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| Coda |
| 06.26.05 (2:34 pm) [edit] |
Okay, 2 more, since I just can't seem to help myself.
Some more marvelous dyeing.
And who says roving doesn't make a splendid accessory, especially when it is so beautifully dyed and on such a great model:
Thus ends my Shakerag saga, even though later I will post pictures of my swatch piece and completed treasure bag.
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| Shakerag Continued |
| 06.26.05 (6:20 am) [edit] |
Days 2 and 3, we concentrated on dyeing. We learned various cold pour methods - color banding, random pour, precise painting of yarns and warps for weaving. We also learned the hot pour method - a little more trouble, as you have to make sure your pH is just right, but the results were amazing. Lynne also demonstrated carding to create different effects. Here are some various pictures of our dyeing efforts:
Beautiful colors! What inspiring colorways.
Here are some more of our rovings. Everyone is an artist here!
Even our 2 ladies who had never spun before:
Note Ann's beautiful treasure bag from some of her first spun. Also, if you are wondering why the little doll is in the picture, Ann created a lovely little doll hat from some of her fiber!
Pam, our other beginner, took off like a house on fire!! She truly has a great eye for color and was spinning great by the end of the week. Note the first light blue-green yarn, then the much better dark blue, green and pink swatch and finally the red a blue to the extreme left! Pam's getting a wheel on Monday - Woo Hoo! I can't wait to see what she does with a wheel :)
Finally, here are the fruits of my week long endeavor. I was slower than most. (Notice, I tried to stay away, mostly, from my favorite colorways of purple, green, turquoise,etc. I deliberately worked against the grain to try to learn as much as possible.)
And here is our fearless leader, and talented assistants:
And, last, but not least, our weeklong mascot, Lynne's dog, Monk. (You may remember him modeling socks in The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook).
He is the most well behaved fellow. He is trained not to bother fiber. He would just come in, lay down on the cool floor and rest. Once in awhile, he would make the rounds for his requisite petting.
All in all, it was a wonderful week. I would recommend a studio intensive to anyone. I felt like I had a basic knowledge of spinning and dyeing before I went, but now I feel I have the tools to accomplish anything I set my mind to doing.
I treasure all the friendships I made. I never went to camp when I was a kid - now I made up for it!
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| Day 1 - Shakerag |
| 06.21.05 (5:50 am) [edit] |
On the evening before, Lynne brought out some of her beautiful rovings. Our first assignment was to pick out two of them to play with the next day. We were to uncoil them, fluff them up and generally analyze the interplay of colors. On Monday morning, she set about teaching us different ways to spin them to achieve various results. Here is a picture of Lynne demonstrating, with a student looking on:
And notice the beautiful green and orange yarn. This was done by the student in the above picture. She learned well, wouldn't you say?
As did this student:
As evidenced by this:
You don't see stuff like this in yarn stores!!
Here is another picture of2 more students busy creating equally stunning yarns:
(Some of my friends were comfortable with having their pictures on the blog - some were comfortable with pictures, but no names, so I am being safe and not attaching names to pictures.)
Here is a picture of one of the yarns I spun:
We learned that we do not have to be a slave to the rovings, but that there are several things that can be done to make them: 1) Heathered 2)Brightly Contrasting 3) Solid, if so desired or 4) Solid areas, changing colors at intervals (self-striping, in other words).
The next installment will be about the dyeing process. I did not remember to take my camera until late in the day on Day 3, so that is the reason there are already so many dyed fibers in the pictures.
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| Still Floating |
| 06.19.05 (7:02 am) [edit] |
I am back from my Wonderful Week of Color, and I'm still brimming with all the possibilities out there to combine colors. I know you are dying to see pictures; right now I am concentrating on resting up a bit, but here is one to whet your appetite and to prove I actually went:
As we finished our dye packets, we left them outside to dry. We had 3 racks full of these beauties at all times!
My day by day account doesn't begin yet, but just a few general impressions follow. It is an incredible experience to immerse yourself in a week long intensive. It really was not until Wednesday when everything started to come together for me and the creative muse kicked in. Monday and Tuesday were my information overload days. Lynne is a marvelous teacher, as are here assistants (wrong word here, they are much more than that - each an awesome talent by anyone's standards) Sandy and Lori. The best part were all the wonderful people I met. Everyone in our class had talent and this workshop cranked it up to a much higher level. Everyone was great! Some lasting friendships were definitely forged. It was an adjustment to settle into communal living. Shakerag is actually held on the campus of a prep school, and apparently the students left in a whirlwind which obiviously did not blow the dirt out of their dorm rooms. However, we coped and good naturedly joked about the sleeping conditions - actually, this also helped the creative process, since everyone preferred to spend long hours in the studio (actually the school's science lab). I was so amazed: Lynne, Lori and Sandy would also come back at night and work on projects along with us. I think that was probably the most fun - getting to interact socially, rather than having the teacher/student structure. Lynne never ceased to surprise me. One day, as we were spinning, she read a lenghty story to us. She is quite a reader and could do books on tape, if she so desired. She is a marvelous reader.
Pictures will follow,etc., etc.
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| Gratuitous Stitchery |
| 06.09.05 (9:58 pm) [edit] |
Okay... I have a confession to make. I do not enjoy crocheting. I think the resulting fabric is either too bulky or too peek-a-boo to make useful clothing. I associate crochet with bazaar-like, loud colored afghans and dish towels made with department store yarn. I don't like the wrist movements associated with crocheting. Since I have never mastered the intricacies of complex stitches, I find crocheting rather boring. (This from a babe who can put out socks by the dozens and never be fazed by the sameness of them - go figure!) Also, if I am upset, I can't bang 2 needles hard against each other like I can do when I am knitting. It wouldn't be a good idea to attack my non-hook holding finger! And to be fair, maybe it was because I was stuck in a "I can crochet, but I can't knit" mindset for many, many years. So, my big confession is that I only crochet if there is really, really something in it for me. That is why I did this:
Potholders?? No!! Just something to feed my knitting addiction:
Lo and behold - rolls for holding my double pointed needles! The small blue one is from a free pattern on a crochet site. The larger one was a variation I made up from the free pattern so I could put my large sets of needles in them.
Here's how they look rolled up:
Also, I have finished Clapotis. This is out of "nearly silk" - some sort of synthetic that is supposed to resemble silk. I like the feel and the sheen. I enjoyed knitting this pattern. It was simple, but interesting enough to keep me from going to sleep. It made a nice large, almost shawl sized scarf.
The designer, on her website, suggests not blocking this and wearing it with the reverse stockinette side showing.
This makes it look a little too curled up for me. So, stubbornly, I seem to like the "other" side better, and I think it drapes and looks better on me that way.
In other news, my big, week long fiber intensive with Lynne Vogel is looming near - yes, just 2 more days before I leave for Tennessee and a glorious retreat for fiber therapy! I have been packing for the last 3 weeks. Not that I have to take so much, but my OCD side keeps telling me I will forget something important.
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| Moving Day |
| 06.07.05 (7:03 am) [edit] |
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Off today to help Phillip move to Orlando. Catch you later!
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| Taken by Surprise |
| 06.01.05 (6:47 am) [edit] |
We have just gotten back from a 3 day visit with my dad in Atlanta (well, almost Atlanta). They have a Hobby Lobby where my dad lives, and sometimes I will go over there. Yesterday we went and I was really surprised at how much better there stock of knitting stuff has become. Here were things that caught my interest:
Old fashioned replicas of needlework accessories, such as needle cases, scissors, yarn cutters.
A new (to me) brand of mostly novelty yarn. I picked up some "Yarn Bee" eyelash for a song - also some flip flops to embellish for $1 a pair.
Some crochet cotton (about fingering weight) in absolutely stunning colors and made by DMC. The name of the cotton is Senso. I had never seen this anywhere before.
Rosewood knitting needles (in Hobby Lobby - of all places!!)
100% merino wool - 210 yds for $5.21 a skein, though not in a very wide range of colors.
Small, almost needle-nosed, plastic bottles with nice plastic lids for applying dyes. (Bought 3)
A nice brand of rug yarn (I cannot remember the brand at this moment), which I bought to knit a rug for my kitchen. The colors exactly match those in my curtains. (I bought all of each of the 3 colors that matched - I think about 11 skeins - hmm... anyone know how far 33 yds. of a rug weight yarn will go? I'm going to make it work, though, even if I have to have a lace patterned rug!)
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