No Regrets-left. My last years list of resolutions is completed and things ended and new things begun. The future is here and everything else is the past.Last years epiphany has now become reality.

Epiphany-Comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization.

New resolutions-To set new goals or mile markers towards finishing goals. Create a New updated list of goals personal and professional; establish stepping stones or goals for achieving what I want. Let t go of those things I no longer need or want with out reservation.

I do have real  resolutions. Mine are to let the past stay in the past because it's over and done with and keep on moving. Get rid of  the Detritus in my life and just be me-a tapestry weaver.  Find more weaving time by saying no.  Become the storyteller I want to be and do it. Do more teaching in my studio. And, last, But not least a whole lot more journaling and writing at least 30 minutes a day. (Reflected images at the coast!)
Supposedly this can become a habit in just 22 days. Not sure how seriously I am taking this, but it’s worth a try- Anyway, I am reading a book called

Making Habits, Breaking Habits: Why We Do Things, Why We Don't, and How to Make Any Change Stick by Jeremy Dean. Discovered on a site that Tommye Scanlon recommended on face book Brain Pickings that’s a  great read in itself.

Thanks Tommye!

 

In December Cathie Beckman came to weave with me for  several(4) days. It was a great time. One on one teaching is wonderful. both of us learned to watch the negative and positive spaces as the dining room chair morphed into Georgia’s Chair.
The bottom sampler is one
I wover while Cathie was weaving on her piece to show several different techniques that we partially covered among other things. This Spring I will travel to teach a workshop in Cincinnati and visit again with Cathie.

 

 

Spencer and I spent Christmas at the coast at Yachats. Doing those things we love to do. Chene’s favourite perch to watch the trail along the rocks. Chene and I wandered for hours along the rocks and a trail that has been in existence for 15,000 years give or take. Spent time at the Purple Pelican looking for rug samples and pop up book at my favourite book store in Bandon.

It gave me a chance to think and journal and take pictures that I hope to use in tapestries someday.

AND, Finally to the weaving part.

 I am happy with the progress I am making on this piece. It will eventually be 12 inches by 12 inches. This is basically a memorial piece about my Dad’s life. He died a year ago December 6th. Any way, If I am lucky it should be finished in two weeks. Tax season is up on us and I weave longer hours when Spencer is doing taxes.

Another Thank You and explanation!
Rebecca Mezoff sent me one of her Grandmother’s Marian Mezoff for my collection of bobbins. They are way  large to work with on any of the looms I work on, but I really like the shape of the barrel. It’s concave rather then curving out. I have been thinking about doing a smaller riff on the bobbin. What I like is the way my fore finger naturally rest in the concave area. I think it’s a more natural and better ergonomically for arthritic fingers. Notice that the fore finger rides naturally to the side and not on top of the bobbin. Anyway,  what I meant to say is -Thank you Rebecca for the gift of your Grandmother’s bobbin. (you can see more of Rebecca’s blog post about her Grandmother at http://rebeccamezoff.blogspot.com/) I am going to talk to my bobbin maker and see if we can come up with a scaled down version to try.
Beatriz Nutz has written an article  that is being published even as I write on bobbins and such things ”Weaving Pictures. 15th Century Tapestry Production at Lengburg Castle.Archeological Textile Review; issue # 55. I am excitedly anticipating what she has to say about an historic find of bobbins. Haven’t seen the article, but I understand it has pictures of me using bobbins.
Materials in this new piece.
I have been switching back and forth and combining sewing thread and embroidery floss.
     I have discovered that
I can easily use 6 threads in my weft bundle at 20-22 epi  and not have any trouble covering. The main thing I need to watch for is that embroidery floss has a slightly more matte feeling in the weaving. After the debacle with the the silk embroidery floss I learned that using shiny things in tapestry is difficult effect because of the small length  weft that can be seen at any given time before plunging behind the next warp. I have been experimenting with changing and floating the silky threads over 2 warps. Haven’t decided if I like the effect. Have also been experimenting using floating soumack on the surface over two warps. This is a bad photo of both the long jump soumack and the silk/rayon going over two warps and under two warps
   It’s like the difference between old  mercerized sewing thread and more modern sewing threads. The cut off for old style seems to be in the 70’s between the old processes and the new processes of fiber and technique used in producing dressmakers threads. This is purely anecdotal information based on my weaving.  The older threads-prior to the 70’s- are slightly shinier and silkier then the matte like effect and coarseness of the modern dressmaker threads. In the modern threads one needs to be aware of the loft in the spinning of the thread. A fuzzy dressmakers thread even on the same spool can have areas without loft that can completely change the value of the thread as the light inter-reflects in the loft—making it appear lighter or darker when woven depending on the amount of fuzz or lack of fuzz. 
One of the things  have noticed when using embroidery floss is cost. I had to make a trip Joanne Fabrics when I ran out of the greys I was using. I am still suffering from sticker shock. A skein now cost 40-45 cents- a very large jump from the 3-5 cents I paid up until  I was in Academy in the early 60’s-I know I am really dating myself.
I rarely buy embroidery floss new. I have discovered by hanging out at estate sales I can buy it for almost nothing still in the boxes and skeins that it came in originally. Right is a picture of my last score this weekend at an estate sale over 300 skeins of rayon and cotton embroidery floss for around 20.00. I could have waited a couple of hours and possibly gotten it at 50% off put was to afraid someone else would purchase it.
PS grey is probably the hardest colour to find at estate and garage sales. 

Another 2-3techniques I have been using a lot  in this piece is actually a combining of two techniques lacing up the slide of a slit. Note note dark blue vertical line between cab and trailer and silver greys around the mud flaps)
Lacing up a slit
Cavendoli knotting---I know that some will say this isn’t cavendoli knots, but this is what is described in Victorian needlework book form the 19th century, but the name is unimportant. Normally this knot goes up one warp and creates a twisting ridge that can be moved to the back and stitched to keep in place or be fine enough to stay between two warp threads.
First lacing up a slip. It has a tendency to be toothy depending on how fine of a lacing thread one uses.

start with a larks head


wrap around warp every pass or two. The size of the vertical lace line can be varied by the amount of threads in the wrap. Usually as a slide tooth, which can vary  by the amounts of passes between the wrap or lacing thread.
Cavendoli knots on one warp

If you look closely you can see the ridge on the left side of the knots going up this warp. I have straightened because it has a tendency spiral. This can be pulled to the back and stitched in place. It makes a nice solid line up one warp that will not slide up and down as a regular wrap around the warp thread does. Compare to diagram of the process above. note ridge on left of in diagram. My camera sucks for taking close ups! Think it’s time to gift myself with a close up lens.
Combined Cavendoli and lacing
To begin it is larks headed under the first pass and the cavendoli is done on the first warp on the edge of the next pass. Again the line of knots can be sized by the amount of wefts in the knotting bundle. The knot can be made small enough that the line or ridge can be made to fit within the distance of half of the space between two warps and then stitched in place just as you would stitch in the ditch to close a slit. IT creates a very fine line up the edge of a slit.
Silver
I am back to working on my silver. I am revisiting some partially finished pieces, because my goals have changed for the box I was trying to build. I am going do a filigree box instead. So what you see are the pieces from the box, the start of a necklace and bracelet made of Malachite and Brazilian opal, and a small broken silver and amber spider that I am repairing. I have finally had the time to actually build a small corner place to work on silver and arrange it into a usable space.
I have spent part of the money  I inherited from my Dad for some tools I wanted and needed and a proper jewelers work space.
Last things to do are fix my chair and buy another fire extinguisher. This is a place I don’t have to put things away and out of sight before a piece is finished. Before you ask-no I haven’t taken up the piano. The piano stool; holds my repousse’ dish. Makes the process easier because it turns and will stand between ones legs.
Enuff-I am seriously into my weaving time.
tell next time!
kathe

Waiting, Waiting and More Waiting

ASIDE-I have decided that creating posts is a grand adventure into the unknown and ever changeable.  My formatting never  stays where it belongs, never does what it should. Buttons take over-such as the underlining button or the colour button. There is no stabilizing the format so every time one opens my blog page the layout is ever different ever shifting-much like life. So instead of fighting the whole thing and becoming frustrated. I have decided to accept what ever it gives me as an ever-changing piece of random performance art that 
changes with each performance. 

"And He.." Last for the Shannock in my studio-finished 9inches by 24 inches
maybe 11 inches if I decide to not turn under bottom Selve

Fog and layers of ridges
Great study for
 transparencies

transparencies

Today and most of the week everything is or has been about waiting. Waiting to get stitches or at least the bandage off. Waiting for the loom to go.Waiting to buy tables and furniture for new looms and equipment. Waiting to warp two looms-again the bandages Waiting to leave for Arizona where I am teaching in Tuscon and Sun City. Waiting for packages. Waiting to finish handouts-still can’t type and I am definitely not going to do them on my i-phone. The screens way too small and the spelling variations can't be seen-at least by me.  Waiting to start my new piece, because those other things I am waiting on might show up and interrupt.   Waiting to take pictures of fog. I can’t reach the push buttons on the camera button on either camera.  The slipping in and out of images into fog this morning was/is incredible. A real reason perhaps excuse for  working with transparencies not that I need one. Sometimes reasons and logic help me to commit and get around to doing what I really want to do put have performance anxiety about whatever...  I really want to design  a landscape with ridges and trees and fog as a colour and technique study.  I wish I could remember who wove a piece of trees in fog with silk and wool, fog and the softness and silence of fog. It was in a show I was in at least 10 years ago.  It was such an incredible piece. Someone said it was stolen-so very bad. Been there done that.

 My typing and mouse usage leaves way too much to chance.


(This is just great.  I have managed to hit another magic button that  wants to save all of my typos and corrections.  And I can't find it to turn it off. How embarrassing!  Where is the sanctity of second chances without shame that the corrections one is able to do on the computer generally promote.)

Fortunately Most of the waiting is finite, just frustrating. Each minute seems a thousand minutes;lined up and disappearing into the future.

Waiting, waiting,waiting, more waiting.

Frustration, definition via the Internet;     Part of Speech- Noun; synonyms: annoyance, bitter pill, blocking, bummer, circumvention, contravention, curbing, defeat, disgruntlement, dissatisfaction, downer, drag, failure, fizzle, foiling, grievance, hindrance, impediment, irritation, let down, non fulfillment, non success, obstruction, old one two, resentment, setback, unfullfilment, vexation.   I really think it should have included the word waiting.

Surprise!!

Well, that venting feels better most of the  synonyms don’t fit my situation anyhow.

I need to create a hierarchy of waiting.  Perhaps, I can organize what I am waiting for by the amount of time I need to wait for the waiting to end. waiting like  Dante’’s levels of hell.  I really need to reread the Inferno again just for the descriptions of hell. I am sure there must be something about hell, procrastination and waiting. Or, perhaps, surely,  levels of limbo. 

 Limbo (Latin limbus, edge or boundary, referring to the "edge" of Hell) is a speculative idea.

Obviously written by  someone who doesn’t mind waiting. 

Enough Diva-ness  and word play for today.


WOW! What a difference a day can make!

       Yesterdays attitude seems almost funny today. Well-today it’s humorous-Yesterday not so. Waiting is over and now I feel a since of urgency. I can use my hand again. Finally discovered the complexity of my hand surgery. I have 4 incisions that are healing just fine- 4 in the palm and one at the base of my thumb.  Stings something fierce with the stitches out.

What Spider Women
could have told Ikotomi
and Icarus.

       Poor Dr. Yao-my hand surgeon- I don’t think he understand my obsession with tapestry weaving. He doesn't know whether to be amused or…? about my weaving and my schedule, or worried about my unsterotypical ideas and work.  At my age- and I don’t think that I am that old-I think he thinks a women at my age should be retiring and easing up. He always has this nonplussed look on his face when I discuss my tapestry weaving and how it affects my hands.  If I don’t weave my hands stiffen up. O well, if I were in my 30’s I might feel  the same way.exhibit
      Last week was even better
I won Best of Show at the Blue Ridge Hand weavers Exhibit. Every time I have entered-my second time- I have been amazed at the quality of the work in the show. The pictures they mount on their website are lovely and intriguing. To top it all off Tommye Scanlin had donated one of her Kudzu pieces to a fund raising raffle they were holding. I never win anything. I feel buying raffle tickets is  a donation-nothing more. I was so surprised when I won.

Tommye Scanlin.
size 20inches by 22inches. Image stolen from
Blue Ridge Hand weavers  exhibit web site. My thanks for its use

     Had a nice surprise today. My Handwoven Magazine  arrived and it actually has a  good deal of tapestry in it. It also contains a picture of So Many Chances and the colour is fairly accurate.  There is a very interesting article by Sara Swett on weaving lists. Sort of reminds me of the time I wove the scratch paper from my drafting table/ work table. See photo's somewhere below and out of place. They keep shifting.

Broken feather/ Broken promise

       I     with drew So Sought after from Small Expressions.  So all the prize winners moved up 1 level.  I am still a little angry at HGA, but not for the reason one would think. Prizes, getting into shows and awards have never meant that much to me. After the last 3 decades of entering shows I view it like a game of chance. I don’t stake how I feel about my work or myself on games of chance. They are more of a puzzlement to be figured out and be amused about the results.  I am angry because on January 4th I called the HGA office to ask  for clarification of the rules- the rule about a piece having never been published. I wanted to know if they meant published anywhere or just in HGA publications. On their advice and reassurance that it just meant HGA publications I entered the piece. I would not have entered that piece into the exhibit if I had been given accurate information. I am not so dumb to think someone wouldn’t have noticed let alone the ethics of entering a piece knowing it broke the rules-so not me. Cheating destroys the game aspect of entering shows.   The year before they took away my third prize because my framing was messed up in shipping.  I use the letter in my classes when we discuss mounting, shipping, and entering exhibits. Good workmanship is important to the whole experience of a tapestry. They hung the piece, but hung it upside down. I just can’t seem to win with HGA. I admit that the frame problem was mine, but still they should have hung it right side up.  I have been in Small Expressions 13 or 14 times since 1988- 20 or so years. O, well-asi es la vida de los esclavos-gr! Lol! It’s taken them until about yesterday to remove it from their web page! So now I get to answer 4 months of questions about what happened. Enuff!

 On to better more important  stuff.

  I did finish the piece on the Shannock.    I finished the sample, scrap,  portion of "And he..." I am just not sure how to define this piece at this particular point in time or if I'll ever attempt to show it or sale it-after all it is only a portion of the whole.    The piece itself is 9 inches by 24 inches. I still haven't decided how to finish it. Leave my name or turn it under. I love the over dyed indigo colour. Pat dyed the ton of the ugly yellow stuff I had purchased because it was cheap and i could afford it into a beautiful Indigo colour.Other then cheapness i have no idea what I thought I could do with all of that ugly yellow.   I, also,  need to decide how I am going to handle the two feet of selvedge on each side. The only thing I seemed to be able to do  last week was weave with my hand all wrapped up.   Now that I woven the sample no matter what the reason I wove the scrap, but  mostly because I couldn't  let go of the loom with an unfinished piece on it. (Interesting the spell-check brings up love when I click on wove. ) I can hardly wait to start the small format/ small scale version of the design.  It will be half the size this “and he…”  was intended to be.I have fallen in love with the colours.

Scroodle scrap paper from Maze Craze
1990

I love the colours in the  wing, but I did learn that it would have been much better to have woven the design the other direction. I wouldn’t have had to work so hard getting rid of the stair steps on the feathers.

 Learned not to use crosheen on the lace bits. It worms against the wool and even worse against the embroidery flosses.

Maze Craze late 1990

 I learned that I didn’t need bobbins. All I needed was to be able to hook the wefts with my fingers and pull. Valuable information  for those weaving with problem hands that i teach.  It does make one work harder to keep the weft loopies from forming in the half passes. There really is a very good reason for using bobbins as opposed to loose wefts hanging and butterflies. The bobbin helps control the tension of the weft threads as they are woven and come off the bobbin.  The bobbins also allow the weaver to control the twist and the closeness of the colour as it is laid in a pass. This then allows you to twist the weft bundle and change the density of the colour in mélanges and chenes.  I need to do some samples of this colour density thing  happening.

       Another lesson that I learned is that different rayon embroidery flosses weave differently. DMC rayon weaves thicker and has an almost nappy feel.  The ratio  is also different.  DMC needs  4  strands  instead of the 6 that Coates and Clark’s need at 20 epi.  At 10 epi it needs to be double that. Coats and Clark's rayon-especially in the black gets a flake or peel of something light grey when you weave at 20 epi. It’s a little like dandruff or dry skin. The same reason I don’t use quilting thread as warp, but buttonhole twist or  dual craft thread for warp at 20 epi.

Remembering spring as fall happens

      I really had fun with the gold in the scroll. I learned that filigree and loops need to be larger in scale  in order to allow the detail to be seen at 5-10 feet where the best optical blending occurs in the colour when weaving with wool at  10 epi.  On the other hand at 20 epi the scroll work can be much more delicate and should be much more delicate in scale, because people stand so close to the small work. They actually have a tendency to stand closer than necessary to get the optical blending.   One would think that if the optimum at 10 epi is 10 feet then it should be 5 feet for 20 epi. BUT, people don’t do that  with small format/small scale work, People stand a foot or two from the work.

 SO for my designs the colour blending needs to be finer with more bobbin blendings that are more closely related  to get the maximum effect of the optical blending.

 I ended up doing a lot of single wraps while working on the inner turns of the scroll. Next time I think I’ll make the scroll twice as big so I have two warp threads instead of one  warp thread. Live and learn. This gave me a lot of practice of sharing warp turns and shared warps. It’s fairly easy to hide the interlocks and weft turns if one remembers to watch the direction of the turn around loop  or the direction it goes around the  warp.  The turns and wraps need to extra dense so that they can pack down and help hide the sharing and the turns. The direction of the loops isn’t always consistent in which colour looks right in the sharing. It depends on if you are working with a hill or a valley thread. Turns and loop backs done on valley threads are easier to hide because the next turn or wrap drops down into the valley and covers the previous turning thread.  Doing almost anything in a valley is easier to cover because the next half pass is a hill thread drops down and covers.  In vertical soumack it works  in the same way. Drop the turning thread onto a valley warp and the next pass of weft will cover the turn-unless your working the weft with too tight or a warp tension too loose and that’s a whole other problem.

Chene's car seat

The other study that I am doing with the top of the selvedge is experimenting with soumack  and twined edges which I will then braid when I cut off the piece, which should be tomorrow. The loom is ready to go with good karma!!!

(This is just great.  I have managed to hit a magic button that  wants to save all of my typos and corrections. How embarrassing!  Where is the sanctity of second chances without shame that the corrections one is able to do on the computer generally promote.)  

Well as I began. It's all a great adventure...
cheers for now.