a simple wedding party

when i was asked if i would do some decorations for my friend jen's wedding, i instantly said 'yes', with the next step being putting together an inspiration board on pinterest. jen's pretty relaxed about this sort of thing, and the mood was delicate and simple. we wanted pastel colors and some brights, as well as a tie in with her yarn shop. it was held outside at old fort jackson, on the savannah river.

i recreated the washi bunting from her cactus store opening gift. the twigs were collected from my backyard, then wound with bits of colorful wool roving.

recycled paper was laid down to cover the picnic tabletops; giant binder clips work amazingly well to secure it. going for a good mix of delicate and large flowers, along with cotton still on the stem, each table was set with a mason jar of blooms. it was fun to arrange the flowers; we picked up a couple of bunches of flowers and one bouquet, which i separated, then arranged into ten jars.

it was just right for jen and connor's wedding festivities. 

green softness

a while back i purchased some color grown cotton; deep green, rich cinnamon chocolate, and moka chocolate. it is truly a joy to spin, very lofty, amazingly soft, and spins chunky easily. i spun up the green on my drop spindle, and reserved a tiny amount to compare with the finished version. when you're done plying color grown cotton you need to boil it a little bit with a pinch of baking soda to develop the deeper color. i added the larger skein to boiling water, and let it simmer for 40 minutes or so; the color develops quickly, but the added time allows the water to soak all the way through and to set the twist. the smaller skein shows the color as it is plucked from the plant, a pea soup green with yellow undertones. on the left is the color after the introduction of heat and alkaline, a blue tinged deep green. i quite like them both. i haven't tried boiling in a slightly acid bath to see if the yellow tones stay, or fulling in a cold bath. i'm not sure if it's the heat, the alkaline ph, or both which develop the deeper colors. further info and testing to be done.

i think i'm slowly getting to the point where i want to introduce more color into my spinning, not that earth tones aren't lovely, but at heart i am exceedingly fond of color. the way to do it best is to blend it in, so you have depth and variety of tones and hues. i have hand carders, but no drum carder, and even though i know you can blend on hand carders, it produces smaller amounts at a time, and you need to remember how you laid the colors down so that each bat is similar as possible when wanting a lot of fiber.

being inspired to finally try blending on hand carders the other night, i decided to give it a go, having no access to a drum carder. i think it went well. i wanted some chunky color, so i only carded once. using a base of white alpaca and layering in dyed wool and silk, i created a fiber sandwich; white-color-white. resting on the drop spindle is the first bat of silk, wool, and alpaca, plied with a light grey alpaca. i used the full rainbow of hues, and the soft sheen of silk is subtle but pleasing.

with the second attempt i added just four colors of wool, and some firestar to the alpaca, again plied with the grey alpaca. it's vey soft and lofty with just a touch of sparkle here and there. next time i'll blend the white alpaca and the silk noil first, then add the colors, and card it twice for more heathering.

pinks are lovely

i've been working on a set of headers, link buttons, and icons for the big switch. it's amazing what can be done with photos and preview. i really like the pink and natural tones. the odd guy out is the purple hued flickr profile picture (not in the photo montage), but that's fine. i like the odd duck or two.

efforts

well, no news in the indigo front (the experiment bombed for various reasons). but, there's still some dyeing taking place in the laboratory. i've been dyeing wool roving as an experiment to see what colors i may obtain from the different extracts i have. hopefully i will end up with a good spectrum of colors to card together and spin. so far i've created bubblegum pink, deep magenta, daffodil yellow, and a ruby purple by using madder and kamala. currently resting in the dye pot is hopefully a teal and a pale green, so their final color is awaiting verification. i know i should make orange, but it's my least favorite color, so i may settle on peach. when i have them all together i'll post photos.

i was happy to receive extra bobbins in the mail from doc for my new old spinning wheel, so i tested them out and was able to spin a fine grey alpaca two ply yarn; it's especially fuzzy, so i'm not quite sure what to do with it.

on monday during the spinning meet-up, i spun a lovely silk merino i've had forever, and plied it with a cinnamon alpaca. it took a little extra work to ply as i had to reply it on my drop spindle after the initial plying was too loose. drop spindle plying is especially nice as i feel that i have more control over the end result, at this point i prefer it over spinning singles on the drop spindle (i quite like using the spinning wheel for that part).

i'm racking up quite a collection of spun yarns, perhaps i should put some of them in my etsy storefront?

harmony of spaces

while doing my laundry the other day i realized something; my current wardrobe consists of shades of grey, mint blue, sunny yellow, palest peachy pink, white, and touches of oatmeal. then, today while accessorizing i noticed a certain relation between my personal space, my blog, and myself, let's say, a certain color harmony. hmm. i think perhaps these hues make me happy, so i am especially drawn to them. ah, well, do what makes the serotonin flow. so, we'll label it a good thing, yes, a very good thing.

some nice news; father is doing well, almost recovered from surgery, finally home, stubborn as usual, and never drinking enough water, but we love him anyway.

pins and other things

while i was in kyoto, i stopped in at mina perhonen on several occasions to obsess over and then purchase little baggies of remnant fabric from the designers workshop. the quality, colors, and designs are utterly fantastic; i'm just sorry i didn't buy a higher quantity, and don't have access to the store anymore.

one of the things i did with the pieces was make an inspiration book. i made the cover from a shopping bag, the pages from a stiff fabric, and embroidered the butterfly logo on the first and last page, i used yellow thread to sew in the pages, which matches the yellow ties. it's nice to have access to such a wonderful source of inspiration.

luckily, i had some duplicate pieces so i added them to my small stockpile of scraps. yesterday i felt like sewing a puffy pin to take advantage of the materials texture. i can think of it as an evolution on the white small puffs i've done in the past. the weather has gotten chilly here, and all i can think about is fluffy beds, warm fibers, and fuzzy textures.

baubles

as it is gift-giving time, i can unveil the little presents i bought at the kamigamo handmade market. there were so many kaitei charms at each booth, it was difficult to choose just four. they're all just too kawaii.

one of the things i'm incorporating into my daily life is japanese incense; it smells lovely unburned, exotic while burning, and lingers for several days in a pleasant way. i hope it will freshen up the air in my studio as well. further updates on that front soon.

i knew of kumihimo before i went to japan, but it was still a charming surprise to come across it and find that i liked the fresh colors and modern aesthetic.

what once was new is old, is new again

i came across a really fascinating book in the school's library about ikat, noshime: stripe, lattice and ikat in edo period. basically, a book with full color photos of existing cloths focusing on just the fabric, all arranged in a neat and orderly way. beautiful. here are some of my favorites:

considering that the edo period in japan was from 1603 to 1868, these ikat weavings feel very current and the colors quite modern. a really wonderful inspiration!

tactile color

today was a colorful day! it started with the dyeing of my kasuri skeins, which went well; that is, after i corrected the first batch of dye which i had made a mathematical error in, by having to discard it down the drain. eh, check math twice, measure dyestuff once.

after lunch we took a visit to the kawashima selkon factory and museum. very neat! they have a ginormous 24 meters wide hand loom which they create large tapestries on, such as special stage curtains, and large scale wall tapestries. there are smaller hand looms which are used for weaving obi, both ooak commissions and regular orders on the second floor. most of the obi can take anywhere from one to six months to complete. i love the little shuttles they use, i would think they would definitely be useful for inlay weaving.

i actually had an opportunity to try my hand at weaving an obi earlier last week (see hand in upper right corner of below photo? mine). so hard! you work from the backside of the piece, so you don't see it until you take it off the loom, as well as the loom takes a lot of muscle to operate. i was so nervous!

after dinner, one of my classmates had a box of natural dye samples she completed at a retreat last weekend. they were so lovely, both silk kinu and wool uuru.

tomorrow is the start of my warping the kasuri. i'm scared, but excited, i don't want to mess up the placement of the warp kasuri areas.

visual delight

i find the films of hayao miyazaki entirely enchanting. some of them touch on the uglier sides of our nature, nausicaa of the valley of the wind, princess mononoke, but for the most part are quite wonderful. spirited away, howl's moving castle (the book by diana wynn jones is amazing), whisper of the heart, and the latest installation, ponyo, have quickly become some of my most viewed and favorite films.

i viewed ponyo the other night; it had been languishing on my netflix list for quite some time, always reading "very long wait". i absolutely love this film, the plot, the characters, the adventure, the amazing animations in the opening sequence, not the least of all the scrumptious visuals found throughout. i find this movie sweet with an aftertaste of that mushy lovely warm feeling.

there are some of his works i haven't seen yet, but hopefully this will be remedied in the next year.

if it moves is it still illustration?

cartoons are delightful! just because one is an adult, i don't see why one can't continue watching cartoons. they are created by adults aren't they? see, my point exactly.

one of my recent favorites is the marvelous misadventures of flapjack. what is it about this spiffy show that tugs at my heart strings? besides the incredible texture, amazing color choices, delicate linework and awesome animation, the storyline is quite humorous, the characters are fleshed out and the voice acting is well matched.

and because of the great thing that is the internet, i can watch it whenever i want!

again with the collecting!

i came across selvedge magazine a little bit ago, then really started paying attention last month. what made me jump and get them all was an offer they have going on and i just couldn't resist. i am so very very glad i did get them; oh my, the inspiration, wealth of textile knowledge, the eye candy, the weight of each page is pure bliss.

i told myself i could get them on one condition; i would have to read, yes, actually read, every single bit even if i didn't at first want to. so ever so slowly i work my way through from cover to cover. and speaking of covers, the back ones are yummy, featuring one delicious marimekko print every issue.

nani iro goodies

whilst browsing through vogue i came across a photo of a really neat dress that reminded me of a nani iro fabric, her coururiere print. i figured i could make a similar dress which embodied the vibe i got from the one in the photo and one which fit me and my taste.

as i hunted down the fabric from her 2008 line, i also saw a new (?) book of hers that looked very interesting. luckily i was able to order both from the same person.

first, i have to say the print is much brighter than in photos, and second, the paper used in the book is absolutely brilliant. the tooth of the cover is cold press, and the vellum like mini cover and inside sheets are almost luminous. as well as there being quite a few thing i would love to create.

this bag would be one, with the three different prints. another would be the really cute ruffled apron the lady on the left is wearing. oh, so frilly, but restricted frills.

i'm working haphazardly on the dress, pining when i have the desire. i think i may end up cutting the top from the skirt and working separately on them, only to reattach when done. photos will be forthcoming sometime in the next month or so. maybe this will be a birthday dress. i'm very excited!

while goofing off

i have these two pieces of stitched fabric that i discovered in a scrap bin at school. the color mixture isn't something i would merge, as they aren't my favorites; but, there's something appealing about them.

awhile back i knitted gauntlets with this heavenly alpaca yarn and couldn't bear to toss the ends. looking at the stitched scrap i remembered the bits of yarn, and they went together so well that i had to find a way to merge them into something.

i haven't made a pincushion in awhile so that was the choice. i used some lovely striped tasmanian wool for the back, and sewed on some buttons from my collection. one of my favorite bits of cloth in this pincushion is the metallic linen; the sheen isn't captured well in the photos, but the button reflects similar qualities.

others to join the party

i'm running out of all the pretty scraps, but i still managed to make two more pins. yesterday i was making felt for the backs and got some pin mechanisms. so all 6 of the pins are ready to go. one of them is for keeps, the yellow one; it's my 1st and favorite.

i'm not sure if i'll hold onto them for the trunk show or put them up on etsy. if i make many more perhaps i'll do both. i guess that means creating new cushions so i can stockpile scraps.

i like using tulle in each one, it makes them feel light and it adds another dimension. they kind of remind me of little hats one would wear in the past.

to give an idea of their size, here i am holding my favorite: