PROGRESS REPORT 34

A L I S A

I have been thinking about Earth Looms a lot lately and how much I would like to build one somewhere in my community. As luck/fate would have it, I was approached by a wonderful organization here called The Guelph Enabling Garden - a community garden that is accessible to all. I recruited my brother to build the loom and the following week, I had a group of people come warp it and weave on it. Participants walked around the garden and were able to pick things that they wanted to weave into the loom. I'm excited because there are several group weavings planned for the future! I'm looking forward to the winter one where we will use evergreen and weave in strands of popcorn for the birds. 

J E N N E

Beautiful Gotland Shetland cross fleece that I found at Fiber Fusion, a local fiber festival.  My daughter insisted on getting this one, and Im glad I listened to her reasoning, this sheep lived in Coupeville where we had just visited for a weekend and "probably ate lots of mussels" (probably not!) because that just what we did.  

PROGRESS REPORT 29

J E N N E

A reknitted/revision. I had this little vest along with me while traveling all of last month and realized my daughter is just growing too fast for my knitting, that I need to add another 3 inches at least to make it a "dressvest" as requested. But it "has to end with the pink and then the blue" so I found another ball of Noro Kureyon and unknit it and am now adding length with the green yarn. Its nice to have a constant companion of a project like this one while contemplating the new possibilities of moving north - new energy, new directions. How to incorporate the forest into craft? How to marry the same divine presence felt in a redwood circle to the effortless energy of weaving weft into warp?  How to keep learning, keeping your mind and your hands happy. Planning, reknitting, revisioning.  

A L I S A

I have been working on homework for my spinning class a lot lately - it's just that time of year. Anyway, it's not very exciting to photograph or talk about. It's very methodical and specific… I'm taking a little break with some more freeform stuff. Finishing making some dolls that I've had kicking around for awhile. I'm very excited about the combination of techniques and materials I'm able to use - paper, weaving, crochet and, likely, some fabric too. Here's a little peek of a siamese cat I'm making.

PROGRESS REPORT 27

A L I S A

This is a progress picture of a tapestry weaving I'm working on. I'm very happy with all the techniques I'm using to create it. There's coiling, knotting and colour blending. It's about three feet wide and 4 feet tall. The progress pictures I'm taking are not the best as the studio has fluorescent lights. I will document the whole piece nicely when I'm done, but now I like to take a picture at the beginning and end of each session so I can note my progress. I'm enjoying the process so much and love learning from Ixchel who is a wonderful teacher!

J E N N E

I did not mean for this weaving to take so long, but considering half of it was woven with a severely bruised wrist and hand I am so happy to have finished it at all!  I love the interplay of warp and weft - a subtle stripe and also variations in texture. Also I have to figure out how to get a floor loom, Saori or otherwise.  Weaving on the rigid heddle loom works well but I really just want to fly right now. I can get into a good rhythm but its a bit slower than my hands and heart want to work at.

PROGRESS REPORT 25

A L I S A

Yesterday I went on a little outing with my little knitting/crochet group. We went to this very nice store called Camilla Valley Farms. It's an amazing little store in an outbuilding on a farm about 45 minutes away from where I live. The two best things about it are that they carry every colour of Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift - looking at that wall inspired me to pick up some yarn for a cardigan that I fell in love with. The pattern is beautiful and kind of different that what I usually make. I don't want to post a picture yet… I'll post my progress. The second amazing thing is that they are a weaving supply place and, holy moly, I'll be returning soon! I wish I could teleport Jenne here to visit the shop with me!

J E N N E

Sometimes it is like a domino run, one craft bumps into another craft, start working on a project and hey, I want to do this to use it in that.  After the halloween costume making hurricane that consumed my studio last week, I did a big clean up and picked up one of my spindles and felt like spinning again.  I found this electric pink roving that I had put in the sell/trade bin now it makes all the sense with the technicolor palette I am weaving now and started to spin it up.  I am rusty.  I dropped my spindle a lot.  But I spun enough to realize that its going to be my morning ritual - waking up early making tea and spinning for a half an hour before everyone is up.  Making the yarn I want.  Maybe to get to a goal of 100% handspun for weaving.  Slowly, with little steps.

PROGRESS REPORT 23

J E N N E

Playing with color - its way too fun.  Whats not so fun is warp threads snapping which is what you see there on the left.   I cut this piece off the loom and am going to explore sewing with it. Felt it slightly to lock in that warp snag and tranformation into... pillows, hood to a jacket?  Yokes of dresses, pockets?  And then back to the loom, to weave more yardage.

A L I S A

"When in doubt, start a Wingfeathers Shawl", that is what Cal told me and I agreed! Cal is, among other things, a crochet goddess and this is her pattern. I had this beautiful yarn laying around that my mom gave to me and I needed a "mindless" project to work on while I concentrate on bigger things (like a large tapestry weaving I'm doing that is really hard to photograph at this stage). I have to say that the yarn and pattern work really well together and I know I'm going to love this shawl! It's also one of those situations where you want to keep going to see what the next colour looks like - total motivation to get it done!

PROGRESS REPORT 22

J E N N E

I love weaving.  The rhythm and the wordless consideration of what color change to do or how far to pull the clasped weft is meditation for me.  I love weaving at night it is the perfect way to end the day and I love waking up in the morning and peeking in my studio to see the colors in the sunlight.  The warp is still crazy, and last night two warp threads broke so I was up super late getting through the rough parts.  No big deal,  tie on a connector through the heddle and move on.  In my mind I was hoping to get to this technicolor place, the warp creating a background of light and dark (there is some brown in the honeycomb color yarn)  and this is exactly it.  

A L I S A

I finally finished my Pop Spots Siamese Cat shawl and I love it! I decided to put a crocheted edging on it instead of the knitted one called for in the pattern, mostly because I love crochet and love adding it to knitting. I was chose a clover pattern which goes with the personal theme of this scarf (I even added a four leaf clover as a surprise). I was getting a little worried towards the end that it wasn't going to be very big as the pattern structure is quite collapsable, but it blocked out quite a lot. I just love how big and cozy this shawl is and how my nearest and dearest had a huge hand in the making of it. It's going to be my fall go to.

PROGRESS REPORT 20

A L I S A

I often get bogged down by what I "should" be doing during my studio time. This is very anti-Craftophilia and I'm glad when I can be reminded of the mandate that rules my creative life - Commit to Process. Sometimes, it does take a little push though. This one came from the necessity to create some "samples" for a class I'm going to be teaching in October on doll making. I'm no stranger to doll making as an art form - in fact it's something that I have thoroughly enjoyed in the past. I was a bit scared to do these samples because my doll making skills are rusty and I felt I no longer possessed the ability to get lost in the process. I over thought it. Then, I did it. I sat down and got lost in the process and it was great! And, I produced something that I love. So, please meet the Birds that Hang Around my Feeder - The Grackle, M. Cardinale, Woodpecker and Mama Jay.

J E N N E

Today is the Fall Equinox and I feel an itch to get back to working with wool, back to spinning, weaving and knitting and working with felt.  There seems to be a seasonality to what materials I tend to want to work with - this summer I have been on a major sewing and sashiko stitching jam (with some weaving and knitting) but now on this very overcast first day of Autumn I just want to cuddle up with some sheepy yarn.  In  the "inspiration comes from pretty much anywhere" department, I was stuck on what to do for my next weaving.  At first I wanted to try something monochromatic but as I was winding that warp I was not feeling it.  Then I thought maybe I will try to play with color in the weft but use a black and/or white warp.  Also did not feel it.  Not enough COLORS.  My jam is a kaleidoscope of colors.  Mixing it up, matching, contrasting, making crazy rainbows.  In the "this is not a tangent" department,  my jam for the month of September is the song "September" by Earth Wind and Fire.  Some people get into their pumpkin spice lattes or candles or whatever (sorry, not me) this time of year I have "September" on REPEAT at FULL VOLUME starting September 1st.  The video for "September" was posted to Sarah's Facebook wall this weekend which I was stoked to watch, singing along, digging in yarn bins in my studio and yes.  Inspiration can be totally like this.  Go watch it.   I am totally using gold metallic thread and this assortment of yarn and am so PSYCHED to make this weaving now.  

PROGRESS REPORT 16

A L I S A

Last Progress Report I was about to ply up some yarn that had been on my bobbins for a while. I am using up a bunch of hand-dyed braids that I had in my stash. I really love the outcome. the colours didn't match up as well as I though they would, which makes sense as I'm just working by eye and not being super careful about weighing out roving. I really love this skein and I'm ready to spin up and ply the rest. Firstly, I HAVE to work on my final project for school (which is due mid-August - YIKES). My excuse of not having any empty bobbins no longer holds...

J E N N E

I AM CRAZY FOR SASHIKO!  After making the pillow, I wanted to experiment with drawing the patterns to be able to change the scale and also to experiment with different fabrics.  The polka dot seemed like a natural pattern already to play with some freehand stitches.  I found a book at the library in japanese that has pictures of how to draw out on a grid any traditional pattern at any scale and have been practicing on paper.  The denim piece is a sampler for two garments I am making - testing out the scale and the thread.  I am working on a dress for M to try out sashiko and garment construction, and hopefully it will work well so I can also do stitching on a larger scale.

PROGRESS REPORT 15

A L I S A

I've decided to use up all my stash before I purchase anything new. I also have a (newish) rule to only purchase enough stuff to make a whole project because, when I first started spinning, I would buy a bit here and a bit there… so, I have all these bits laying around and decided to put them together to make enough yarn for a sweater. I have four different colourways of some nice merino and I'm spinning them to create a yarn with very long colour repeats. I have two brights with neutrals between. I'm ready to ply up a skein to see how it looks - I'm sure it will be fine because I like things a little kooky anyways!

J E N N E

Trying out new stitches and techniques is fun, but what to do with the samplers when done?   Make pillows of course!  On the left is a sashiko embroidered pattern (a preprinted pattern from Olympus.)  I loved making this piece - it was a sort of a test for sashiko that I want to incorporate into other sewing  projects.  Its different from the embroidery that I did for the Alabama Chanin inspired dress - though the running stitch is the same in sashiko its approached as an allover pattern vs. embroidering motifs into a pattern as you go.  The right is the completed Nigerian reverse applique piece which has such a rad 3D quality to it.   Quilted stained glass.  I am having a lot of fun learning these techniques - and have figured out a way to possibly a very exciting project combining them.  

PROGRESS REPORT 13

J E N N E

This last weekend I took a class on Nigerian reverse applique techniques with Adebayo Agbelekale AKA IB Bayo  His work is AMAZING (incorporating every kind of dyework, quilting, sewing, all mostly by hand - mindblowing!) , and a lot of it is in reverse applique.  This is my sampler - playing with adding different color blocks and shapes.  His approach (a blend of technique from his family's eight generations work with textiles and contemporary African American quilting from working with Rachel Clark) is a really easy hybrid approach to doing the reverse applique.  The biggest thing I learned in this class is to just do.  I was paralyzed at a point with making the design - this is the third design after I decide to stop thinking and just get cutting.  It also has me thinking about what kind of iconography I want to develop - where are my roots in textile traditions, what are the influences in the past and today that I can express in pattern in thread.  Also to just start cutting and go with it!  

A L I S A

I know all I've been posting lately is stuff from my weaving class, but that is what I'm into right now! OK!? (not that I heard any complaints…) So, this is the complete exercise in gradation. It was really fun and super challenging to complete. I got a little bit cocky at the beginning of this exercise because I've always felt at ease with colour. Serves me right! This was indeed very challenging and there were parts I couldn't wrap my head around. Especially the horizontal and side to side gradients. I would be going to sleep at night thinking, "Ok, so if I did it this way…. hmmm, no… that way…." Thank goodness my teacher is amazing - watching her and having her explain things verbally and show me by doing has made this process so amazing. On to texture!

PROGRESS REPORT 12

J E N N E

Very little happened on the progress front last week as we were travelling and I was ill halfway through our trip.  Awesome!!  So what I have to show is my second Modicum Mitt - done and undone. I actually knitted most of the second one save the thumb but did not like the way the tones worked against one another.   I ripped it out and restarted from the cuff and this is how far I got.  While I love the neutral tones I am thinking after they are done  might have to do something crazy to it. Neon pony fringe on one side.  Overlaid hearts or something equally insane.

A L I S A

The fun is really beginning in my Tapestry Weaving adventure. I'm learning how to do gradients now. This is my first test going from one colour to the next horizontally. The next one will be blending vertically. I really love the gradients because it's like blending paint and colour is just something I'm very interested in. 

PROGRESS REPORT 11

A L I S A

So, here's my finished "first steps" sampler from my tapestry weaving class. The first little bit is showing gradients, vertical stripes, three different kinds of joins and decreases. I then used the same techniques in a different pattern above that. The third section was learning how to make circles and fill in spaces. I'm still loving the class and working more on gradients for my next sampler. 

J E N N E

In all three years of middle school I was in a class called Quests that was a combined English/History class taught entirely through projects (early Reggio project style learning, fully collaborative.) Mr. Eater and Ms. Lombard always had a hands on craft component to what we were learning about - papermaking, pottery, embroidery, illuminated calligraphy, whathaveyou.   We learned to spin and dye wool (cochineal!  I was brave and mortared and pestled them into paste)  Mr. Eater had  floor loom in class and we all took our turn sitting at the loom working on a class cloth.  I made so many little bags on a cardboard loom, spinning yarn with a rock and dying the yarn in turmeric and cochineal.  I got really inspired this week by Alisa's tapestry weaving class and also trying to figure out how to weave circularly.  I needed a break from the circular weaving and made a simple cardboard loom just like in 7th grade, popsicle stick pick up stick, just to play with scraps.

PROGRESS REPORT 8

J E N N E

Weaving is both a meditation and pure play for me - the warp as the path and anything goes in between. This piece is off the loom and is about 3 yards long, with lots of experiments within.  It will now rest until its next transformation with thread, sewn into another form.   I am warping for another project now, with a plain white warp and the intention to play with purely texture next.  

A L I S A

I love to crochet and I love different crochet techniques. I started this awhile ago and I'm really trying to get it done. It's a tapestry crochet cowl by Danielle Kassner. I absolutely love tapestry crochet and I've been having a load of fun with this pattern and feel very inspired to make some of my own patterns. Once I'm done with this (hopefully by the end of this week, but we'll see), I'm going to start a tunisian crochet shawl!