Catching up, round 2

The latest fabric came off the loom recently.  I was so happy with this weaving project.  The pattern came out beautifully and when I fulled the fabric the color and drape are just what I wanted.  Hopefully it will be a jumper if I can get the pattern pieces to work.  

Harrisville Shetland warp (russet and walnut) and weft (loden blue)

We took the camper to Avon, MN for the third annual Hand Camp at the Avon Hills Folk School.  It was such a fun weekend and the weather was gorgeous.  Classes offered were:  Natural Dyeing Workshop, Bookbinding, Leatherwork, Birchbark Weaving, and Spoon Carving.  I took the dyeing class with Maddie, which was educational and just plain fun!  Jim enjoyed relaxing and even went fishing and he caught a fish.  

Campers sitting around the campfire on the first evening.

Foraging in the woods for plants for dyeing.

Maddie's beautiful sample swatches naturally dyed and some sumac that we used for our eco-dyed bags.

We each dyed two bags by laying out the flowers, bark, herbs, and leaves on the bags.  After rolling (while still adding bits and bobs) and then tying the bundles around sticks, we simmered them over the fire.  

There were three dye vats, walnut, buckthorn berry, and indigo.  The indigo is shown before we poured it into the large bucket with hot water.  

It was fun to unroll the bundles to reveal the colors on the eco-dyed bags.



I accordion-folded the towel, added marbles, and clothespins to make a pattern on the towel.
Dip-dyed for three minutes in the indigo dye.  It was cool to watch it turn from green to blue when it came out of the vat.

L to R top to bottom:  Indigo dyed tea towel using Shibori technique, overdyed handmade felt for vest, buckthorn berry dyed white handspun wool, walnut dyed wool fabric (the original white is to the left), and the eco-dyed bags showing the fronts and backs.  Some of the plants used were buckthorn leaves, goldenrod, fennel, sumac berries, purple basil, marigolds, turmeric powder, white birchbark (from a downed tree), and pine sprigs.
The white birchbark made the blue areas.

Sheep in the woods vest

Yesterday was a good day to sew.  I finally decided to cut into the twill fabric and make a vest.  I'd found a pattern on eBay that I'd used in the early '90s.  I still have the bolero I made and thought the pattern was still filed away.  It was a good find and one that will be used over and over.  Rather than cutting out the pieces, I bought some pattern yardage (lightweight interfacing) and drafted the two pieces from view 2 in the S/M size.  Plan A was to add a seam allowance on the back pieces, but I didn't like the thought of seaming the fabric.  I visited my closet of good intentions (thank you, putzycrafter, for that saying) and shopped my small linen stash.  I had lightweight brown (intended for a summer dress) and neutral (intended for another summer dress), but figured I could do better.  Off to Joann, ETC.  Sigh, I found the linen and didn't like the linen/rayon blends.  After a bit more searching, I thought denim or corduroy would be good options.  Most denim now has spandex and the corduroy was too light or too stiff.  Back to the linen section, and since it was on sale, a yard of natural color was the choice.

There be sheep in the woods!

 Home again, I washed the linen and hung it to dry in the basement.  In the meantime, itching to get to work, I went back to the closet of good intentions and pulled out a yard of printed linen purchased some years ago at Treadle Yard Goods in St. Paul.  Treadle is a small shop that carries lovely fabrics, patterns, buttons (oh, the buttons!), so much more, and a knowledgeable staff.  Suffice it to say, it's worth the drive from here!  Anyway, when the twill met the printed linen it was a match made in heaven.  Taking the time to think about it and then consulting Mary I knew I had to go ahead and begin the project.

Cutting into the fabric was not easy.  Handweaving gives one a particular appreciation for fabric and because the twill has a diagonal design, I took my time placing lining up the second piece after cutting the first piece since I cut them out one at a time.  Speaking of cutting out the first piece...after pinning the pattern to the fabric I took a deep breath and made the first cut on the side, put down the scissors, took a deep breath, snapped a photo, and then proceeded to finish cutting.  Before sewing, the machine needed a new needle and threading was a bit of a challenge with dark thread and a bit more farsightedness.  Stay-stitching around the handwoven pieces with straight stitches stabilizes the fabric.  Dampening and ironing the prewashed linen smooths out any large wrinkles.  

Cut, breathe, cut, breathe...

The construction of the vest is quite simple--sew shoulder seams on right side pieces and lining, sew lining to the outside pieces leaving the side seams open, clip curves, turn inside out and press.  (Between each step I steam press, keeping the seams tidy.)  The reveal was exciting with only two more seams to sew.  The right sides of the back and front pieces got machine-stitched and then the lining seam allowances are whip-stitched by hand after pressing.  Whoa, I was so excited after giving the finished vest a good pressing and trying it on.  Now I'm excited to plan my next yardage using Harrisville Shetland for the warp and weft in a broken twill for an allover surface design.  

Finished!

I love the curve detail at the center back.

It's worth mentioning that the vest fits better on me than on the dress form.  I am so happy and cannot wait to weave more yardage for sewing projects!

Flexiblity

I like the word flexible.  As an adjective it is defined as capable of bending easily without breaking, the able to be respond to altered circumstances or conditions, and ready and able to change so as to adapt to different circumstances.  As with most things in life it's good to be flexible.  On Friday, Jim decided we would go to 45th Parallel Distillery for the five o'clock tour rather than the later tour.  It was nice (just the two of us) and afterward we stopped at Culver's in New Richmond, Wisconsin to get something to eat before going home. On Saturday, I took a class to learn about making flexible felt.  Having wet-felted before, I knew the process using wool, water, soap, and agitation to mat and felt the fibers together.  The fabric I made is lightweight and beautiful.  The process was much faster than when I made the sheep rug last year in Linda's class.  She is  Bekaz Felt Works at Anoka Fiber Works and has done extensive work to ensure student success with her tried and true felting techniques.  I opted not to add a surface treatment as in my sample because the goal was to just make the fabric.  The next time I'll be sure to plan a multi-directional design.  After I got home, we went to Minneapolis to go to the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert.  They put on a good show!  We were fortunate to be in a suite with some of Jim's work colleagues.  A concert with good seats and good eats!  It pays to be flexible with one's schedule and when making fabric.

Humpty Dumpty was sporting a jaunty red, white, and blue cap.

This still is called Carl, Jr.

The barrels are made in Missouri.

Grinding stones make great tabletops.

Deb brought Mandy the bunny for a visit.  She was quite the puffball.

A power tool, pool noodle, and rolling pin are great for felting.

With the felting complete, it was time to stretch and smooth into shape.

The finished fabric blocking along with my sample.  The fabric is lightweight and just beautiful.  

Twill continued...

The wool twill is off the loom as of yesterday afternoon.  There were a couple of warp thread issues toward the end and I couldn't squeeze in those last couple of inches, but pulling it off the loom was a wonder!  This was a very rewarding experience and to have my first fabric turn out as I envisioned is nothing short of amazing!  It's been a journey of discovery to learn a new skill and take my love of making garments to another level of creativity.  Working with like-minded artisans is a gift.  We inspire, encourage, and support each other in the process of creating.  Slowing down and not rushing the process, and thinking about the materials we use and where they are sourced is part how we approach our work.

Fabric comes off the loom quickly!

Linda gave me some assistance.  I was so happy to see the straight edges and the amount of fabric coming off the loom!

I made this!

The next step is to zigzag the ends with the sewing machine, wash, and then brush the fabric.  I'm searching through my patterns to get some inspiration for a sewing project.  

Twill

At last I am weaving on the floor loom!  The weft yarn took some time to arrive, which gave me plenty of time to work through learning how to prepare the warp and thread the loom.  There was a problem with a couple of warp threads breaking on the far left side caused by the old tape on the reed rubbing against the yarn.  After fixing the second strand, Kathryn helped me unbolt the bar holding the reed and we were able to lift the reed high enough to remove the old tape.  I now have 50-inches of fabric woven and no problems!  The fabric is lovely and I cannot wait to wash and brush the fabric!  When this project is finished I will work on cleaning the dried tape residue left on reed's wood and re-tape.  I ordered a couple of ski shuttles and a boat shuttle.

Recently we did the Urban Adventure in the cities with the crew.  It's a photo scavenger hunt in Minneapolis and St. Paul, using public transportation to get around.  We stopped in downtown Minneapolis and I couldn't resist tossing my hat like Mary.  Jim barely had time to take the photo and we were surprised that I nailed it!  

     

Perfect hat toss, ending up at Mary's fingertips!