sewing for utility purposes

usually i store and transport my drop spindles and fiber in a lantern moon basket i bought many years ago for my knitting. but then i thought it perhaps a little unwieldily for just carrying one spindle and some fiber which could easily fit in my purse. so, i devised and sewed a spindle cosy which could protect my spindle while it is in use, and so i could keep it in my purse unharmed by the other things lurking in there. it's weird actually that someone else hadn't already thought of a spindle cosy, they're very useful things really. there are egg cosies, and tea cosies, and though they're meant for keeping things warm, other things like sewing machine cosies are for protecting.

going with the purple and orange color scheme of the basket and knitting needle case, i used a pale blush silk, an orange shot cotton, and purple thread. the sides are padded with quilting batting and created separately, then bookbinding stitched together to form a pyramid, with the top left unsewn so the shaft cord can come through to aid with carrying. the cord is a kumihimo strap i had bought while in japan that could be attached to a cell phone; it slips on easily to the notch in the top of the spindle shaft. i'm really pleased that the colors matched so well; until this point i really didn't know what i wanted to use it for.

the bottom opens up and you place the spindle inside, drawing the strap through the opening at the apex. then securing the bottom flaps with buttons and a needle laced latch, your spindle and spun yarn is safe and secure from knocks and bumps.

i had sized the cosy based on the jay drop spindle, but i'm thinking it could easily fit the larger swan drop spindle as well. i'll know in a week or so. i'm thinking the idea for this came from looking at the new tea triangles which are slowly replacing tea bags. yum, tea...

in all their variety

i was searching through my ribbon drawers to find material for my latest eyepatch, and started sorting them a little better (purple in the pink drawer! peach which should be in the orange drawer! is this brown?!). the aubergine ribbons looked particularly lovely, so i had to take a snapshot of them. i love the dusky cornflower running into deepest amethyst, with the areas of mauve and fuchsia playing amuck along the borders. so many colours get filed under one name; there's such diversity to them, they're all deserving of being distinguished.

here's a sneak peek of my 5th eyepatch, it has something to do with ribbons...

just what was needed

yay! the bathroom is now finished (or as finished as any room ever is). i've installed the bidet and toilet, along with a toilet paper stand. the toilet paper stand is a reclaimed fireplace tool holder, painted chrome, and now holding a roll of tp.

the only adjustments i needed to make was paint the bidet and toilet a warmer white. now they match well with the sink and bathtub. i keep thinking the space feels a little big, but if the roof were in place, it would be quite snug, so i won't drive myself kooky thinking about it.

the day was coming to an end, the skies loosing the light of the sun, so the photos are not as crisp as i like. i will take new ones tomorrow.

weekend fun addendum

i spun up two of the batts i carded at the workshop. the batt formerly known as clown vomit was plied with a white alpaca. it was a definite learning experience. i spun it on my ancient flax wheel (which is quite the finicky beast when it comes to spinning anything thicker than fingering, and you can just about forget spinning fat and thin singles) and it may have taken me a few hours. i try not to think of it. the plying was done on a drop spindle (again, the ancient ones' fault, as it absolutely refuses to spin counter-clockwise). not that i don't enjoy plying on a drop spindle, but it is a little awkward to try any fancy art plying. but, in the end, i really like the color play and softness of the yarn.

after borrowing my good friend's schacht matchless spinning wheel, i spun up the purple batt, plied it, and was skeining in about an hour. wee! it's quite lovely, and i really like the flashes of purple silk and amethyst corriedale locks. another lesson learnt; it is true that you shouldn't mix differing lengths of fiber when creating a batt, as the longer fibers all but disappear while spinning (much like a corespun, with the longer fibers acting the part of the core).

weaving plums and purples

i love the look of entrelac knitting, but don't feel like having a lap full of wool right now. so, instead, i decided to work on some weaving. i chose to mimic the feel of entrelac by using an m's and o's pattern, which created a lovely texture.

looking at my yarn stash, i found several purple hues in my wool box; enough for a shawl. the body of the piece is a tweed wool that has a bit of stretch to it, along with some cochineal dyed merino i did while in japan, grey bamboo, and plumy alpaca (which decided it wasn't going to shrink at all once i fulled the finished piece).

for the shawl ends i finished them by starting and ending the weft with a chain stitch, and tying the warp threads into chunky tassels. i'm very happy with this finish and will use it again.

dyeing haze

some of my dyeing efforts on wool roving are complete, so i carded them together for a particularly lovely batting to spin; two greyish purple shades of logwood, three shades of kamala, and one beige shade of lichen. i was hoping the lichen would be more pink, as the densely packed ammonia soaked lichen concoction was a bright pink, and at first i simmered it on low for an hour (resulting in the palest tan), then let it soak in fresh dyestuff for two weeks (only to get a slightly darker beige).

but the bluer logwood came out lovely, and the sunny strength of the kamala is nice. i threw in some purple sparkle while i was spinning to add some charm, and i quickly discovered that it is quite fun to add things while spinning. i would love to try some core-spinning, but the orifice of my old saxony wheel is too narrow to allow it. i wonder if it is possible to core spin with a drop spindle?

these colors are lovely, but i miss the sheen of silk, and the slightly more intense colors that fiber seems to acquire while dyeing. well, i shall carry on!

little weavings

i've been struggling with my last couple of warps. i get an image in my head, not clear or precise, just go with it, and put planning aside. pretty much just warping first and thinking about the weft later. with this set of weavings it worked out well, as i was able to experiment with a variety of warp threads and techniques.

using a fine paper yarn and a strip of bunny fur created a light, tiny weave with open spaces woven in silk. i need to frame this one, but am still working on that part.

this one was a mixture of kasuri remnants from a previous piece; very speckled.

the curly weft threads all but lost the linen warp, which is cool, as it brought focus to the pile weavings. it was quite fun to try these surface embellishments, hopefully i can use them in future pieces.

linen on linen can be boring, but the pattern really comes through, and the shots of cochineal dyed cotton add interest.

this yellow thread was really fun, so chunky, and made the pattern huge compared to the first one. i played with some pile weaves and a chain stitch like weave in purple yarn.

there was a tiny bit of warp left, so i finished off with some cottolin and bamboo.

i have another linen warp now on the loom, but i'm a little lost as to what weft will be going on it. i had wanted to use a tsumugi silk yarn, but it completely overwhelms the warp, so i need to do some planning. i shall spin some wool, and think some more.

decaying beauty

after a month of loveliness, my orchid blooms grow weary and fall; their beauty all the more fragile and delicate.

off the loom

i'm trying to work on my backgrounds, and thought the grey color of the aged wood would help the creamy color of this scarf pop better. but today was a bit sunny, and no matter how i hoped for some clouds to filter the light of the sun it was all in vain; so i think the contrast is a little too much. better luck for tomorrow, i hear there'll be rain! but hopefully not before i can take more photos of my freshly woven scarf.

inlay and boil, boil, boil

beginning work on a new weaving. i wanted to try out an inlay technique where the ends are left free to create a pile; i haven't any clue what it's called, i just saw it somewhere and thought it looked neat. i hope the piece will turn out well, it's hard to really know until you remove it from the loom.

this piece also gave me an opportunity to use my new obi shuttles which i bought while in kyoto. one thing is for sure, they make doing inlay incredibly easy. and they're just so gosh darn cute!

i came across a passage in an old dye book about using mistletoe to get a deep green. in town there's a group of juvenile trees which have mistletoe growing low enough to cut without needing a ladder. so today, while grocery shopping i collected some mistletoe. then, after separating the leaves from the branches, i boiled the stems for an hour. tomorrow i'll boil the leaves, then i'll compare how much dyestuff i get from them. i think three different dye experiments will be good to do; the stems, the leaves, then a 50/50 combo of both. for once, i think i'll do a lightfast test as well; if the dye passes that, and creates a lovely green, i'll be happy.

two for the season

i went to provide hydration for one of my orchids when i happened to notice a fairly good sized bloom unfurling from one i've had for years. not that it's unexpected for things like this to happen, but this one has never even shown an interest in blooming, let alone a flower stem. i'm very excited and wonder if it will stay awhile or be one of those "fly by nighters". this will be the second orchid within the last year that has bloomed out of the blue, i think somethings up. hmm. oh well, a mystery, and meanwhile i'll continue to enjoy the exotic presence of a flowering orchid.

when one is never enough

my little collection of nail polish. and yes, that pink really is that bright. as you can see, i tend to favor the cooler shades. i don't wear polish on my hands, as between work and all the other things i use them for they would quickly become sad, but toes are another thing.

what is your favorite color on your nails?

many colored things

closing up our guild year (we break for summer), we dyed warp yarns on a dock out at tybee island. for the last dye project i used greens and yellows, so this time i decided to play with a cooler group of colors, mostly blues and purples.

i painted areas with fuchsia, lavender, teal, midnight blue, and mixtures thereof. the lovely thing about this is that as it soaked in the washing soda the colors merged and blended together a bit, making a less intense and harmonious whole.

this is my first warp, and i have plans to create a rag rug as a learning project. there were many long strips of white cotton fabric from a project i am assisting in that would weave up beautifully. i think, perhaps, i will also combine these two elements with some pale blue yarn i purchased awhile back.

i am excited to see what we will create in the next fiber guild year, as the short time i have been involved has been a good thing for me, both through new experiences learned and creativity expressed.

planting color

i'll be the first to admit that i haven't much of a green thumb. some would say, black; or at least grey. my orchids have survived, for the most part. however, putting aside all that, today was a day to dig your hands into soil, rip roots loose, and arrange heights and colors in a container of clay.

we have a front porch that sits mainly in the sun, which perhaps makes it seem barren and harsh on the best of days. it's nice to sit out there once the sun falls behind the house, but at that point the mosquitoes become your bosom buddy. i've learned that the little blood suckers absolutely abhor lavender. so to my way of thinking, "lets plant lots of lavender on the front porch, thus fending off the mosquitoes". lavender loves the sun, anyways.

so into the neighborhood big box garden store, which of course, did not have a stem of lavender. but oh, there were lots of pretty smelling flowers. so i started grabbing plants which met three requirements: strong scent, either pinky purple or yellow green flowers, and of course differing heights. so these were the groupings i put together when we arrived home. i hope they like their new neighbors. this is definitely new to me, you know, gardening. better luck tomorrow as we go a'hunting for that lavender!