Left is a picture of the cover of the book, but without the cool Mulberry coloured background.
BUT, first, it’s time to do my blog. It’s over due and nagging at my conscience to be done. This means I’ll never get anything done if I don’t take care of my goals for the year-Writing my blog every two weeks, keeping up my photo journal, and my weaving journal. Fortunately, for me I am having a very quiet day. Spencer is working at Block, Pat is off on a well deserved visit with relatives and the sun is shining but too cold and wet with rain burst to work in the yard. No one is aware that I even exist today. The phone is not ringing for a change. So, it’s me, my stuff, Wry, Chene and Brahms for the day with maybe a little Hans Zimmer to keep the energy level up. 
One of the new things I have learned in the last few weeks is Viking Knitting. It’s really addictive. I can sit and do it for hours. Viking knitting is a type of looping that is done with wire to produce a chain that can be used in jewellery. After it is looped the knitting is pulled through a draw plate that extends it length and turns the rather ugly as in duckling thing into a beautiful sensuous chain. I have a bracelet that I have to wear all of the time so I created a bracelet from the chain. I had looped and attached the old charms to it and added cones and a pretty finding with a flower on it. It looks so much better then what I had been wearing. Pat is putting together a class on Viking knitting that involves using felt. It sounds really interesting. It’s a class I would take if I were going to a conference and taking a workshop. 
I finished Kona Orange. I think I’ll leave it with that name. I am taking some teasing from family member’s about-Kona gold, Maui Wowie, and a few other such brand names. It was really good to get it off to the Enchanted Passages exhibit.
The studio has felt a bit overwhelming and imposing for the last month and perhaps a little sinister as in promoting guilty feelings. Everywhere I look; there are warped looms ready to weave on, but no plans to weave on them. It’s like someone gave into a warping fetish and obsession. Actually, they are looms warped for illustrations in the So Warped book, but it’s still intimidating. Let alone staring at the awesome sized space on my large Shannock with all that space ready to be filled for “and HE.”. 
The Mirrix is warped and I’ll start the other Kona piece today and be able to stare at the blank warps for another piece that needs to be done by November, but at least I am weaving and not brooding over the other piece. The design still hasn’t come together, but when it does, I am warped. Boy, isn’t that the truth. It must be spring even the looms are waiting with a pregnant pause and the excitement of beginnings. There’s something so satisfying about the first touch of colour on a loom. Of course, another warped loom will be used for my Soumack samples I am trying to get together for my class in Santa Clara on soumack and the More! class I am teaching in August in Albuquerque. I am tired of all of the little bits and pieces of samples floating around the studio. If I get them, all together in one sampler I can lose it instead of just random samples that I need for the class and can never find while packing to teach a class. I keep telling myself this is a good deal! Also, one warp is on the Fine Fiber Press loom and Pat is making ranuu and pick and pick pillow tops so that’s her problem not mine-gr! So I guess perhaps it’s not quite as sinister since many of the looms have a purpose other then making me feel guilty for not filling up the warps. I just need to find the time to fill up the looms. 
These are samples of soumack that I have been spending time getting ready to weave. It's not in my sample collection,yet. The Linten roses, or Mayflowers or helleborus are blooming beautifully. Your choice for the proper name that you prefer. What I call them seems to depend on my mood at the given time I am discussing them. They are the one flower in the yard that doesn't seem to mind the heavy rain we keep having. I must have variations of 10 different colours ranging from greenish white to purple. They are fun to watch. They can't seem to make up their mind about what colour they will be. I am definitely going to use them in a tapestry. I have almost decided that I don't like the upper right hand corner of "And He" and may change it to the Lenten Roses, because they are so changeable and can be used to bring on dreams. Sort of an appropriate flower for the piece. Actually it would be the bottom right if turned it's final direction. This is where I wish I were today. Tomorrow It will be raining. It's already clouding up. So enough about today and the past weeks.It is just so right that So Warped is finished! It's time to move on to the next project a book on colour and colour movement in tapestry and get all of those warps filled up with colour. . But the timing to begin will probably be in September or later for the next book. So I get a few months of weaving and prep time for classes. Cheers and all! 
6 comments:
I look forward to getting your new book, Kathe!
Already, the cover illustration answers a question that students always have about putting on a continuous warp on a frame loom--only illustration of that in existing books that I know of is in the old, out-of-print Step-by-Step Weaving.
Congratulations--I know it will be as thorough as all you other ones. Hope you sell tons of them!
I'm also looking forward to getting a copy. Sounds like a great reference book.
Hi Kathe, a question about soumak. I love the look of soumak weaving, but have been told that a whole tapestry of knots doesn't really "hold together." Not sure what that means, but I was wondering if your soumak will make up part of a larger woven work.
Thank you Tommye! What a nice thing to say. I shared your comment with Pat. She was delighted that you liked the cover. We've really been working hard to get it finished. I hope we do to!
Cheers,
kathe
I was looking at your blog. I am beginning to wonder if all tapestry weavers have cats that like tapestry. The recycled wool you are using is nice. When I was in graduate school I used to unravel wool sweaters and use it in my tapestries. There was a very old article about Monique Lehman in an early SS&D in the late 70's about how she did that when she was Poland because she couldn't aford to buy wool for her tapestries. I am glad to see the trend coming back.
kathe
Hey Rob-I use line soumacks all of the time for fine lines and detail in both my sewing thread tapestries and large wool tapestries. I have been teaching the technique and using it since the late 70's. I have no idea what they meant or why they said the knots would not hold together. Also, Soumack is more of a wrapping then a knot. On my blog the samples of soumack are details from a large soumack rug meant to be walked on. Traditionally soumack rugs have been in existence as long a kelim -tapestry rugs. I don't usually do large pieces of soumack, but if I wasn't so hooked on tapestry I would. I know from experience and history it won't fall apart no matter how large the format or scale..
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