Let's Sew!

It's a good day to sew--and do taxes later!  Don't we have till midnight to finish up that chore and post?  Of course, so what's on the mind is sewing and sharing good times with friends.  And there is always wonderful blocks and quilts to see!

Karen has been doing a block of the month (BOM) with this black and white theme

The first month you receive the block free and if you bring it back to the shop the next month complete, you'll receive the next block

But, if you so decide--you can purchase the block for $7.50--Karen has done excellent work

We all marveled at the selection of such small print for the fabrics

She is thinking red accents--we all agreed!

Here is Karen's smiling face with her latest creation................

a baby quilt with wonderful machine embroidered sections

and guess what--the circles are inset!!  now, that's a real feat for any quilter.

Here is Judy M (in pink) working on her Avon Breast Cancer Walk memory blocks for her fellow walkers.  Sandy, in the blue, is discussing her latest project...........

An Amy Bradley pattern--she is doing the wooden soldiers

Annette (new grandmother to be) in foreground is working on her grandmother patches, while Brenda (in Yellow) is conversing with Karen about the lovely baby quilt

Camilla came with her finished baby quilt--Topsy Turvy--she used wonderful flowery prints for this baby quilt

She is in the process of making another quilt using these colorful fabrics

And a gift for Annette's new grandbaby--from Camilla

Soft flannel--cozy and warm for baby.

I finished the binding on this charity quilt--we were admiring Sandy's quilting pattern. 

It was a good day and we don't need to worry about taxes------until later!

MAD Weave!!

Many moons ago--1984 to be precise--I was fortunate enough to share some time with a fabulous basket weaver. She came to visit our state and I played chauffer & hostess to this delightful lady as we toured the state seeking unusual basket structures. We visited numerous museums and stopped in to visit native tribes and local folks who had knowledge about this fascinating weave. This lady was Shereen LaPlantz.  Shereen is now happily weaving baskets in heaven and her legacy is continued by her husband David.  Recently, there has been talk about "Mad Weave" or triaxial weave.  In that regard, memories flooded back.........................At one time, I was conversing with a gentleman who was working on a triaxial weaving loom--looks like he got a patent too!  And the memories continue!!

Most weaving is done with two elements--

but, with triaxial you use three elements, at 60* angle. 

You can use two colors or as in this sample three colors or just one color

 

This is one of my prize possessions--copyrighted in 1984, self-published by Shereen.  There was a period of time, I taught this interesting weave at guilds, workshops and conferences.

Fortunately, there is a new publication Hex Weave and Mad Weave by Elizabeth Harris and Charlene St. John. 

Here is a photo of the back of one of my indigo dyed silk vests, using stripes of silk fabric

The variation in the fabric gives unique texture

The front panels I used ribbon and you can see how different placement gives you different looks

 

Now we have the accessibility of the internet that leads us to instruction of 'mad weave' and understanding of the uses of 3D weaves.  Just type in triaxial weave--you can even WATCH and learn!  We can thank Shereen for the research on this topic and her love of weaving baskets. 

Let's Talk Thread Count..............................

Our Way Out West Weavers met recently and our topic, of course, was thread count. Never can you see a hand woven article and not asked these questions--what is the fiber content?, what is the sett?, what is the weave structure?, what dent reed? how many beats to inch?  We are anxious to learn these things as we admire the latest textiles off the loom.

We are so proud of our member, Pam!  She has been struggling for the past year with extreme breast cancer and then she conquered that to find that she had a brain tumor!  But, though all that, she always went to her loom to give her comfort and strength to continue the battle.

Pam came to our meeting to share her latest "loom art"

It was hand painted warp (cottolin) sett at 20 epi twill structure.  And she wove and wove this yardage.

You just have to admire her courage as she tromped at the loom to strengthen her determination!

These will be turned into some wonderful hand towels for her kitchen.

Way to go, Pam! 

Barbara had this lovely tencel scarf to show off.  It has such drape and handle! 

Just great weaving--she used black weft to cross over the colorful warp

This was the second scarf from the same warp--interesting how a different treadling and weft color will change the weave look. 

After a "show and tell", our discussion moved onto our yearly study subject--Traditional Swedish weaving.  Gerry brought some samples from her vast collection of textiles to give us a different look at this interesting topic.

Huck lace used in design work

traditional for sure

Karen had these samples, fresh off her loom, of another Swedish weave structure--will need to update this as I have forgotten what she called this--it came from "The Big Book of Weaving"

These will be hand towels for her daughter, who is marrying in May

 

I think this will be a welcome addition to her daughter's kitchen.

Then Karen presented her Boundweave runner as her Swedish weave--what colors!

This is her weft

and her warp

She has set the bar high for us to achieve an interesting textile for our study! 

Chalk Art!

A walk along the sidewalks at our local town center on this perfect Spring day was the best way to spend our Saturday afternoon! There was live music and ART--Chalk ART!

Tools of the trade! 

A smart way to preserve the artists drawings too--four sheets of wall board.

We have visited other chalk art celebrations where the art was actually drawn on the sidewalk or roadway and then by morning, the cleaners came through with water and washed it all away......

this is a much better way to show off your talents.  There was the opportunity to vote on your favorite or even purchase one that you liked

These artists were doing fine work in such a short period of time

Really good artwork too!

Lovely pieces to enjoy

colorful!  I'm glad we took the time to stroll through these creative pieces.

WOOF, WOOF--SPLASH, SPLASH!

So Happy! Happy! Happy! I've finished two quilts! I'm so excited to have these blocks together!

"WOOF! WOOF!"  These doggies will bring comfort to a child--hopefully, a child that loves dogs!  A whole year of building dog blocks--so happy to have these fellas finished and ready to present to the quilter.

"SPLASH SPLASH!"  Thank you Sindy of Fat Cat Patterns for these delightful patterns.  Once again, 15 months of swimming with the fishes--no sharks allowed though!  Out of the sewing room--hurrah!!