is it halloween yet?

booo!

second step of the upcycling  shibori project:many,many marks  following a tutorial from bryan-sensei.
curious to see how this turns out, because it has some stamping, but then again i have nothing to lose and whatever gain is all gain. it feels great to be so free:)
our share of sandy: rain, cold and bad satellite and internet connections.but i'm not complaining, just sating facts.


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if you follow this series

i promise  entertainment ^_^





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apocalypse redux

too bad i just had my phone.the clouds were dark, massive and heavy on top with a big space below. the setting sunlight filtered through the space giving us the best golden sunlight we have seen in many years. people were in the middle of the road stopping the traffic to take photos. the drivers were in awe looking at the tunnel of golden light and did not even bother to blow their horns at the intruding photographers.

i was grateful to be out looking at the spectacle.nature at its very best.

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try it

you may like it .
have a good weekend and stay safe out of the storm.




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things i can't live without

beeswax for taming unryly warps.
blu tack for fitting any bobbin to my bobbin winder spindle, for attaching repair heddles in the middle of a warp (yes, always in the middle) for picking up pins, needles and beads  and as a general fixer upper.
gaffer tape from the chinese bazaar ( so that i don't go broke) for everything else.

and then:

item of a hundred uses, not only for shibori.


what are the indispensables in your studio?



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in case you're bummed about pinterest...

there are much worse things going on than using your photos.

see and this.

big business  flagrantly copying and manufacturing  other people's work.

in both of the above mentioned their readership first gave the alert and then lobbied for the creators.

i greatly admire kate davies integrity and way of handling the issue. others may see a money opportunity.

the infringement  situation is going to get uglier.

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contagious enthusiasm

 whenever alice begins one of her weaving explorations her enthusiasm becomes contagious.

her granite explorations got me to the computer right away. i was working with some constraints, 20 shafts out  of 24 because i wanted to tie on to what i had on the loom, minus the 4 shaft border, rather than go through all the motions. i came up with this one  for starters , can be tweaked further ,but i was anxious to weave some samples.it is a 10 sha satin and a granite derived from it, although i'm still not sure if it fully qualifies for that nomenclature. my aim eventually, will be working with granites and differential shrinkage.

 sucky aspect ratio and should be re-sleyed, taking notes on that and pinning it to the sample. no way i'm re-slaying, this is supposed to be fun! there are some glaring mistakes, but weaving and life go on.

practice makes perfect. the second tweaked version will be better.

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sampling sets

can you hear me cally booker? ^_^
the double weave preset collection finished, washed and pressed.

the second from the bottom up would look very good in complementary colors, never mind the mistakes on the back sides.

the first row  is a brocade, it holds some possibilities, but i  was juggling  with the  4 shaft border( not seen)  so i got tired and moved on.

again, i can see  the patterns with  less contrast  woven  in  complementary colors for a nice pop.
i must have grown up in the process because i found  this sampling fun (*o*)
so fun that i have another short warp coming up for granites, this one has some color, c'mon, one does not want to push it too far!

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brush up your college french

non essential, but nice, to get the most of the vid.   how ochre is transformed  into red ochre
pigments rule.

have a wonderful weekend.!



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earth, wind and pectin?

i have been experimenting with earth pigments all summer long first testing and then carrying out plan A, soon to be disclosed. Coincidentally there seems to be an on going interest in earth pigments  something that is surely the zeitgeist. a new era is dawning?? lucky stars pave my way to sourcing pigments locally and i rejoice  that for once, i can source  something locally and at very competitive prices too.  

although apparently disconnected to pigments i am also intending to make espelette pepper jelly as i  finally got  hold of the pectin. 

huge jar i should add, and with a price tag too. however, it all falls together rather nicely.what to do with all that pectin?i am testing it as a thickener for earth pigments. will post about that when i have more conclusive data. for now it seems to work.

 i have not opened the verona red bag yet, but i find it intriguing. is it bengara 弁柄 or taisha 代赭? or something else. who knows what's in a name.

in the meantime a beautiful catalog for you to rejoice and an on line dictionary of japanese architectural and art history terms.

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new horizon

windng yarns for a new weaving yardage. shades of ai and kakishibu on silk doupioni , but this time no stripes.

i'm using all the woodern pirns i have to accomplish a motled color.the structure? still pondering about it.winding the chains will give me time. and i also have to finish the dw samples.and cleat the other loom.sigh.
the photos on this blog are getting more and more...??

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it's fall

and the minute the air cools down they spring up. among wild mushrooms chanterelles are my very favorites. mushoom pickers here, it's somewhat a national sport of sorts, can kill for the red cap pine mushrooms, but for me chanterelles are much more delicate and delicious.

they do not need much , a small chopped shallot, and some good olive oil and butter to turn the shallot  golden. then add the mushrooms and saute quickly on high fire. a turn of the pepper mill and that's it! great side dish for meats. if you add some heavy cream it can make the best pasta you've ever had.

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delicious clichès on vid

today while some are celebrating columbus day and the great feat of the discovery, others are celebrating having been forced into a language, a religion and a culture.

have a great weekend!

ps. the singer is not audrey.

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one thing leads to another and then another one

weaving double weave and adding a supplemental  weft of  printed silk organza.weavers know that a discontinuous weft( or warp) is a brocade,but if you do an on line search you get different stories.

if my silk ribbons do not go from side to side and are laid in on some areas, they qualify as brocade. so i was happily coughing, sniffing and brocading away. no pressure to make  anything because i am sick, remember?

some  time  ago  i had  followed a post by Alice and created an 8 shaft brocade overlay .

now that i have the wiggle pegplan that i'm using for the double weave what if i throw the brocade  overlay on?

but wait, what if i change the threading and use a network? will that nice printed organza show better?

and what if i use a parallel threading?

and what if i  rotate the overlay90º and  warp becomes weft?  a lazy way to get  weft brocade!

this has to be tweaked a little. the warp for the double weaves is straight draw so i'm finishing the warp with this one. then on with the other threadings. i'm taking lots of liberties because this is not for yardage.

now, what if i add some gold threads or do some stamping in gold. ...  ^_^

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sniff cough cough sniff achooo

double weave possibilities using presets. evidently top and bottom are more effective than the middle ones.the vertical pin stripes could work with a color weft instead of white.
but i can't think too clearly, my head weights a ton.




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living again, but with a cold

something cool i made over at color lovers got me back in the swing. the pattern was digitally printed on silk organza and cut into strips with my brand new mini rotary cutter. just great to be working in a manegeable size again.

from a left over double weave warp in black and white i went back to photoshop, drew some wiggles,

threw on the dw presets et voila mesdames.

i am using the organza to weave blocklike areas, but since the pattern is wiggly the blocks are not square. no big deal , just wanted to do something fun to help me ease into the fall with lots of sewing lined up. not wanting to sound pompous, but will be further exploring double weave to the end of the warp.

and oh yes, the cold as they say over here i am like a soup-or- i have a soup.
 husband san came home one day totally blasted and three days later it's in/on me.

better now than in the winter when you feel miserable .

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let's get animated!

have a good weekend!



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thinking of others

as i shift gears. here'a another long due embroidery chart. you can adapt it to suit your fancy.
download from here




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color minded

for those who have an interest in color in general and golden paints in particular they are putting out a very informative newsletter.
here's the latest issue full of color geekery.




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