Getting Ready for The Fiber Festival of New England

 Readying my pre-felts!

 The Winter Craft Fair for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County begins tomorrow, 11/14!  Please navigate to the page about the Fair and follow the link which will go live at 12 am.

Busy Days

 

Hand Made Beads waiting to be incorporated into my own style of Fiber Jewelry   

I look forward to having my booth at the Fiber Festival of New England each November.  After many years of enjoying shopping at the delightful juried Winter Craft Fair for Big Brothers Big Sisters here in Northampton MA, I finally gathered up the courage to apply for a booth.  And I was accepted!  And then... CHD made the appropriate decision that going through with the fair would not be safe.  Eventually the Fiber Festival of New England made the same decision.  

But... there was the opportunity to participate in the online Winter Craft Fair for Big Brothers Big Sisters which will run November 14 through 22.  I initially thought I should sit this out.  I hadn't listed anything in my Etsy shop for years.  None of my creations were photographed.  I needed to set up and stock an online shop in a very short time, linking it with a commerce site to accept credit card payments.  All that I had was the last item; I accept cc payments through Square.  The last few weeks have been spent in finishing up my offerings and taking dozens of photos.  I have a long way to go but plan to have my Online shop open November 14.  More information about the Winter Craft Fair for Big Brothers Big Sisters will be posted here soon. 

Many people can identify one or two personal silver linings in experiencing  this pandemic.  For me, if all goes well, a major positive outcome will be an online shop presence!

Pulling it All Together for The Fiber Festival of New England this weekend!

In addition to my usual selection of pre-felts, I'm adding just a few that are more than one color.  Here's one.  There are only six or eight so come early if you like this!

Handwoven towels!

Silk scarves, botanically printed, all with local materials either from my garden or Mother Nature.

Jewelry.  I include fiber in some form (cloth, paper, yarn, wood) in every piece.  

Even the connections in most pieces are hand-made.

Finally a variegated yarn close-out.  My light sport yarn, spun from the wool of local sheep including my own, hand dyed by me... at a crazy $5.00 per skein!   I need room in my studio and do not want to bring it home!

Hoping to see you at The Fiber Festival of New England, Booth 255 West!

An Inspiring Story: They “Searched for a leader, but the leader was me.” (John Legend)

The Thursdays: Semifinals 2017; credit to Sara Yood

Go ahead and open the first link  below while you read this.

I should be writing an entry that has something to do with the subject of this blog, which I haven’t touched in months.  I should be working on my taxes.  I should be cleaning the house.  It’s a nice day; I should be picking up the  evidence outdoors that three dogs live here.  I should be clearing a space in my studio for …oops… another loom that’s on its way.  I should be weaving (yes, I have been weaving).

Instead I have succumbed to committing to virtual paper a story- with music-that dominates me these days.  At a party yesterday I saw several old friends whom I hadn’t seen in years and we all took time to exchange news about ourselves and our families. Right now this story is my biggest news.  I decided to get it all down here so that my old friends can follow the links.  

My daughter Amanda teaches vocal music in Chelmsford Massachusetts, a large town that you pass through if you drive on I-495 north of the Mass Pike.  She has taught there for three or four years and introduced a cappella to her students.  A group of students came together to become The Thursdays and they sound good.  So good that they entered the International Championship of High School A Cappella.  Early last fall Amanda presented The Thursdays with a number of songs from which the group chose their set for the competition.  Rehearsing began.

Election Day came and went; The Thursdays continued to rehearse their set.  Just before Christmas vacation they approached Amanda to say that they needed a new set.  Their set had to express how they are feeling about the world these days.   Amanda quickly searched for a few songs that were a bit edgier; The Thursdays chose their songs and over the Christmas break Amanda worked on arrangements.

The quarterfinals for this competition were held on February 11th and The Thursdays came in first.  On March 11 they went on to the Northeast Semifinals… and placed first.  Now it’s on to the Nationals which will occur April 21 at Town Hall In New York City.  How will they do?  Amanda is just proud that her students will participate, and that they searched their souls and had the courage to make a change in their set based on what they found in that search.

So here is a link to their performance at Semifinals last weekend, caught perhaps on someone’s smartphone.  The audio quality is good but not perfect.  If you’re like me and want to really hear every bit of the lyrics… and the lyrics are as powerful as the music… I’m also providing links to recordings of two of the three songs in the medley below.  I believe that the artists in these recordings are the artists that originated the songs.  And one is Bob Dylan.

The Thursdays: ICHSA Semifinals 2017   

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall   Bob Dylan                 

If You're Out There        John Legend

Rigid Heddling

This summer I'm working at what for me are extremes.  I've enjoyed very simple weaving on one of my (now three) rigid heddle looms.  I like them because some of them (the ones with narrower weaving widths) are very portable.  A project can be kept in a tote bag anywhere; if I'm ready to begin my workday but have ten extra minutes I can squeeze in a little weaving right now.  They're great for weaving with yarn that is expensive because there is minimal yarn waste.  And as long as there's no hurry, it's a rewarding way to weave something with beautiful yarn because I believe that you're handling the yarn more with this type of loom.  And lastly, if other aspects of one's life, including other weaving projects, are complex... it's nice to have the simplicity of a rigid heddle loom project for unplugged, restful weaving.

Speaking of complexity, I recently purchased Fiberworks for Mac and am picking (literally) my way through learning how the program can help me.  More on that later.

Back to rigid heddle weaving.  The project above was being woven on a new-to-me eight inch Ashford Sampleit loom.  This was my most recent RH loom acquisition, bought because I believe that it is the most portable of the RH looms.  A part of what I mean by portability is the ability to be able to weave with the loom on my lap without the use of a table edge for a prop.  I wove my project on my boat, outdoors overlooking the garden, and at my desk (this time propped) right in front of the desk top to be sure I'd stop when it was time to leave for work.  

I do find, however, that when the loom is flat on my lap it's not as easy as I'd like to get the heddle into the lowered position because the lower edge of the heddle bumps into my thighs.  So... a minute or two with a pool noodle and a bread knife took care of that little complaint.  If you look carefully in the top photo you can see the blue pool noodle.  It fits right in the bag with my loom so all is good.

My project was what I call a mini mobi: a small mobius scarf.  I find many scarves overwhelming: too long, too wide, flopping and falling.  Long snuggly scarves are great for outerwear on a cold blustery day, but for indoors I like a mobius that is just large enough to fit over my head.  The warp yarn for this scarf was purchased in 2011 and put aside until I could come up with a project that would really spotlight its colors.  It is 60% merino and 40% silk from Biltmore Wool Barn in Brewster MA.  I paired it with a weft of polyester sewing thread in a blackberry hue.  Rather than stitching after the turn required to create a mobius scarf, I twisted the fringes together.  I'm happy with the results although I won't be surprised if this scarf pills with wear.

Here it is below on another recent acquisition: a dress form, bought from someone who had advertised on Craigslist.  I've been wanting a dress form for some time.  Unfortunately, although this one is sized as small, it's still substantially bigger than I am.  It will serve for the purpose of draping woven fabrics and designing simple clothing but I need to keep my eyes open for one that really is my size.

A Suggestion...

For several years I have been using snap clips at several stages of the warping process.  I find that it much more efficient to secure bouts with these clips than by tying them in the usual manner.  Less finger manipulation is required and at this point in life that's a good thing!

If you look to the right in the photo you can see where one bout has been sleyed and I've refastened the clip to that bout on the other side of the reed.  Snap clips are available in any store that has a section for hair care supplies.  Some of the cheaper ones, such as those available in dollar stores, are not as nicely finished and have rough areas; avoid these.

I posted this suggestion on the Weaving Hacks page on Facebook and was bowled over by the positive response so I thought I'd mention it here too!