Random Acts of Color

Woad vs. Indigo: Here's What Happens When You 'Get the Blues'

2012-03-12T12:21:00.001-04:00

Last Saturday at the Weaving and Fiber Arts Center, I taught a class on "Getting the Blues: Natural Dyeing with Indigo and Woad." The short story is that, among some 275 plants that have usable amounts of indigo in their leaves, woad and indigo are the most popular worldwide, indigo itself (indigofera tinctoria) being the most popular natural blue dye of all time. Both have been used for thousands of years (woad, for example, was used in the British Isles by the Picts to paint themselves blue during warfare). The textile industry in southern France, centered in Toulouse, was devoted to woad -- until the 16th century, when indigo was introduced from Asia and, literally, blew it out of the water! (OK, so I can't resist a bad pun.)

Indigo has the most concentrated levels of the blue pigment, which is why it's preeminent among its competitors. So I thought we'd have a class to demonstrate why. The photos below give you some of the results. (There are several qualifiers here: We were using chemical vats, not the fermentation vats of tradition, and students were using a variety of fibers. None were mordanted; all were soaked in water, some for days.)

Above, Janet Leone's wool yarn dyed in indigo (left) and woad (right).

Photo: This was some wool roving that Judith Trolley brought along. She hadn't had a chance to soak it in water -- but the results were wonderful, none the less. She dyed this with both woad and indigo, to achieve a varied effect. Next comes the spinning, which I hope she'll share with us!

Photo: Mohair boucle brought by Eleanor Hartquist -- the skein on the left was dyed with woad, and the skein on the right was dyed with indigo.

Conclusion, from our brief and less-than-scientific experiment: All else being equal, indigo does, truly, provide deeper blues. Woad yields a lighter color, with just a bit more aqua to it, but equally beautiful, if not more so, to my eye. Ah, yes, the colors of southern France!

Thanks to all for a wonderful mess, er, class. And thanks especially to the folks who helped clean up. The dyeing kitchen looked pristine when they finished!

Fleur de Laine

2012-02-26T16:40:00.002-05:00

Just in time for spring: a "Fleur de Laine" pin (sounds fancy, but it's French for "wool flower") in purple, lavender, olive, and gold -- new in my Etsy shop.

I've also added some yarns in spring colors of lichen, dusty rose, and grass green.

100% merino handspun yarn in lichen

Merino/silk handspun yarn in dusty rose

Merino/silk handspun yarn in grass green

For these and more, visit my Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/denisekovnat-- and thanks for reading!

Sunshine and Rain (and very little snow, and a very hard time)

2012-01-11T12:14:00.002-05:00

My Dad and Lynn, my son's girlfriend, at Christmas

I'm writing this to tell you why I have not written anything for the past few weeks. My dear Dad, pictured above, has had a series of strokes and is ailing.

In some ways, it's hard to write in a blog -- which is a very public medium -- about feelings so close, writing to strangers about something so painful. And yet, we are all human, right? Subject to the same joys and sorrows.

Dad wearing his new bolo tie and bomber jacket

My Dad was -- is -- my hero, my strong man. Some "friends" once told me years ago that I was too close to my parents, that they would die someday and that I should "cut the apron strings." I never did. So this time, this pain of losing, is the other side of love.

For you who have felt this way and have somehow rejoined the living, I thank you. Maybe that verb isn't right. I bless you. For me, I am an operatic mourner. I find it so hard. I feel like Puff the Magic Dragon. And words, to use the old cliche, are inadequate.

So, if you're reading this, just look at the photos for a minute and know what a guy my Dad was and is. And help us all say goodbye when the time comes.

Peace, Comfort and Joy to You this Holiday Season

2011-12-21T19:00:00.000-05:00

A Not So Good Day

2011-12-04T20:28:00.002-05:00

Ran out of heddles. A Very Big Hiccup. I am too frustrated to elaborate.

Beaming (a Warp) with Pride

2011-11-30T22:59:00.004-05:00

Today has been a good day: My loom is finally warped. It's a 12-yard warp, 1900-plus ends total, of 60/2 silk. It's actually two warps, since I painted 12 bouts in two different color ways and then beamed them all together to create alternating stripes. (An homage to the late Estelle Carlson, who gave a workshop to our guild on a similar technique.)

The tale is best told in pictures.

Winding the warp, with a cross at both ends:

I wound 12 warp bouts, about 160 threads each, so that the dyeing would go smoothly and the yarns were less likely to get tangled. (Emphasis on LESS likely.)

Next came the painting:

I wanted to paint two contrasting and simultaneously harmonizing color ways, inspired by the image of a Soleri bell that hangs in the Japanese maple tree in our garden. One color way moves from turquoise to teal to periwinkle to gold (the bronze bell, with a verdigris patina); the other travels from purple to burgundy to copper to olive to gold (like the autumn leaves on the Japanese maple). I want to see these colors play against each other, juxtaposed in narrow stripes on a fabric.

Next came beaming the warp, the biggest challenge of all. If it isn't beamed right, it won't weave right. And this is a very, very fussy warp.

So now it's all "on the beam," as they say. The view from the front:

It all looks so nice and neat, doesn't it? Well, it wasn't. Not at all. There are some tricks to make it easier, however. For starters, when you beam 60/2 silk, it's a good idea to forget about the lease sticks and just use a raddle -- then, when you're at the end of the warp (when the warp is nearly all on the warping beam), you insert your lease sticks, move them around behind the heddles, and start your threading. That way the silk won't get abraded or stuck in the lease sticks.

Another secret of working with very fine silk: Don't make any mistakes. I made mistakes. Long story short: I called my weaving guru, Joyce Robards, midway through the process to say some nasty things about silk. She made me feel better.

So now the warp is finally beamed, although I still have worries about how it all will weave.

Tomorrow begins the threading....

One more image to share with you: the last honeysuckle blossom of the season, brought to you by Mother Nature, the greatest dyer of them all.

Samples from a Class on Shiva Artist Paintstiks

2011-11-19T22:35:00.003-05:00

Last Friday at our Weaving and Fiber Arts Center (www.weaversguildofrochester.org), I taught an introductory class on oil-based paint sticks, commercially named Shiva Artist Paintstiks. They're a wonderful way to add color and interest to any fabric, as they're essentially oil paint in solid form. Once the paints are set, which takes about two days, they'll stand up to unlimited washing (except for dry cleaning, which uses solvents).

Above, you see a sample by Dana Connell, a rubbing from an Indian print block. Here are a few more samples that students created.

Iridescent silver on black fabric, from a stencil.

More images from stencils, these made using several different iridescent colors.

Free-form drawing with Paintstiks on felt.

Paintstiks and their accompanying tools are available from Dharma Trading Company as well as from Cedar Canyon Textiles. Cedar Canyon also supplies instructional books and videos to help you maximize your work with these painterly tools.

To date, I've used them on some of my hand-dyed fabrics to provide a splash of color and interest.

Who knows? Maybe someday I'll use them to paint a warp. An idea worth pondering....

Buy the Book!

2011-11-11T18:38:00.000-05:00

In celebration of its 65^th anniversary, the Weavers' Guild of Rochester has published Weaving Lives at 65. It's a full-color book offering 33 weaving projects from the guild's 65^th anniversary exhibit last May. The full-page photos accompany weaving drafts for every project, as well as close-ups of additional pieces from our exhibit. It's a masterful display of the diversity of this guild's accomplishments in the fiber arts.

Join in the celebration of the essential role that weaving guilds play in the handmade movement in America today.

Click the link below to order your copy, which supports the teaching efforts of the Weaving and Fiber Arts Center (part of the Weavers' Guild of Rochester). And thank you!

http://www.weaversguildofrochester.org/book.php

Through Rose-Colored Glasses: Dyeing with Cochineal

2011-10-26T21:25:00.001-04:00

Silk satin ribbon dyed with cochineal, alum mordant

Using the book Colours from Nature: A Dyer's Handbook by Jenny Dean, I dyed some fabrics with cochineal, using an alum mordant. I started with the bugs themselves and ground them up in a Krups coffee grinder. (No mortar and pestle for me -- it takes too long!) Silk takes dyes brilliantly, I've found, so it's my fabric of choice. Instant and immense gratification. The ribbon you see above was soaked for maybe two days in an alum mordant solution.

Silk gauze dyed with cochineal, alum mordant

This silk gauze (above) was dyed using the same recipe. Because the fabric is so light and airy, it doesn't have the brilliant fuschia/red that you see with the silk ribbon. Still, this delicate pink is quite lovely!

Wool locks dyed with cochineal, alum mordant

I threw these wool locks in at the last minute -- mordanted in alum for maybe 1/2 hour, no scouring, simply dyed "in the grease." Perhaps I'm seeing the results through rose-colored glasses ;) but I think they're beautiful. I'll use them in spinning, combing them out a bit with a Dutch comb and then throwing them randomly into my handspun when I'm plying. It adds a lot of interest, texture, and color, creating the hand-spinner's version of a novelty yarn.

Locks dyed with cochineal, the second sample using an iron after-mordant

I've read a bit about using various "after-mordants" such as iron or copper. Copper tends to brighten the colors, while iron will "sadden" or tone down a color. Just what is an after-mordant? It's exactly what it sounds like: After you have dyed your fiber, you place it in a bath of iron or copper or whatever you choose to alter the color after dyeing.

And how do you create the iron bath? I used a fistful of rusty old nails and whatnot -- actually, some of them dug up by my dad as he searched the bed of the original Erie Canal. I placed them in a bucket of water, added one cup of white vinegar, and let the solution sit for about two weeks. Now I have my iron after-mordant, to be used whenever I want to "sadden" a color.

Next I have some goldenrod I gathered from a late-summer walk. I'll keep you posted on the results!

A Tale of Woad

2011-10-10T16:24:00.001-04:00

Told mostly in pictures.

Satin silk ribbon dyed with woad

Cotton voile dyed with woad

Sheep locks dyed with woad (on left, Cotswold, and on right, Merino, I think)

The tale: Planning on an upcoming weaving project, I'm in search of turquoise -- achieved with natural dyes. This isn't easy, but a friend of mine who knows a lot about natural dyeing suggested that I start with woad and then overdye it with just a hint of yellow. From the photos I saw, woad produces a slightly more turquoise color than indigo to begin with, so I thought I'd try it out.

First challenge: Woad is hard to come by in the United States, for some reason. Searching the web, I found a place in England, All About Woad, the work of textile artist Teresinha Roberts. I emailed my order and received it in a week or so! I followed her recipe as well. Great site. Here's the link:

http://www.woad.org.uk/

Woad has the same ingredients as indigo and has been used far longer in human history, 4000 years or more. The difference is that woad doesn't achieve quite the deep blue colors that indigo does, so indigo has become the dye of choice. You basically use the same recipe, using no mordant and creating a vat that needs to have a pH of 9 or so, dipping the fiber in and then taking it out to let oxygen do its work.

More to come, as I plan to do some overdyeing with goldenrod. Then, the quest to achieve a burgundy color with natural dyes, then gold, then olive....

A Soleri Bell Hangs in My Japanese Maple Tree...

2011-10-05T18:53:00.001-04:00

And inspired me to weave a scarf in autumn hues. I dyed the warp -- in bouts of 60/2 silk, 24 ends each -- in shades of russet, olive, gold, and copper, along with the patina of the bell, a kind of turquoise-verdigris. Although the colors came out a bit too light for my taste, here's what the fabric looked like on the loom.

The weft is a very fine over twist wool, hand dyed in a spice-red color, and the weave structure is an 8 harness twill, in blocks of 3/1 and 1/3. Here's a closer look.

The sett is 44 ends per inch, which sounds a bit daunting, but the weaving went really fast! I'm very partial to this structure, because it's a collapse weave which, encouraged by the over twist weft, crinkles and scrunches in very interesting ways. Like this:

It's for sale in my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/denisekovnat

And what's a Soleri bell? It's a beautiful bronze piece, weathered to a turquoise color, designed by the visionary architect Paolo Soleri. Here's a link to his site: http://www.cosanti.com

The Weaving and Fiber Arts Center Now Has Its Own QR Code!

2011-09-10T18:21:00.000-04:00

Nearly 100 courses in weaving and fiber arts are available to people in western New York State. To find out more, use your SmartPhone to scan this code:

Tying on a Dummy Warp

2011-08-17T22:49:00.000-04:00

My weaving guru, Joyce Robards, calls it "tying one on" -- the process of tying a new warp onto the end of an old warp that's already on your loom. This way, you avoid the trouble of spreading the warp across the raddle and threading -- especially threading, because in some cases, a pattern can have very complicated threading, leaving you lots of room for error. Who needs that?

This was the first time I've ever used a dummy warp, mainly because I was worried about this:

Looks pretty bad, doesn't it? You're seeing the front of the loom. You start by putting lease sticks into your new warp. Then, you tie knots, one by one, attaching the new warp ends to the dummy warp ends. It all works out, honest!

You beam the warp just as you always do, pulling tight to create tension as you wind it onto the warp beam. Slowly you work the knots through the heddles, taking care not to bend the heddles or break the warp threads.

It's a good idea to comb the warp as you go along. It helps to keep the threads straight. Once the knots are through, you're ready to sley your warp and tie it onto the front beam -- and then, weave!

This is another iteration of the Turned Taquete pattern created by Mary Berent, mentioned in an earlier post. In this case, I used 20/2 hand-dyed silk. I changed the colors as I ran out of them, so that the stripes travelled in this kind of arrangement:

I began by alternating blue and green threads (ABABAB and so on, as you see beginning at the right of the fabric). Then, when I ran out of blue, I changed to gold, so that my alternating colors were gold and green (CBCBCB and so on). When I ran out of green, I changed to purple, so that my alternating colors became gold and purple (CDCDCD). This may be a bit too complicated to follow, but suffice it to say that I didn't want clear, even striping. I wanted the stripes to shift irregularly, so that the colors played with the pattern.

Here it is, off the loom, washed, and pressed. I used a weft of 60/2 silk, dyed in a salmon pink. Sometimes tying one on can be a very good idea!

News for Fiber Artists in Rochester and Western New York

2011-08-07T18:19:00.000-04:00

Here's a press release I just sent out to local media. For anyone who reads my blog, heads up!

WEAVING AND FIBER ARTS CENTER

MOVES TO EAST ROCHESTER

Open House on Wednesday, September 14

In celebration of its 10^th anniversary and a new location, the Weaving and Fiber Arts Center will hold an open house on Wednesday, September 14, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. The public is invited.

The location: Studio 1940, Piano Works Mall, 349 West Commercial Street, East Rochester.

Over 10 years, the center has grown and expanded, moving from its original studio at Village Gate in Rochester to this new location. Piano Works Mall includes a number of popular fiber arts stores, making it a destination for Rochester’s growing community of fiber-arts enthusiasts.

The new center features a room dedicated to weaving, including looms and related equipment, as well as a “wet room” for dyeing, surface design, felting, basketry, paper art, and papermaking. Additional areas are available for knitting, crocheting, wheat weaving, temari, needle arts, and other techniques.

The fall teaching schedule begins on September 6 and offers some 100 courses, including classes on weekdays, evenings, and weekends. Classes are offered for all ages and all skill levels. Details are available online at www.weaversguildofrochester.org

The Weaving and Fiber Arts Center is a rare treasure, not only to regional students but also for students nationwide. Few cities in this country offer a facility dedicated year-round to teaching a variety of skills – including weaving, dyeing, felting, knitting, spinning, crocheting, papermaking, and basketry – at levels from beginner to master artist.

The center is the primary outreach activity of the Weavers’ Guild of Rochester, Inc.

Yarn, Yarn, More Yarn -- and a Sea Anemone

2011-07-20T14:25:00.003-04:00

New items in my Etsy shop: handspun and hand-dyed silk/merino, handspun and hand-dyed mohair, hand-dyed rayon chenille -- and a crocheted basket that clearly resembles a sea anemone. What's more, this is not just any sea anemone -- it's telia felina, a transgendered creature that was decried by Baptist clergy in Hunstville, Alabama, a couple of years ago as "base and depraved."

I couldn't be more proud!

My basket

The infamous telia felina

Yarn: handspun, hand-dyed silk/merino

Yarn: handspun, hand-dyed mohair

And more yarn: hand-dyed rayon chenille

Fair Isle Sweater in Cornflower Blue: Taking the Mystique out of Steeks

2011-07-17T12:22:00.000-04:00

The latest listing in my Etsy shop: a handknitted cardigan in hand-dyed colors of cornflower blue, golds, and reds. I followed a pattern from Woolen Collectibles in Kalispell, Montana, "Shaftsbury Sweater." The wool is a sport weight 2-ply yarn that I dyed in a range of golds and reds, along with the cornflower blue that serves as the ground color.

It took maybe 100 hours to knit, because of the complicated pattern. I ran into some problems with the sleeves, which were too small when I followed the pattern, so I adjusted the stitches to make them roomier.

The result, I think, is an heirloom sweater, knit on #2 circular needles. When I got down to the cuffs of the sleeves, I switched to double-pointed needles. My favorite are the square double-pointed needles from Kollage Yarns, because the square shape somehow keeps the stitches from slipping off (the way they do with regular round double-pointed needles).

One more note: knitting this sweater took the mystique out of steeks for me, once and for all. The instructions tell you simply to create a series of stripes to mark where you're going to stitch with your sewing machine and where you're going to cut. Easy enough! When you're knitting a complicated Fair Isle design like this one, you really need to knit in the round.

I love the brass buttons, which reflect the flower pattern of the sweater.

By the way, here's the link to the pattern:

http://www.woolencollectibles.com/do/product/SWET/LG-83

More on Turned Taquete Towels

2011-07-09T10:37:00.001-04:00

After a phone call to my weaving guru, Joyce Robards, I now know more about taquete (acute accent on the "e" that's not available with this font). It's actually Summer and Winter without tabby, but with a pattern weft alternating with a tie-down weft. (Boy, do I hope that this is right.) That means it's usually a two-shuttle weave. The beauty of this pattern is that it's turned, and I'm weaving with just one shuttle, alternating between a pattern pic and a tie-down pic. Here's a closeup.

For the most part, all you can see are the pattern warps (the long floats on the surface of the fabric). If you look very carefully -- or if you can double-click on this photo to enlarge it -- you might be able to see the tie-down wefts hiding among the pattern warps....

It's a complex structure, calling for lots of counting on my part. I have notes taped onto my loom to outline my treadling order: my left foot taps out the "bass line," alternating between treadles 1 and 2, while my right foot plays the melody on treadles 3 through 8.

The original design by Mary Berent takes up the entire page. Very complicated and not to be attempted when the weaver is sleepy or has had a glass of wine or two.... You see the pink paper clip? That's the middle of my towels, where I reverse the pattern. No way I can count beyond that with any accuracy. Not without a computerized loom!

Joyce tells me that taquete was often used for elegant fabrics, similar to a Jacquard weave, because it shows off the colors and pattern so beautifully. I have a plan to tie onto this warp, using it as a dummy warp, with some leftover hand-dyed 20/2 silk in purple, fuschia, green, and gold. More adventures!

Once again, here's a link to the Berent pattern on "Weaving Today."

Mary Berent's Ultimate Dish Towel

Turned Taquete Towels

2011-07-02T15:39:00.000-04:00

Finally, after weaving two towels, sleying the reed a second time, and weaving another towel with a treadling error, I am weaving a "Turned Taquete Towel" that I can blog about! The pattern is complicated, but it's actually starting to make sense.

I don't know much about taquete (a French term with an accent on the last "e"), but I can tell you that it's normally a weft-faced weave. In this case, the weave structure is turned sideways (weft becomes warp), so it's a warp-faced weave. I'm weaving with one shuttle (thankfully): one pic is a pattern weft and one is the tie-down weft. The warp is Cottolin from the Swedish company Borgs Vavgarner, which is half cotton, half linen, and the weft is 20/2 mercerized cotton.

The pattern is a free download from Handwoven magazine. Here's the link, if you'd like to know more:

Turned Taquete Towels

Lake Glass

2011-06-19T20:44:00.000-04:00

You've heard of "sea glass," right? Those opaque, random-shaped pieces of glass that people find washed up on the seashore. The glass has been buffeted, rounded, and glazed by the ocean waves. Jewelers and other artists love to use them in their creations.

Well, today I discovered the freshwater equivalent of sea glass: I call it "lake glass," and I think it's every bit as beautiful. I found these pieces on a shale beach along the shores of Keuka Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. Now, I just have to figure out what to do with them....

These pieces, above, could make earrings -- best for someone who loves Keuka Lake. And the pieces below could make a pendant, maybe. This was the only piece of blue glass I found all afternoon -- you might call it semi-precious glass?

Someone Stopped by the Garden Today...

2011-06-13T16:40:00.000-04:00

And sat on a cushion to pose for a photo.

Watercolor Coat in Aqua, Lavender, and Gold

2011-06-10T19:34:00.001-04:00

This is the latest listing in my Etsy shop: a hand-dyed, hand-painted coat in a 55% linen/45% silk blend, using a wonderful informal pattern by Issey Miyake. ("I say, me like-y" is the way I always think of his name, but that's way too corny, don't you think?)

It's a size 10, medium, that would look great on someone taller than 5' 1" (me), as it falls about 6" above my ankles. The self-collar drapes around the neck so gracefully, just like a scarf, while the waist is gently shaped and the shoulders are more fitted and feminine.

I hand-dyed this using fiber-reactive dyes and then embellished the fabric using rubbings with gold-colored oil-based Shiva Paintstiks. They set permanently and add lots of shine and interest to any fabric.

A photo of the back shows how the coat is gently curved.

I hope to make more of these because the pattern has a lot of flair -- and the fabric is hand-washable. This is my ode to summer!

What a Knitter Does at the Lake

2011-06-06T12:27:00.005-04:00

Yes, beautiful blue skies, clear, clear water, soft breezes, the warmth of the sun -- absolutely perfect conditions for knitting! I took my Golding drop spindle (see above) and my wonderful brand-new size 1 bamboo circular knitting needles, and proceeded to knit up some overtwisted handspun singles. Just to see what would happen.

This is probably why I am not making money hand over fist with my fiber work -- because I'm always trying something new, just to see what happens. And here is what is happening:

Can you see the Z twist in the photo above? (Click on the photo and it should enlarge.) I spun up a spindle full of lace-weight yarn in Z twist, and then I took my second Golding drop spindle and spun up the same weight in S twist. (Why do I have two Golding drop spindles? Because my sweet boxer, Bruno, stole the first one. I couldn't find it, so I bought a new one. Then I found the old one. Oh, and he chewed both spindles, so I had to send them back to Vermont to have them fixed, which Mr. Golding did, beautifully. So I have two, and it comes in handy.)

So as I began to knit with Z twist, it skewed in one direction, just as I had hoped.

My idea is to knit about 3/4 of an inch in Z twist, then 3/4 of an inch in S twist, and continue doing this to create a herringbone kind of pattern. For a hat, all in one color. The roving, by the way, is a combination Romney, Pygora, and llama that I bought from a wonderful place called Firefly Farm in Warsaw, New York. (You can contact the owner, Pat Gesler, at fireflyfarm@hotmail.com. I don't think she'll mind my sharing her email.)

Here's how it's coming:

Very subtle and understated, maybe not for all tastes, but certainly for mine! The pattern just grabs me, for some reason. That's why we knit, yes?

A Visit to Linwood Gardens

2011-05-23T10:27:00.001-04:00

Remember the book "The Secret Garden"? If that magical place really existed, you would find it at Linwood Gardens near Pavilion, NY. It's about a 45-minute drive from Rochester, one of the hidden treasures of upstate New York.

Covering the grounds of a once-regal mansion -- which was nearly destroyed in a fire in 1973 -- the gardens are best known for their tree peonies. But I found the architecture, the setting, the colors, the light, the imperfection of the place to be totally enchanting.

The owner, William Gratwick III, added some whimsical pieces to his garden, including this cupola salvaged from an old building nearby.

There's a labyrinth on the grounds, which I would love to explore.

This is the view of the Genesee Valley from the terrace where my friend and I had lunch.

The mansion itself is only about 1/3 intact, but you can see the tile-floored dining room, done in an Arts and Crafts style, with its gorgeous green and gold Tiffany sconces -- and the oak-panelled library and cavernous fireplace, from an old English home, which William Gratwick II purchased in its entirety from Tiffany himself!

Make sure to check the website for when Linwood Gardens is open, because the visiting hours are limited: www.linwoodgardens.org. It's well worth the planning.

Pictures at an Exhibition

2011-04-27T22:55:00.000-04:00

Today our committee put the finishing touches on our exhibit, "For the Love of Fiber," in the gallery space of the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester. The show, featuring the work of some 50 members of the Weavers' Guild of Rochester, runs from April 28 through May 19. If you're in the area and you love the fiber arts, stop by! It's free and open to the public.

Here are some more images, giving you an idea of the variety of pieces on display -- from handwoven items to tapestry to works that are knitted, felted, beaded, dyed, and embroidered. We have sculptures made of paper -- and even a piece embellished with porcupine quills.

Below are some of the beautiful items woven by our exhibit juror, Sarah Saulson of Syracuse.

Two of the Weavers' Guild study groups participated, submitting small works by their members. Here are the submissions from the Tapestry Study Group:

This photo simply doesn't show the beautiful detail of these miniature tapestries. Our Guild has many, many talented members, as this exhibit proves. You'll just have to visit the gallery to see for yourself!

Coat for My Daughter

2011-04-20T23:31:00.002-04:00

This coat is handwoven, using JaggerSpun 18/2 Superfine Merino in 6-shaft waffle weave and plain weave. The fabric shows several variations on a theme -- that is, moving from waffle weave in 4 colors (orange, red, purple, and teal blue) to plain weave using a variety of colors in the weft. The warp uses the same four colors, moving from orange in the center to blue at the outside of the "waffle." The inside of the fabric reverses the color effect, so that the predominant color you see is orange (as in the accent fabric at the end of the sleeves).

Notice how the waffle weave pulls the fabric in and the plain weave spreads it out, creating a ruffle effect at the bottom of the coat. I love this! The effect is magnified because I hand-washed the fabric to felt it a bit (the technical term is "fulling"). This gives the fabric greater warmth and heft -- and protects it from any pulling of some of the long floats that appear with waffle weave.

The pattern is my own, adapted from a sleeveless tunic pattern that I've used in the past: 1036 Mandarin Vest from Purrfection Artistic Wearables. Here's how it looks in back:

And here are some details (below). The cuffs on the sleeves show the reverse side of the main fabric -- which means that the inside of the coat is a bright golden orange!

I made the buttons using the same yarns that are in the fabric. The technique is based on the "Dorset Buttons" that were originally made in the mid-19th century in Dorset, England. (For more on Dorset Buttons, see my previous post.)

I'm entering this coat in the Weavers' Guild of Rochester exhibit, "For the Love of Fiber." (And for more on this, see my post of late March.)

Dorset Buttons

2011-04-11T21:07:00.002-04:00

When you're making a one-of-a-kind garment -- handknitted, handwoven, crocheted, felted, whatever -- it's often hard to find just the perfect button. You want the right color, fiber, size, even weight (lightweight is best). So the technique of making Dorset Buttons comes in handy.

They were created by the hundreds of thousands in early 19th-century Dorset, England. You start with a hoop -- nowadays, those plastic loops will do, available at Joann's Etc. and probably anywhere you can buy sewing notions. Using a tapestry needle, you wrap yarn around the loop with half hitches. Next you create eight "spokes" all around the outside of the loop, then you wrap them all together in the center. Then you weave around the spokes, again with half hitches.

This is an illustration, from the book, 50 Heirloom Buttons to Make, by Nancy Nehring:

Here's a closeup:

And here's what the back looks like:

The color variations are endless, which is why they work so well for garments. And you can even vary the stitches, the "weave" direction, the space between the yarns (leaving the "spokes" open like a wheel).

For an excellent source on making Dorset buttons, click here:

http://kraplap.blogspot.com/2008/11/buttons-dorset-buttons.html

In Upstate New York in May: Come See Our Exhibit

2011-03-27T10:27:00.002-04:00

My guild, the Weavers' Guild of Rochester, celebrates its 65th anniversary in May -- and to honor this event, we're exhibiting the wonderful work of our 140-plus members. Take note: It's free and open to the public. The dates are April 28 through May 19, from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. weekdays at the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester, 277 North Goodman Street in the city's Neighborhood of the Arts.

We'll present awards for Best of Show (the Handweavers' Guild of America award), best use of multi-harness weaving (from the Complex Weavers) and other categories, including People's Choice. All types of fiber art are included, and our artists come from anywhere from Albany to Buffalo.

The exhibit will be juried by master weaver Sarah Saulson, who teaches in the textiles department of Syracuse University. (The above photo features her handwoven piece, "Moon Phase Cloth.") And, following the exhibit, our Guild will publish a book of 30 or so pieces from the show, complete with color photos and drawdowns!

For more on Sarah Saulson's work, click here.

For more on the Weavers' Guild of Rochester and its activities, click here.

'Leaves of Grass' Tunic: Ode to Walt Whitman

2011-03-25T20:17:00.000-04:00

A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands;

How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more

than he.

I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green

stuff woven.

Walt Whitman, Song of Myself

Last November and then again in February I posted photos and notes about spinning, warping, and weaving the fabric for this top, which I call "Leaves of Grass." It's made of single-ply yarns in S & Z twist, which gives it a seersucker-like texture. The yarns are merino and a silk-merino blend, dyed in various shades of green. My ode to Walt Whitman -- and a tribute to spring, which will, sooner or later, show up.

Detail of fringe, which seems to ply itself

Side view

Back, just slightly longer than the front

Triptych: Bruno Greets Spring

2011-03-20T11:00:00.002-04:00

Our boxer, Bruno, guards us against house finches and other dangerous wildlife, watching through the window he broke in our side door.

Just in time for spring....

2011-03-14T20:17:00.003-04:00

I finished this new beret! (Note: This is said very tongue-in-cheek. I wish I'd finished it in September.)

It's made with Noro self-striping yarn, in blue, turquoise, purple, rust, and green. I designed it by knitting 9 mitered squares and 4 "half squares" which I then stitched together, starting with one square at the top. When it was finished, I felted it by hand in hot water and Ivory dishwashing liquid.

This is for sale in my Etsy shop, just in time for spring. Sigh.

I also posted a second item, another variation on the shibori-dyed Asian tunic I blogged about a couple of months ago. This one is in peacock colors, again using a silk/linen blend. The back is pure Dupioni silk, in brilliant peacock blue. The Dorset buttons are handmade with rayon novelty yarn and the loops are made using a Japanese braiding technique known as "kumihimo."

This, too, is for sale in my Etsy shop. But this piece can be worn year-round!

More on weaving with handspun in S & Z twist

2011-02-27T10:46:00.000-05:00

Last fall, I published some posts describing the process of weaving a fabric with S & Z twist single-ply handspun. I made a warp of merino and silk blend yarns, alternating stripes in S & Z twist, in various shades of green.

The reason: when you weave a fine weft on this kind of warp (using what Kathryn Alexander describes as "energized singles") and then wash your fabric in hot water, the fabric puckers and waves in a random seersucker-like pattern. I love the texture!

Here are more photos, showing what the fabric looks like under tension on the loom, when the tension is released, how to wash it, and what it looks like when drying.

At this point I'm working on a woman's top made of this fabric.

It looks boring, like gauze, on the loom.

This is what happens when you release the loom brake.

I wash it in a bin in my sink, using HOT water and Ivory dish liquid and a bit of agitation.

This is what the fabric looks like as it dries. More to come!

(Note: If you're interested in reading the entire story, please see my previous posts on October 22 and November 21 of 2010.)

Thinking of Blue Skies, Irises, Marigolds....

2011-02-06T12:31:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos of a shibori-dyed vest/tunic that I just listed in my Etsy shop. The fabric is a silk/linen blend that responds beautifully to fiber-reactive dyes, discharge, clamping techniques, whatever it takes to get those wonderful random blends of color.

I'm thinking spring!

Indigo Dyed Wabi Sabi Coat

2011-01-21T15:54:00.000-05:00

A new piece for my Etsy shop: I call it "Wabi Sabi" because it has a worn, aged appearance -- which I like very much. I started by dyeing with onion skins, which gave the fabric (a silk/linen blend) a khaki/gold color -- and then I dipped the fabric in indigo a number of times. The uneven look of the dye is what I especially care for.

But then there's the question of "wabi sabi" itself: What does it really mean? It's a spiritual and artistic idea, according to Wikipedia, having to do with the idea that nothing lasts, nothing is finished, nothing is perfect -- more a sense of the transcience of things that can be conveyed through aged and worn objects. I do love the idea and hope that the fabric gives a feeling of wear rather than "newness."

Here is my friend, Dana Connell, modeling the coat. It has a loose, unstructured, kimono feel.

This Winter: As Usual, Shakespeare Had It Right

2011-01-21T15:26:00.000-05:00

When icicles hang by the wall

And Dick the shepherd blows his nail

And Tom bears logs into the hall

And milk comes frozen home in pail,

When blood is nipp'd and ways be foul,

When nightly sings the staring owl, Tu-whit;

Tu-who, a merry note,

While greasy Joan doth keel the pot,

When all aloud the wind doth blow

And coughing drowns the parson's saw

And birds sit brooding in the snow

And Marian's nose looks red and raw,

When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,

When nightly sings the staring owl, Tu-whit;

Tu-who, a merry note,

While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

From Love's Labours Lost

Note: All right, the bird is a chickadee, not an owl, and it's a bad photo. But you get the idea.

Mary, Untier of Knots: The Sacred Business of Unravelling Yarn

2011-01-11T20:15:00.002-05:00

Many times, when I was slowly and frustratingly trying to unwind a skein, working to untie knots that some creature (usually my boxer, Bruno) had playfully created, or just unworking some twists that mysteriously appeared as I dragged some yarn around -- I often thought of this metaphor: that untying knots has something to do with the larger issue of unraveling problems. You move slowly, you open the fibers, you don't pull things tighter, you don't yank on the threads in hopes that they will behave -- you kind of find out how they need to work to untangle themselves. And then, one day, I came upon this painting of Saint Mary, Untier of Knots! I realized that this was, in some way, a spiritual activity. I love this painting, because I think that so many of us fiber lovers have spent an inordinate amount of time untangling skeins, wondering why we are so crazy to waste all this time trying to save our precious yarn. So here she is, pursuing a hallowed activity.

"Girl at Sewing Machine" by Edward Hopper

2010-12-21T23:10:00.000-05:00

Solstice Scarf

2010-12-20T21:45:00.000-05:00

Christmas, to me and to so many others, has become overblown and over-commercialized, at least in North America these days. I do enjoy seeing my family, giving gifts, and taking part in all the traditional celebrating -- but the holiday can often be, to paraphrase Charles Dickens, "the best of times, the worst of times."

The day that means more to me, because I can share it with every member of my human family (well, at least those in the northern climes), is the winter solstice. I love to think of the deep silence and darkness of the longest night of the year. There is something holy and sustaining in that ending and beginning.

So here is my Solstice Scarf, in the colors of the midnight sky in late December. A beautiful night sky, from me to you, at this special time of the year.

My Mom in My Shirt

2010-12-11T21:05:00.000-05:00

My Mom is 82 years old and I think she looks terrific in this new piece I just finished. (She did take her glasses off for the photo, I must admit.) The tunic is made of a wonderful scrunchy silk doubleweave fabric with just a bit of Lycra -- purchased for a fairly hefty price from Thai Silks, but it was well worth it. The reason: this fabric is very giving and forgiving as you sew it and when you wear it. My mom usually wears a size large, even though she's not a big person -- but I think that this top can easily fit someone who is used to wearing extra large.

I dyed the fabric several times: first, immersing it in madder; second, clamping some discs in it to get a shibori resist and dipping it in indigo. The results were too bland, a very muted blue, so I clamped the discs on again and immersed it one more time -- this time in an MX Fiber Reactive dye, Bright Red. I did think twice about the aesthetics of mixing natural dyes with man-made dyes, but I decided not to worry about being a purist. Results were what I wanted and I'm pretty happy about the way the colors worked out.

Radical Fringe Hat

2010-11-29T20:10:00.000-05:00

Here's what happens when you get carried away with overtwisted yarns. This hat -- or fez, or toque, or product of a Rastafarian sheep, whatever -- combines knitting and weaving techniques. The band is handwoven in a honeycomb pattern, using orange and purple 2-ply yarns as pattern weft on a green foundation. The top was handknitted and the top-knot is a tassle of handspun singles that curl up playfully when left to their own devices. From the Ministry of Silly Hats, for sale in my Etsy shop.

Weaving Leaves of Grass

2010-11-21T11:16:00.000-05:00

A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands;
How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more
than he.

I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green
stuff woven.

Walt Whitman, Song of Myself

I wove this fabric from handspun cormo -- singles spun in both S & Z twist -- and a handspun merino/silk blend -- again, singles spun in both S & Z twist. Hopefully, it will become a garment -- but first I have to spin more weft!

On the loom, it looks like gauze, but when it's washed gently in hot water, the overtwisted yarns relax into a seersucker texture. I didn't do anything to create the fringe. The yarns do this all by themselves.

Today there's more color inspiration outside my window:

Candle Flame Hat in Kauni

2010-11-19T13:22:00.000-05:00

Look closely: the ribs at the base are the candles. The diamonds are the flames, rising in color from blue at the wick to red to orange to yellow. A very warm hat indeed, knitted in Kauni Effektgarn, which has wonderful long color bands -- this particular yarn in rainbow shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

Switzerland (and knitting) in November

2010-11-16T06:40:00.000-05:00

Lake Geneva: Vineyards on the hillside near Lausanne

Swans and sun on Lake Geneva

Zurich at night

And now, on to the important business: There is a wonderful yarn shop in Zurich's Old Town, at 10 Neumarket, called Hand-Art. You can find directions to this shop and others in Zurich at this website:

http://www.knitmap.com/

Here's to what my husband calls "The Fiber Underground." We are everywhere!

We stayed in Kloten, a suburb of Zurich, in a Euro-modern hotel, the Allegra. The hotel's design was inspired by Mondrian, who lived in Zurich -- as did Le Corbusier and Giacometti. If you go, you must visit the Fraumunster Cathedral, which dates back to the 9th century. The stained-glass windows in the church were created by Giacometti and Chagall! And it's a short walk across the river to the Kunsthaus, the city's art museum, where there is currently a Picasso retrospective, a recreation of the very one he himself helped put together in 1932. If ever I can begin to understand Cubism, it's thanks to this exhibit and his painting, "Man with a Clarinet."

Rain-Saturated Colors

2010-10-25T16:06:00.000-04:00

A couple of posts past, I ran these photos of iridescent-peach leaves in my garden. This is a dwarf cherry bush, a hybrid from Miller Nurseries in Canandaigua, NY, that we grew from root stock:

This is what it looks like today, a very rainy day, with autumn colors at their peak:

I swear that the leaves are brighter than usual this fall -- perhaps because we had a summer that was not too hot, not too dry, just right for growing things. Look at these hosta leaves!

Still, even though autumn is beautiful, I agree with Emerson.

Spinning a Yarn: Handspun Singles in S & Z Twist

2010-10-22T14:17:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time -- this year, in fact -- I began spinning singles in both S and Z twist, planning to weave a light collapsible-weave fabric. I bought roving from Ashland Bay, their merino/silk fiber, in two shades of green (the two bobbins on the left). Also, thanks to good friend Leslie Mendelson who recommended the site to me, I Googled a company called "Briar Rose" and bought Cormo roving beautifully hand-dyed in two shades of darker green (the two bobbins on the right).

Spinning was easy but slow, because I spun the yarn just as fine as I could (to pun on a popular spinning book, it was unintentional spinning, but what the heck). I spun about a pound of yarn, total, two colors in S twist and two in Z twist, about four ounces each. (I wanted to try different fibers because they will "crinkle" differently.)

The results are highly overtwisted yarns. Here's what the Z twist in the silk/merino does when you release the tension on a bunch of singles:

Here's what they all do, like teenagers if you don't give them any structure:

Actually, I kind of like them that way....

Using the good old McMorran Balance, I calculated that the singles are about the same weight as 8/2 cotton -- maybe 3200 yards per pound -- but who knows how that will translate when it's woven up? It might take up more space than cotton, because it has a lot of loft.

Next step: Sample. Yes, I was a good girl. Someone asked me, why would you waste yarn on a sample when it's precious handspun? My answer: I could potentially waste more if I DON'T sample. I need to know what I'm doing and avoid mistakes -- or it will ALL be wasted!

Technical details: I created a sample warp about 6" wide, maybe 2 yards long, at 16 ends per inch, with 1/2" stripes in each of the four colors, always alternating S and Z twist yarns, but randomly placing the colors.

I wove up plain weave, using each of the four yarns as weft and also using a commercially spun overtwist I bought from Laura Fry ("Magic in the Water") online. I tried it in a natural color and in a deep rust color that I had previously dyed.

The sample came off the warp looking pretty much like green gauze -- but, just as Laura Fry has written, there is "magic in the water." Washing it with a bit of Orvus paste in hot water out of the tap, the sample crinkled beautifully. Just what I was hoping for. This, below, is a section of the sample viewed with the warp going horizontally, with a pale green silk/merino Z-twist as weft:

Here's the part I like best, specifically the stripes that are grass-green, which are silk/merino in S-twist. You just have to envision these small stripes as if they were the entire fabric.

Now on to the real warp, which will be about 40" wide, 4 yards long, with 640 ends. I've just begun. (Notice the cross at both ends, just in case I make some kind of error, which happens all too often!)

If you read Handwoven magazine, you'll see the most recent issue is all about "Slow Cloth." Well, this is the ultimate in slow cloth, I'm thinking.

Two hats of handspun are better than one commercially done

2010-10-18T19:54:00.000-04:00

The trouble with being a handspinner is that you tend to like to spin, in and of itself. It may not mean that you're spinning to create a yarn that will be made into something -- you just like spinning that particular fiber. So, every once in a while I rummage through my handspun and decide that I should make something of it -- hence these two hats! Actually they were intended for my daughter and her boyfriend who will be visiting at the end of this week, but who knows if they will like them? Or if the hats will fit?

The first is borrowed from a Rowan pattern for a man's hat, which I found on Ravelry. I cast on 126 stitches (on 16" #3 circular needles), did a Knit 2 Purl 2 ribbing for six rows, then commenced knitting stripes in stockinette stitch, two rows at a time. When the hat is large enough, I began decreasing, first every 18 stitches, then 17, and so forth. Simple! When it was all finished, I felted the daylights out of it, hoping that it would decrease in size. For some reason, this wool didn't felt that much, but it does have a nice halo and a better density.

The second hat looks like it was designed by the Ministry of Silly Hats, which is pretty much my style. I began once again with 126 stitches on #3 circular needles (16" length). The patterns I created on a graph, based on multiples of 9, until I got to the top and knitted in tone-on-tone red stripes, decreasing every 9 stitches, then 8, etc. No brim: I simply began with 6 rows of stockinette in a navy color, then one row of purl stitch, then I began my pattern. When I finished the hat, I hemmed the navy color under so that the brim would lie nice and flat and there would be a bit more "heft" for a hat band of sorts.

The yarn for both hats was woolen spun, a light worsted weight, maybe sport weight (I'm guessing about 900 yards per pound).

Some detail shots:

Mother Nature was doing some of her own color work today as well.

Silk Organza Wraps in Bronze and Coral

2010-10-08T21:48:00.000-04:00

Recently added to my Etsy shop: two kimono-style jackets in silk organza, the first dyed in a range of bronze tones and the second in coral colors. The pattern is a simplified version of a jacket design from the Sewing Workshop. I chose to eliminate the more difficult French-seam construction (organza is tricky to work with, especially for a novice like me) in favor of a three-thread rolled hem done on my serger, using an accent color for the threads.

Very diaphanous (is that how you spell it?). Someone suggested that I should make lingerie out of the fabric. Believe me, you can find that on Etsy, too!

Thank you to my friend Joan Rusitzky for serving as my model.

Celadon

2010-09-15T09:49:00.000-04:00

Working with oriental rugs, I often try to describe colors with words that are precise as well as beautiful and exotic, like cinnabar, persimmon, pomegranate, aubergine, saffron -- and celadon. Fact is, the word comes from a glaze used by potters in the Far East and I never really knew what it looked like.

One day I looked at Misha, our Siberian cat, and realized that the wonderful iridescent color of his eyes was -- not chartreuse, but celadon!

Spun, dyed, woven, sewn -- but not yet complete

2010-09-04T11:26:00.000-04:00

I can't remember the weaver who said, "I love the work of intelligent hands." But that's what I strive for -- thoughtful handwork. When I was little, I remember looking at my grandmother's and my mother's hands and loving their character, the strength of the veins reaching to their fingers. I wanted hands like that. Now I have them, those veiny hands, and I try to use them well.

This jacket is not yet finished. The yarn was handspun, from merino and llama roving, then dyed in the colors of the carpets I see at work. It's a five-harness waffle weave, with plain-weave variations. The button is an antique that has been waiting for this jacket! The pockets are not yet sewn on, but the way the edges play about the body of the jacket -- that's a worthy effect to try to achieve in another garment, don't you think?

Dots in the Wind

2010-09-04T11:17:00.000-04:00

New hand-dyed scarves on Etsy -- the first one (photographed on a windy day, hence the title "Dots in the Wind") was dipped in the indigo vat, then discharged using shibori techniques (see the shadowy spheres?), then overdyed a deep plum color, again using shibori. The second scarf was dipped in indigo, then hand-painted with a variety of pinks (believe it or not), to produce blue, green, and purple stripes in varying hues and widths.

Socks in Noro Kureyon silk/wool blend

2010-08-23T21:11:00.000-04:00

I just finished these toe-up socks in one of my favorite yarns: self-striping Noro Kureyon (silk/wool). They're for my daughter, Eliza, who is a great fan of colorful footwear! Every once in a while it's good for the hands and heart to make a simple, practical project like this one. I highly recommend this pattern: it's called "Jenny Wren" by Beth LaPensee and it can be found at knitzi.com. I knitted it on "square" double-pointed needles, which I love, as they really seem to grip the stitches better. Often, when I'm working on fine double-pointed needles, the stitches tend to slip off, which they don't with these needles.

Indigo-dyed jacket: new life for my old shower curtain

2010-07-25T17:48:00.000-04:00

The story behind this one: It was time to buy a new shower curtain, because the color on my old one had faded. Still, I couldn't bring myself to throw away this wonderful fabric, which was a thick waffle-weave/plain-weave variation.

I dipped it twice in my indigo vat, to create a light denim color. Then cut it out and followed a CNT pattern, with some variations, to make this jacket. The button is handmade out of polymer clay, molded, painted, and glazed. The jacket is size medium, and it's now for sale on Etsy -- but I really considered keeping it for myself!

Several months later, I decided to dip this one more time (or was it twice?) in the indigo vat. Here are the results, including a new button, because the dyeing ruined the glossy texture of the original button.

Nature gives us inspiration for free.

2010-07-11T22:44:00.001-04:00

This is one of the most beautiful photographs I have ever seen.

Silk Shawl

2010-04-27T17:36:00.000-04:00

This shawl, approximately 90 inches long by 40 inches wide, was juried into the 2010 Handweavers' Guild of America fashion show in Albuquerque next July. For weavers, here is the structure: It's woven in twill blocks of 3/1 and 1/3 twill, to show off both warp and weft. Both warp and weft are hand-dyed 60/2 silk. The warp was hand-painted in autumn colors, and the weft's solid color plays against the changing colors of the warp. This photo was taken by Tim Toals -- who is a wonderful photographer, with a studio at Village Gate in Rochester.

Introducing my dog, Bruno, who thinks he is a person and is very good at balancing things on his nose

2010-03-23T15:03:00.000-04:00

Fleur de Lis Sweater

2009-12-29T18:48:00.000-05:00

After one year of graphing, counting, casting on, ripping out, and hoping for the best, my first original design is finished at last! Please email me at dkovn@hotmail.com if you'd like me to send you the pattern and charts. By the way, for Ravelry members, this pattern is a free download. You can find it under my Ravelry user name, DeniseKovnat.