Charkha

The Mahatma Centennial Charkha I ordered from New World Textiles has arrived. Let the play begin!

Spinning cotton on the charkha is much easier than I expected. It will take some time and practice to get good at spinning a consistent thickness and twist, but after watching the basic beginner portion of the "Spinning Cotton on the Charkha" DVD I was able to produce a passable cotton thread. 

Yesterday a friend dropped off a stash of cotton that she is no longer interested in spinning -- 

-- and I also received over a pound of cotton that I ordered. Lots to keep me busy for quite some time!

Guardian of the Blackberries

Out on a walk by the Blue Heron Reserve my granddaughter discovered this beauty while looking for a handful of the first ripe blackberries.

Three For One

I entered 3 hand woven items in the exhibit at the ANWG (Association of Northwest Weaver's Guilds) Convergence 2019 held last month in Prince George and I did far better than I expected. My "What Rubbish" jacket won three different awards!

The awards ribbons from left to right are:

"Other Techniques, Best in Show"

"Recycled Yarn(s)/Fabric(s)"

"Other Techniques, "People's Choice"

Cash prizes were provided by:

The Portland Hand Weaver's Guild, 

The South Cariboo Weaver's Spinner's and Fibre Artists,

and The Shuswap Spinner's and Weaver's Guild

I've decided to use the cash prizes to buy a Mahatma Centennial Charkha and embark on the new adventure of learning to spin cotton. The charkha will be arriving soon, but it may be awhile before the cotton I also ordered arrives.

The members of the Tzouhalem Spinner's and Weaver's Guild did such a beautiful job of the handmade award ribbons that I decided to frame them and display them in my weaving room. 

The awards ribbons from left to right are:

Hand knit from handspun silk.

Tablet woven by hand and beaded.

Handwoven in fine cotton in an intricate pattern.

A big thank you goes out to the many people who worked so hard to make Convergence 2019 a success.

Bloggable Gift

I finished this little set up just before I left for ANWG but I was reluctant to blog about it until the gift was opened by the recipient. It is a "set" of sorts for a grand-nephew. He was born months ago so it won't be long until he is able to wear it. I hope the fit will be okay come fall when the weather is cooler!

The sweater is the "Gingersnap Cardigan", knit using a free pattern by Kristen Rettig. Fun, easy knit!

The hat was from an unrelated pattern, the "Sweet and Simple Baby Hat", a free pattern by Debbie Bodner. To help it better coordinate with the cardigan I added matching stripes and concealed the joins using the technique described in the free "Jogless-Join Stripes Baby Hat" pattern by Larissa Gregorin.

The hat might end up being too small by the time the cardigan fits. It was a bit of a guessing game. I chose a cardigan pattern and a hat pattern that were both for "12 months", but of course head to body proportions may vary! 

The little pants were super fun to create. Using "Jalie 3243" as a starting point I cut the pieces from the "good" sections of my husband's old, cast off, brown denim work shirt. 

I then added layers of patches and a variety of Sashiko stitching and distressed them a little by scrubbing with sandpaper. 

I'm really happy with the way they turned out!

Meet Bella

This active little girl is "Bella". I found her today at PetsMart. I went out specifically looking for a light coloured betta (easier to see in my tank) that had shorter fins. Although longer finned male bettas can be stunningly beautiful they are weighed down by all that finnage and eventually become very sedentary spending most of their time stuck to the filter intake to rest. I wanted a fish that would be active and fun to watch so I was looking for either a plackat male or some sort of light or colourful female.

I've heard that the female fish are more active in general anyway. This little girl, with her white/clear colouring with red and black spots, may carry the marble gene. If that's the case she could colour up very nicely. We'll see. Anyway, she is definitely fulfilling the "active" requirement.

My Walking Buddies

Five days a week I enjoy walking with my buddies. Always the fur-girl on the left. Often the handsome fellow on the right too.

We're extremely fortunate to live in such a beautiful area.

With the perfect mix of sunshine and a little rain the foliage at the Blue Heron Reserve has really closed in! 

Long Necked Patchy

Since I'm bringing three exhibits to ANWG and all three present best on a mannequin, I contacted the organizers to see if they could use more mannequins if I brought them. The answer was "Yes!".

I had one store mannequin of my own, I borrowed another just like it from a fellow guild member, and then asked at a guild meeting for permission to also borrow the one pictured above. The trouble with the one above was that she was in a rather sad state of disrepair. She had some rather large chips missing from the exterior surface and, upon close inspection, I realized that several more spots were about to go as well. It wouldn't be a simple matter of just spray painting her since chunks were flaking away and peeling off.

I decided (with permission) to paper mache over her completely in an attempt to hold her together. Newly completed she's still wet and shiny. She should dry matte.

My husband has commented several times that she looks "vein-y" now. Do you think I should spray paint her? I kind of like her the way she is, sort of rustic looking.

Hardly Rubbish

I'm thrilled with the way this project has turned out. It is not perfect, there are flaws, but I still think it is beautiful. It is also an extremely comfortable and comforting jacket to wear. I love it!

I'm entering the jacket at the 2019 ANWG Conference being held in Prince George, BC, where the theme is "Confluence" and the organizers are encouraging entrants to combine other talents and interests with their weaving. I've chosen to combine my interest in recycling, weaving, sewing, embroidery, and Sashiko (a Japanese form of running stitch embroidery). 

Entrants are required to title their exhibits. I've chosen "What Rubbish" for mine in reference to the recycled denim (strips used in the weaving), recycled bedsheet (used for lining), leftover weaving cotton (used for the Sashiko), and inherited embroidery floss (used for the marigold flowers). All of these materials would usually be thrown away adding to our planet's growing pollution problem. I say, "What rubbish!". 

Change Of Plans

I'm now working on the lining for the special project I mentioned at the end of April, the one made of yardage woven from denim strips.

The way the jacket is made the front panels fold back to form a lapel effect and this exposes the lining. I decided to embellish the exposed area of the lining with Sashiko embroidery in the Higaki (Cypress Fence) pattern. Wanting to break up the monotony of the brick like pattern I added a few small flowers I drew myself.  

When the Sashiko was complete I could see that the flower outlines would definitely need some further defining. They were lost in the background of Higaki patterning. (See top portion of the photo). Before work began I suspected this might be the case and had a backup plan to use fabric paint to fill in the flowers. A practice piece made me realize that fabric paints were just not going to work. 

After a couple more false starts, experimenting and casting aside various ideas, I came up with the idea of filling the flowers in with a solid blending stitch known as "long and short stitch". I chose a range of golden yellows so as to not clash with the background Sashiko. As I was working the blending stitch my husband mentioned that they looked like marigolds. I agreed. With the addition of a centre of deeper gold french knots I think they look just like this particular marigold variety.

Nature's Sparkles

I received a wonderful Kaiser Baas X400 Action Camera for Christmas with the idea that it would be used to capture moments from our kayaking trips. In it's special case it's waterproof.

 Months later we're finally able to get out on the water to use it for the first time! I just let it run on until the memory card was depleted. I've trimmed one of the video segments to show you my favourite moments from today's trip to Hick's Lake, BC.

I marvelled at Mother Nature's spectacular light show upon the water. As I learn how the camera works and how to better edit the videos (sorry about the sloping horizon line!) I hope to have better snippets to offer.

Testing Testing

A peek or two at what I'm working on now.

The weaving was done quite some time ago, years perhaps. It's denim strips woven alternately with picks of an indigo dyed cotton yarn.

With the ANWG Conference (Association of North West Weaver's Guilds) coming up in June I've decided to make something of the fabric and submit it for exhibition. No guarantee that it will be accepted of course, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

These photos are just teasers. Some experimenting, trial and error and testing of ideas is going on.

The above is a testing muslin for a bound pocket. It's not perfect but I learned a few things I can carry over to the real project.

More Hats Than Heads

I always tease my baseball hat collecting son that he has far more hats than he has heads. Seems I'm getting that way myself. I'm now storing 4 hats on just 2 wicker heads.

After a lifetime of never wearing hats I've been told, in a roundabout way, that I must wear a hat when outdoors. Yes, in part it is for sun protection after a bit of a problem with a "precancerous lesion" that needed treatment, but mostly it has to do with my eyes. My eyes are very sensitive to the sun but if I wear polarized sunglasses I find that direct sunlight on the lenses makes it difficult to see anything! I have to have some sort of hat visor overhanging the sunglasses.

I've written before about the "Upcycled Hat" made of denim patches. That was the first one. It fit so well and worked so well for my purposes that I went on to sew the black velveteen one later on. It's great in the winter but rather hot when it's not chilly out. Then came the white one with denim trim. I don't think I blogged about that one? I was hoping it would be a bit cooler, but nope. I guess with my volume of hair any hat at all is HOT.

I've added yet another hat to my growing collection. The wildly patterned pink/orange/purple hat was sewn from a loosely woven cotton tablecloth I found on sale at Value Village for $3. It's a little cooler and lighter than the others.

All four are sewn using my go to pattern, the "Gardening Hat" from "Happy Hats and Cool Caps". At one time the book was available for 1 cent plus shipping but I see it has gone up in price.

Pincushions

Ever since a boring old store bought pincushion fell apart on me, scattering sawdust power everywhere, I've been wanting to make myself not just one, but three new ones.

I ended up with six, which is a bit of overkill, but I was on a roll and thought I might as well use up the main fabric.

I used the "My Favorite Pincushion Pattern" by Darcy Ashton and made four in the Jumbo size and two cute little miniatures. The decorative "leaves" on the larger ones are cut from felted wool fabric and then appliqued in place using Ashton's well written instructions. The additional embellishing stitches are my own touch, done in a unplanned sort of way.

Why do I need three pincushions? Because in my sewing and embroidery work I use three different types of straight pins, each with a specific purpose and I don't like getting them intermingled. 

My two favourite types of pins have heads that will not melt when they come in contact with a hot iron. The extra-fine glasshead pins are excellent when sewing fine fabrics. They slide through the fabric easily and are less inclined to leave holes in delicate material. The heavier stainless steel pins on the right are my go to for any heavier fabric like canvas or denim and when working with multiple layers that tend to bend the lighter pins. I do have the new-fangled clips but find I still need pins for anything that requires securing away from an edge. Cheap pins, like the multi-coloured ones at the top of the picture, will go in the third cushion. I use those when I'm stitching away from home, taking classes as there is a good chance I will lose some. They are garbage, with plastic heads that melt, but they are easily replaced.

All links in my posts are there only for your convenience. I do NOT receive reimbursement in any way if you use them.

7 More Minis

While I've been working on a few other creative projects around here my 4 inch minis slipped to the wayside for a bit, but I'd like to get back to them as soon as possible.

It's only been a few days but already I really miss that quiet, creative time after dinner, just me and my stitching.

In the meantime here are 7 more that have been completed since I last posted about Stitching Meditations.

These are all done with no preplanning. I just dig through my scraps and see what happens.

The mini shown below is actually the worn out elbow section of one of my husbands denim shirts. It is overlapping a section of a worn out, ancient old handkerchief. Peeking through that you can just see the plaid flannel from a shirt that is used as a backing to all of my recent squares.

The bright orange mini below is the corner from a sarong I cut up for a scarf I showed recently. It is sewn to a thrifted linen blend fabric that was used as an inexpensive "muslin" for a trial pattern that failed so never quite made it as a bloggable sewing project. 

This last mini is a strip of that same bright orange-red linen blend fabric laid in a wandering path over a square of the duvet fabric I used in my heavily embroidered Les Etoiles tunic.

There will be more. Probably many more. Perhaps one day they will find themselves attached in groups to a backing and displayed somewhere where the details can be seen. 

Squirrel!

Squirrel! This project takes its name from the calendar picture I used as colour inspiration. 

The photo was a birthday gift given to me by my nine year old granddaughter.

I'm very pleased with the way this Nobius Cowl turned out. "Nobius" is a name given by a Saori Weaving forum member to a mobius cowl that has no twist and therefor doesn't have the classic mobius shape. I prefer mine without the twist since they look about the same when worn but are easier to fold and store flat. 

My home is decorated in the colours present in the cowl, but they aren't colours I wear, so once the year end guild luncheon with it's "photo inspiration challenge" is over I'll be selling it. I sell them for $75 - $80 Canadian, usually at the Chilliwack Christmas Craft Market in November. 

Minis

I've slid down another crafting rabbit hole. Are you surprised? It seems every textile art I ever experiment with grabs me and consumes me at least for a time. 

These are 4 inch "Stitch Meditations" I've been working on the past few days. 

The idea is to simply spend some time relaxing and stitching, without planning, without perfection, and without an end purpose. It's about the process, not the end product.

According to the description statement of a related Facebook group "this process was developed by Liz Kettle to help develop a creative mindfulness practice that is simple and easy to implement."

I have definitely found that this sort of small daily practice spurs creativity, not just for that which is related to embroidery but in every creative arena.

Stitch Meditations with Liz Kettle from Liz Kettle on Vimeo.

Back at the Loom

After a long hiatus my Creative Muse has finally led me back to the loom.

My weaving room was a mess so I had been avoiding going in there even though a deadline for a guild year end challenge to "use a photo as inspiration for a project" was getting closer. I could have spent hours looking for just the right traditionally "pretty" photo for the challenge, but in an effort to tidy my weaving space I came across this calendar picture given to me by my youngest granddaughter for my last birthday. Spontaneously I thought, "Sure, why not?", and selected it as my inspiration photo for the guild challenge.

That was yesterday. That evening I chose yarns from my stash using colours from the photo to guide my selection and then wound a warp. Today I got the warp sleyed and threaded and then beamed and tensioned on the loom.

This afternoon I wove the entire length for a mobius scarf. Even I was surprised at how fast that went!

I'm not yet finished the weaving. There is still the "catch and turn" to do. That's an interesting little maneuver where the  beginning of the warp is freed, the warp is caught under the apron rod and  retensioned, and then all those beginning warp ends are woven into the end as weft. Tricky, but turns out great. I'll be doing that tomorrow.

Once the project is cut from the loom it still must be "wet set" (washed and pressed), and all the little end tails trimmed, inclusions tacked down, and fringe twisted. I'll be back in a few days to show you the finished scarf. Although the soft greys, beiges, cream and soft gold look lovely together they are not "my" colours at all so it will eventually be for sale. 

Another Upcycle Sewing Project

I've been enjoying doing some "upcycle" sewing projects lately. Repurposing textiles that have been donated to thrift stores keeps them from the landfills and that in turn protects our planet from the abuse of the excess textile manufacturing that goes into today's "fast fashion", mass produced clothing not designed to last more than one season. 

I found a lovely, brand new, blue/black, high quality, polished 100% cotton sheet at a local thrift store. I sewed it up into a Les Etoiles tunic (pattern by BMannbyBridget) and a pair of pull on pants (pattern Jalie 3243). I quite like the pair worn together. They look kind of elegant in an easy fitting, comfortable sort of way.

I had originally intended to wear it with this short handwoven tabard  I made long ago, but the colourful tabard was not really made to fit over a tunic that is loose and flowing. It pulls the tunic in and makes it bunch up. I do love the splash of colour it gives the otherwise monotone outfit though.