some punch

silk scarf dyed in eucalyptus. subtle colors and some leaf patterning.

same one here with an ai punch. much better.
speaking about punch :
this
this
this
and definitely this
 constance howard's legacy






neki desu

To sleep, perchance to dream:

 — ay, there's the rub; -hamlet act III

indeed. for those of us who have trouble sleeping i was given a good solution. eat a banana about 45 min 1 hour before going to bed.
i can vouch for it, been sleeping like a lass. another thing is that most likely i'll put on some weight. but i rather be happy and plump than plump ,cranky and totally neurotic because of sleep deprivation.

turning a page.
went back to the old blogger interface. was sick of not finding stuff in the new dashboard.

neki desu

lovely things

great stuff going around on the internet. let's be thankful for that !

• interesting thought provoking read on crafts, craft practitioners  and craftsmanship.
• new earth friendly high tech (the three in the same sentence, yes) developments  using linen fibers.
• those on the japan trip will appreciate this color vocab list :) pay attention to the hex numbers, now you can use those colors in your graphics!
•  shifu for those who want to use it, but don't want/know how to make it: maybe you shifusers are familiar with this page. i just found it.

have a lovely thanksgiving those of you in the u.s. 

 don't get lured by the calls of black friday and cyber monday and please buy handmade!

neki desu

places of beauty

images from the sajou catalog

yesterday i was taking my loom break in front of the computer (??) and i came across Maison Sajou
i won't say more except click on the link. among the things to covet i fell in love with the thread organizer cards pictured above.
not to mention the pin cards

image from the sajou catalog

and for you lucky jacq. owners click on their menu on the left on the special sales and scroll down to woven silk images of st. etienne. you won't be disappointed.

image from the sajou catalog

here's a teaser.















turning a page, but still on the subject of beauty and haberdashery i also discovered the fiskar village in finland. yes, fiskar as in wonderful scissors. read the history and don't miss the virtual stroll. the place is devastatingly beautiful.

enjoy!

neki desu
 

on sewing resources

now that i'm on a mission of stash reducing by weaving fabric i'm keeping an eye on patterns and related paraphernalia. did i say stash reducing? one of my wishes is to be as minimalistic and  frugal as  the oriental people. well, at least before the chinese economic miracle.but i digress.

i have come across a myriad of interesting sewing resources that i'll share. yes!! it's all 'bout sharing (^_^)

directly from  my pal Rubi's sideboard a  sewing blog .she's not only a fun read, but also a wealth of resources.

perusing the internet-sounds more importantly serious than surfing doesn't it?- found the new to me neu mode patterns- pardon the redundancy. i liked  the patterns i saw because they are more tailored and with less flounces and frills than burda's. also the styling looks well, more stylish-this is getting to be a redundancy competition. i'm sure vero already knows about them.

 relative to style if  you go for julian roberts  someone along those lines, but a tad more wearable IMO is marcy tilton. besides her patterns her web also has fabrics, cool silk screens for surface design and some very  good tutorials.
i am hoping that at some point my long rectangular knitted things can be turned into something wearable like one of her skirts. sigh.

now i only have to finish this morning's set of errands and sit at the loom. 3 meters of loom controlled shibori are waiting to happen.

neki desu

some history

mother had a singer machine and i learned to sew with a singer machine in homec class. when i moved to europe there were of course no singer machines, at least in my circles and i came in contact with elna sewing machines.

my first elna was the grasshopper pictured left, a gift from a colleague repatriating back to the states. little did i know that it was a collector's item and i, playing the ignorant fool, happily gave it way when moving up the sewing machine ladder.

it was simple, very well built, sturdy and came with many presser feet. in fact i still have and use some of them in my newer models. amazing what that little machine was able to do !

having had such good experience with elnas, which by the way  coming full circle

were the brainchild of a spanish civil war refugee named ramon casas, not to be confused with the painter. i bought an elna  jubilee put out to commemorate their 50th aniversary. again, sturdy, made of metal so it stayed in place, a workhorse of a machine has only had the light bulb changed. it has some very nice features such as air pedal, overlock stitch, speed control button , clip on foot and best of all never skips a stitch.  if you're on the market for a simple workhorse if you see one even second hand grab it. i've had second thoughts on trading it and i'm holding on to it as if my life depended on it. imo the only drawback is that it doesn't have drop feed dogs. nobody's perfect.

that feature when i got interested in free motion embroidery   prompted me into buying another machine. well, and the idea of having a couple of fancy stitches. again, after such great experiences with elnas i went back to them and got a 5200. i had so far lived in a world of simple buttonholes and threading by yourself and was taken by the 1 step buttonhole capacity which makes perfect buttonholes and self threading capability. no, there isn't an arm with 20-20 eyesight that threads for you, but the next best thing.

however i was puzzled by some design flaws. the machine seems to be lighter and it is because its body is  made of plastic. although it is conceptually irritating for me, i can live with that. what i can't live with is the placement of the end of pattern-lock stitch. i have small hands and it gets hit when threading, changing needles or sometimes during holding the fabric while sewing. the screw of the presser foot shank   loosens up during sewing and has to be tightened more than occasionally. and coming from the air cushion pedal on the jubilee, the pedal  mechanism is almost old fashioned in a pedestrian sort of way. all in all very un elna. why so? i am aware that nothing is the way it used to be made anymore everything has the look feel and performance  of cutting corners, but so much as to compromise a good reputation?

consequently i went to st. google and as ever found the answer there.in 1994 a cooperation was established between elna and janome and  some years later tavaro s.a. the manufacturers of elna, filed for  bankruptcy. in other words the machines ceased to be swiss made. janome also bought husqvarna so basically the market is divided among them and bernina, with juki competing. i would not be surprised if juki being japanese as janome is would be a division of janome.
i'm thinking about getting an embroidery machine, but honestly doubt i'll go the elna route. berninas are insanely expensive,  therefore so far  it is not clear which route to take .
if you're on the market for a sewing machine and have dilemmas here are some helpful links : 

• sewing machines reviews  

• sewing in general  but has machine reviews and  sewing patterns

have a spring fest of a weekend!


neki desu

the dark side

"

digital transfer

this read came out in one of the lists i belong to and is reposted here with the writer's kind permission.the more information one has the more educated the choices and the easier it is  to spot the quack marketing.

The short answer is: conventional cotton is one of the most
environmental and social unfriendly plant fibre there is.

The long answer is more complex but does not change anything on the message.

First of all cotton is a very water intensive plant. One very drastic
picture for the impact of cotton farms on the water is Lake Aral in
Usbekistan. In 1960 Lake Aral was one of the four largest lakes in the
world. By 2008 it declined to 10% of its original size. That means 90%
of the lake is gone. The huge cotton farms around the lake with their
irrigation systems consumed all the water over the decades (we are
talking about 50 years, that's not even a human lifetime), leaving
salinized soil which is to no use for any other farm product. This does
not only happen in far away Usbekistan but in the USA and Australia as
well. Everywhere where ground sweet water is used for irrigation without
the proper sailinty control (which costs money) it happens. Lake Aral is
only the example with the most visual impact.

Although cotton is only grown on 2.5% of the world's farm land, it
consumes 16% of all pesticides and 6.8% of all herbicides used
worldwide. Which in itself has some impact beyond the fields they are
used on. Industrial fertilizers are a petrochemical product. In
production they use quite a large amount of petrochemicals, which in
itself leads to more CO2 production. Furthermore, the high concentration
in nitrates leads to the production of nitrous oxide which is a
greenhouse gas.

Then there is the social impact. Cotton is produced cheap, not because
it is cheap to produce but because many countries subsidize cotton
production. US American, Australian and Chinese cotton farmers couldn't
survive with the small revenue cotton gives on the world market. So
their governments subsidize the farmers. Not a bad thing in itself but
it means that they can produce even cheaper which forces to produce
cotton farmers in other countries, namely India and most African
countries, to produce their cotton cheaper without subsidy, starving on
their fields. In the meantime the soil is rendered mostly infertile
because of the salinisation, the high concentration of nitrates, the
many pesticides and herbicides so that you can't grow any food on it
anymore. (The same goes for bio fuel farming, btw, but that's another
topic).

When the cotton comes from the farms it is shipped to Southeast Asia in
cotton mills to be spun and woven. There are several chemicals involved
in making even fine cotton much finer, and most of all crease-proof. I
am old enough to remember that several decades ago cotton shirts were
not crease-proof. (Which is why people jumped on the nylong waggon as
soon as it arrived. Finally a shirt you didn't have to iron.) In most
countries, these chemicals are lead into the rivers without any
purification. Everything that is legally necessary in first world
countries costs a lot of money. Which is why most companies don't
produce in first world but in third world countries. Not to mention
cheap manpower without any union rights (or even basic labour laws).

And all that just to be able to sell an average white t-shirt for under
USD 5. (You see, I didn't mention synthetic dyeing, a major source of
water and air poulltion leading to undrinkable water in Bangladesh and
many other third world countries)

For further reading:
http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.115-a449

http://www.ota.com/organic/environment/cotton_environment.html

http://www.icac.org/seep/documents/reports/2010_interpretative_summary.pdf

http://www.organiccotton.org/oc/Cotton-general/Impact-of-cotton/Risk-of-cotton-farming.php

http://www.sustainablecampus.cornell.edu/getinvolved/Docs/Environmental_Impact_of_a_Cotton_T-shirt.pdf

http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/cotton/

you asked ;o)

be well, buy second hand clothes and fabrics or organic cotton and stay
creative

Ulrike, staying at home with black ice outside
http://www.handspindel.de

not much more to add here.how far one goes is a personal choice and the range goes from negationism to talibanism.

have a good weekend!

 neki desu

the attraction of the beach in winter

xmas day at the beach

doing the blog rounds and catching up. looks like many of us spent either xmas day or new year's day at the sea side, can't think of a better way . moreover there's something downright naughty about it :)

but this is about what i found at some of my favorites during  unplug time.

• never heard of string gardens?this goes beyond the eco thing .
• feeding my lust for handwoven fabric turned into clothes. yes, we can! and with style too.(check her flickr for the whole treat)
• food for the soul:leaving your mark upon life
• and for the body: the perfect onion soup

santa brought me a new digi cam and i'm getting used to it. still find the 16:9 aspect ratio awkward.

all of this to say that today's post had to be turned around as the photos are trapped inside the cam while the battery is charging.

neki desu

why handmade

social reasons:

because it distributes wealth equitably.

because it keeps cultural diversity.

because it records specific technologies.

because it articulates human relations.
because it relates to community activities and culture.

because  it empowers the makers.

because it does not produce large amounts of waste.

because it  is not  abusive of resources.

aesthetic reasons:

because items are unique.

because items show the maker's hand.

because items are meaningful for both makers and buyers.
because items are  more than end products.
because items go beyond  trends or fashion.


can you help add on to the list? i would love  to involve lots of people in making this list so ideas are most welcomed!

some weekend reading: this .and further reading: this
stay warm and have a good weekend !

neki desu

painting with white

in the blu..e. the white stitching is almost done. although the song came out in the sixties it looks very fifties and i like that.
i'm researching lights and magnifiers if i want to continue working. the light in the living room is not good for stitching.it was designed to make people look good, but we can't work nor read there.

here's what i found so far:

• an ott light lamp, portable, electric plug(saving on batteries), no magnifier glass. will have to source locally due to different plugs and  electrical current here.

• information  on daylight fluorescent light bulbs inexpensive, but have to buy a lamp (that could take forever in my household due to aesthetic negotiations) not portable, no magnifying glass.

• led and magnifying glass portable all in one  unit, leds last about 1000 hours , then have to be replaced? that's not too clear. there are many more  options in the web site.

 presently  the last option looks like the goer. how have you solved your lighting problems? do you use a magnifying glass for stitching?

neki desu

do did doing

sounds like a philadelphia soul  song. the murasakizome  dye is done. still have a jar steeping in alcohol,but i'm done for now.pleased with the results and they will all blend beautifully together in a warp for a summer top.

the winter top weaving is progressing at a painful pace, with some major incidents that have forced me to take a break from it. or else it would become an offering to the sacrificial pyre.

and now for the present progressive.

painting kakishibu on the previously akane dyed wool scarf. the weather has changed and it's cold and cloudy. as a result this will be an enterprise because the kakishibu needs to cure in the sunlight. i may add sodium bicarbonate to pump up the color a bit, but i'm waiting for the weather to give me a break.

but not all has been so blah this weekend. actually i was pretty excited about a find regarding fractals and flame generating programs.i found and downloaded  the mega apophisis7x. and spent all weekend poking around it, downloading tutorials and resisting the temptation to join yet another on line community and forum.the program is a wonderful design source and a resource when the rut happens .

i suggest that you download the 2.09 version first from here. it has some things that you will need to run the 7x version. i'm learning a lot about computer arcana via this program.

 i really  want to start printing a couple of fractals on fabric.the fractals are very textiley unlike the ones you see around full of gnarls and bubbles.

and they can also be animated. another project coming up. 

pray thee tell me why oh why life's so short?

neki desu

a million small things cooking

change of seasons, the cooler weather always brings a surge in activities.still have to finish warping , but taking a break from the loom to look around. here are some  interesting finds in no particular order.

found this post which is  a beautiful summary of the change of seasons.

if you are into sewing and interested in retro  here is a good source for vintage patterns. some of them cost as much as the gown itself but there are plenty of good value ones.

still on the the diy mode: continued education for diy artist fractured atlas offers courses, sponsorhips and health insurance among other resources.

has your work ever been rejected to an exhibit? this article via textile art resource guide gives a good perspective on juries and juried exhibits.
and the image, you may wonder what the point is .it is this digitally transformed that is already here

neki desu

game over

curious how some works tell you when they're finished and some others don't. and even more curious how a smudge of gold wraps it all together. this one's done. i think i worked more with the mood of the piece and worried less about color and composition which was becoming a stress factor  with this  heat.

i have come to really enjoy ermine stitch. it's a simple, effective stitch that paired with straight stitch or seed stitch can make up  a whole scene.

and the idea for setting off and also blending the image with the background  with slpit back stitch comes from jude over at spirit cloth.

this putting together from two sources has made me think and i'm considering  putting  a resource page to share weaving drafts, images etc. the vintage stitching charts will be there also.

need to do a bit more thinking about the  logistics.

ideas anyone?

neki desu

on linen

linen is one of the queen yarns in my book, the other one being silk. i understand silk and can work with it, dye it, warp it almost blindfolded because i have spent years with it. but linen has always intimidated me and just recently i have begun working with it. the purpose behind is stash reduction as  i find ridiculous to be buried with my stash.
most of the yarns are  tow linen  from the days that i wove tapestries and  used thick yarns for weaving. i now weave with very fine grist yarns and the tow linen is not only thick, but also a well known trouble maker for warps, as it does not withstand abrasion.

so in my quest for writing informative blog posts i came upon some interesting links:

• a very informative tour of Endenderry Village and its linen tradition all narrated with a charming irish accent.
• a supplier for bed linens, in case you want to break the bank.
• for embroiderers linen by the yard .
• for weavers here here and here

and if you are contemplating setting  up your own business it seems that china has become a new member of the linen producing community. live and learn.

 

p.s.i did some more printing yesterday. the fabrics are still batching.

neki desu 

the sea

the sea

still battling with the shoddily woven cotton yardage. what a shame that such good  cotton fiber got turned into a crappy fabric because of careless manufacturing.

 this book has been lying around because there's no way to square it, it's not my bad craftsmanship(womanship?) it's someone else's. 

what i like about it is the way an ugly fabric got transformed into something pleasing. and the opportunity to get to practice some of the newly learned stitches. but this is not all about me.

here are some book related links for you to peruse: 

falkiners in the u.k. -paradise for real bookbinders, not impostors like me. they mail order:)

flagbook-orama  awesome and inspirational

books on book binding techniques

and last but not least a tutorial on a simple flip flop book 

have fun!

neki desu

a link rich post

or too hot to work.

it's cooler up north and Leena is trying a fermentation vat. vicarious dyeing over here :)- perhaps i should say dying-note the spelling

i have been spending time inside ie at the computer which has resulted in a few interesting finds.

for starters here's an attractive blog full of all kinds of crafty tips, podcasts and insights on whats going on and around.

then,

ever thought about pleating fabric,without spending big time on a pleater? burda™ has a tutorial on making a pleating board fast and easy.

on the fun and games department this has been around for a while, but it is a good resource for generating doodles which can in turn  be used as a springboard and taken further. you can use any ol'  fine tip pen and paper, i can assure you.

and last color and interactions-almost literal- here .fun and color ideas galore.

on closing,  a delightful article on cakes. don't be put off by the title, your baking will never be the same.

stay cool.

neki desu

wing needles

amazing what can be achieved with a needle. you spend thousands in a sewing machine and then with just the utility stitches and a winged needle you are all set. and Schmetz has an assortment of them to make anyone happy.

traditionally winged needles are used for what is called heirloom sewing.in other words recreating old fashioned, labor intensive hand stitching. the operative words are labor and  intensive.i can only think of my grandmother and her needlework, who knows if she'd found these needles her needlework would have changed.

because of the multitude of stimuli, we are  less focused now for embarking in labor intensive projects. yet we keep on traditions using modern shortcuts. nothing to be ashamed of.

testing the needle on a heavy cotton scrap.

this as i found out is not the ideal material .

in spite of that i could get an idea of the possibilities, which  i think, are especially effective with the utility stitches.also tried tightening the top tension and liked what i got on the back(right photo).

there are a few jump start tutorials on line  here and here

 this place has downloadable pdfs, scroll down to find them.although traditional they give ideas on fabrics and sewing machine feet that can be used with the needles.i am curious to do a test on tulle using very tight tension. let's see if it's workable or just another science fiction project :D

have fun!

neki desu


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book of old linen

This post is like a photo essay, i had never posted so many photos in one post.
The book is made from the old linen pillow case i found at my mother in law's. There was no way i was going to discard such wonderful fabric, the kind of linen you can't find anymore. From beginning to end the project was very pleasant, it all came together almost without thinking.

i wanted something coquettish and frivolous as a cover and was lucky to find the dotted paper. It was laminated to previously stitched lutradur and the covers were glued to the first and last flaps.
The linen was stitched with white silk thread and i wanted the stitches to be a story on their own, yet complementing the bits of silk shibori.
Retrospectively i see a lot of my mother in law in it. Perhaps i'll keep on with a series of books about her.

But i'm also kidding myself. i'm having problems with a cover for another book and i'm procrastinating tyeing 1200knots :( Help!!! i need a mantra.

Turning a page here. i found that Nehoc in Australia has a Print Gocco like printing kit.This is interesting as the Gocco suplies are getting scarcer. And they ship internationally.
There's light ahead for those of us who are still crying over Gocco's demise.

neki desu


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