Custom Orders - for the love of variety

I love variety in my weaving work. I take on all sorts of custom projects in addition to the repair work, research and “regular” weaving I do. I work with individuals on special projects and make custom work for retailers. Here are a few recent examples:

• a custom cushion for a homeowner’s kitchen bench

• a cosplay garment

• custom color and quantities of hand-towels for individuals and retailers

• blankets

• yardage for interior decorating projects (curtains and upholstery)

• yardage for garments

I love to make exactly what people are looking for - or to help them create something they have a vision for. I learn so much from each project and it challenges me to become a better weaver.

If you are interested in working with me on a special project of your own - feel free to reach out!

Handwoven Homespun - a Beginning

In 2022 the museum manager at Grovewood Village asked me to take a look at the old loom in their Homespun Museum to see if there might be a way to get it working again, just to show visitors how it works. I am lucky enough to be the bookkeeper over at Grovewood Village so I tend to be on hand for these things. This fabulous old loom was regularly used for demonstrations into the early 2000s but had been unused for years and in need of repairs.

The loom is one of the original 40 looms used in making handwoven homespun cloth at Biltmore Industries. It was built by Biltmore Industries woodworkers in the early 1900s and based off of a loom used for making tweed by weavers in Killin, Scotland. For my weaving nerds - this loom is a four shaft counter balance loom. It’s made of white oak and weaves about 40” wide cloth and has a flyshuttle. (Biltmore Industries began in 1901 as a craft school in Asheville, NC and eventually grew into a homespun shop producing as much as 950 yards of cloth per day and employing nearly 100 workers - you can read more here!)

Most of what needed repair were the leather straps that hold the shafts in place and that are attached to the treadles. The flyshuttle mechanism was also very sticky and needed lubricating. The loom is now operational again and I’ve had the pleasure to weave on it for visitors to the museum. I especially love when kids come in and ask questions — it’s a huge, noisy machine and leaves quite an impression!

Archival photo of Biltmore Industries weaver at the loom making woolen cloth

The loom restoration project led me down a gigantic rabbit hole which I am pleased to have found myself in. Initially it led me towards wanting to catalogue and digitize the samples that are a part of the collection of the museum. This is a project that I’m excited to say I’ve started and will take some time — I’ll be sharing more here as that progresses.

Looking through the vintage samples made me wonder about reproducing the fabrics…tweed is not as sought after these days (especially in the south) as it was when Biltmore Industries was in it’s heyday (1920s-1940s) so I decided I would explore blankets/throws and neck ties. Both things are great items to make with wool and are well suited to the patterns and weights that used to be produced here.

As I continued to (and continue to) research at UNCA Special Collections (where there is a treasure trove of local historical information) and at the Gallery’s private collection, I have learned that the Industries also sold blankets, purses, ties, and sweaters in addition to their yardage. Yardage for suiting and coat material was their specialty.

Archival photo of Biltmore Industries educational and sales display

As all of these wheel were turning in my head, I came to find out that Heath Towson of Mountaineer Motor Tours was looking for a blanket that he could keep in his Ford Model T for tours in case passengers get chilly. I told him about my idea to make blankets using the original Biltmore Industries patterns — Health is an excellent local historian and is a part-time docent at the museum — and my ideas now have traction.

Heath picked out a sample - 789 Tweed - the very first Biltmore Industries recreated handwoven homespun blankets will be woven in the same pattern.

Image of Biltmore Industries sample dated 5-1-1940 “789 Tweed”, visible discoloration near the label

There are other projects in the queue related to this work, other samples we want to recreate and so much more to write about. To be continued…

Quilt Repair

I bought a vintage quilt off of eBay in 2022. I’m not really sure why I did such a thing (it’s not like I was short on projects) except that I wanted to find a quilt to work on that didn’t need to be completed from start to finish. One that I could work on in front of the fire when the nights are dark and cold in the winter. One that I didn’t need to plan out or piece together myself. One that just needed a little fixing to make it useful again. Something felt more meaningful to me to work on a quilt that had already been around the block a while; that had already been loved and maybe looked like it was on it’s way to “cutter quilt” status and becoming too tattered to use regularly.

I have a deep appreciation for the work that does into quilt making. My gramma June made MANY quilts during her lifetime and I’m working on documenting that work. The quilters I have known, make quilts to be used and loved and don’t seem to expect for them to last forever. Picking up a vintage quilt and admiring it is like saying to all those quilters who have come before us “I see you. I see all this time spent in stitching; in caring for your family.”

The quilt I purchased was listed as being a 1930s/1940s feed sack fabric quilt. Some of the fabrics are indeed feed sack cottons. I have a small collection of vintage feed sack fabrics, naturally dyed cottons and other vintage fabrics that I thought would be perfect for patching and repair. The only thing I needed to find was a double-fold cotton binding that would be the right size and color to match the original.

There were a lot of squares that were so worn away and fragile I decided to cover them completely with a new fabric. Some squares just needed a little patch. I sewed all patches on with applique. Once all the squares were repaired I fixed tears by whip stitching and picked the old binding off because it was almost worn away. I hand-stitched the new binding on and then re-quilted all the areas I had repaired.

My mind could not help but reflect on this quilt as I fixed it. Who made it? Where were they living? (I have no information from the seller about it’s origins and there is no signature on the back) How long did it take them to stitch all these squares together? I wonder who’s clothes these scraps came from? I wonder how this fabric got such a particular worn pattern to it? May this was part of shirt that was worn out in the sun a lot…

Hand-stitching can be such a deep meditation. Repairing textiles is like a deep meditation but also a collaboration with the original maker(s) and user(s) of that textile.

And I thought: I see you quilter who has gone before me. I appreciate the care you put into this well loved object and I value your work so much that I’m determined to make it useful again.

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If you have a quilt in need of repair, let me know! I’d be happy to work with you on making it useful again. I have also been able to finish a couple of quilts for people and am working on one now that was left unfinished in a cedar chest. Being able to finish these treasures for you, is a gift.

Documenting the past: June's Recipe blog

In 2019 my gramma June died. She was the last of my grandparents and she was a firecracker. She was always stylish and had an amazing sense of humor. She knew how to tell stories and was deeply creative (more on that in a future post).

June was born in 1933 in Emerald, Wisconsin. A VERY tiny town amongst other tiny towns. When she was 22, she married my grandpa and they had 5 kids together. They fostered at least one little girl and my gramma seemed to be always sewing something for the house or the kids or the neighbors’ kids, or baking and cooking for her growing brood and all the various church functions, house parties, Tupperware parties and quilt guild meetings.

Gramma June in 1950s

May 1967 - Gramma June hanging out in the kitchen

She started collecting recipes when she was a teenager and continued to clip and collect recipes the rest of her life. She was a collector of many things but her collection of recipes is special.

For some of us, when we look at a family recipe we have a visceral reaction to them. They bring up specific times spent together, family traditions that may or may not make sense, and they seem to represent the depth of care and attachment to the person who made them.

This is really why my sister and I felt a compulsion to catalogue my gramma’s recipe collection. We loved them - they were funny (partly because of their vintage nature and partly because of my gramma’s honest notes on them) and they reminded us of her. We wanted to preserve this part of our memory of her - we also wanted to share it together and share it with our kids. We wanted to make sure our whole family had access to them.

So naturally I built a website for our project (click the button below to check it out!). My sister, Emily, and I started going through our gramma’s recipes, scanning them in and organizing them, picking out and planning which ones to try…we cooked some on our own and cooked some “together” over Zoom since we were living in different states at the time.

I think the whole project (which is still in progress as there are so many recipes…) did what cooking has a tendency to do — which I know my gramma knew — it brought my sister and I closer together and it brought my family together as they shared their memories of each thing we cooked over on our Facebook page. Cooking is kind of amazing that way - it makes us feel comforted and taken care of.

Left to Right: Emily, Gramma June, Deanna- cooking for a family get together in gramma’s log cabin kitchen. We are all wearing yellow t-shirts that we ironed on fabric cut-outs to.

Needlework Tools and Basics

Things I like to have on hand when beginning a needlework or creative embroidery project:

• Woven fabric is best to start with - linen or cotton in a mid-weight works best

• Lots of thread, yarn so you have options

• Scissors (shears and snips or embroidery scissors)

• Needles - various sizes and lengths that work with the yarns and fabric you have on hand

• Embroidery hoops - they create tension on the fabric and it makes it easier to sew through

• Beeswax to help keep threads from being unruly

• Marking tools to transfer designs to your fabric

• Wash-away stabilizer (also for design transfer)

• Thimble

embroidery basics - my favorite supplies to have on hand for stitching work

There are two books I really love when it comes to needlework:

The Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Needlework

and

The Geometry of Hand-Sewing by Natalie Chanin

They both have detailed descriptions for supplies and terms used in stitching and there are many illustrations and photos detailing technique. I find them extremely useful and return to them often.

It helps to think of stitching techniques as you would think about drawing:

The language of drawing can be simplified in terms of line and shape. The language of stitching can be simplified into outlines and filler stitches. There are many variations but all stitches are built off of very basic concepts. This is partly why I think creating complex looking motifs, designs or patterns is truly accessible once you understand the basic building blocks.

two books I highly recommend + basic categories of stitches

Want to learn more? Check my class availability or schedule one-on-one lessons with me!

Embroidery, Needlework and Mending - VIRTUAL!

$200.00

Looking for supplies? Check out my mending and embroidery kits in the shop!

Mending + Embroidery Kit (with blue scissors)

$32.00

Remnants and Scraps

There is so much one can do with scraps.

Scraps are sometimes creatively referred to as “remnants” in the hopes that these little bits of fabric will continue to hold value (where as the term ”scraps” can often invoke the dreaded perception that these leftovers are trash). Quilters often refer to the smallest bits as “crumbs” and a person can accumulate a lot of crumbs, scraps and remnants in a lifetime if they work with fabric.

As a weaver, I hesitate to throw away any piece of fabric that I made. It took so long to make and I remember the weaving so vividly that I always think “I’ll find something to do with it at some point”. And usually I do.

I’ve filled pillows with thrums and raggedy cut offs.

I’ve filled jars with bits as decoration.

I’ve dumped serger clippings and lint into my compost bin.

I use them to make smaller projects like hot-pads and pin cushions and have used odd pieces of fabric to make tote bags.

One of the things I love to do the most with scraps is to use them for embroidery projects or to embellish other work. It’s interesting to see new work collide with old work in this way and to see what else can come from my own work collaborating with itself.

My work tells a story of how years of work can build and become something entirely new.

Custom Orders

I am available for custom work and collaborative projects. Since 2015 I have been working with designers, retailers and makers to develop woven products for their shops. It is a process that I enjoy and make myself available for.

I have also enjoyed working with individuals with special requests for gifts. We work together on pattern, color and yarn selection. If this is something you would like to do - send me a message here! 

Take a peek at the photos below and you can see past rolls of yardage and washed and cut fabric ready for sewing. You will also see that I offer cut and sew services to my clients when needed. If you have a seamstress you work with regularly or you are one yourself, I’m happy to provide one-on-one sewing advice for how to work with handwovens.

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I am also available for custom dye projects. I work with natural fibers and sometimes they are not available commercially with the “right” color for the project. I offer natural dyeing of yarn or finished pieces to my customers as a solution. Check out the photos below for some examples.

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You can order a sample pack of handwoven yardage here or get started on your own custom project with me by reading more here — or send me an email about your project!

Talk Softly to Yourself

For a long time, I had a reoccurring event on my Google Calendar for Sunday mornings that was called “Yoga: Talk Softly to Yourself”. I needed this weekly reminder to slow down and be gentle with myself…

(to remember to appreciate what I had accomplished during the past week - no matter how small - and not look forward with anticipation of failure but instead with hope and lightness)

(to honor the parts of myself that might be feeling small or need some comfort and encouragement)

(to remember to move my body in a way that was attentive to it in the moment)

My personal yoga practice is about coming into my reality and connecting my mind with my body.

This phrase “talk softly to yourself” was something another weaver said to me during a time when I needed to hear it and it left a vivid imprint. What a wonderful way to express care for yourself.

SELF CARE IS EXPANSIVE

I have recently been challenging the idea that I am the holder of all the emotional support that those around me need and that I am responsible for the well being of others. This idea and pattern of mine is my auto pilot. I tend to feel this responsibility and act on it at my own expense - forgetting that I need emotional support and care too or thinking that my time will come eventually. Or as I once heard my gramma say “I’ll cry tomorrow”

In challenging this idea I have found out that I do not have a finite amount of myself to give. I dole it out to everyone and feel there is nothing left for myself but in fact, when I first give to myself the amount I have in reserve for others is expansive. It grows and is limitless. It feels more present and less reactive.

I’m writing these thoughts down to help me remember the value of nurturing myself and to share this discovery with you. I hope you can find the endless value there is in taking time to be with yourself and appreciate yourself. I hope you enjoy your journey with all its bumps - you really are amazing.

Darning or Mending?

Darning is a type of mending technique using needle and thread to cover a hole in a piece of fabric or reinforce a threadbare piece of fabric. Another type of mending is patching - using fabric in conjunction with needle and thread to repair holes and/or threadbare fabric.

How to darn a hole:

• Clip away ragged edges

• Work on the wrong side of the fabric.

• Darn should be same shape as the hole but overlap the thinning fabric completely to reinforce

• Use a darning egg (a light bulb or apple works too!)

• Use a similar size yarn as is in the fabric you are darning

• Work up and down the hole first (do not knot your darning thread)

• Darn over the hole horizontally and only a couple stitches over onto the fabric (not as far out as your first darning stitches)

• Pick up alternate darning yarns in each row in order to weave the horizontal darns through the vertical darns

How to darn a hole on knits:

Darning knits begins the same way as darning a hole in a woven fabric. The difference is that your second darn is diagonal instead of horizontal. This allows the fabric to stretch better once it's darned.

Here are some of my favorite resources:

• Fab Scrap - a textile recycle resource (they pick up manufacturing scraps and sell them to artists and crafters) + great place to grab scraps for patching and mending

• The Geometry of Hand-sewing by Natalie Chanin - a gorgeous and instructive book about hand-sewing

• Complete Guide to Needlework - my favorite book for needlework since childhood

• Make Do and Mend - a collection of 1940s British Government Leaflets centered around being thrifty in all sorts of ways including mending and repairing clothes and home goods

• Pinterest mending idea board - a collection of images and videos related to mending

Weaving ASMR

I’ve been collecting short videos of weaving for a while and have decided to make a playlist so I can share them with you. These are small clips - not meant to be educational but more like slow TV. I hope you enjoy them.

Connecting Through Cloth

We are in the midst of a time when we cannot be together as we were. While we see our current situation as being impermanent, resisting the adjustment to it is not productive.

We serve ourselves (and each other) better when we open ourselves to connecting in new ways. Seems we became more dependent on the platforms we were familiar with already (Social Media) and expected this to fill those needs for connection.

Social media provides a vast resource to us - individuals can share resources and thoughts from miles away and our world expands exponentially.

We still have an innate desire to belong and feel connected as individuals though. We fear rejection from our circle, we fear getting things wrong, we fear being honest. We are limited in truly learning from each other when we depend on these 2D interactions to teach us.

It is in response to this difficulty that virtual Soul Mending Sessions came into being. It is a space for learning, a space for being together, a space for getting messy and asking difficult questions, a space to connect deeper, a space to share our love for textiles.

Textiles are a soft, comforting, accessible springboard to all kinds of conversation. Textiles have long been a means for political and social discourse; a way to commune and raise awareness, a way to raise money for a cause, a way to promote change.

Here is just one example of how we as individuals connect to our craft but also create connections that are more universal through that making - the video below is a conversation with artist Zipporah Camille Thompson, artist Diedrick Brackens, and curator TK Smith from June 19, 2019, at the Clark Atlanta Art Museum in Atlanta, Georgia on the occasion of the Looming Chaos exhibtion on view at the Zuckerman Museum of Art, January 25 through May 10, 2020.

With thread and needle in hand, we are with our thoughts. They move through us and into what we make. When we stitch in the company of others, we are together on our journey - remembering out loud, sharing stories and context for our lives and perspectives, appreciating our natural tendency to care and bring comfort to others.

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Virtual Soul Mending Sessions began in July 2020. We met 3 times over Zoom during the month and I will continue to offer these meeting times as long as there is interest. If you want to join in on the conversation and camaraderie, please sign up!

Processing Grief

4/28/20

As I was cutting 2” squares of fabric, I thought “these are like pieces of my broken heart”

Cutting only to sew them together again to make a small quilt to wrap my sweet old kiwi cat in on her death day. I cut, sewed and pieced them back together again - I wrapped her in it as she fell asleep and tucked her in and tied it when she was gone.

I will miss her. I will miss her snaggle tooth, her crankiness, her rumbling purr, her snuggles, the feeling of the warmth of her sleepy self on my lap. I will miss her sounds, her soft fur, her beautiful markings, her spotted toe pads, and the way her belly flapped when she trotted down the road. I will miss seeing her soaking up the sun on the porch and laughing about how much she loves a good box.

Pets are precious. They are with us such a short time but during that time they provide comfort and so much joy. My pets remind me of the importance of a good nap, how exciting it can be to eat and play, they remind me to be here now.

Grateful

Sad

6/21/20

There is metaphor tied into making - we are constantly working out meaning and purpose in creating something from nothing. We take pieces of fabric, each pattern with a memory attached to it, we put them together again…as if making a physical display of these memories that exist in an intangible place in our minds. Making them more tangible - giving them space to live on and be remembered again. What a treasure memories are. And what a treasure a quilt is - a manifestation of comfort and love.

During the last two years, I have experienced a lot of loss.

My grandma Betty died May 8, 2018.

My grandpa Bob died May 30, 2018.

My ex-husband, Blake, committed suicide July 25, 2018.

My aunt Sue died August 16, 2018.

Then on October 17, 2019, my last grandparent, my grandma June, my quilt-crazy grandma, died.

The experience of loss is profound. I continue to learn from it because it is always here to teach me. Grief never goes away. We learn to carry it with us. We learn how to give it space. We learn to acknowledge it when it reminds us that you cannot have love without loss.

I have other projects that I am working on that are special to me - projects that bring my love for textiles and history in conversation with the love I have for these people who are no longer with me. I will probably share them here one day. I will certainly write more about my textile loving grannies and the joy that I experience in learning from their work. If we don’t share these stories and memories - I believe we rob future generations of the preciousness of them. Life is so fleeting and if we don’t stop and write it down, we may forget it happened.

kiwi’s death day shroud - full of color and reminders of the outdoors - she loved to be outside and was a great hunter - she loved to roll on her back in the sun and would lay in the sun for hours

fabric scraps and naturally dyed remnants, bits of old t-shirt from my son who loved our kiwi so much, sewn together to make something new, as a meditation on saying goodbye

my sweet kiwi cat 4.28.20

Notes and Thoughts on Mending

Mending is empowering.

It is an action (taking needle and thread to cloth) that you are in control of - and there is so much we cannot control in life.

It is a form of expression - you can make it the way you want to make it. So what you ripped your sweater? Make it fashion.

It is activism against consumerism - you can make those jeans last longer than the big box store thinks you can. You really can, I believe in you.

It is a way to show you love this green earth - make your things last longer and need fewer things in your lifetime. Textiles are not trash. When they are so worn out that you can’t repair them anymore, use them to stuff a pillow for your living room or turn that old t-shirt into yarn and make something with that!

It is a manifestation of your ability to care and hope - In repairing broken things, we learn compassion; we think about the repair that we all need in our lives. Something broken can be fixed and made beautiful, perhaps more beautiful, because of the time and attention we have devoted to it.

It is a record and memory of your time - you spend your time living in your clothes, wearing them out, taking care of them as they keep you warm or cool. You spend your time selecting threads and fabrics to mend with, you spend your time mending and reflecting on the comfort you get from your favorite textiles.

Mending is power.

Sister Granola

I’m calling this “Sister Granola” because my sister shared this recipe with me in 2014. Since then, we have both continued to make it and change it and make and use whatever we have on hand to make it again.

It is my go-to breakfast right now, it’s easy to add to and so easy to throw together. Thanks sister :)

I am going to add in some notes for what I do if I double the recipe, which I usually do! Everything without a special note just gets doubled!

2 cups rolled oats (when I double this I add 1 cup pumpkin seeds and 1 cup sunflower seeds instead of 2 more cups of rolled oats)

1/2 cup raw buckwheat groats (when I double this I add in 1/2 cup of hemp hearts instead of more buckwheat)

1/2 cup walnuts (chopped)

1/2 cup unsweetened raw coconut

1/4 cup raisins (or dried cranberries)

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon (optional)

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)

1/2 cup maple syrup (if you don’t have this on hand, honey works too)

1/4 cup of dates (I just chop these up instead of blending them)

2 Tbsp melted coconut oil

2 Tbsp water

2 tsp vanilla (when I double this I add 2 tsp of almond extract instead of another 2 tsp of vanilla)

Blend dry ingredients in a bowl, blend syrup and dates, oil, water, vanilla in blender till smooth or combine in a bowl. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and spread them over parchment paper on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, stirring at about 10 minutes.

Allow to cool before storing.

Granola + Chia Seeds + Blueberries + Raspberry Kefir

Sometimes I Bake - bran muffins

Good recipes are like special treasures. I’m going to share with you one of my favorites.

I was hunting for a moist bran muffin for years until I came across this one on the internet somewhere. Being younger then than I am now…I didn’t write down where I found it…or the date (I apologize in advance to whoever's recipe it was originally but also - thank you). But I do know i’ve been making this bran muffin for about 5 years and I’ve made all sorts of substitutions (cheese instead of milk, juicing pulp instead of shredded carrots, gluten free flour instead of all-purpose flour) and they have remained my favorite. I really like a moist bran muffin though.

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or substitute with your flour of choice)

3/4 cup ground flax seed

3/4 cup oat bran

1 cup brown sugar (tastes fine with 1/2 the sugar IMO)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional if someone in your house is sensitive to cinnamon like in mine)

3/4 cup milk of your choice

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp oil (I use coconut or sunflower)

2 cups shredded carrots

2 apples, peeled, shredded (I use homemade applesauce)

1/2 cup raisins (I like golden raisins but that's a personal preference)

Mix the dry stuff, mix the wet separately, then combine.

Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes

I use coconut oil in my muffin pan to keep them from sticking, makes about 2 dozen.

Tales from the Loom: Bamboo Warp 14

Finished around December 2019 and January 2020 this bamboo and tencel warp was designed and woven for a custom order that I received (and of course I wove more than was ordered to maximize my time and efforts). A few tops and loop scarves came out of this warp and I managed to finish it (SLOWLY) with the help of my silly kitten who is always determined to sleep on top of the warps I weave.

When I start to weave I can hear him run from the other side of the house. First he jumps up to sit on the bench with me and watch the shuttle go by. Before long he is either trying to chase the yarn or purring loudly in front of me looking for an place to lay down. I think he is now convinced that weaving time = play time + cuddle time…and I’m not mad about it.

Tales from the Loom: Bamboo Warp 13

Handwoven with all bamboo rayon yarns - again on my Macomber with 8 harnesses in a twill weave. Pin stipes in gold and brown on 2/3 of the warp and a solid black 1/3.

I finished weaving this warp for tops and scarves around November/December 2019. I’m sure I put it on my loom in the summer and it took forever to weave it off. During the summer of 2019, we were visiting my in-laws on their farm in West Virginia. While we were there a stray black kitty followed my nephew and father-in-law up to the house. She started wandering around looking for attention and food - and it was apparent to me that she was pregnant so she was likely looking for a great place to nest and have her kittens. Being the animal/pet lovers that we are…we all fell instantly in love with her. Feeling the need to take her home with us to North Carolina and properly care for her, let her have her kittens, and find homes for them when the time came.

That’s exactly what we did.

She had her 6 kittens in my garage studio and I doted over the mom and babies for several months - finally finding homes for 5 kittens and deciding to keep one when they were 8-12 weeks old. I took them all to the vet together at least once to have them all checked out. It is amazing the amount of joy a pile of kittens can bring to people. They are so sweet and silly and fuzzy. They all seemed to have different personalities, too.

In October 2019, my grandma June died. I had to leave for the funeral the same weekend that we schedule to have the kittens picked up by their new owners. It was a sad time. Weaving was slow and I found it difficult to finish projects.

—-

Life is just so full of all of it - love, joy, pain, sadness. To watch these kitties grow and worry about them and laugh at them and cuddle them and play with them was like living out a childhood fantasy. It was like a gift to my childhood self to just absorb it all without guilt. Balancing this against the pain of loss - what can I say…? It is all so apparently and blatantly a part of life. You just can’t have one (joy) without the other (sadness). It’s amazing to me how much capacity for both we have as humans.

Tales from the Loom: Bamboo Warp 12

Woven with tencel and bamboo yarns with 8 harnesses on my Macomber loom. This run of yardage was a little wider on the loom and I was more generous with the lengths that I cut for tops. I was testing out some thoughts I had about making this top even more versatile in sizing. The twill and the fine yarn allow for such a beautiful drape.

I remember I was thinking a lot about fall colors - drying leaves, dark nights, deep golden grasses - when I was weaving this yardage. The large areas of color blocking turned out beautifully.

This came off the loom in October 2018.

I lost several very important people in my life between May - August 2018. It was a challenging and dark time. I continue to be amazed our capacity to hold so much loss and love in a lifetime.

Exhaust Dying

I do my best to use up as much color as I can in my natural dye baths. Sometimes I throw in old sheets or fabrics that need a re-fresh. Sometimes I toss in some yarn. There are ways to extract the unspent pigment and use it to make paints or save it for later but usually I dye and then dump and rinse to get ready for the next dye project.

I bought 100% cotton string produce bags knowing that I wanted more options to share when trying to exhaust my natural dye baths. They live in the shop when available and there may be some other things there with yarns dyed in exhaust baths…

Exhaust baths will give you lighter shades of your dye color until it is spent. I like to layer colors on by dying things in indigo and then marigold, madder or cutch. These are the dyes I use the most although other flowers do make their way in when I have some around!

(pictured bags are dyed in marigold, indigo, and cutch)

You can purchase one here!

Tales from the Loom: Bamboo Warp 11

My 11th warp was all about exploring wraps (though I did make some cowls too). What could be more decadent than having approximately 2 yards of this fabric hanging about your shoulders? Woven for the spring of 2018 on my Macomber 8 Harness loom in a twill weave structure. The warp was designed to incorporate both tencel and bamboo-rayon yarns. I was pleased with the way they combined. They are very similar in hand and texture but tencel is considered to be a more earth friendly fiber (in terms of how it’s processed) than bamboo-rayon.

I’m not sure what compelled me to create a warp with pink, white, green-ish and sand colored yarns side by side…but I think I just needed try try something bold and thought that in making wraps, large areas of color-blocking would be excellent. It was! I really enjoyed weaving these and the colors that resulted. Especially the combination of bright green or deep blue in the weft against the pink…

I had a custom order come from this warp - for a tunic - that turned out wonderfully as well.

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