Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.......Mark Twain

Monday, December 6, 2010

Pondering

58 minutes until shift change. Its been a stressful week..mammogram which was uneventful but always leaves me feeling drained and vulnerable. Worrying about paying for tuition and for Christmas......worry worry worry....its not healthy you know.
I have lost my camera leads again so I cannot upload any pictures although I dont really have any at this point anyway.
But mostly what I have been pondering is the impact that the textile art program has had on my life.....since it began 3 semesters ago it has been a whirlwind of skill based learning, one on the next on the next on the next at the speed of light. For someone who went in wondering if they had anything to teach me I am humbled.
My eyes have been opened to new and wonderful techniques some I KNOW I will work and develop in the years to come....some...well not so much. I have so many projects and so many many ideas......waiting.
The other thing I have been pondering is relationships......I marvel at the impact these young women in the program have had on me....thier enthusiasm,perspective and humour have touched me and made me grow as well. I love the way they forge ahead with artistic fervor. I realise that I felt 'sealed' within the confines of the associations I had built in past years and now....well its different, not entirely clear but different.
Today I am waiting for Penny to relieve me so I can drive to school....Precision Dyeing Class nears an end and today is hand in for the research project......which has also inspired some wonderful percolating ideas......and with some trepidation and realisation I am beginning to consider myself a dyer.....well thats one hat anyway.
Well time to pack up and start this crazy week.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Jacquard weaving at Ruths



Today Tamara and I went to Ruth's to weave our jacquard samples......I love the jacquard loom.......soooo incredibly cool.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Doapay

If you have had an experience with Daopay....good or bad please let me know.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Whistler Farmers Market

I checked and they have updated the webpage with current information......check it out there are some very interesting vendors.


http://www.whistlerfarmersmarket.org/merchants?view=member&id=99

Monday, August 2, 2010

My beautiful freind Suzanne

While I was goofing around online I found this wonderful tv clip of my friend Suzanne from Michigan. We shared a booth at Convergence in Denver in 2004 my most favorite trip ever

her webpage is



Tuesday, July 27, 2010

fairy pants





I am having a love affair with stretch lace......I know its kind of 80s but it works for these fairy pants......all were snatched up on sunday so I think I am on to something.....more to come this week in sage and dusty rose because I went on a marathon dressew adventure yesterday with Susan and ended up stranded on the 401 in the HOV lane in the most intense heat....finally a nice hwy worker came nad pushed us off to the shoulder but the pushing involved his big truck and munched the back of Susans van.....all in all a bit of a disaster but we have fabric and samosas so it was still a good day
I finished the never ending custom hat last sunday for this little girl.....mommy was thrilled and ordered a lighter one for the fall......need to singe some organza today for that yarn.....

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

new table doobob for the booth



Last sundays additions were several tie dye shirts, lots of bandanas and some onsies....also a display table which I have to say turned out better than I expected....this week....Im working on some yoga/fairy pants and leggings and some more mannequins to display all this exciting stuff.....

Friday, July 9, 2010

whistler farmers market makes it into the vancouver sun

http://communities.canada.com/VANCOUVERSUN/blogs/wordofmouth/archive/2010/07/05/scenes-from-the-whistler-s-farmers-market.aspx

Cute little ditty from a local reporter.

I want to be a wooler when I grow up



This is my little friend Talulah.....every sunday she hangs out with us and spins and gives us advice on life and courage....
She is just about the worlds cutest child.

This week I made a custom order hat.....not quite finished I still have to embellish it with vintage beads (i think). I also made a childs sweater coat and matching hat....still needs to be blocked and have buttons sewn on but I am quite chuffed with the outcome and enjoyed crocheting at the cabin soaking in the view and the good company as well as being entertained by the industrious chipmunks.
I have a felt jacket in my head that needs out....maybe I can start today although the house is disgusting after being away for 4 days.....
my camera battery is dead and I cant find the charger....will post progress pics when it do......in the meantime there is Talulah (picure stolen from Tamara)

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Its for the birds


a little pic of my indigo birds....picture stolen from Tamara.

Friday, July 2, 2010

what is it that I am trying to say?

In the back of my mind I am struggling for a definition of a directional change that is rumbling around in the far recesses of my menopausal chemo imprinted brain. It has to do with the melding of my far past, the sepia toned photos of long dead ancestors that hold a special magnetism for me and the memories of learning smocking and embroidery from my great grandmother in a room that smelled of tea and lavender with a desire to learn new techniques particularly dyeing, nature dyeing....I am leaning towards textiles rich in the muted natural colours and thick with texture, french knots, bullions, smocking......its all just below the surface, like waiting for water to come to a boil.....like looking at a picture through layers and layers of cheesecloth.......I recognize my process and it wont be long before I know what it is I am trying to say.

Rainbow Feet


Had a wonderful dye day.....3 racks full including some very successful discharge shibori shirts....but....i have rainbow feet....hoping i can make them look presentable enough to go to the store to get mushrooms for the shepards pie for dinner.

Eleanor's Middle Value Greys

The sky is full of Eleanor's MVGs again this morning, such a funny sight for the second day of July. As frequently happens when I spend the day spinning and in the company of other artist like I did yesterday I have the most visually mind blowing dreams all night....I have an asymetrical vest perhaps felted perhaps crocheted in my head, some great plans for some really funky art yarn, some baby jackets (inspired by my soon to be born great nephew-niece)and thoughts of needle felted melton (thanks Janna)
I have to dye some tied tshirts today and make bread and then I can get into the wool, maybe I will even drag out the sander and felting machine today.....now if the kids would just find something to do somewhere else when they get up......heres hoping.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Canada Day on Granville Market




Today was an action filled day at Granville Market.....Tamara, Hilary, Amanda and I represented Cap U at a booth outside Crafthouse. As with any time spent with these artistic women it was fun filled and served to reaffirm to me that negativity has no place in the creative flow.
Hilary and Amanda were phenomonal doing many interactive felting demos with the kids.....good thing too because Tamara and I were really hoping we didnt have to fill those shoes!
Tamara spun and carded and answered relentless questions on spinning wheels, ratios, fibre and the like.....
I sat out front and spun the never ending cria suri alpaca fleece that I got from Marilynn Ross last year, hopefully I will have spun it all by September and it will make its way into a weaving project....i am visualizing something with a silk warp and alpaca weft...maybe nature dyed with pomegranite....
I have never had my picture taken so many times with so many people....all in all a fun but exhausting day.
I have been cogitating a lot lately on dynamics of creative groups and am really moved by the supportive and respectful attitude of the women in this program. I am not sure if it is a result of the presentations and critiques that we do in class or why it exists but its is a very nuturing environment and I feel very lucky to be part of it....

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Prudence Mapstone

www.knotjustknitting.com

It has been a while since I perused her site and it is well worth a look. I took her workshop on Bowen Island, more than 5 years ago and still today it influences my work.....a very very creative woman....

wishing Janna a wonderful adventure

Yesterday I braved downtown Vancouver again in the mega-van....I was lucky enough to purchase the last of Janna's stash before she leaves for Montreal to finish her degree at Concordia University. I now have some more dyes so friday will be a dye day....more tie dyes for sunday.....and tommorow we will be at Granville Market doing felting demos and selling stuff at Crafthouse.
I am also planning on taking advantage of being near maiwa while there are will pick up some indigo and cocheneal to dye the organic cotton stuff I am making.....great plans.
I am loving this whole knitting machine experience and will post some pic later, maybe even a video.

Monday, June 28, 2010

another manic monday



Yesterday Tamara and I did the whistler farmers market again.....It was a very good day although the weather was cold and windy......Our little friend Talulah helped us spin and weave all day in her poodle costume.....she had some very sage advice for Tamara about conquering her fears and going on the zip-line.....probably not going to happen. We had a lovely dinner with JP after the market....nothing like prime rib after a hard day at the market!
We are heading in to Vancouver this morning for supplies.....new t shirts and some organic cotton from dressew for these baby hats I have in my head.....thinking of making them first and then overdyeing in indigo and cocheneal.....might even weave a baby blanket or two....who knows.
I love the buzyness of the summer season.....lots to make, lots to do!!

Monday, May 31, 2010






I spent the day washing all the fleece from Maplewood Farm, its all done and out in racks in the rain to dry. I am dyeing small batches in the kitchen....I cant wait to get this carded......great plans.

Maplewood Farm





I dont miss much from my prior life, but, I do miss hanging out in a barn. Yesterday some of us from the textile program did a demo-thing at Maplewood Farm in North Van. Natalie arranged felting in plastic bags for the wee ones and it was a huge success....Tamara and Serine carded their little hearts out, Amanda spent the whole day showing toddlers how to felt....I spun.
We had a blast and we were gifted some lovely fleece for our efforts.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

A walk on the dikes



It was a perfect day for walking the dike, cool but no rain. The sky was so awesome, lots of Eleanor's middle value greys.....
On the home front, I still have the school loom so I tied on a siene twine warp I found in the shed and am weaving some rugs with rug yarn I also found......wonder if I will have them done for Saturday?

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Sheep to Shawl Competition






Today was the sheep to shawl competition at Surrey Museum, there were 4 groups including ours which consisted of some alumni,second years and first year students. We had to hand card, spin and weave a shawl from start to finish in 4 hours. The day started on the trip in with Sol being bonked on the head with a bucket of carders but she was a real trooper and just kept smiling.....We all had a great time and I think the shawl turned out really nicely.

weaving workshop



For 3 days this last week I assisted and participated in a Colour In Cloth workshop by Cameron Taylor-Brown....It was totally amazing.
This is my final sample and the inspiration it came from.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Dressew and Button Button


Today I dragged Tamara to a meeting at the school for assistants for the upcoming weaving conference next week. Afterwards we took the land yacht down to creepy town and went to dressew where I bought some awesome yarns for the next jacket and some buttons to finish the last 2 jackets......one abalone for the indigo jacket and a cedar button for the grey and orange one......what a lovely sunny happy happy day.

another jacket in the making.....



This is the inspiration for the next jacket....it looks like borage but its not, its some perrenial thing that grows in big bushes in my garden. And this is the romney I am spinning....it was a grey fleece which i overdyed with purple......I love the variations in colour.....I am thinking I will weave and felt this one.....im sure it will morph as I go along, my projects always do.

Grad Opening Show





I had such a wonderful time at the show last night I am still smiling.....makes me realize I should get away from the teenage male negativity in this house more often!!
The gallery was so packed I couldnt really get pictures of the art, maybe I can go back, i did however get some pictures of some of my beautiful cohorts....

Sunday, April 18, 2010

woven jacket


A few more pictures of recent projects. This jacket was made of wool and mohair....I will never do a mohair warp again.....currently on the school loom is another jacket of the same idea done with indigo dyed wool and bits of faded denim. On the home loom I have a wool jacket same pattern again in orange and grey. I want to perfect this pattern as I think it would be an awesome production piece.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Free form crochet and vat dyes....i love the combination




Well...its been a long time.....

Here of some pics of the upcoming seasons stock. I am making these chokers like crazy. They are freeform crocheted with a rayon yarn and dyed in vat dyes then sewn together with vintage bits and bobs......I am loving making these.