13 Monday Feb 2017
Posted in Chit Chat, Sewing, Weaving, Yarn and Fiber
Tags
As an addendum to my weaving and clothing plans I have questions for all of you:
Which size cushions do you like and why?
Which closure do you prefer?
(NOT by me)
If *I* can’t get handwoven cushions from my fabrics, perhaps somebody else would like to! Because there are bound to be leftovers, and I could certainly use some pocket money.
08 Wednesday Feb 2017
Posted in Chit Chat, Sewing, Weaving, Yarn and Fiber
Tags
Today’s post is related to the previous one. As before I still struggle with my taste for colour, and every time I think I’ve developed a colourscheme of just 3-4 shades, I keep finding a few extras that would also go well. Some of them overlap into the next group, others are completely different. From buddhist monks’ robes to pale greens and blues, from intricate patterns to solids. My brain overloads completely with colours from nature all the time, any season. I could make swatches and sketches as a full time job and never get beyond that.
01 Thursday Sep 2016
Posted in Show-and-tell, Weaving, Yarn and Fiber
More or less nothing actually! Which feels really weird after being so obsessed with it for a while, but in fact it’s very natural. I can’t do all the things all the time but I need the occasional shift in focus. Doing just one thing seems like having to eat the same food 3 x 365, even if it’s your favourite.
But I haven’t grown tired of it, in fact it just started out that way, a piece of cloth I didn’t enjoy making and since it required a lot of focus and counting I can’t just get it done and be over with. And then your focus slips away even without headaches. Oh, and did I mention that it’s really skinny thread, the fabric is as thin as fine bed sheets. Continue reading
25 Monday May 2015
01 Monday Dec 2014
Posted in Acid Dyeing, Garden, Weaving, Yarn and Fiber
First winter day, and a promise of, but not quite real frost at least in this garden. It’s possible that I simply got out of bed too late, though! Uglemor has taken care of that bit of December greeting for me. 😉
17 Tuesday Jun 2014
Posted in Chit Chat, Farm Life, Food, Garden, Plant Dyeing, Yarn and Fiber
Having promised that I’d do something with my weld and some failed, beige fabrics from last year’s plant printing tests, I wrapped half a sheet around plants, water and more plants on top and the other half sheet loosely crumbled on top, floating. As well as one of the failed cotton skeins that I’ve been going on about forever but never shown yet. (I have just two more than I want to put into some dyebath again, for, like, the 5th time, THEN!)
08 Saturday Feb 2014
Posted in Chit Chat, Plant Dyeing, Weaving, Yarn and Fiber
Birdie mentioned whether I’d sell the plant dyed yarns I’m not using (especially if they were fabrics). Raquel always wants to make scarves from it. 😉 My reply was, that until now I’ve used cheap, scruffy wool in very small skeins, so not very interesting for knitting at least, and I’m not really sure anyone would want it if they saw felt it in person.
Since I’m changing directions slightly both with my dyeing and yarn crafting, I thought it would be fun to do a survey, not because I expect any who reply to buy anything, but to help me choose materials. For myself mainly, but yes, if I could hand over an unwanted skein now and again in return for the ability to buy a couple of new ones to modify, that would be awesome. Sometimes I have an idea but abandon it halfway not because I hate the result, I just moved on quicker than my production pace.
I’d like to do more silks – mostly yarn, since fabric is expensive, so probably small quantities for needlework. Which yarn weights and skein lengths do you stitchery folks prefer? Do you use wool, and then which type? Chances are, you can teach me which threads I’d like to use myself…
I’m also probably going to experiment with dyeing wool fabric. Either handwoven or what I find. There will be fabric ends leftover from my weaving of all sorts. Do people look for small amounts of handwoven for quilting or textile “paintings” like some use handspun and handdyed mini-skeins? Would be über cool to swap or see a bit of my stuff used in someone elses stuff!
In which case, what types of fabric do you look for, when you look?
Cellulose fibers such as cotton and linen are out of my league now. They are difficult to dye. I do not have the energy to go into it this year, or ever. It doesn’t feel important when I know I can make protein fibers shine.
I have considered dyeing larger quantities of some nice knitting yarn, because I had various requests. Problem is, people talk but they don’t pay up front and I can’t afford to stock up on many kilos of nice yarn. If I have to spin it myself I’m not going to part with it for “a friendly price”! And I’m not really looking to set up an actual shop for small items that demand too much time compared to their price. At least not at my current energy level.
So anyway, while I’m trying out this tapestry/artistic weaving thing with ideas of some embroidery on top or meshed in specialty yarns, searching for a path among different types of yarns than I’m used to, I basically would like to hear what everybody else out there likes for various purposes. I hope to narrow down my spinning and weaving baseline staple to a few things that I use 80-90% of the time rather than have 300 g of every fiber under the sun.
I also don’t know yet what I’m going to “major” in. Will it be weaving or making/designing yarn? Or is textiles simply my grounding exercise that keeps the more brainy creativities alive, such as photo(shopping), writing – and what about the painting? I feel like I’m trying various things out, like different semesters in an education, and eventually perhaps I’ll fall deeper into one than the others. Which means leftovers from the activities that end up on the back shelf.
14 Tuesday Aug 2012
Posted in På dansk, Plant Dyeing
Tags
colour, cotton, creativity, fabric, forest, garden, mad scientist, oak, pattern, plants
-or “Where’s my Igor?”
I’m no good at it so far, I haven’t done my research yet, but I just had to try, didn’t I…..
Various cottons and one mystery cloth washed in soda, some soaked in red wine for tannin (YES, it had gone bad, ok?), some cooked with sumak, some with horse shoes, some a bit of both. I also had one treated with milk but forgot to label them, so I dunno which one that is.
Everything will be sitting in the greenhouse in various buckets now for weeks or months depending on my patience. Some with plant matter on the outside, others just in Alum/CoT water, or iron or everything. I did take notes….
Basically I’m just going to keep adding layers until they look interesting. The worst that can happen is nothing. Plant material: what caught my eye in the garden that day.
Jeg har ikke helt fået studeret emnet nok, det er svært at få plantefarve til at fæste på bomuld, især direkte som tryk fra blade mm.
Men jeg måtte alligevel iværksætte et par vanvittige eksperimenter…
Stoffet er vasket i soda, noget af det har fået garvesyre fra rødvin eller hjortetakblade/bark, noget har været dyppet i jernvand eller stænket med det, ligget i blød med hestesko, sådan lidt efter tilfældighedernes princip. Jeg er helt sikker på jeg også har haft et stykke i mælk (skulle binde protein i stoffet, så det tager mere farve), men glemte at sætte labels på sidste år. Så nu ved jeg ikke hvilket stykke det er….
Nu får det hele lov at ligge i spande i drivhuset nogen uger eller måneder, alt efter hvor god jeg er til at styre min nysgerrighed. Det værste der kan ske er jo ingenting!
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Colour Cottage 