Show and Tell, Sep 2020

Show and Tell

Kathy S:  Work in progress

Turned Taquete project done in silk 20/2 warp and 60/2 weft.

Jodi: New work off my loom

8/2 Tencel. The color is hand-dyed by me, except the purple gradients which were from Kathrin Weber.

 

Ulla:  Dear friend Gisela Evitt remembered,  weavings of her beautiful stash

My dear friend Gisela Evitt died in July.  She was one of the founders of Trampornas Guild and a contributor to Fabrication.  Gisela stopped weaving (but not spinning and knitting) when her husband Bill died in 2009.  She has slowly been passing her stash of yarns to me and I now almost exclusively use it in my work.  We are standing in front of “Gisela’s Linen”, an installation of 23 panels showing the different colors of a 50/2 Knott’s linen she gave me.

Last week was a week for finishing projects.  I had a long warp of linen curtains for our corner bay windows on the loom for a couple of months.  48″ wide, 24 epi and 50/2 linen from Gisela’s stash of Knox linen.  This linen comes in small spools with about 900 yards per spool. The curtains were to let in the light and provide us with privacy.  I wanted the fabric to be quite plain but with some small point of interest.  I saw John’s place mats in 6 shaft spot weave and loved the meeting of “hands” the spots suggested to me.

     

The other project I finished was two Tallits for family twins who are to Bar Mitzvah in October. The boys are identical twins and have since birth been identified by the color blue and green.  The Tallits are in silk (from Gisela), a grey warp and I dyed the weft.  My daughter who loves to cross-stitch sewed the initials for the two boys.

   

And here is August.
I have been working on Ply-Split Twining since I took a class with Linda Hendrickson last fall.  I like the SCOT Single-Course Oblique Twining and have been wanting to make rugs in that technique.  This rug is 27″x 84″ and made from 274 cords.  The cords are wool, 40 strands of Maypole 2ply,  a very old yarn, not in production any more.  I had two boxes of it, given to me by Gisela Evitt and Kathryn Coleman in many colors.  I used up a lot of them in this rug.  The rug is thick and springy and will never wear out – I think

         

Show and Tell, Aug 2020

Show and Tell

Betsy: Experiments using Abaca fiber.

I tried using the Abaca fiber from you to make bottle brush crafts… a tree and flower… I need to work on the technique… but it may give you some ideas.

Barbara:  Burning Bush: Conflagration but not Consumed.

Rediscovered and finally finished, here are  three handwoven ikat silk squares with gold leaf (or gold textile paint?) shibori motif. Only one of them had the painted flames. I matched the paint and did the other two to create a series called Burning Bush: Conflagration but not Consumed. Hung with tiny magnets painted to disappear. Hung above the bed in my new studio.

Show and Tell, July 2020

Show and Tell

Johanna: Color and Weave/Shadow Weave shirt and skirt.

 

Here is my Color and Weave/Shadow Weave shirt and skirt I originally created in 1991 with the guidance of Cyrena Wilson (Guild member). It is a pattern from Margaret and Thomas Windeknecht, p. 149 of their Color and Weave Book. While I first made it into a dress, I never did wear it, so I had it re-created into a shirt and skirt just today and do hope to get more use out of it.

 

 

       

Gail:  4-shaft Crackle scarf in process.

The warp is 8/2 tencel and the pattern wefts are Shantung silk and silk/wool blends in brown, taupe and orange. Since I don’t have enough of any one of the three colors for the whole scarf, I’ve had to get creative about color division. I worked up a diagram in Adobe Illustrator that has helped me try ideas out. I plan to feature a border design at each end of the scarf and possibly one at the center as well. The diamond draft is from a 1957 “Practical Weaving Suggestions” article by Rupert Peters. Click here for the article.

 

Sandy: finished rep rug in time for her son’s birthday.

 

Ange: Woven jacket with knitted sleeves

Vest warp is all of my blue and green sock yarn oddballs and leftovers; weft is Zephyr, woven in a plaited twill. Sleeves are knitted from DK weight MCN.

 

 

 

John:  Sashiko-ori and the 12-shaft Countermarch loom in action

I successfully wove sashiko stitch. It turns out there is a name for this: sashiko-ori. I will try again with some changes to see if I can get better at it.

 

 

I assembled my 12-shaft countermarch loom and it seems to work well. I still need to tweak the tie-up to get a clean shed.

Johanna: Pillows matching a painting

 

 

These pillows were created on my 8 harness loom and it is a Strickler Plaited Twill pattern all in cotton. The pillows were made for my couch in the living room where the painting my girl friend made for me is displayed nearby.

 

 

 

 

       

 

Anonymous: Mystery warp, mostly 20/2 cotton, some linen

Betsy: Jacket and Vest

What you see is a “jacket” made from some weaving and knitting I must have picked up at an estate sale. (Or maybe someone in the guild did it. I have no idea where I picked it up.) The assembly – and colors – are mine; the knitting and weaving belong to someone else. The body is plain weave, probably done on a rigid heddle (about 20″ wide), and the colors make a wonderful plaid. The sleeves are moss (seed?) stitch, and when this yarn is knitted, it comes out as stripes.

    

Here is my third “sweater” knitted during shelter in place. It is a vest made with Noro yarn picked up at Fengari in Half Moon Bay. I believe it is Noro’s pattern, too, although it may be Fengari’s.

 

Mug Exchange – A Black Sheep Tradition

Mug Carriers

Black Sheep has the tradition of caring for the environment. One small thing we can all do is to bring a mug to the guild meeting and avoid using a disposable cup. For many years in the past, members exchanged mugs and created mug carriers. Some people got very creative and matched the design with the given mug. To give you ideas here are some pictures.


 

   

     

 

Show and Tell, June 2020

Show and Tell

John:   Loom and scarf

I found this 12-shaft countermarch loom a couple of months ago on Craigslist and only just recently cleared out enough space to set it up. I just need more texsolv cord for the tie-up. Eventually I will expand it to 16 shafts and maybe make a DIY electronic dobby.


I’m taking Tien’s stash scarf online class.

The threading is similar to the broken twill threading in Carol Strickler’s book “8-Shaft Patterns” but not quite like anything in her book. It started out as a four-shaft broken twill, but spread out to eight shafts. I’m using the tie-up from Tien’s class. So the pattern is a mashup.

The weft is Crystal Palace Mini Mochi and the warp is various fingering weight wool yarns.

 

 

Kitty:  Water bottle holder exchange with Sandra Rude

Sandra’s bottle holder is a double weave, padded for the shoulder, and has beautiful attention to detail.

Kitty’s bottle holder is Andean backstrap weaving with plain weave and a traditional motif in pebble weave.

              

 

Ann: 3 day online indigo workshop with Aboubakar Fofana

 

He had us work on creating 7 shades of blue from our vats.

 

 

 



Then taught us how to create even colors on large pieces.

 

 

 

 

Barbara S:    Hex plaited Globe – 14 x 14 x 14″,  dyed Sedori cane.

I hung it on the wall and like the view to the base. I am not sure just where this one will go next, but the shape is nice as it is.

 

Barbara O:    I bought the Glimakra when I knew nothing about weaving – it was a good deal! It is wonderful to weave on once it is set up! But the counterbalance is much easier than countermarche to tie up. Glad I tried it!

On the loom is a shawl-warp in 8/2 cotton and weft is Zephyr – 50% Merino, 50% silk.

This piece is all 8/2 cotton – dish towels

Cathy D:  Felted Flower Bowl

My process was to wet felt the basic bowl and pink rim. I added the green leaves by needle felting them onto the outside along with touching up the pink rim. The flowers were cut from a felted fabric I made and then attached by needling them to the outside. Beads were added to each flower for interest.
It was a fun project. I really like adding beads to felted items. It’s given me many more ideas!

 

 

Cookie: 9 Squares for Bojo Bag,  a Tapestry, Back Strap Loom, a Pouch and a Scarf

     

   

June 18, 2020 – Karen Donde – Designing Handwoven Fabric You Can Wear.

Past Programs, Programs

 

Karen Donde weaves garments, fashion accessories and home textiles for sale and teaches beginning-advanced weaving classes and assorted workshops for guilds and conferences. Teaching credits include HGA’s Convergence 2012, 2014 and 2016 and 2020, Southeast Fiber Forum, the Mid-Atlantic Fiber Association’s Workshop Weekend, Midwest Weavers Conference, Intermountain Weavers Guild Conference and Florida Tropical Weavers Conference. In Asheville, NC, she has taught at Sutherland Handweaving Studio, Friends & Fiberworks, Local Cloth and her own studio.

 

Photos are used with the kind permission of the copyright holder, Karen Donde.

Take a look at Karen’s website:  https://karendondehandwovens.com

 

May 21, 2020 – Sally Fox

Past Programs, Programs

 

Sienna colored specimen

Long-time Fibershed source of inspiration, color-grown-in cotton developer and
biodynamic grower since 1982, and shepherd and farmer Sally Fox is our speaker for May, 2020. Sally will be presenting to us about her farming life, developing strains of colored cotton over the past four decades.

Check out her website at

https://www.vreseis.com/

Show and Tell, May 2020

Show and Tell

Ange: Shadow Weave       The warp is 20/2 cotton and some mystery fiber; weft is all 20/2 cotton, sett at 36 EPI. The pattern is copied from a shirt that Johanna had woven. I wove 3.5 yards 15 inches wide.

 

Gail: Wandering Vine in Honeycomb 

 

Cookie: Intermesh Lattice Crochet

I’m refreshing my skills in lattice filet mesh using 2 colors that contrast from each other. Each row you start you work color A only in color A and color B only in color B. In other words, you don’t crochet on the opposing color each time you start a new row. I’m trying to design my own patterns or converting cross stitch patterns into intermesh crocheted designs.  I’m doing a larger more complex square of leaves.

 

 

 

 

Cheryl: some of her work over the course of the quarantine

I was trying a new technique that involved having multiple yarns and materials going at the same time to get the effect of outlines and sort of a zigzag pattern.
Small hand-woven tapestry that I made one rainy day from materials I had in my stash
I’ve been making no-sew baskets, but I thought I’d try sewing one, and this is how it came out. I’ve also been experimenting with how to finish them off, and this is the best I’ve come up with yet.
This was based on something I saw online in white. It’s really simple macrame – only one type of knot and some wrapping – and I like it in teal better than white.

 

 

Based on something I’d seen online, but it came out better than expected – sort of bohemian looking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sandy: Rep Weaving    5/2 perle cotton, 40epi. The loom is a 12 shaft Leclerc.

Kathy:  Shadow weave scarf, Jaggerspun zypher

Sandy:  Masks     Made from my collection of yellow left-over quilt scraps.
Moving on to browns next.  I’ve just completed my 203rd mask and haven’t even made a dent in my stashed fabric supply – think I have too much?

Betsy: Alpaca Bolero             This is an alpaca bolero I just finished knitting, with yarn dyed by Andrea Niehuis and a pattern called, “Debby’s Bolero,” created by Debby Domm and sold by Andrea, as well. The yarn color is “Friends,” intended to reflect skin colors around the world. The range is chocolate brown into peach.

Gudrun: Napkins  in  10/2 foxfibre colorganic        When Sally Fox came to the guild last time I bought three cones of her 10/2 foxfibre colorganic yarn: white, green, brown. I wove towels and lots of napkins in a three color shadow weave pattern.

 

April 16, 2020 – Tien Chiu – Designing with Painted Warps

Past Programs

               

People often find color in weaving to be so complicated that it feels downright mystical. But it’s not. Color in weaving follows rules, and once you understand the underlying rules, you can design beautiful work.
Painted warps are beautiful. But they can be difficult to design with. Painted-warp colors can change radically when woven, depending on your weft yarn colors and your choice of design. This program explains the basics of how color works in weaving and then covers how to choose weft, weave structure, and sett to showcase the colors of your painted warp – either by preserving the original colors or by blending them with a carefully chosen weft color to bring out their beauty.
                _________________________________________________
For those who don’t know me, I’m Tien Chiu, a long-time member of Black Sheep, and the Guild webmistress. I’ve been weaving since 2006, and have had my work featured in Handwoven, Shuttle Spindle & Dyepot, and Complex Weavers Journal. My handwoven wedding ensemble won Best in Show at CNCH and is currently part of the permanent collection at The Henry Ford Museum. I teach color in weaving online, at https://www.warpandweave.com , and I take an “art science” approach to color – which is to say, I approach it in an analytical fashion, looking for underlying rules. You can read some of the articles I’ve written about color in weaving on my website:  https://www.warpandweave.com/color-articles/ as well as  in the most recent two issues of Shuttle Spindle & Dyepot.

Show and Tell, April 2020

Show and Tell

Johanna: 8-H Shadow Weave top in cotton from the Structures Group

Gloria: Scarf in 4 shaft shadow weave with chenille yarn picked up at guild sale.

Gloria: Samples in 16/2 cotton for towels in turned Monk’s Belt (supplementary warp).

I wanted to check the sett (30 epi), colors and size of yarn for the supplementary warp. I like the finer version. Now to plan out the colors!

Ann: Handspun for a woven value study.

John: Sashiko Mending.

John: 3-color Runners in six-shaft spot weave

Teddie: Rep Weave Placemats

Gudrun: Reviving a Double Weave Design from 2012

Two scarves are woven simultaneous, then separated after fulling.

Face Masks: The Token of our Times

 

Barbara: Five Twisted Boxes 

The paper is from a stack of prints by an artist friend of my mom’s that I inherited years ago. She acquired a good quantity of his first print edition. I suppose this was 50 years ago. I had cut some of these into strips with a manual pasta cutter (Ulla helped!) They were intended to be used by my students at CNCH 2020. It is a bit thinner than the heavy water color paper I usually use for plaited paper baskets, but it still worked fine. Every here and there, you see a little face looking out at you.

               

Betsy: Finished Rep Rug  – first shown in February                                             

                                   

Betsy: Shadow Weave

               

 

Ulla: Split-Ply Twining – Small Rug and Braid

I am working on a small rug in wool, Willamette wool 5,600 ypp, old yarns I got from Gisela Evitt and Cathryn Coleman many years ago. I make the cords out of 16 strands of the wool, using a cord maker I bought at Lacis (one of the advantages to living in Berkeley). Cordmaking is crucial and quite time-consuming. This rug has two hundred cords and is only 13 inches wide. I meant it to make it bigger but gave up. I am looking at other ways to make them.

I took a Split-Ply class from Linda Hendrickson last fall and learned several different techniques. This one is called SCOT = Single Course Oblique Twining. I find the way the colors interact and move wonderful and can’t wait until I see what comes next.

.

The second braid is done in 50/2 linen 7,500 ypp, 16 ends, 48 cords.  It is 2 1/4″ wide.  I finished the braid by sewing the cords together and then painting them with Matte Medium so that they would not unravel. I felt that a bushy fringe would distract from the pattern.

Marjorie:  Vest project on my 8 harness Mountain Loom using the first six skeins I spun on my Alden Amos wheel back in 2015.