PROGRESS REPORT 26

A L I S A

I finally finished and blocked my Camino de Santiago cowl by Danielle Kassner. I started it last year when I was visiting Cal at Hodge Podge Farm. It's made out of a variety of yarns from my stash and is super warm and cushy and perfect for the impending winter. It's done in tapestry crochet and I have to say that this is one of my favourite techniques. I cannot wait to use it more and make up my own patterns. The only thing about it was that it was a difficult project to carry around because there was a chart and several balls of yarn on the go at once. I'm thinking of digging out my fingerless mitts to finish - a pattern by the same designer. 

J E N N E

Last week I almost totally destroyed my left hand in a fall at my daughter's school. Thankfully, after xrays nothing was deemed broken, just a lot of pain, bruising, and a sprain. My doctor's prescription was normal daily activity in moderation, and when I explained that that for me was alot of handwork she said yes. My hands were used to the work and it was important to keep the muscles moving in the ways they are used to. Alisa sent me a message that Laboradite would be a good stone to hold in my hand to help heal, so I spent the last week weaving and knitting on this vest, alternating with rest holding my favorite blue flashy stone in hand. And today my hand is so purple, turning yellow, in the clearing up stages of bruising and looks terrible but feels totally normal. Thank you craft. Thank you hands.

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.

PROCESS NOTES - On Circular Weaving

I N T R O D U C T I O N

"When craft is in dialogue with its audience, it does not and cannot stagnate.  The fresh flowing water of our field turns fetid when we as makers and audience assume, shut down, impose strict limitations, or end every thought or art work with a period rather than a question mark.  The common denominator among experts, innovators and outliers is curiosity.  Experts with years of embodied knowledge intertwine curiosity with persistence.  Sometimes, there are small shifts in the studio; other times, seismic shifts.  A level for inquiry is a constant force. Innovators dissect a precept and build from their discoveries, while outliers use curiosity to build bridges between their primary interests and others. The majority of artists I know combine aspects of these qualities."

-Sonya Clark "In the hands of the Curious,"  from Crafting a Continuum, The University of North Carolina Press 2013.  (Thank you Betsy Greer for bringing our attention to this quote and book.)

Craftophilia is a dialogue about process.  The projects Alisa and I are compelled to do, trying to see how the way we each work is motivated or inhibited by the weekly demand of having something "made" (or in the process of being made.) By posting (almost!) every week what we have been able to make with our hands we are learning about exactly why and how we do and make things.  

Craftophilia is totally transparent, laying bare the processes we go through, open with our personal experiences of making.  What works, what happens when you have no time at all to make anything, when it totally fails, at the pace of how it actually happens in our daily lives.  It is our biggest hope that it inspires you to pick up the material that sings to you and make, without fear of any of these outcomes or circumstances that may stand in your way of making something as there is no fail there is just DO.

PROCESS NOTES is an open ended list of ideas, questions and further explorations from what we found useful while making a circular weaving: from wrapping the first warp around the hoop to almost (finally) finishing one hoop.   Hoping that this inspires you to take material that is vernacular to your life (yarn leftovers, pine needles from the yard, darning needles, kitchen twine etc.) and experiment with it to make something new.

P R O C E S S   N O T E S   O N  C I R C U L A R   W E A V I N G

S U P P L I E S :

Hoop.  Embroidery hoops, wooden, metal, various sizes,  weird brass hoops from craft store, hula hoop, old bike wheel...

Embroidery needles - straight, bent tip, plastic, brass, bamboo.  Try a few to find the one that works for you.  Some work better in smaller hoops, others in larger hoops.

Warp thread - carpet warp, kitchen twine, thick embroidery thread from the japanese dollar store, yarn...

Weft thread - ANYTHING.  Experiment with single ply and double ply yarns, thick yarns, thin yarns.  Mohair and Angora will make a lovely halo that you can brush up after to great effect.

Is it malleable? Use it.

Scotch tape and masking tape.

W A R P I N G :

Experimenting is extremely important.  Sitting down with your hoop and warp thread and playing with the warp is almost better than following directions. Creating a visual, tactile memory and a rhythm. Does warping in a figure-eight work better for a "diameter warp" than over one side of your hoop and under coming back? How about tying each thread individually to create an off centre "spoke warp"? Remember, using an embroidery hoop is beneficial as once you attach the outer hoop, it will hide any peculiar knotting. You can also secure your warp threads by using tape on the side of your hoop - once you have woven, it will be secure enough to remove the tape.

v. 1 - spoke warp (above)

v. 2 - diameter warp (above, warp anchored directly across the circle)

T E C H N I Q U E :

Over and under one warp thread at a time? Several at a time? Change it up?

What happens when you use thin thread and heavy yarn in the same piece?

What happens when you coil your yarn around a warp thread?  Around 2?  Around 5?

Does warp have to go in one direction?  Where are all the places you can anchor warp?

Again - observe! Books, pictures, online - analyze what you see. Ask yourself questions.

O T H E R  W O N D E R S :

How will you finish the piece? Does it stay on the hoop or is it removed? 

What about wrapping the hoop in fabric or yarn?

Is fringe your thing, or not?

Try adding non-traditional items like pine needles, strips of fabric, feathers or pieces of spinning fibre. If you can trap it in the warp, you can put it in!

PLAY!  Make mistakes!  ENJOY!!!

PROGRESS REPORT 19

J E N N E

Finish what you start...9 years later.  I handspun the green and pink and white yarn in 2004, and started this little sweater for a little girl who just started 6th grade this year.  Ahem.  I have made Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket many times in the past, but in this one I lost track of where I was and it sat in a box for a very long time.  Lately I have been super busy with the daily tasks of life and not able to do anything in the studio at all, save for pick up on projects that I can work on where I could figure out where I left off and work on around my daughter.  With a little improvising I finished this sweater which is more like a short sleeved vest now for my daughter (yes, the intended recipient is in 6th grade!)  but I feel really good about at least getting this project off the needles.  Finish what you start.  To celebrate I started a few little felt strawberries that M is going to help with "do the stuffin's" and little leaves on top.

A L I S A

I spent a whole week last month at the Haliburton School of the Arts.  This year was all about spinning silk, exotics (camelids, pet, bunny, etc.) AND dyeing with indigo. Learning about indigo blew my mind! It is the dye that has THE most superstitions, secrets, mystery and value (historically) in all the world in all time. I guess I'm including woad in this factoid too… So, my class cooked up 7 different indigo vats. My partner and I had some trouble with our vat at the outset - it wasn't blooming and the PH was really off. We decided to try it anyhow and it worked so well. I've worked with indigo before minimally, but after this class I can totally appreciate the magic and mystery surrounding indigo dyeing because it IS magic! In Japanese culture, a kimono is often dipped first as a symbol of good luck. So, I dipped a paper kimono in my vat - perhaps that's why it worked???