Steady Work Is Good

This is Saturday.  My studio is Open to the Public, as it has been on Saturdays for the last month.  Signs out on the street, and at the top of the path down to my door.  This place is off the beaten path of the village of Freeland, so folks don't just automatically pass by; I have to entice them.  A few have come today, but no buyers.  Still, they're interested by the process, and attracted to the product.  They won't forget . . . .

The series of photos below shows the beginning of the "Merlot" scarves.  A deep wine 100% bamboo, shown first on the cone, then measured out as a nine-yard warp on the warping board, enough for four scarves, each with a different weft and pattern.  Related, but nowhere near identical -- the story of my weaving life.

Looking at the threaded and tensioned warp from the back of the loom -- an interesting perspective on threads and heddles, which gives a wee hint of the curvature of the threading sequence.

Contrast that with this, the backside view of the "Summer Nights" series, now nearly finished:

That's a simple 12-shaft point twill threading, on which I've been weaving quite complex advancing twill treadlings, to make long motifs that interlock both horizontally and vertically.  Hard to see on all that color and texture, but it all peeks out when the light hits it just right.

That's the second of the three scarves, as it moves along its trajectory to the cloth beam at the back of the loom,

and this is the third (and last) one, still in process, with the pattern partially visible and the high-tech measuring device at the left edge.

The Summer Nights series will be done Monday, and off the loom for washing and detailing (as I call the rest of the process of getting them ready to be sold).  The Merlot series will certainly be done before the end of the year, and probably well before at the rate it's going.  The next warps for both looms are all planned and the patterns designed, so that the empty-loom time will be minimal.  I'm on a roll these days now that all the seasonal shows are done, and life in general seems to be slowing down -- in keeping with the season -- and I'm going to ride this wave while it's still carrying me so splendidly.  Time later on for some goofing off, which will allow me to catch up on a hefty backlog of reading.

Slowing Down At Last

For the past several weeks, my pace has been faster and more relentless than I would have chosen.  Lots of good things going on -- shows, family here for Thanksgiving, the needs of an increasingly incapacitated husband, and spending time at the looms to Make Stuff.  With the exception of one more gig on the 17th -- a local (Freeland area) artists' open studio day -- my public events are over with.  And a good thing too, as I've had enough, and am tired of being ON while longing for long stretches of quiet attentive time at my work.  Lots of new ideas beginning to swarm in my mind, and several commissions to work on during the winter.

Above are some shots of work on the "Hot Stuff" series -- first, the seven yards on the warping board (three scarves worth), then the width of the warp as it came off the warp beam at the back of the loom, and finally a portion of #1 in the series in process, woven with a turquoise bamboo.  #2 was woven with a red-purple tencel, and #3 with a dusty orange tencel.  They were snapped up at the Anne X 2 studio sale on Thanksgiving weekend.

 Above is "Summer Nights" on the warping board; again seven yards, enough for three scarves.  And just below is the same warp, up close and personal so as to see the lovely bumpies in the yarn.

 Summer Nights coming off the warp beam, under tension, all threaded with tension adjusted and ready to weave up front.  Below is the first scarf as it wends its way toward the cloth beam.  The warp is a hand-dyed rayon/cotton with wonderful slubs; the weft for this first piece is a deep purple pearl cotton.

 The second scarf in the series is begun, but no photos taken yet.  That'll be tomorrow, I think, and yes I promise to share.  Right now I'm going to go play with some new patterns I've been developing in my mind, see if I can make them work in the design software.