Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Celadon

Working with oriental rugs, I often try to describe colors with words that are precise as well as beautiful and exotic, like cinnabar, persimmon, pomegranate, aubergine, saffron -- and celadon. Fact is, the word comes from a glaze used by potters in the Far East and I never really knew what it looked like.

One day I looked at Misha, our Siberian cat, and realized that the wonderful iridescent color of his eyes was -- not chartreuse, but celadon!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Spun, dyed, woven, sewn -- but not yet complete

I can't remember the weaver who said, "I love the work of intelligent hands." But that's what I strive for -- thoughtful handwork. When I was little, I remember looking at my grandmother's and my mother's hands and loving their character, the strength of the veins reaching to their fingers. I wanted hands like that. Now I have them, those veiny hands, and I try to use them well.

This jacket is not yet finished. The yarn was handspun, from merino and llama roving, then dyed in the colors of the carpets I see at work. It's a five-harness waffle weave, with plain-weave variations. The button is an antique that has been waiting for this jacket! The pockets are not yet sewn on, but the way the edges play about the body of the jacket -- that's a worthy effect to try to achieve in another garment, don't you think?

Dots in the Wind




New hand-dyed scarves on Etsy -- the first one (photographed on a windy day, hence the title "Dots in the Wind") was dipped in the indigo vat, then discharged using shibori techniques (see the shadowy spheres?), then overdyed a deep plum color, again using shibori. The second scarf was dipped in indigo, then hand-painted with a variety of pinks (believe it or not), to produce blue, green, and purple stripes in varying hues and widths.

We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties. Please Stand By.*

*Warning: This post is just partly about fiber. Remember those test patterns on your old black and white TV? They were typically accompanied...