Dying Days of Summer

This last week, I have been dying twelve scarf warps. I am planning to take part in 2016 Studio Tour King: http://www.artssocietyking.ca/studio-tour-king.html  The dates for 2016 have not been posted yet but it is usually the last weekend of April. I have never taken part in a Studio Tour so it should be interesting and I am looking forward to it. I will be selling scarves and small bags on the tour, the same type of bags as I am selling on my website. My friends Pat Earl http://www.rhga.ca/patricia-earl/  who is an amazing painter, and George Burt http://www.bradfordartsguild.com/george-burt.html a wonderful wood worker, usually take part in the Studio Tour as well.

A while ago I order some silk from Georgian Yarn Company: http://www.handweaver.us/georgia_yarn_company.htm  It was the first time I had bought from Michael. He provides great customer service and his prices are very reasonable, probably the best around. I bought a kilo of 20/2, and a kilo of 30/2 mulberry spun silk, natural. I am planning to use the 20/2 silk for projects where I incorporate tablet bands, and the 30/2 silk is the silk I used for the scarves.

I made eleven scarf warps from the kilo of natural 30/2 silk and I have a some left over I am planning to use as weft for one or two of the scarves. I also had enough 30/2 Tencel for one scarf warp so it meant that I had twelve scarf warps to paint.

This is not a lesson in dying or warp painting so if you are interested in the subject there are several workshops being offered by people who are experts in the area.  There is also information on the internet on warp painting and here are two websites I use: http://www.prochemicalanddye.com/pages.php?pageid=3 and http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/howtodye.shtml

After the warps were wound I prepared my work tables by placing plastic and newspapers on them. I then mixed the colours I was going to use. I use Procion MX dyes because I find them easy to work with. Before the warps could be painted they had to be scoured and after that was done they were arranged on my work table one at the time and painted.

 

Wet warp arranged on work table

Painted warp

Warp left in chain and painted that way

Painted warp

After each warp was painted I wrapped it in a plastic garbage bag and took it outside. After the warp is painted it has to be left in at least 70⁰ F (21⁰ C) for 24 hours for the dyes to react.  If it is warmer you may need less time.  We have it hot and humid here in Ontario right now so leaving the warps outside to react is a great place. If I do any warp painting in the winter, I place the painted warps in a cooler with a hot water bottle for 24 hours, it works well.

The warps were washed and dried afterwards and now I have a lot of work weaving them but it will be fun. I will share some pictures with you as I am weaving them.

The orange warp in the center is the Tencel warp

It will be a while before I get to weave my scarves because right now I have a big project on my loom that I cannot share with you because I plan to enter it into Convergence 2016 Yardage Exhibition. I guess I can share a picture of my loom with the project on it.

My next dying job is going to be snow dying but I will have to wait for the snow to arrive.

Patterns Patterns Patterns and More

I just returned from a visit to Denmark to see my family and I also had the opportunity to see many different attractions, such as The Round Tower and Our Church of Saviour in Copenhagen. When I travel I always keep an eye out for patterns that I can photograph, such as patterns on windows, walls, churches, and on the streets where I walk. I get inspirations from the patterns I see and use some of them in my tablet weaving.

I also had the opportunity to visit The National Museum of Denmark.

The part of the Museum that I found most interesting was the Ancient section. The section covers the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and the Viking period. I was most interested in the Iron Age (500 B.C.-A.D. 800). One of the reasons that period interests me is the two wooden tablets which were found dated to A.D. 90- 270. These tablets are thought to be the oldest known examples in Scandinavia and the oldest four hole tablets in existence. They were made of wood. They were found with the Dejbjerg Carts, a very famous find in Denmark. Many of the items found with the carts are on display in the Museum but I was disappointed that the tablets were not there for me to see. There is a picture of the tablets in my book Tablet-Woven Accents for Designer Fabrics: Contemporary Uses for Ancient Techniques, page 3.  If you are interested you can read more about the Dejbjerg Carts here: http://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-early-iron-age/the-wagons-from-dejbjerg/

The other reason I am interested in the Iron Age is because many well preserved textiles have been found dated to that period. In the Museum I saw the Huldremose Woman. She has been dated to 2nd century BC and found in a bog in Jutland.  Because of the acid in the bog and the lack of air exposure she was well preserved when she was found in 1879.  She was wearing a woven woolen skirt and scarf, and two skin capes with the wool turned to the inside. If you are interested you can read more about the Huldremose Woman here: http://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-early-iron-age/the-woman-from-huldremose/

I am sorry about the quality of the images from the Museum it is difficult to photograph through Plexiglas and in a very dark room.

From July 16-18 I will be teaching a workshop at MAFA (Mid-Atlantic Fiber Association). I will try to remember to take pictures and post some here.

Holiday and More

I will use this blog to tell you about my weaving adventures, items that I create, workshops that I teach, workshops that I attend, and study groups that I participate in. I will also share with you interesting aspects of holidays I go on.

Today June 18, I am going on a trip to Denmark for a couple of weeks to see my family. If you should wish to purchase my book or one of my bags you can order it but I will not be able to ship it until I come back July 3.

I might post some pictures from Denmark but if I do not get a chance to do so I will talk to you when I come back and I will post some then.

The tablets will wait!