this long rectangular thing

was dipped in the indigo vat 8 times. could have gone for more, but i became impatient.

now it has to be blocked and perhaps cut( oh horror!!! )and shaped. stay tuned.

neki desu
 

great movies have great music

now all you have to do is imagine william holden dancing.
have a great weekend!

neki desu

little miss know-it-all

 old jeans dipped in indigo to see what it can do to them

yesterday after a very pleasant catch up with ruth and her new baby i headed to the fabric stores downtown in search of jean fabric. nothing fancy, just plain jean fabric.
store nº1
me: i'd like to see jean fabric
saleslady: here
me: but this is not the regular jean fabric.
sl: yes it is. been like this forever.
me: no it isn't this is plain weave, one over one under and jean fabric is twill, 1 over 2 under.
sl: well i don't know about that.
me: well i happen to know about that.thank you and have a nice day.
store nº2
me: looking for jean fabric
salesman: here you have it
me: do you have anything without elastan?
sm: no we don't, but it has always contained some elastan
me: ok can you picture a rugged cowboy perched on a horse wearing jeans of such a girlie fabric? i of course was thinking in rudder terms.
luckily  the salesman had some sense of humor and he chuckled.

thank goodness for the internet. located a  spanish online store that has regular jean fabric in 3 different shades of blue and 3 different weights.
no wonder why fabric stores here are closing down!


neki desu

quality and a creative solution

   

amazed with the quality of this indigo.after so many years trying and going nowhere i've finally joined the results league. the image on the left is the 4th dip the one on the right the 6th. it has changed from a dark royal blue to a deep dark blue   ^_^  ♫♪
i had to find a creative , yet another one, solution for the dyeing hoops  that keep silk skeins from tangling. was not ready especially after spain's rescue to pay a ridiculous amount for the professional stainless steel  hoops .people at the hardware store hate me i'm telling you. i never use things for what they are intended and they don't like that. guess it challenges them in more than one way.

 here you have it: a bike lock with a clamp. it's flexible yet strong, covered in plastic and inexpensive. all i needed.

the silk skein is on its second dip.

neki desu

me too! me too!

the katazome fever is running high. after bryan-san's post i've read from others trying their hand at katazome, or stencil cutting. i wanted to print a motif, not sure if this ume or a sakura, as the last step on this scarf.the original idea was to burn a master with my beloved print gocco and print on. but on second thought i decided to jump in and be in good company (hi jean!) i'm not going to be as authentic, though. i'm crossing over techniques and coming up with my own solution.

scarf is being dyed one last time. cutting both stencils, refining and testing . today i have the yearly check up and testing is going to have to wait until the afternoon.then stamp along!

neki desu

the white linen that brought me a friend

the story goes like this:
oh how  i wish i had access to linen, i posted one day.
blandina answered kindly offering to track some for me. samples sent; price was right so she bought a kilo for me.
sending a kilo over from italy was another story, ridiculously expensive, even by post. i jokingly said that with that money i could go pick it up myself and she replied that we could meet half way. so we met in aix en provence. while there i also took the opportunity to see vero in her own ambiance and introduce blandina to her.
we had a fine time in aix indeed. and i've knitted yet one more  long rectangular thing.
but, stay tuned because there are going to be changes on it. and as susan says there's a big deal about linen, literally and figuratively i add.

ps: the weaving is almost finished!

neki desu

and now sashiko!

 sashiko from yuza  in yamagata prefecture.
embroidery friends get out your rulers!
have a great weekend.


neki desu