She gets all those emails because when I'm warping, and there are no distractions, I get a great deal of quality thinking time in. And I'm a morning person. We're deep in the planning phase for our fall Overshot class (8 weeks) and the two summer workshops we'll be doing - Dyeing (1 day) and Rag Rugs (two weekends).
I'm winding warp for the Fall 2013 Overshot class. We want samples of the project students will be doing and we need something to photograph for the catalog. The project is textile-based, in that they will weave two 22" square sections of overshot as pillow covers, or one 44"x 22" as a runner or for any other use they'd like.
It took me a little time to realize that I don't necessarily need to have an immediate purpose for the fabric I'm weaving. It's fabric. I can use it in just about any way I want (a million variables not withstanding). Liberating my design process to encompass the world of FABRIC and TEXTILE instead of limiting it to SCARF or RUNNER can be very exciting.
One of my favorite authors and weaving gurus. Peggy makes ethereal textiles in silk.
http://www.habutextiles.com/RIP-19-1
On the other hand...it's nice to have an end in mind. I have several skeins of sport-weight raw silk, that wonderful textured matte stuff in pretty browns and tans. I haven't quite decided what I want to do with it. I only know that when I saw it, at Tess Designer Yarns booth at the Maryland Sheep & Wool festival in 2012, I knew I had to weave something with it. I don't want a complicated structure but I do want to show off the colors. It isn't fabulously strong so I may need to combine it with something else as a warp.
In the meantime, I have PLENTY of other weaving to do for upcoming Fall art shows so as soon as the overshot sample comes off the loom I'll be onto that.
Later...
As Kerry mentioned in the last post, we're in a little bit of project overload, and we don't entirely hate it. The overshot is on Bam Bam, the Hearthside loom, and I'm almost done with the first sample. There will be two samples for photographing because we need something representative for the fall class and we need it early for the printed catalog. The next project is also overshot, this time for the class sample. Kerry is winding the warp for that tonight and I'll weave it on one of the classroom looms. In the Loom Lounge, Kerry is just started green and white towels, and I am tying on for waffle weave towels.
Last weekend we road-tripped to State College, PA, for a 36" Leclerc Nilus for Kerry, and to Alexandria for a 48" Macomber for me. Our personal projects are being woven on those and we're so excited! It's comforting to have looms with all their pieces-parts. Kerry's Nilus still had it's warp beam crank! Mine doesn't but I can use a wrench. Along the way we stopped at The Mannings (how could we not?) and had a wonderful conversation with Carol, one of the owners, about some of the very vintage looms they have. Kerry got huggy with the barn loom, and who could blame her? I'll let her tell the story of the barn loom. We also made some purchases but not as much as you might think. We pawed through Tom Knisely's pile o' rugs while Carol talked a little about them and that was worth the trip all by itself.
Weave on, dudes!
Erin
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