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Since July the Wednesday Group has had a heavy schedule of exhibitions. It’s been very exciting for us!
I missed all the opening receptions except our most recent one, last Saturday. But in late September we had a lovely reception at the Clifton Arts Center, and the exhibition closed on Halloween with a visit from art students at Skidmore College.
Here are a few photos from our Sept. 26 opening reception at the Clifton Arts Center in NJ.
Posted in Fine Craft
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My Sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane.
Her pleasure will not let me stay.
She talks and I am fain to list:
She’s glad the birds are gone away,
She’s glad her simple worsted gray
Is silver now with clinging mist.
The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
And vexes me for reason why.
Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise.
Robert Frost
Posted in Fine Craft
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Several years ago at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival I got to sit at a dream spinning wheel, the Wyatt ‘Norwegian.’ I’d never had such a perfect spinning experience, and I realized right then what some of my friends must feel when they get on a five year waiting list for a Norm Hall wheel. This was my spinning dream…
That one brief encounter with Bill Wyatt has stayed in my thoughts ever since. I can’t say for sure when it was…four years ago, maybe? I run the conversation through my mind sometimes….when Bill learned my origins are in Texas he caught me up on the incredible changes along the Gulf Coast over the past several decades. He talked of his career flying with commercial airlines, and his innovations in spinning wheel design. He was noticeably a better spinner than I was at the time! In fact, his spinning made me vow to work on my own spinning improvement, and I have. His ‘Pegasus’ wheel was actually too fast for me, but he could spin on it effortlessly.
I’ve kept the Wyatt Wheel brochure on the book shelf with my spinning books, and I have the website bookmarked in my spinning folder. I was so sad when I learned he was sick, not only because of his wheels, but mainly because interesting people like him are so rare. We all need people of his creative caliber to stay with us and influence us for ages, not fleeting moments… but I only got that brief encounter with him, so I replayed it often.
This week I’ve encountered another interesting spinning wheel maker, Myles Jakubowski, who was Bill’s apprentice. He is an ‘automation engineer’ who loves woodworking and will be continuing to make Wyatt Wheels to Bill’s specifications. Not surprisingly, Myles also has some ideas of his own and is planning to make the first wheel of his own design this winter. I can’t wait to see it!
So now I’m on one of those long waiting lists! I’m in spinning nirvana thinking about the finite time before I have my dream wheel. And although it was the Norwegian I fell for a few years back, I have decided to get either the ‘Pegasus,’ since my spinning prowess has greatly improved over these few years, or I will seriously consider the new wheel that Myles is designing: a castle version of the Pegasus.
It’s wonderful to have a dream, and I’m so glad that Myles has brought my dream back to reality!
Posted in inspiration, spinning
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In the last 10 days of October I was on quite a roll, getting a lot of things done…weaving off a 16S network twill scarf, making progress on my current tapestry, knitting various things, and even spinning. I felt unstoppable!….
“Shadow Baby” by Joan Somerville, using 2 shades of Tofutsies yarn. Check out the cute Gita Maria buttons! This sweater is for my new niece who will arrive in Dec!
My biggest accomplishment this month was tackling the details on Rob’s face! I’m at the halfway point of the cartoon, but have completed more than 50% of the difficult areas now. (Lots of ‘hand-holding’ from Soyoo Park to choose skin colors and to work three interlocking sections on five warps for Rob’s mouth!)
A few other things with no photos: a pair of jaywalker socks where I tried to get the pattern part out of one ball of Regia Color Effekt, by using a solid color yarn for the cuff, heel, and toe. Didn’t work! I ran out of the Regia before I got to the toe, so part of the foot is done in solid color. Bummer. At least that won’t show when I have shoes on!
I’m also brewing another avocado pit dye. This time I’m attempting patience, how novel! Each time we eat an avocado I finely chop the pit and add it to the brew. Every second or third day I heat the dyepot to a simmer for 30 minutes as per Carol Lee’s instructions. She says this goes on for months before actually dyeing. It’s a luscious red!
Then, on the penultimate day of the month I began to malfunction…and by the end of the day I was in bed with the flu! Seven days later I can barely get out of my own way. I’ve lost momentum…. and I”m in a funk….
The last time I had the flu (12 years ago), I ran to my LYS and bought some lace weight merino (Grignasco?) and got in bed with a Eugene Buehler pattern from Knitter’s Magazine. This time I’d been eyeing the recently arrived box of Icelandic unspun yarn in six colors from Schoolhouse Press. So I went to bed with my little laptop tuned in on Schoolhouse Press’s current shawl KAL by Maria Von Keppel.
Sleep, knit, drink tea…..sleep, knit, drink tea…. 4 days later:
I was able to get out of bed on the day I did the crochet loops. I graduated to sitting in a chair!
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I may not get things done in a timely fashion, but it seems to me that I’m always juggling too many diverse things. In the midst of my shibori ideas, I went sailing with my husband for five days over the Columbus holiday down in the Chesapeake. I also got quite a bad cold which slowed me down…
So…back to shibori!
My safflower dyed sock blank pleated and bound with four rubber bands, ready for the cochineal bath!
The safflower dyed silk scarf ‘scrunched and wrapped around a soda bottle, ready for the cochineal bath…
sock blank and wool/mohair skein after the cochineal bath.
The finished items. The silk scarf did not take the cochineal well. It was not mordanted, which did not matter for the safflower, but certain must have for the cochineal.
Sock blank wound onto niddy-noddy, with silk scarf in background.
skein of doubled sock blank yarn! I can’t wait to knit with this, but it might have to wait ‘til the near year, after all the holiday knitting is done!
Next step (someday!) will be to mordant the scarf, then stitch some designs, and re-dye it! I don’t think I’ll hold my breath waiting to get it done!
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Yesterday I went to see the woven cloth made from spider silk at the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. Emails about this amazing cloth have been flying around the internet for about a month, and the descriptions at the museum website are quite intriguing, including a wonderful video which I will post here.
The cloth is under plexiglas in the grand gallery. When my friend Susan and I entered the gallery we had a hard time finding the exhibit! The plexiglas case is tucked against the wall at one side of the gallery, with very little signage to attract attention to it. There is one small display of photos and a brief description at the front of the case. Clearly, if you want to know as much as possible about the whole process– the spiders, collecting the silk, making the thread and weaving– you have to go to the website, which seems odd to me.
Yet there is no substitute for seeing this amazing woven cloth in person. In the late morning October light it glowed brilliantly, like a saffron dyed robe, and yet its glowing golden color is the natural color of the spider silk! Breath-taking!
My son visited during the last hour of the museum’s day, just after 5pm, and he said the piece is not well lighted. To him, it was a dull gold, not glowing the way I’d seen it.
This is not my first experience at learning a little about spider silk. During my younger son’s last year at the University of Rochester, he had a job working in the laser lab, and he arranged for me and his dad to get a tour. It happens to be the largest laser lab in the world, which must be the best kept secret! Professor Bigelow described to me that spider silk (purchased from spider nurseries) is used to hold a single atom in place in the chamber where it will be ‘shot’ with the laser. I don’t know anything about the spider nurseries, but I found it amazing that in Madagascar, the golden orb spiders were collected from the wild, ‘milked’ for their silk, and then returned to the wild. Amazing!
I can’t go to the Museum of Natural History without visiting all the wonderful textiles in the Central and South American exhibit! I can’t imagine a time when these textiles won’t thrill and inspire me!
After lunch, my friend and I went to Loop of the Loom, previously in Englewood, now on 87th and 3rd Ave. What a lovely spot this is! I wish I’d taken photos to share. It is a basement shop, yet so filled with light! The shop is dedicated to Saori weaving, which is not my style, but I’m always so intrigued with how personal the finished items are. I’m always drawn to the work people do on these simple looms. Actually, I have to say that I’m really quite moved by the strong evidence of the ‘maker’s hand,’ so prevalent in Saori weaving. I highly recommend stopping by if you are in Manhattan!
Posted in Fine Craft
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I finished the yellow dyeing of wool in the safflower bath. Here is the sock blank and another small skein (50 gr) that I added later to hopefully use up the yellow pigment in this bath.
Kathy asked me if, after dyeing, I would knit directly from the unraveled, ‘kinky’ yarn, or if I would re-wet the yarn to make it smooth again. I have to admit that I hadn’t thought about this! Now, since she’s brought it up, I believe I will try steaming the yarn after it has been skeined. Before I get to knitting, this sock blank will get folded and clamped and over-dyed for a shibori effect.
Unfortunately this photo does not do justice to the colors! The sock blank is truly a complex blend of colors ranging from a creamy golden color, to soft oranges. I love it! The skein is a pale, creamy yellow, a delicate, soft color.
Today I have the silk scarf and a small piece of muslin in the bath which I’ve shifted to alkaline with the addition of soda ash.
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What a lucky day! Over the weekend, at my in-laws double 80th birthday party, one of my husband’s cousins brought his homemade grenache wine share. It was a sensational hit; everyone loved it! He told me he would be pressing this year’s grenache grapes sometime this week, and I asked if I could watch.
He called this morning to tell me that this evening he would be pressing. I arrived to find the crushed grapes fermenting in a real oak barrel. They’d been fermenting for 8 days. I learned from our cousin Paul that the first fermentation (the crushed grapes in the barrel) takes between six and ten days. After the bubbling and rising (somewhat like bread) begins to subside, it’s time to ladle out the crushed grapes and their juices into the press, where the juices are drained off into glass carboys, where the fermentation continues without the solids of the grapes. Paul was doing a half batch (about 15-16 gallons) of wine which took six crates of grapes which he ordered from California. 
The grapes in the barrel.You can see how the level of grapes has subsided.
The barrel with press and glass carboys in the background.
The barrel and the press are impressive equipment, and understandably expensive! Just like weaving, spinning and knitting, wine making is an expensive endeavor. He spends about $10 a bottle just on materials. The equipment was a considerable expense above and beyond materials, so I doubt there is ever any point at which this is an economical endeavor! (Reminds me of when people ask if I knit my own sweaters to save money!…not!)
Putting the grapes through the press. In the beginning the juices run through easily, as here. Later it is necessary to use the threaded rod with crank to press out the last of the juices.
The juice drains from the press into stainless steel pots which Paul pours into the glass carboys as the pots get full. Tonight he got a total of 16 gallons of juice from this pressing, which was a 1/2 barrel of grapes.
Father and daughter beginning to press. This was actually quite labor intensive. The press is wrapped in plastic film to prevent the juices from coming out the sides. In the background you can see a full carboy with air lock stopper. This allows fermenting gases to escape without letting any impurities get in.
Hard cranking at this point. Paul is adding some wooden blocks in order to add more pressure.
It was a beautiful evening, crisp and clear, with a 3/4 waxing gibbous moon and bright stars against the cloudless sky. Paul always presses in the evening because at this time of year the bees would be swarming if he pressed during daylight. The garage which serves as his barrel fermentation and pressing room smelled deliciously like wine. It seemed like we could get drunk on the scent alone. It was hard to imagine that this wine needed any further aging since it smelled so good, yet it will not be ready until at least spring. Again, there is a range of time needed to complete the wine, some years taking longer than others.
Paul sent me home with a bottle of his 2007 Grenache, which he said was a very good year for him. Decisions, decisions! Do I save it or drink it now?
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In the midst of chores today, I am making a safflower dyebath in which I hope to dye a knitted sock blank yellow and then a silk scarf blank coral! Both of these projects have further work after the safflower dye. I want to do some shibori on both. For the sock blank I will do some binding (haven’t decided what yet) and dip in indigo. For the silk scarf, I want to do a lot of stitching, which will probably take me some time, before overdyeing with madder.
I understand that safflower is not terrible fast, so in the case of the scarf, as the safflower fades the madder will remain the dominant color of the scarf. I am counting on some safflower color remaining. I just don’t care for the look of shibori when the bound areas are white.
The first safflower soak is taking place here. Great golden color, isn’t it? The safflower is wrapped in an old handkerchief. After I get all the yellow out of this soak I will use this bath for my sock blank and start a new bath for the pink/coral I want for the silk scarf blank. I’m following Jenny Dean’s recipe which recommends making the second bath alkaline with soda ash. I may also follow her further directions to bring the bath back to acid to get a pinker coral on silk. More photos will follow!
I just joined GoddessKnits’ upcoming fall mystery sock KAL (starts early Nov.) and have decided to spin my own yarn for it, based on techniques I learned from Judith McKenzie quite a few years ago at a workshop during the NY State Sheep and Wool Festival. I’m using three colors of merino top and creating my own color sequence. I plan to make a cabled 4-ply yarn for my sock project.
Bob is leaving today to sail our boat to Annapolis with a crew. I will pick up everyone (including Bob! …since he’s working in his Manhattan office and will take a train to CT, where the boat is waiting) at various train stations on my way to the boat with provisions later today.
I will then have four days on my own in which I hope to get a good amount of spinning done, spin and weave with a couple of friends, finish weaving a scarf that’s been on my AVL for a year, and make plans for my next tapestry. As long and slow as tapestry weaving is, I think deciding what to weave is the slowest part of the process!
Posted in Fine Craft
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I have just learned that William Safire has passed away.
Today’s Telegraph describes him:
”Applauded by his peers as ‘a Pickwickian quibbler,’ he ran a gimlet eye down the solecisms, gaffes, weaselly euphemisms, jargon and sonorous drivel of political discourse and pounced with the restrained relish of a talented linguist.”
Since I am passionate about linguistics, I was a long time fan of his column ‘On Language’ in the NYTimes Magazine. Who will now fill his shoes?
Do you remember his phrase, “the nattering nabobs of negavitism?” Such creativity!
I never followed his politics, but his use and abuse of language was priceless….
This morning I finished The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I hope there are many others reading this at the moment, so I won’t say anything except that The Chicago Sun-Times’ review was spot-on for me: “This story, like all great tales, will break your heart, but it will also make you realize—or remember—that sometimes the pain is worth it.”
The garden is calling for attention, but I do not think I will get there today….
Gallery Exhibit at NEWS Conference, July 20-23, 2023. First place “Miscellaneous” for a Nantucket style basket, with 2 special awards for “Best use of Historical Inspiration and Best Use of Off-Loom Weaving.
OVER, UNDER, AND THROUGH THE WARP: The Art of Tapestry Weaving, April 1-30, 2023, The Barnes Gallery, Leverett, MA. www.barnesgallery.org. An exhibition of works by Tapestry Weavers in New England (TWiNE). My works “Entangled 1,” “Untitled 1,” and “Mind the Risks” are in this exhibition.
TINY BUT MIGHTY Unjuried, small format tapestry exhibit, hosted by American Tapestry Alliance at HGA Convergence, July, 2022 Knoxville, TN
INTERLACEMENTS: Artistic Expressions in Weaving. Juried Biennial Exhibit of the Handweavers’ Guild of CT. River Street Gallery, 72 Blatchley Ave., New Haven, CT.
March 30 – May 5, 2019. Awards: 1st Place Wall Hangings, HGA Award for Outstanding Fiber Art.
CROSS SECTIONS: Works in Fiber by the members of North Adams Fiber Artists. Sept. 7 – Oct. 8, 2018.
Opening reception, Friday, Sept. 7, 5pm – 8pm. Gallery hours: Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, 12pm – 5pm.
A CELEBRATION OF FIBER ARTS: Arts Center East, Vernon, Ct, October 11th — November 7th. Opening reception Oct. 11th from 2-4pm. Gallery is open Thurs–Sunday from 1-5pm. “Sunset on Wilson Cove” and “Hudson River Idyll” are both there for this exhibition.
AWARDS FROM NEW ENGLAND WEAVERS’ SEMINAR: for “Sunset on Wilson Cove”: 1st Place Tapestry and Transparency, Judges’ Choice, People’s Choice, Textile Arts Center “Best in Tapestry,” Rebecca Dea Award for First Time Entrant. NEWS 2015.
NEW ENGLAND WEAVERS’ SEMINAR: gallery exhibition, Smith College, Northampton, MA. July 9 – 12, 2015.
“THE WEDNESDAY GROUP” at Garnerville Arts Center, Garnerville, NY. May 30 – June 4,2015.
“CONTEMPORARY HANDWOVEN TREASURES,” 2015 Biennial Exhibiton of Conneticut Guild of Handweavers, Lyman Allen Museum of Art, New London, Ct; April 4 – 26.
www.lymanallyn.org
“POSTCARDS FROM HOME,” Invitational Gallery Exhibition of small tapestries by artists in Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Australia, and New England. Northlight Gallery, Stromness, Orkney Island, Scotland. March 25 – April 25.
August 2015, Torshavn School, Faroe Island, Scotland.
“A LIVELY EXPERIMENT,” Gallery Exhibition of the Handweavers Guild of America (juried), Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, RI. July 16 – 19, 2014.
“SMALL FORMAT TAPESTRY: Untitled/Unjuried,” sponsored by American Tapestry Alliance at HGA, Convergence, University of Rhode Island Feinstein Campus Gallery, Providence, RI. July 16 – 19, 2014.
