I seem to wander off for longer and longer periods. Oh well. I am still around, still making things. Just not documenting very well. I will have to post some photos from my Fall quarter when I was focused in the Ceramics studio. But for now, this is a picture of my first finished project for Winter quarter, where the focus is in the Fine Metals studio.

Amulet box, brass, agate.

Tablet Weaving loom

I made a loom today :)
I have been planning on making a loom I can use specifically for tablet weaving (aka card weaving), but hadn't gotten around to it. But when I suddenly had a free hour this morning, I ran over to Hardel's Lumber and bought my stuff!

It took about an hour to put together, and its pretty simple. And pretty! The red is the natural color of this wood, padouk.
To make it, I had the shop cut me a piece three feet long, then had them take off four pieces from one end: two @ 1.5 inches wide and two @ 2 inches wide. The 2 inch wide pieces became the uprights the warp is stretched across. They are attached with screws to the base. The 1.5 inch wide pieces are laying flat at the ends, with the wingnuts and bolts, and are the tensioning devices.
I am sure I will discover some "should-haves" as I work on it, but the simplicity should work in my favor.
The work that is on right now is a piece I started in a class with Linda Hendrickson. It is destined to become a leash for my pug dog named Zaboo.
Here is a close up of the end so you can see the gorgeous color of the wood!

Total cost: $27, of which about half was the cost for the wood. A piece of nice strong maple or oak would have been less spendy. But pretty!

And just because I took some pictures!

Here is my loom set up and working, with a pug in the background, of course.

And here is a bit of the overshot weaving I am working on. 

I forgot to post one of favorite things I made last year in my metals/printmaking program.  It is technically a bead, but it is large than the palm of my hand. 

This is a piece inspired by a spindle whorl and inspired by images and ideas associated with weaving from many cultures. The top is a stylized spider and the bottom is the plate I used to make the owl print in the last post. You can almost see the engraved owl in this bottom picture. The center post is not attached to the bead sides, allowing it to spin in my hands as I contemplate things.

So.
Apparently I am neglecting this blog. So be it.
I will try to post a picture from time to time. If you have a question, feel free to email. :)

Mid quarter production check in for my Visual Studies program during Spring Quarter of 2012. Samples and trial weaving and unfinished pieces.

What has been happening? School.

And I moved. 

But mostly school. And weaving. I have been combining the two as well, getting credits in school for independent studies in weaving. I love that I get to study things I am actually interested in and get credit for it. What an idea!

Here are some pictures from my Fall/Winter 2010 printmaking & metals program:

 

intaglio print of an owl

Brass sleying hooks. The assignment was to make an art tool, so I played with the idea of "tool to make art" vs "tool as art".

Reduction woodcut of meadowlark

During Spring quarter of 2011, I was able to pursue independent studies in weaving. Specifically, I studied backstrap weaving, rigid heddle weaving, and tablet weaving. And I did a huge amount of work studying the history of weaving, especially what we know about its origins.

from my rigid heddle loom

a tablet woven band

During the Fall & Winter quarters of 2011, I took a program called Equatorial Studies, which focused on our ideas about the equatorial regions- peoples, creatures, energy issues, cultures and all sorts of interesting things. I was able to continue my weaving studies a bit during this time too, looking at cultural practices and techniques from a couple places in the tropics. I didn't do any production.

BUT- this spring quarter or 2012, I am working in an SOS (Student Originated Studies) Program in Visual Arts and I am focusing again on weaving, especially Overshot. I will have some completed projects to share. Some day. 

And that is my whole past couple years, minus the grueling moving and painting stories. (Just a hint of the grueling: Hand painting an entire house with rollers takes FOREVER!)

Bye!

School days :)

OK- so going back to school... FUN!
(But first let's start with a gratuitous puppy picture of my doggies snoozing on the passenger seat of my car.)
Really, this is great. At this age, I am not partying, not dating and not hooking up. I have a regular sleep schedule, a lovely bed, I eat real food regularly and enjoy all sorts of other things younger college students don't. It makes the work load so much easier! Easier might have something to do with the intense project load I kept up with in work too... but I am having fun. (Except for the random moaning and whinging about expository essays. Essays at 35 years old! Give me something to analyze or a design presentation any day. Ok, enough whining.)
My program is called Arts and Religious Practice. (Evergreen doesn't do many individual classes. We take one program all quarter and get credits in multiple disciplines.) The Arts bit is in both Printmaking and Fine Metals studios with two very organized and focused instructors.
Printmaking So far we have focused on relief printmaking from woodcuts and intaglio from copper engraving. Here is a picture of one of my burins (engraving tool) plus some scrap copper for practicing. The close up of the practice piece and tip of the burin shows you how much more practice I need! These things make itsy teensy little scratches, but they all show up in the printing. The bottom picture is a print of a sample plate about the same size as this plate. Circles are hard! (I may just be stealing hubby's magnifier Ott-lite for that, but don't tell him.) We are just getting to the hard line etching now and aquatint is soon. Somehow, we are already past mid-term! Lots of bits & pieces in the portfolio for that one.
Metals The fine metals studio is non-ferrous stuff, nothing with iron, no steel. We work with mostly copper and brass and silver solder and fun stuff like that. I don't have any pictures of my samples in there yet, but soon. My current project is a copper spindle whorl- I have high hopes for it turning out nice & shiny. And usable.
So I guess since I am making things I will have to start taking pictures of them for here, now that I am past the simple, sampled not very attractive stuff, that is. Maybe I will post a picture of my first project from metals, a nameplate. Or not. This program is lots of work, lots of fun!
There is not much quilt-y or weaver-y. But I have a plan for that too. Maybe I will post pictures of that too. (Hey- Anything can happen! I posted in less than 2 months this time!)

Oops- I seem to have wandered off

Well... so much for good intentions about posting more often. (Now I must wonder how long the next break will be!) And seriously, I have no good reason. Except that I haven't been doing anything. At least not stitch-y anythings.
I have been doing a few things in a half-assed fashion. Like I started learning to spin, but realized I wasn't going to spend the time required to practice. Not right now. I will come back to that.
And since I have nothing pretty to share, how about a quick recounting of my life, because if I don't have a good excuse, I can at least make an attempt at a whine, no?

In the past month or so:
I moved my real estate license to a new firm. I am now at Abbey Realty, a locally owned company. It is a big change not to be part of RE/MAX after 8 years. But really, I have been progressing on a different track for my business anyway. And it gets me the best of both worlds, as they say. So big change #1!

#2 change is Zaboo. I found this sweet year old pug boy in a parking lot 2 weeks ago. But nobody has claimed him, after much posting and searching for his family myself. So I have a second pug! He is sweet and loving. But he is unaltered and has a few habits we are addressing. As you can imagine, Lilly thinks he is uncouth. Perhaps that will change after a certain surgery next week. But he gets on just fine with Bandit cat. Also, he is very nervous of large dogs, is very submissive and doesn't seem to understand doggy language/politeness real well, so we are working on the social bit.

And the Biggest Bit of Chaos: I am going to school! It all started back in March or April when I decided I really did want to go to school and needed to figure out how. I have been looking into it for a while. So I was able to decide that Evergreen State College is a good place, and I went in and was told, "Great! You have a week to get your application in." Panic! But I did it, and I muddled through the paperwork and had to write a "personal essay". And I got in. And I got financial awards to pay for it. And I am taking 16 credit hours!
Evergreen has this fantastic system, where we don't take individual classes, but one Program where we get credits in multiple disciplines. My program is called Arts & Religious Practice. We are looking at the objects and practices of medieval European Christianity, Judaism and Islam. And we make art. Fine metal work and wood cutting for intaglio printmaking to be precise. So that may be the pictures I have for posting in the near future. I am incredibly excited about it. Also nervous, fluttery, wide eyed, twitchy. But excited! And classes start in about 24 hours.
Not really sure how work will happen, but I will fit it in somehow.

Anyway, that is the main update. Other things since my last post:
Camping with my sister's kids and lots of family. Ocean with my aunt and her two grandkids. Fairgrounds weaving display showing kids the how-to. Lots of video game time. Some lawn mowing. Some walks with dogs. Work.
But no fiber work, no sewing.
Perhaps this was a transitional year.

First off!

First it was on....

And I have my first off-the-loom!
Just abit more work to do, cleanup of a couple spots on the selvage where the last thread wasn't picked up and then the fringe. And washing of course. But I get to have show & tell at guild this month!

How many looms does a new weaver need?

I think that is a question probably asked of all weavers...
But it is a useless question! Because the people who might know the answer don't care to answer it.
Instead, I shall simply show off my emerging studio. Yay for extra buildings.

(Yes, I do admit some good old fashioned rich-white-american guilt about using a whole building for weaving when I am such a rank beginner. But it goes away pretty quickly.)

First off, let me introduce you to the newest acquisition This is probably the last loom for me for a loooong time. (No more space see?) This charming piece of modern engineering is a Bergman Countermarche. Bergman is a well known and respected builder from the Pacific Northwest and I was basically gifted this loom. With tools!

And the under side of the Bergman.
It has 6 treadles, 4 shafts, string heddles and enclosed castle storage. And I am really curious to see how long ago this loom was dressed! There is old newsprint between the warp. (I will do a whole post on the discovery process.)

Here is a loom I am learning on. It is not owned by me. It is owned by my Guild. Lovely little 8 shaft Mountain Loom.

I have some 5/2 cotton dressed on 4 shafts here, and I am going to do a nice 2/2 twill for a lightweight scarf. The warp is a nice dark nubby green and that teal is mercerized so will shimmer a bit as is comes together.

I am making the scarf for a beginner weaver series my guildmates at the Olympia Weavers Guild have created just for us newbies! My guild is amazing... that is yet another post.

The tool case: aka old unused audio/video shelves. Perfect for showing off how often I dust. And a nice selection of tools, shuttles, bungee cords and the other accoutrment of weavers.

Please note the cheerful orange of the drill/electric bobbin winder.

I also now have 4 kinds of clamps to use for various things. Tools stores are fun!

Also note the lack of dryway...

I have such hopes to have the rest of the insulation and drywall in this room this spring. Because it is blasted COLD in the winter. Patience.

And that brings us to the wall o' fiber!

Thanks to a great many generous weavers and garage sales, I am totally stocked!

It is a good choice to take photos of your stash, as it makes it clear what your color preferences are. I can't wait to see how that changes as I start making things from a plan!

I did not introduce the Rigid Heddle Loom or the frame loom or the warping board, but they live in there too. I expect great things from them all!

Can't live without

I just need to tell everyone about these totally geeky half gloves. I think they are made for knitters.
I use them for everything!
I have arthritis in my hands and arms from various things like waitressing and keyboarding. And sometimes, especially if the barometer changes dramatically I get all achey and doing small motor skills things hurts.
But since I got these little nylon gloves, no more pain! (And I have been playing lots & lots of video games so I have definitely stress-tested them.)
Thanks, just had to share.
PS- Yes, they are turned inside out. I think it is counter productive to have the extra pressure of seams on my wrists.