Not a Dying Art

In case anyone thinks tatting is a dying art (and for many people it is the only comment they can think of when they see me tatting) I belong to an international facebook tatting group. This morning a new member asked if some people would post where they come from. Within a couple of hours there were replies from 17 states in the USA and 16 other countries, and I expect there are more to come.

Here are the stars I have been making in spare evenings lately. My weaving and lacemaking friends, as well as visitors, all seem happy to receive one to add to their Christmas tree. 

 And this is my "tree'" with motifs made earlier in the year with one of each colour I could find.

 Now what to make next?  Sadly there are not many practical uses for tatting that I can find. I doubt if I will be making "barefoot sandals" though you never know.

Catch up time

Yarns for end of year project - tea towels for gifts and group exchange.

 

The warp (top 3 reels) is a mix of linen and cotton and the weft two strands of 16/1 linen together, a different mix for each towel.

For the last weavers' mdeeting of the year I took along a "tree", complete with bird's nest. I had made tatted stars (or snowflakes?}  and invited members to each take one home.

These are the two variations I made, along with some without embellishments which proved popular.

Festive best wishes to one and all, and happy creating.

Green Linen

It was a good feeling to be weaving linen again

This is a large table runner to go to the "Top of the South" Area exhibition in Takaka

It got the tick of approval from Marlborough Weavers at their September meeting

Alpaca Shawl

It took a lot longer than I expected but at last I have finished a shawl for the national Alpaca show. It is bigger than most I have made but that shouldn't make much difference. I must remember not to try doing very fine weaving in the winter when the light is poor and there are fewer hours in the day that I can weave in comfortably. I had to spend many hours correcting threading mistakes and especially sleying errors. I thought I would never get to throw the shuttle. However, it is now finished and I will pack it up with three alpaca scarves and send it off. Then I will pack my bag and take myself off for a week in Wanaka.

 

Handworks 2017

The Marlborough Creative Fibre Exhibition and Scarf Expo are now in full swing and both are doing well - one at each end of the Art Society's Yealands Gallery. The Exhibition is in the larger room and scarves in the smaller but one merges into the other. 
Here are my entries in the Exhibition.

This wrap uses two different weights of alpaca to give a random texture effect though it is actually woven in plain weave.

Table runner in cotton and linen with just a smidgen of wool boucle for texture.

Sometimes huck lace in fine alpaca and silk seems like my signature statement. See previous post.

Linen is not far off being my favourite yarn of all time. Another random "non-pattern" (unusual for me) - this time I made a cover for a visual diary and added a tatted motif and a bookmark.

 

I have several scarves in the expo as well. Here is one of the first sales on opening night - purchased by the mayor! What good taste!

I am delighted to report that both wraps and and the runner are also sold. Yay! That means I can start planning to make some more.

Weaving Update

Finally, a bit more weaving to show. First an alpaca/silk wrap in a combination of thick and thin yarns woven in plain weave but a complex threading and treadling to give a "random-looking" texture. Not the first and I'm sure it won't be the last time I find a complex way of doing something simple!

For a change of scene I put on an experimental linen warp, also in thick and thin yarns but with less difference in the size. To be effective I think the thick should be about four times the size of the thin.  This time there was also a difference in colour. The first few inches told me it was not going to be suitable for table mats or runners so I wove half a yard or so of each of the colours of 16/1 linen I had. The thick yarn is 16/2 in silver-grey and the thin in the warp is pale pink.

 The result is a pleasing collection of linen fabrics I think will be excellent for book covers and greeting cards. Already I have sent the first "guinea pig" postcard away and await a report of how it stood up to the mail service.

 
 

Catch Up Time

Ooops!  I have been taken to task by my mate Peg who is asking why I do not have my Cloak on my blog - and certainly it is time for an update.  I did post photos in June last year but am happy to have a second viewing. The PWN Exhibition "Cloak" was held successfully at Pataka Gallery in Porirua, again in Oxford, Canterbury, and finally at the Wallace Gallery in Morrinsville. My main entry was called "A Thing of Shreds and Patches", a cloak for a minstrel. Here are several views of it showing the changing colour from green in the front to blue in the back.

 The cloak was returned to me after the exhibition tour and has subsequently been sold to a friend who coveted it at first sight. It fits her perfectly and I am awaiting a photo of it on its new owner.  I still have my second entry - not so grand or time-consuming to make but I am happy with it.

Now I need to get my camera into gear and photograph a couple of new pieces.

Polychrome Crackle

Another year, another batch of Cross Country samples to deliver. The difference is that this is my last year participating in this group. Much as I enjoy the challenges and the communication with other weavers from all over the country, I've been doing it for well over twenty years and it's time I moved on. It's also time I stopped accumulating more and more samples. I love getting them, but where to put them? I have about ten large folders full which used to sit on top of my yarn shelves -- before the earthquake! Now they have to be part of a re-shuffle and I'm not sure where they will end up.

This year's topic for my group was Crackle. It's an interesting weave but not one of my favourites so I have to go back to the drawing board if I want to use it. This time I found an article on polychrome crackle in an old Handwoven magazine and used that as a base. I first tried out the four possible blocks on 4 shafts, using pairs of all the various colours I could find in suitable yarn.

My favourite colour combination was lime green with a dusky blue so I used this for the rest of the warp and treadled the blocks A B C D C B to make a diamond pattern. This was the piece I cut into samples and send to other members of the group.

 The orange warp was cotton from WAY back and looked better after a wash. This is the first time I have used orange without it screaming "1970s" at me. So that is ticked off and I am happy with it but intend my next project to be a lot more fun!
 

I love January

No meetings, no minutes, no reports . . . no "have to" . . . and the only phone calls are from friends and family . . . AND I get to weave every day!
This is how I wrapped up 2016 and started 2017 . . . two table runners (one for a promised gift) and two tea towels - which I didn't expect to make but as I had made a weird calculation for the length of the warp I had the bonus of a Christmas present without having to think about it.