sometimes , not always, it pays to be bored

After all that weaving activity the inevitable crash down and bored syndrome kicked in. Being totally uninspired i took on menial tasks such as ironing and trying to organize chaos, but that was no help for boredom. On the contrary it aggravated it.
i was working on the contents of a drawer and found this gingham material that i had been shuffling around because i really hated it as it was a poly cotton blend. Being a fiber snob i had worked a bit with it mainly using it as a base for needlefelting and that's how far it had gone.

Nothing to lose here and as i've found that's really liberating. i also had a batch of pigment i had mixed with Golden Soft Gel Medium and GAC 900. Noticed the frequency of hot pink in my work lately?

i started mindlessly dabbing the pigment on the hated gingham and to speed up drying i used the heat gun. i knew the poly would react to the heat, but what i found was that where there was pigment it acted as a resist.
Was it actually the pigment?

Control experiment showed that it was not the pigment, but the gel. Hope you can see the effect in the above photo. It was printed in a twill pattern:) using a square sponge stamp and soft gel medium.

What i've found:

• contrary to common advice waggling the heat gun gives more control
  
• zapping from a grater distance than usual prevents scorching the fabric
• i've only tested a poly cotton blend other fabrics need to be tested to see
  
• if the process works
• color can be added to the gel medium thus getting a two for one effect
• speculating here- perhaps using a thicker gel might give a clearer resist .

If you take from here and experiment further please report. i'd really appreciate it.

i think this qualifies for April TIF don't you? :) Can you list all the changes?

neki desu

how to avoid carpal tunnel

i dislike twisting fringes as much as i dislike taking up hems. Especially when there are gazillion and a half very thin silk threads to twist together.
i have a manual twister and that was a lot better than nothing, but still time time consuming and stressful on my wrists.
Some time ago i located the hair braider pictured here and my life changed. Seriously.
It is one of the best gadgets i have, rival to my bread making machine.

Being battery operated the fringe twisting process, which is not a very creative one, is brushed out of the way pronto. The wear and tear on the wrist tendons is also minimised, and you notice no discomfort after a marathon session.

Operation is simple.
Take 2 bouts and secure them with the end clips, then push the button down and twist the bouts until they start curling on themselves. Then push the button up and the bouts ply on to each other. Finish by unclipping them and tyeing a knot at the end.
However, i find that for fine yarns i first twist and then secure both bouts to the same clip and ply the 2 bouts together, thus getting an untwist proof braid.
Do yourself a favor and get a braider.

Life is good :)

neki desu

finished

Shawl is already finished, with fringe twisted and all. How's that for a happy dance? Or two.
i'm very pleased with it because it was sheer joy to weave as the silk behaved, no broken threads and no problems. And i was weaving on a table loom!

Strange how actually manipulating the structure makes you more aware of what it does.

i'm also happy because the shawl came out looking like what i wanted, something simple and understated. It is very light, sheer and crisp, if you can tell from the photo. Feels as if one has wrapped oneself with a cloud.
The indigo dyed weft plays with the gold and brown from the kakishibu creating a bit of iridescence. The yarn irregularities and slubs add some sort of rustic charm.

Now i only need to go out this weekend and show off :)

neki desu