Greatly enjoying the poppies that Lise picked out from Annie's Annuals this year - the best success we've had with some of these. Amazing things! 
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Drama Queen Poppies
Greatly enjoying the poppies that Lise picked out from Annie's Annuals this year - the best success we've had with some of these. Amazing things! 
Monday, June 20, 2011
Seamless Weaving
This week, creative spirit Lyne Bruning asked for collaboration in researching the weaving of a seamless garment given to a king for his wedding...
My immediate thought, given my background, was of Jesus' robe "having no seam, being woven from the top down" (John 6:23) and folks who may have wanted to emulate that over the centuries. Not finding much else at my first Google attempt, I checked in this morning, and she'd found this lovely seamless shirt, woven in Glasgow by a David Anderson in 1821, and presented to King George IV —
http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/foxweb/huntsearch/DetailedResults.fwx?collection=all&searchTerm=C.63&mdaCode=GLAHM —
Labeled "A Shirt completely finished in the Loom without one stitch of Needle-work in the whole, by David Anderson, Weaver in Glasgow. It is believed that this is the most ingenious piece of Work that ever came from the Loom."
I found also an interesting discussion over at Weavolution that includes core contemporary book resources for shaping garments on the loom:
http://
Here's a blog post from the ingenious Katie Meek, with a historical (1680) record of a loom built for weaving shirts with sleeves with no seams - it's a warp-weighted loom, which is an early technology that lasted quite a while in some parts of the world. http://
Historically, various Pacific Northwest folks used tripod looms for weaving in the round: http://
My immediate thought, given my background, was of Jesus' robe "having no seam, being woven from the top down" (John 6:23) and folks who may have wanted to emulate that over the centuries. Not finding much else at my first Google attempt, I checked in this morning, and she'd found this lovely seamless shirt, woven in Glasgow by a David Anderson in 1821, and presented to King George IV —
http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/foxweb/huntsearch/DetailedResults.fwx?collection=all&searchTerm=C.63&mdaCode=GLAHM —
Labeled "A Shirt completely finished in the Loom without one stitch of Needle-work in the whole, by David Anderson, Weaver in Glasgow. It is believed that this is the most ingenious piece of Work that ever came from the Loom."
I found also an interesting discussion over at Weavolution that includes core contemporary book resources for shaping garments on the loom:
http://
Here's a blog post from the ingenious Katie Meek, with a historical (1680) record of a loom built for weaving shirts with sleeves with no seams - it's a warp-weighted loom, which is an early technology that lasted quite a while in some parts of the world. http://
Historically, various Pacific Northwest folks used tripod looms for weaving in the round: http://
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Verbal snapshots of the day at Maker Faire 2011
Some few of the very many Cool Things interacted with at Maker Faire this day, in no particular order:
“Here” said Aviva, “it takes six to make a block. Simple geometry puzzle.”
Geometry pleases me.
Natalie McKean’s scratchboard work and Santa Cruz roots;
Monsieur Klutz Himself with a nice big booth of fun; as ever, http://klutz.com
The always delightful Kelly of Ceallach dyes, ably assisted by East Bay fiber-maven Brooke, and I’m so happy they’re using Square, because I got into a couple of skeins and 8 oz. of lovely superwash Merino from her solar dyeworks. Mmm Pretties! http://www.ceallachdyes.com/
Some utterly delightful stuff in the Bizaar Bazaar (that was Too Crowded in the middles though I love the tent setup. Came away with a Set o’ Magnets from birdversusbird
Sweet Maria’s Home Coffee Roasting looked interesting, and were selling green coffee beans and doing show-and-tell in the big food tent.
I love the color combinations this jeweler is getting up to: TQBdesigns
Shared kind words about Urban Gardener Mike L (Twitter @CanarsieBK) with the Back to the Roots mushroom kit folks who were there, doing well.
the Spindles and Flyers spinning guild was there in force, Dawn Jacobson plying long draw, Cookie spinning on her gorgeous hand-painted wheel, folks setting up new spinners with CD-and-dowel drop spindles, and showing items made from handspun yarns.
The lovely folks of the Peninsula Quilters Guild were there, with needles busy, and many items to show, and this year's raffle quilt...I won't mind if one of my six tickets is the one chosen. They do lovely work.
the Spindles and Flyers spinning guild was there in force, Dawn Jacobson plying long draw, Cookie spinning on her gorgeous hand-painted wheel, folks setting up new spinners with CD-and-dowel drop spindles, and showing items made from handspun yarns.
The lovely folks of the Peninsula Quilters Guild were there, with needles busy, and many items to show, and this year's raffle quilt...I won't mind if one of my six tickets is the one chosen. They do lovely work.
So much more to share, so much more than one can see in a day - we didn’t even get over near the model boats area, or the health expo they put in one big building. But better to post these tidbits and say goodnight, than never get to it at all.
Lovely day.Winderful show to make the brain to twinkle, and meet & greet old and new friends!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Some Autumn Gardening Fun: National Heirloom Expo, Sept 13-15
The first National Heirloom Exposition will be taking place Sept 13-15
in Santa Rosa, sponsored by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
http://theheirloomexpo.com/
For anyone interested in heirloom seeds, produce, livestock, and more,
this sounds like a fabulous event -- like an old-fashioned state fair.
There will be exhibits, events, speakers, demos, and vendors.
They are looking for gardeners who want to grow and display heirloom
produce (vegetables/fruits) or products (e.g. eggs, honey, pickles,
preserves, pies, etc.). There's likely to be an heirloom seed exchange.
And heads up, artistic types:
They are also looking for garden and farm-themed art for display.
Exhibitor form:
http://www.theheirloomexpo.com/downloads/heirloom%20expo%20exhibitor%20form.pdf
in Santa Rosa, sponsored by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
http://theheirloomexpo.com/
For anyone interested in heirloom seeds, produce, livestock, and more,
this sounds like a fabulous event -- like an old-fashioned state fair.
There will be exhibits, events, speakers, demos, and vendors.
They are looking for gardeners who want to grow and display heirloom
produce (vegetables/fruits) or products (e.g. eggs, honey, pickles,
preserves, pies, etc.). There's likely to be an heirloom seed exchange.
And heads up, artistic types:
They are also looking for garden and farm-themed art for display.
Exhibitor form:
http://www.theheirloomexpo.com/downloads/heirloom%20expo%20exhibitor%20form.pdf
Friday, May 13, 2011
Philosophy
A great tweet from earlier today:
@GreatDismal: "Dance like nobody's watching. Love like you've never been hurt. Develop software like the end user has your home address."
@GreatDismal: "Dance like nobody's watching. Love like you've never been hurt. Develop software like the end user has your home address."
Gardening Day
Today, we've dug and planted and uprooted, carefully sown some seeds in starter pots and carelessly scattered others to see what happens there...
In the back, against the mostly-south-facing back wall of the garage, are a row of tomatos, started earlier, in a row in their cages:
Rouge d'Irak, Pink Beefsteak, Costoluto Genovese, Green Zebra
A scattering of red amaranth plants between these and a little forward
Vervain, various basils, a Ronde de Nice courgette (Zuke), Calendulas moved from a hanging planter;
Yarrow, Thyme, 2 eggplants
Roughly in order from back to front and left to right.
We finally did in the bloody dock - not to be badmouthing the stuff, it's just red-veined. We're steaming the greens and tincturing the serious roots.
We have three big square planter boxes in the front yard, with strawberries and the spring flowers, to which we've added squash, that can leap out and sprawl over the juniper if it likes, 2 tomatillos, a yellow pear tomato for nibbling on as we arrive home; sunflowers, some in the boxes, and the ones that get really tall went into the ground next to the box nearest the front walk border of fortnight lilies.
I'm sort of catching up in logging these things in my journal over at Dave's Garden but I'm not sure anyone can see that log if they're not a member of that venerable website. So perhaps I'll be blogging on the garden more over here, with pictures. I do recommend http://davesgarden.com/ and its $20 nuisance-fee-that-weeds-the-trolls, for the plant files database and the conversation in forums there. It's where we learned about straw-bale planting in a swampy-by-adobe-cob yard we rented for a couple of years: the perfect solution for that place. A raised bed garden you plant directly in to; took plenty o' water by hydroponic-cognate fertilizing (fish juice, yay), and worked amazingly.
In the back, against the mostly-south-facing back wall of the garage, are a row of tomatos, started earlier, in a row in their cages:
Rouge d'Irak, Pink Beefsteak, Costoluto Genovese, Green Zebra
A scattering of red amaranth plants between these and a little forward
Vervain, various basils, a Ronde de Nice courgette (Zuke), Calendulas moved from a hanging planter;
Yarrow, Thyme, 2 eggplants
Roughly in order from back to front and left to right.
We finally did in the bloody dock - not to be badmouthing the stuff, it's just red-veined. We're steaming the greens and tincturing the serious roots.
We have three big square planter boxes in the front yard, with strawberries and the spring flowers, to which we've added squash, that can leap out and sprawl over the juniper if it likes, 2 tomatillos, a yellow pear tomato for nibbling on as we arrive home; sunflowers, some in the boxes, and the ones that get really tall went into the ground next to the box nearest the front walk border of fortnight lilies.
I'm sort of catching up in logging these things in my journal over at Dave's Garden but I'm not sure anyone can see that log if they're not a member of that venerable website. So perhaps I'll be blogging on the garden more over here, with pictures. I do recommend http://davesgarden.com/ and its $20 nuisance-fee-that-weeds-the-trolls, for the plant files database and the conversation in forums there. It's where we learned about straw-bale planting in a swampy-by-adobe-cob yard we rented for a couple of years: the perfect solution for that place. A raised bed garden you plant directly in to; took plenty o' water by hydroponic-cognate fertilizing (fish juice, yay), and worked amazingly.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
O Blah
Oh allergy pollen season is upon us, sing whack fol the diddle hack-cough wah.
Getting somewhere with the sample test weaving, thinking towards clothing textile weaving.
Via BlogPress sur iPhone
Getting somewhere with the sample test weaving, thinking towards clothing textile weaving.
Via BlogPress sur iPhone
Location:Home-Under-Blankies
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Book: Treadled Togs by Kerry Evans
Treadled Togs: A Pattern Book of Loom-Fashion Clothing by Kerry EvansMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
View all my reviews
Several patterns for handwoven clothing of the author's design; photo-illustrated.
More of the weekend at Monterey
Great time in Monterey last weekend, continued for completeness - we stayed in the cosy and quiet Holiday Inn Express on the lagoon in Seaside, all of 3 miles from the Aquarium on Del Monte road; of course spending the extra $100 plus saved by not staying right on Cannery Row on yarn. Naturally!
There's a new yarn shop in town, the Twisted Stitch, at 400 Foam, and we like it, and the owner, Dawn, very much. She's got a great start on a collaborative project, a kelp forest knit / crocheted, etc. which gives rise to a great idea: how cool tubular cardweaving would be for making kelp, where you could at once weave both stems and leaves, attached and floating. Seeing a nutibracht right *there* on a kelp frond at the upper window of the kelp forest tank at the Monterey Bay Aquarium doesn't hurt the imagination a bit, either.
Well, the dude in the ice cream and Beatles memorabelia shoppe in Pacific Grove is as out there as ever, and serving up the best ice cream ditto likewise. The rain stopped long enough for us to have a little stroll out at Lover's Point, and interact with a little ground squirrel and smell the after-rain astonishment of alyssum.
Member evening at the Aquarium included behind-the-scenes areas, show-and-tell with the docents, lots of families, which is always delightful to see. Sunday morning we came back again, to enjoy the views of our favorites again and spend a little quieter time enjoying the otters who are, face it, preternaturally cute.
So now it's time for me to figure out how to get photos up on this thing, so I can get to posting about the fiber arts goodness that's currently on the loom...
There's a new yarn shop in town, the Twisted Stitch, at 400 Foam, and we like it, and the owner, Dawn, very much. She's got a great start on a collaborative project, a kelp forest knit / crocheted, etc. which gives rise to a great idea: how cool tubular cardweaving would be for making kelp, where you could at once weave both stems and leaves, attached and floating. Seeing a nutibracht right *there* on a kelp frond at the upper window of the kelp forest tank at the Monterey Bay Aquarium doesn't hurt the imagination a bit, either.
Well, the dude in the ice cream and Beatles memorabelia shoppe in Pacific Grove is as out there as ever, and serving up the best ice cream ditto likewise. The rain stopped long enough for us to have a little stroll out at Lover's Point, and interact with a little ground squirrel and smell the after-rain astonishment of alyssum.
Member evening at the Aquarium included behind-the-scenes areas, show-and-tell with the docents, lots of families, which is always delightful to see. Sunday morning we came back again, to enjoy the views of our favorites again and spend a little quieter time enjoying the otters who are, face it, preternaturally cute.
So now it's time for me to figure out how to get photos up on this thing, so I can get to posting about the fiber arts goodness that's currently on the loom...
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