Practice bag

I'm not a sewist. I can barely stitch a straight seam. So my stuggles sewing the Weaving Class Tote led me to stitch up a practice bag using commercial fabric.

The pattern in Little Looms provided a link to a two-part tutorial from the Missouri Quilt Company. I watched this multiple times, and the techniques finally sank into my tiny brain.

I think I purchased this material at a moving sale that one of the weaving guild members staged. Bosal In-R-Form Plus double-sided fusible foam stabilizer provides the stiffness needed for this bag to stand up by itself. The bottom is boxed, which helps as well.

The lining is some muslin that I threw into the dye pot after dyeing yarn with dyers coreopsis.

I wove the handles on my inkle loom using 8/4 cotton. They seem really flimsy, plus no matter how much I iron them, they look wrinkled. Also, they are too long for this size bag.

While this is not a perfect bag by any means, I am fairly satisfied with the results. Understanding the pattern instructions and improving my sewing techniques were the goals, and that happened.

Other things I learned (and they apply to many activities) include taking things slow, one step at a time, and walking away when I need a break.

What's your cyanotype?

Today my SO and I participated in a cyanotype workshop using transparencies. The chemistry is beyond me, but basically you apply a mixture of chemicals to paper (or other suitable material), place transparencies on the paper after it is dry, and place them under UV light. Since today was overcast, we relied on artifical light.

After UV exposure, the chemical solution is washed off in water to stop the process, then the paper is passed through a hydrogen peroxide solution (or it can be left to air dry, but that takes longer). Oxygen "sets" the color. It's all very scientific.

In the photo above, the test strip on the right is an example of what happens if the paper is not right under the UV light source (or so the instructor said). The magic did not happen. Knowing that, I made sure the "final" picture was positioned correctly. Much better.

What does this have to do with fiber? My plan is to document my garden plants using cyanotype on muslin, then sew the pieces together to make a quilt.

Knitting: I keep thinking those anklets are almost done, yet they go on and on, despite my efforts.
Weaving: The houndstooth scarf is off the loom.

The other night I sat through a Zoom presentation from another guild that I thought was going to be about how to sew with handwoven cloth. Alas, the speaker just talked about her career sewing from handwoven cloth. And she was technologically inept, had her speakers turned so low she could not hear us; consequently, when the slide show stopped and she didn't, there was no way to tell her. Note to self: if I ever arrange a speaker on Zoom or if I am a speaker on Zoom, make sure there is an exchange of phone numbers so contact can be made if there is a glitch.

Almost too successful, part 2

I passed around a sign-up sheet for a rigid heddle weaving study group at both the spinning guild and the weaving guild, plus at the fiber club. Sixteen people signed up. That is a lot. Now I have to organize everyone and everything and find a venue. My vision is the more experienced weavers will help the noobs, but we'll see how that works out.

Knitting: In the homestretch on the second pair of anklets.
Sewing: Finished the weaving class tote, finally.
Spinning: Not quite done with the Polish merino.
Weaving: Stymied by the tension issues on the houndstooth towels. I needed something to demo at the Jay County Fiber Arts and Artisans Fair, so I warped up a houndstooth scarf.

I came down with another cold this past week, but it seems to have departed prematurely (except for feelings of fatigue). I made it to the fair for a couple of hours. I'm glad I went, as I overheard the spinning guild VP mention to a passerby that we were going to be Zooming the meetings. Huh? I had started working on that myself. I am happy she took the initiative, but it would have been nice to be informed about it since I am the president.

At this week's weaving guild, I brought up a couple of things we can do to attract more members, then dropped them in the other members' laps. It would be easy for them to just let me do it all, but I want some buy-in from the rest of the gang. Fortunately, a couple of them stepped up. We have several new members, so that helps demonstrate what I doing as the "outreach coordinator".

Almost too successful

Today's FW Fiber Arts Club was packed with twenty-five attendees. The program was "gathering dye materials for natural dyeing", which may have been part of the draw, but many present were from the local embroidery guild. Everyone listened to what the speakers had to say and asked questions, then afterwards chatted up a storm amongst themselves. On their way out, several thanked me for organizing the group. If the meetings get any larger, we may need to find an alternative place to meet.

Two books I think my library needs:
This past week my SO and I attended an artist talk at a local gallery. The speaker is a member of the weaving guild, but her fiber career has taken off and we rarely see her anymore. One of her areas of expertise is ice dyeing fabric and yarn. (Now I find myself wondering if there is a way to marry ice dyeing and natural dyeing. Something to meditate on.)

Knitting: Turned the heels on the latest anklets.
Sewing: The practice bag is finished.
Spinning: In the homestretch spinning the Polish merino.
Weaving: Tension problems mount on the houndstooth towels, which may become one towel and a placemat.

Something new for you weavers: a tutorial on how to do Italian hemstitch. I haven't tried this yet, but it is on my fiber bucket list.

This past week I met with the doctor who is going to perform cataract surgery on my tired old eyes later this month. It's not critical, but it would be nice to knit black or navy yarn without wearing a headlamp.