in the temporal paradox loop

next and final step from  this to this  . applying  layers of learned techniques to old blah work. in other words it is about time.you cannot alter the past, but can work on  its sediment.

geezzz while working dilligently january went by.

neki desu

 

slave to the rythm

working at a good rythm,almost a weave x week.not bad at all given the complexity involved. working with 2 warps and 4 layers, sometimes 6, trying to balance the fine yarns with the thicker ones and their different rate of build up. chuffed with the results so far. on your screen temporal paradox 6.

neki desu 

 

husband-san b'day

eggplant with tempeh, cheese slivers and mallorcan sausage.

chicken rice unlike no other, made with a native breed of chicken, not your regular pale faced ones.

lemon crumble with tiny merengue kisess.

and wine of course. a feast in one of our favorite restaurants.

neki desu 

 

the fogs and first hellebore

was missing those lovely foggy days  bcse of these abnormal temps.

first hellebore is out. this is not surprising as they bloom in winter.

neki desu

 

shibui

 

 

the subdued grace of yuki tsumugi.

one thing though the vid says the cocoons are boiled in baking soda. do they mean washing soda?

when you make something by hand you infuse it with your feelings

neki desu

 

time lapse

paint drying, sourcing new wefts for that color area, and this month is on it's way out. hopefully the weave  will be finished over the weekend.  i need to face the other loom and it's warp,which still needs debbuging.fearing that part tremendously bcse i have a hunch that it is going to need rewarping. nothing i haven't previously done.however, this warp is on a sectional beam and that means extra problems.plus it is extra fine silk meaning possible tangles. although i seem to live there i need a break.

consequently we'll join the ganbaru club💪as nothing has ever been written about the faint of heart. on the contrary there are volumes about the reckless.  õ / õ to be continued.

neki desu

 

working on the temporal paradox theme

 curious  how overshot, the archetypical weave structure, can deviate from the usual coverlet and become something else.

gold yarn also has to do with this notwithstanding. ( not precisely a joan didion sentence this one )   ¯\ ( ツ ) /¯

don't know if i already mentioned that i went back to japanese lessons. this has to do with the above remark as i have entered language awareness syndome. again.

neki desu

 

not earth shattering

but fun it is.the game of hiding and revealing can support layers and layers.

little squares white on white, actually my to go titan buff. need to add more.

this is a good change of pace while waiting for warp paint to dry so i can begin a new weave of the series.

i just found out in amazament that golden paints are cheaper from a supplier in the uk,even adding transport, that from the distributor in spain.

i understand that people need to make a living, but when it borders rip off...what can i say.  ಠ ಠ 

neki desu 

 

elusive until now

joining the ranks of lovers.

have a good weekend

neki desu

 

of weaving and japanophilia

managed to get two bobbins of yarn and was itching to get into the next one of the series. have just accomplished around 5cms but it's keeping its promise.think that by the weekend i'll be cooking.

which brings me 

two weeks before xmas i bought a kilo of yuzu locally from valencia,citrus country spain. you cannot begin to imagine the treat it was. spent days preparing the fruit, squeezing juice, freezing some of it and using the rest for making ponzu. the peel,which is the real jewel of the fruit, was scraped from the white membrane,made into zest and then frozen. just break  small piece of the frozen yuzu.chop it and add for a citrus kick  the aroma still holds after freezing.i also candied half of the zest and that's added to the granola.

after being depressed when i lost my yuzu tree two years ago i am an extremely happy camper.

neki desu 

 

this is also about time

an old monoprint from the time i had gone back to school in the 90's. original was black and white added some paint and collaged paper to begin. relaxed change of pace from detangling.

i don't mind detangling, but i do get bored.

some more work done to it. waiting for the gel medium to dry so that i can glaze that wonderful titan buff from golden paints and play the hide and seek layer game.

neki desu 

 

temporal paradox3

was able to finish this one and am quite chuffed of how it turned out. it is slow  meditative weaving needing a lot of concentration ,but it's gratifying. the weft is silk dyed by sensei using madder, the warp is 30/1 cotton.

the days have been conductive to meditation.

we got the first snows and it's been bitterly cold. lot's of excellent green tea from japan to make me company. 

also started japanese lessons again, this time a conversation class once a week.

people do not believe me when i say their skills improve by watching j-dramas.  ¯\ ( ツ ) /¯  it's called language in context!!

neki desu

 

morphology of a mess

my umbrella swift collapsed.its a brother and i want to repair it (ideas?)   m(_ _)m because the ones selling now are chinese made aka flimsy and will not withstand use. this old baby has been with me since 1990 and as i said it's a brother =quality. every time i think that brother sold their k machine patent to the chinese and cannot manufacture them  anymore i cry.the result of that deal is the taixema machines ; reports say they are iffy and the price is high therefore everyone in the craft is repurposing old japanese made brother machines.but there's a limit and some of them are reaching it. (╯︵╰,)

the result of the collapse : big time tangled mess.

1. i am salvaging the yarn bcse it's silk
2. was dyed with murasaki on an auspicious  day and got this gorgeous lavender color. have not been able to replicate it.

have about a week of detangling. the good news is that age has given me patience and i actually feel a great sense of accomplishment in putting order into chaos.

 ¯\ ( ツ ) /¯  i can even say i enjoy it. ¯\ ( ツ ) /¯

neki desu

 

auric crafts

japanese craftsmanship

have a good weekend.gosh almost mid month !

neki desu

 

temporal paradox

been mulling over this concept as a result of finding my first overshot weave tryout. it also connects with the aha moment when i understood what had actually happened in a j drama i was watching. it then branched out to a much loved history fiction drama that i watched some years ago. this led to researching about quantum physics( to a certain extremely pedestrian level)and it all bundled up. the challenge was/is to weave all this.

pretty ambituous, aka blinded by ambition.again.

nevertheless i am having a cartful of fun checking my growth in all these years of practice.what i know now, how i confront want and need in terms of weaving. not your fast weaving project,but exciting.

the warp is 30/1 unbleached cotton, weft is natural dyed silks and gold thread bought in kyoto in 2014.

 it had been patiently waiting in the stash until it was the right time/space.   (￣ω￣ )

the orange silk was dyed in madder 20-30 years ago by nami sensei, my japanese weaving teacher.it was also waiting for the right coordinates. this is going to be my project for the year.

neki desu

 

the source

a gift from a dear friend some years ago.had been leafed through but was waiting for the ideal time to be read. it's not a book about dyeing, just a historical recipe,but a book about the history of the dye.

fascinating how the conquistadores brought it to spain from the americas and it became the richess of  the crown in the 16 hundreds.cochineal and merino ,the golden fleece,were the biggest sources of income before gold and silver started pouring in from the americas.

interesting how both industries are going through a revival with a younger generation in charge.

i think people have beome aware especially post poandemic.that revitalising traditional projects is more rewarding than slaving in an office in a crowded city. going back to the roots.

neki desu 

 

a red like no other

been dyeing with cochineal for the past, say, 2 months.this is on silk at 8%WOF and mordanted withpotassium aluminum sulfate(KAlSO4)2. at 10%. it is the alum most used in japan and it seems to me to yield brighter clearer colors.the skein is wet but when dried it was still bright pink.

afterwards it was modified with soda ash after bath in hopes to get purple.just dulled the pink and made yarn less lustrous. ⋋__⋌  

seems  luck with purples is not with me, even alkanet lavender eludes me.

anyhow having discovered the people in canary islands who grow and sell cochineal (beautiful project btw) i can keep on trying

without fear of running out.all out for circular economy.

i am trying to devote my energy understanding cochineal and benibana.then i'll move on to other dyes. maybe in depth madder? 

neki desu

 

xmas hiatus

the traditional fractal animation  before xmas break.

may your days be merry and bright. see you after epiphany.

be good and be well.

neki desu

 

debbuging

and testing colors and grists.two minor bugs, but bugs nonetheless.just testing one of the treadling patterns. it needs to weave perfect to be able to start doing things to it.aka temporal paradox.

 libbiamo nei lieti calici tonight.  traviata opening was on saturday and apparently hell rose loose because of the  stage production.there were boo's and feet stamping. think i'mgoing to like it  (￣ω￣ )

neki desu 

 

something's not right

second week in december and there are leaves on the trees. 20º over the weekend. the powers that be keep pushing back the agenda till 2030 and honey, there's not going to be anyone here in 2030. not even the ones who made all the money pushing it back.  ⋋__⋌  

was clearing the veg table and there was 

this lonely one, last one of the year.

small but grateful for the energy it put into growing.

neki desu