Tuesday 28 December 2010

Finishing Projects

Michael is fairly well at the moment and no hospital visits are currently organised. There are no classes, either for me to take or to run. I have tidied out the room upstairs with Robin's help. 'Why do you keep all those suitcases in here? Why don't you put them in the cellar?' Because I never thought of it, that's why. We did start proceedings by clearing three long shelves in the cellar so I have spare space there. The garage gets cold and damp in the winter but the cellar contains the boiler and has been noticeably warm in the recent cold weather. So various large things like suitcases and a rigid heddle loom are now down there. Robin was very helpful in his remarks except for ' Why do you keep all these boxes full of stuff?' Referring to my yarn stash. How dare he! I did realise that one effect of weaving, textiling and bookbinding is that there are three separate stashes! And they are all in the same room - with a little overspill into the stairway. At least the floor can be seen now.


He did comment on the plastic boxes, each containing one project, littered around upstairs. So I decided that I would have a blitz and finish one project per day until New Year. Of course I have to select projects which only require one day's work on them. So here is the first, done on Boxing Day. All done in Mola work. It is intended as a first pass and I have learnt various things from it. The green cotton fabric was dyed by me  - space dyed Procion MX - and is a bit too pale. Also the fabric is too fine as the backing layers of the Mola work are visible through it. I made the gilet reversible because I found a nice piece of dyed cotton in the stash. I had trouble with making up this gilet because I mis-remembered how to reverse the fabric and had to unpick it after I had trimmed the seams. The result is that I did not check the appearance carefully enough and by the time I had realised various flaws, I had top-stitched the edges. It is a sample for the Creative Textiles class and I shall certainly wear it. The class starts up again on 7th January.

On the morning of December 27th,  this was a length of  washed and pressed fabric. It was started at Margaret Roach Wheeler's class in Mahotan Weaving in May 2010.  The weave is Summer and Winter and was finished in a few weeks .Yesterday, I got out Margaret's instructions for making up and made it up. The yarn is 12/2 cotton and I felt that any cut edge had to be bound so there is lavish use of black bias binding inside. It pulls on over the head and stops just below the waist. Ideal for wearing over a sweater.

Apart from stripping and washing bed clothes today, I should be able to complete  the other Japanese sample books. I might be able to make a start on the cover for the four sample books but I doubt if I have the time to finish it. But no doubt tomorrow! 

I am still generating a list of projects which must be finished.  And then there is the list of projects not even started which needed to be completed some time in 2011. I am trying hard to amalgamate some of these.

2 comments:

  1. I think the gilet has come out well. You could overdye it if you think it is too pale. Alternatively paint it with silk paints and then you will only get the colour where you want it

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  2. Won't the silk paint go through to the lining? What I wanted was a darker green. Maybe it will not matter if the lining becomes a bit greener. But it seems very dodgy to me and I think I will live with it as it is for a bit. The next one can be darker!

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About Me

I am weaver and - -. I dye my yarns with acid dyes, I paint my warps, put fabric collages and stencils on my weaving. I have three looms, a 12 inch wide, 12 shaft Meyer for demos and courses, a 30 inch Louet Kombo which is nominally portable but has a stand, two extra beams and a home-made device containing a fan reed. And last a 32 shaft Louet Megado which is computer controlled, has a sectional warp and a second warp beam and I am the proud owner of an AVL warping wheel which I love to bits and started by drilling holes in. I inserted a device for putting a cross in. I have just acquired an inkle loom and had a lesson from an expert so I can watch TV and weave at the same time. I am interested in weaving with silk mostly 60/2 although I do quite a bit with 90/2 silk. I also count myself as a bookbinder with a special interest in Coptic binding.