently softer with the material. So I achieved this awful banding in the material. It's where your beating is not consistent and then you end up with this uneven beaten effect. NOT GOOD!

See the darker areas where I beat the material more? makes banding...

So, in order to get my project done on time I switched material. I chose a cotton yarn, but mixed in with a little flax and rayon to help me out. It's not as soft and smooth, but it worked. Because truth be told even though I am a weaver and worked as a weaver I have not woven consistently for a long time...since about 1998 exactly.  So, I unwove the material which was about 22 inches and started all over. And guess what? It worked. The new material worked out much better for me and I am happy with the result!

Switching material and using a color that was closer to the warp color helped.

This just goes to show that practice makes perfect and everyone needs to practice their technique. Everyone can improve on what they are good at. And I play the piano also...which I haven't played or practiced in a long time. Maybe I should get back to that and find that rhythm I need for the more delicate work I would like to achieve on the loom. I see scales in my near future!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

I'll Probably Die with Fiber in Hand

I told that above to a friend yesterday and I am completely convinced I will. You know it's true. I know it's true. Fibers are becoming more and more a part of my life because I want them to be.

But have you ever loved something so much it's very hard to put it down? Think about it. Music in your headphones as you run down a beautiful path or a book that has you captivated. That's how I am with fibers. There's something to making something by hand. I put myself into every stitch I make. A part of me is in every pass of the shuttle when it flies through the shed as I weave. Creating is an extension of me.

I am completely drawn to the feel of some yarns and threads. They are just incredible. Some are soft and relaxed while others are more rigid and refined. Some have slubs, bumps, lumps in them that make for a fun texture. They are all unique and have their own characteristics that defines what they will be made into. It's up to the artist to figure out how to manipulate them and make them into something new.

I will probably create as long as I live and I figure I'll die creating. Because really living means doing what you absolutely love. You should do what you love as long as you can. That is exactly what I intend to do.

Autumn Cowl hot off the needles!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Paper Woven Cards

My second activity I provided at FestivALL in Charleston, WV this past June was weaving with paper. This was the shorter and simpler project to choose from for the children. They could do both if they wanted.

I cut slits in blank cards to weave narrow pieces of handmade paper through. The paper we wove with was hand-made and a very wide variety of colors. Loads of glitter were on a lot of the pages too. Extra sparkle is always hard to pass over!

Here are some fun photos from the those two hot days in June!

Getting started, over and under!

Couldn't have done this all without Mom and Stephanie!
A parent assisting their child


What a fun time we had!