for the coming year

i want to weave more
i need to draw more
i should stay away from the computer as much as i can
i will try to stay focused
i have to start marketing my production

this is what i intend to accomplish,let's see how it unfolds.

Taking advantage that blogger is seamless today this is one of the latest finished works. not too crazy about the way the satin stitch red area came out.It was supposed to be a circle- yes, still trying circles in weaving and embroidery- but in the end it embroidered out like that. On the other hand the doupioni silk background fabric dyed wonderfully.

Still threading the reed which by the way it is what i should be doing instead.It is a silk doupioni thread set at 20 ends x centimeter that was dyed not with some difficulty due to tangles.
I am planning a four color double weave and hopefully will have some leftover warp to play with.

neki desu

Tags: dyeing, stitching, weaving

let's see if i get graced with photo upload

there has been no way to publish this photo in yesterday's post.i get the dreaded white page and all gets stuck there, go figure. is this a strategy to force people to move over to the new blogger?After all the porblems that I've read on the help forums i have my dobuts about changing.

So here are the dyed yarns i was talking about.


neki desu

Tags: blogs blogging

no six geese-a-laying, no five golden rings

no picture courtesy of blogger
no tags courtesy of blogger too.

.... but, yes, a new laptop! Still in shock because having received my Xmas gift in advance i was sure i was only getting just a little something. I think it's the love of beauty again, my husband could not resist the beauty of the artifact and went head on to it.
I have been slowly working myself into weaving. i'm threading the loom now and have been doing some dyeing. We are blessed here with excellent cochineal from the Canary Islands which is not difficult to obtain. Crimson and carmine pigments are gotten from the bug and used in the cosmetic and food industries among others.
The pink silks on the photo were dyed with cochineal at different strengths. The red one was mordanted with alum and oxalic acid and the pink ones with alum. The mauve skeins were dyed in a weak cochineal dye-bath with acetic acid.
The yarn is much thicker that what i'm accustomed to work with, but my Japanese weaving sensei sent it to me from Kyoto and one can't say no to that. Strange though that they do not consider cochineal suitable for dyeing silk.
The light ocher skein was dyed using the water from boiling chestnuts and alum mordant. On top of it there is a small ball that was mordanted with chrome.
It is still a source of wonder how well natural dyes blend together and the depth in color. It is not like depth of shade we are all used to when using synthetic dyes. The only way i can describe it is that is comes from within the yarn from its innards.
Still don't know the project for these yarn, but at least i'm rejoicing in the colors and since 'ti's the season to be jolly......


neki desu

this is really fun and games

Yesterday i did some stress prevention exercises, meaning i went on line and surfed to my heart's content.Found this program and have been playing ever since.It is a polygon generating program whose generated figures can then be animated and or transformed. What this mathophobe found intriguing is that there is a section which includes a list of Catalan solids. UH? Can someone enlight me about this?
Anyway,this is is a crude example of the program's possibilities.

I also managed to finish a stitched work(more about that tomorrow with pictures)
put up the tree, fruitcake is already baked and some of it delivered-Holly wish you were here, this year's came out really good. And last but not least i made a restaurant reservation in Japanese!! and oji-san understood me. Or was he ever beeing the polite nihon jin?
Tonight is girl's night out at a Japanese restaurant.

neki desu

Tags: animation, life in general

mixed news

Some days ago i got the magic phone call.Magic phone calls happen unexpectedly and they change your life or at least give it a good shake.
The arts and crafts city college where i took some clasess is celebrating their 75th anniversary next February and there will be an exhibit. Students from every department were selected for the exhibit and i was chosen from the weaving department.

I have some newer work that has not been exhibited yet and this is very timely since i will avoid sitting down thinking and producing all under stress. And they are woven pieces. Lately i have been working a lot with digital printing and surface design it being a combination of exploration, lack of time and instant gratification. Compared to weaving everything else is instant gratification. Yet as someone once said weaving is not about color and structure it is actually about time. And i miss weaving.

This piece is silk organza with stamping,drawing with watercolor pencils and stitching.I sense a change in direction from the fall pleasures series, which by the way there are 3 more pieces in different stages of completion.

Let's see where it goes.

neki desu

Tags: surface design, stitching

it was not really that bad

Happy dance at Paris 145.Yes,the nihongo testo disaster turned into an 80% mark.And scored 85% int he overall mark for the trimester.
Celebrating ever since weaving some samples for a long due project. Also finished this minimalistic piece and already feel a change in direction regarding the surface design-embroidery pieces.This one is sort of transitional ,or better yet, it is like a re cap of all I've been working on since the end of summer. Notice the digital printed textureserving as background.I really need to work on this.

Have to start cranking, Xmas fruitcake is already late and recievers are getting edgy. Boy!

neki desu

Tags: surface design, digital printing, japanophilia

Yosakoi!

Have not yet commented on yosakoi.I joined a local group and we practice every Sunday.
Yosakoi is sort of traditional dances,gymnastics, calisthenics, tai chi, break dance and the dance troupe, choir and orchestra of the Soviet Union armed forces all rolled in one.
It's also a lot of fun, especially when practicing the choreography in the park and drawing crowds armed with their video cams wondering what on earth is that.You really have to leave your sense of ridicule home for the day.We kludzes stand out like sore thumbs, but the laughing is unbeatable.

Most of the people are Japanese students as well and you get extra practice because everyone is blabbering away in broken Japanese.
In case you are intrigued here are
the basic steps. From then on variations abound.Have fun!

neki desu

Tags: yosakoi, Japanophilia

T.N.T. or terrible nihongo test

The Japanese mid term went as bad as it could get.It is amazing how can I watch Japanese t.v. and understand quite a lot and yet do so badly on tests.I wish sensei gave me points for that.The latest idea was coop tests since in class we complete each other's answers and fill in each other's gaps. Don't think it will happen in this lifetime.
Right before the Xmas morass I was able to sit down and complete this piece.
I have been printing this scanned image on to silk organza and brocaded silk.
The crackle adds depth of field-paraphrasing photographer's speak-to the work.
The yarns used were mainly linen and after a hard pressing they acquired that lovely matte sheen linen has. Have a couple more pieces to finish and then on with a new idea.

I think putting the fabric through the printer is less hassle than silk screening it at least for small sizes.Digital printing technology is indeed one of the major breakthroughs!

neki desu

Tags: japanophilia, surface design, digital printing