Every year our
Textile Guild has a lot of great mini workshops at the Fair - as well as the wonderful yearly events - like the Sheep To Shawl contest. This year these 'teachings' were coordinated by guild member Jo Critchlow -an energetic wonder woman who routinely makes 20 pairs of socks a year. Jo says she makes one pair of socks a week - and she uses leftover sock yarn to make the most wonderful baby sweaters ! Jo did an amazing job and packed the days with so many fun things! One workshop that I missed during this year was about dyeing with fermented persimmons so I was especially pleased to find that the teacher,
Chris Conrad, was going to be doing a mini work shop at the fair ! The technique is called Kakishibui & I had a great time tying various objects into this silk scarf. If I do this process again, I think I would prefer to sew the fabric - more like a sh1bori. Once dry there are several ways to darken the pattern & soften the fabric. I used a tablespoon of baking soda in clear water to darken the original color. I am planning to screen some other design elements and colors onto this scarf - hopefully later today. Chris Conrad is an excellent teacher - and I am still sorry that I missed her full workshop. She also adds indigo dye to her work -what a fabulous combination! She donated her time to the Guild for this event - which I think is amazing. If your group is looking for a fascinating class - contact Chris- you won't regret it !
Some of you will remember that I have a fascination for making small baskets. I gave a mini workshop for the Guild this year & several of the folks who attended just took off and make lots & lots of theses gems themselves. Every year the Guild makes something special to give to "fluffy ribbon" winners. Susan Rosenberg, our fearless (and by now extremely exhausted Superintendent) made scads of these little wonders - and I am the proud new owner of the two shown here. It was SO darn much fun to see what other people do with a technique - and makes me begin to understand the fun of teaching. Thank you Susan, for your encouragement & for all of the hard work you put into making the Fair such a huge success - you're quite amazing !
Every year I get one or two baskets. It's the first place I visit. This is the small basket I got this year to hold my most frequently used beading supplies - and beads for the current project. Love the orange! It was really a wonderful fair. I even managed to get another set of holes in my ears (by a local, well known provider - fear not about cleanliness!) - which had been on my list of things "to do" for awhile. The weather was very HOT this year - and dry too (which is a good thing for the Fair!). Heat really does me in though. Friday night I came home, took a shower & lay down for what I thought would be a quick nap. I woke up two hours later at 6:15pm. Fell asleep again at 8:30 pm & slept through until 9 am Saturday. Unbelievable! I was so pleased that I took the time this year to enjoy some of the fun that the Fair - and our Guild - had to offer.
Another of the mini workshops that was offered was basket making. It was supposed to be for kids - but I figure that might well describe my mind set - and it appeared that I was is very good "adult kid" company! I can easily see how basket making could become a serious addiction. I have some photographs for another post of some of the fabulous baskets that were ribbon winners.
It crossed my mind to add these two small knitted baskets to Etsy. They are the perfect size to hold a ball of yarn or a small gift. I love making them - and I guess it goes along with what friends call my 'bowl fetish'. I may not sell anything but I have learning a lot and having fun - and that should be what this is all about anyway ! I am almost done with another embroidered bag - and I bet you will all be thoroughly bored seeing them before too long! Have a happy weekend !!
I got my basket fix at the fair! These are some of my favorites. Above - made of cedar. Simple, organic and beautiful!
Here are the many mini coiled fabric baskets that were handed out as a little something extra from the Textile Guilt to the "fluffy" ribbon winners. Sheila Metcalf -who made that gorgeous woven kimono that I fell in love with - chose my little black, white & red beaded basket on the shelf - second from the left. Superintendant Susan Rosenberg made most of the others - she really worked so hard ! One of the best Superintendents ever -a fabulous organizer - and wonderful artist too !
Every year our Textile Guild has a lot of great mini workshops at the Fair - as well as the wonderful yearly events - like the Sheep To Shawl contest. This year these 'teachings' were coordinated by guild member Jo Critchlow -an energetic wonder woman who routinely makes 20 pairs of socks a year. Jo says she makes one pair of socks a week - and she uses leftover sock yarn to make the most wonderful baby sweaters ! Jo did an amazing job and packed the days with so many fun things! One workshop that I missed during this year was about dyeing with fermented persimmons so I was especially pleased to find that the teacher, Chris Conrad, was going to be doing a mini work shop at the fair ! The technique is called Kakishibui & I had a great time tying various objects into this silk scarf. If I do this process again, I think I would prefer to sew the fabric - more like a sh1bori. Once dry there are several ways to darken the pattern & soften the fabric. I used a tablespoon of baking soda in clear water to darken the original color. I am planning to screen some other design elements and colors onto this scarf - hopefully later today. Chris Conrad is an excellent teacher - and I am still sorry that I missed her full workshop. She also adds indigo dye to her work -what a fabulous combination! She donated her time to the Guild for this event - which I think is amazing. If your group is looking for a fascinating class - contact Chris- you won't regret it !
Some of you will remember that I have a fascination for making small baskets. I gave a mini workshop for the Guild this year & several of the folks who attended just took off and make lots & lots of theses gems themselves. Every year the Guild makes something special to give to "fluffy ribbon" winners. Susan Rosenberg, our fearless (and by now extremely exhausted Superintendent) made scads of these little wonders - and I am the proud new owner of the two shown here. It was SO darn much fun to see what other people do with a technique - and makes me begin to understand the fun of teaching. Thank you Susan, for your encouragement & for all of the hard work you put into making the Fair such a huge success - you're quite amazing !
Every year I get one or two baskets. It's the first place I visit. This is the small basket I got this year to hold my most frequently used beading supplies - and beads for the current project. Love the orange! It was really a wonderful fair. I even managed to get another set of holes in my ears (by a local, well known provider - fear not about cleanliness!) - which had been on my list of things "to do" for awhile. The weather was very HOT this year - and dry too (which is a good thing for the Fair!). Heat really does me in though. Friday night I came home, took a shower & lay down for what I thought would be a quick nap. I woke up two hours later at 6:15pm. Fell asleep again at 8:30 pm & slept through until 9 am Saturday. Unbelievable! I was so pleased that I took the time this year to enjoy some of the fun that the Fair - and our Guild - had to offer.
Another of the mini workshops that was offered was basket making. It was supposed to be for kids - but I figure that might well describe my mind set - and it appeared that I was is very good "adult kid" company! I can easily see how basket making could become a serious addiction. I have some photographs for another post of some of the fabulous baskets that were ribbon winners.
I've been in the middle of a spate of mini baskets & have been really enjoying them! I am using a small, chalk line cording for and am still trying to figure out how to vary the stitch width to get the cording definition that I want. It's difficult on this small scale. The middle basket with the handle is the smallest one of this batch. I used a mixture of chocolate & safari gray procion dyes on it and then stiffened the handle a bit with GAC 400 (which I have come to really like using a lot since it can be thinned with water to give a more or less rigid effect). The basket on the left was tea dyed- the original fabric was white. The right hand basket was just for fun - a perky pink rayon blend fabric with black dots that shed like crazy ! You should have seen my pants after I finished it! More mini baskets are in my future - these are just too fun to make to stop now! Next step is beading them!
