wings
summer is flying by
on the daphne
right side
underside
don’t you love the delicate border?
loves the oregano
hanging out at the Art Gallery – I wonder if that is allowed?
just hanging out
another edging fringe
is it a Monarch? – it is well camouflaged – can you see it?
we’re not on the flight path
bye for now
defeat!
gathering and tying the shibori threads
they need to be tight – very tight
the gathering threads need to be strong but soft so they don’t hurt your hands
ten dips in the indigo gave a nice dark colour
the fabric is soft and has a nice drape
the dye migrated along the draw-up threads and left an interesting pattern on the selvedges
but not what I wanted
I’ve now woven another 1 1/2 yards – every inch was a struggle
this time the problem is caused by the threads that were initially wound two together in the balls
I thought I had dealt with this when the warp was measured – apparently not
they are becoming increasingly twisted (plied together) as I advance the weaving
they are breaking at the heddles and it is impossible to make a workable shed
time to admit defeat
stop wasting time and energy
and – move on!
an update
there is absolutely no point in wasting time messing around when you know the problem is not going to go away
so after a morning of procrastination
decision made
you can see the problem – the tension on the entire center section of warp threads suddenly became VERY tight
what is concerning is – I don’t know why and will it happen again?
get on with it and start over
just have to hope the new length will be long enough
the cut off piece has a beautiful drape
I’ll pull up the pink threads and dye it in the indigo
progress is slow
exhausting the dye pots
just for fun – previously dyed
onion skins and then lac – topped dyed with indigo
indigo top dyed with madder/cochineal
the next step – first with onion skins – day glow yellow
cooled down with the madder/cochineal
think they can still be seen in the dark!
natural dyes on silk – trying to stretch out the small quantities of colour
the woven shibori is slow
winding two threads from a single ball is even slower, tedious and frustrating
it is a wonderful summer for hollyhocks
freezing the flowers to dye with
everything takes time.
work well done
it is very rewarding to have enthusiastic students
Kathy went home the first day and stitched her table runner
the indigo and natural linen are beautiful together
Kathy’s stitched sun burst on linen
more circles by Erin
years ago, at a garage sale I bought a can of steel ball bearings
tied into the cloth and dyed, the iron in the rusting balls acts as a modifier
they take on a glow from the dyes and become miniature sculptures
Erin tied them into a small piece of wool felt, dyed it in onion skins
retied the piece
and over dyed in indigo – smashing!
Kathy folded her felt piece and board clamped it
it went into the madder/cochineal pot
simmered for an hour, sat in the pot overnight
simmered again in the morning for 2 1/2 hours
after I got my act together and remembered to turn on the heat!
don’t think we could ever re-create the results, it seems the cochineal migrated to one area (the purple)
a lovely surprise.
Jan is happy with her onion skins on cotton
a pause to examine the progress
Erin’s arashi shibori on linen
a second piece – first dyed in onion skins, taken off the pole, rewrapped and overdyed in indigo
the back
Heather’s long-sleeved cotton shirt was interesting to wrapped
the pole was inside the shirt with the sleeves held beside the length while tying
the front
the mother-of-pearl buttons also dyed in the indigo
Heather had fun but she didn’t model it for us!
Arlene resist tied (with plastic ikat tape) a skein of silk, dyed it in the madder/cochineal pot
changed the ties and dyed in indigo – over the madder and on the white resisted area
it will be fun to see what she weaves with the silk
she also dyed woven tapes she uses for hanging loops on tea towels
and some cotton indigo skeins
think everyone went home happy.
shibori – day 2
wow! what a weekend
this is to prove I was actually there – that’s me standing
photo courtesy of Heather
the weather was better so we spent the day outside
the indigo was strong and the colour good
there was also a pot of onion skin yellow
and another of madder root/cochineal
the amount of work 5 people can accomplish in 4 hours – and have a great deal of fun
is astonishing
at the end of the day Tripper came to pick up Heather
don’t think he was impressed
stand by for the details tomorrow
my day started at 6:00am
I woke to the sound of loud shouting – when I opened the curtain I was nose to nose with a man trying to get into my bedroom
on some levels this might be open to jokes – not this time
he ran off to a neighbour’s , as I was about to phone the police another neighbour was jumping into his car with cell phone in hand
I assumed the problem was being dealt with – never assume anything!
I put breakfast on, made tea
went out to water the indigo, but he was still in the neighbour’s yard (they were away for the weekend)
I called the police, they arrived in minutes
as the news people like to say “he was known to them”
they quietly and gently talked him out to their vehicle
I’m a retired psychiatric nurse, I’d already made an on the spot diagnosis
the young man was seriously in medical crisis
the police phoned with an update, they already knew his family details and promised to make sure he got the care he needed
all I can say is I’m thankful to live where I do – no guns were drawn – and hopefully all will be well
the very few times I’ve had to deal with my local police I’ve been positively impressed
thanks guys and gals for keeping us safe.
blue shibori
all of British Columbia has been experiencing a heat wave
there are major forest fires burning in the interior of the province
last night was a big wind and this morning overcast, much cooler and threatening rain
day one of my introduction to shibori workshop
we started tying and stitching in the studio
a bit crowded but everyone set to work
Kathy and Joanne have done this before
Joanne wanted stripes
she ironed narrow vertical pleats in her cloth and then tied them firmly every inch
carefully removing the ties
drying on the line
this was simple, reasonably quick and very interesting
her undershirt was a success, too
Erin had never done shibori before, she started out a bit hesitantly and then got going
she’ll be back tomorrow so she is doing maximum dips in the indigo
Kathy has been here before
she dyed heavy cotton canvas to make a bag
stitched taupe coloured linen for a table runner
and then a length of woven shibori, cotton warp and rayon weft
she used nylon line for the shibori threads and found it wouldn’t pull up tightly
after it was gathered she simmered it for 20 minutes, hopefully the pleats will stay in the fabric
she is delighted with the results
this was Jan’s first time 
I really like the border she stitched around the cotton napkin
dyeing over a printed cotton is very interesting
pole wrapped wool felt
the weather brightened up and we were able to work outside in the afternoon
more tomorrow
