Blog post, 2013
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My world has shifted slightly on its axis. It’s as if a big old clock has just had the hour hand click to the next number. It’s August. My focus has shifted from the garden to my studio.
Of course I have been weaving all summer. I have been working on brown rag rugs. An order started this trend off, but then I explored the possibilities thoroughly. Think dark chocolate brown, deep rust and warm gold, some somber black and brown plaids and similar but different heavily saturated hues. Sheets by Ralph Lauren, some rugged cloth from India, some brown jeans have been reduced to strips. That’s a good summer project, cutting the cloth into strips on the veranda, ducking inside to weave, and then back on the veranda to do the finishing. I do find it difficult to stay indoors in good weather and my mind is often preoccupied with garden decisions. There are always many garden dilemmas to consider as my fingers work on undemanding weaving projects.
I have also made some very wide rugs, one from many tshirts as I wanted to see how knit cotton would work out. Of course, because I chose these tshirts over the years because of their colours, this rug is pretty and dramatic. Also, I wove a wide rug from denim, cambray, and blue cotton prints, a tried and true combination. The wide rugs are backbreaking to do, so I am happy to have finished them. All my early summer weaving projects have come to an end.
So, after a few days of thinking seriously about possible projects, and my fingers and eyes physically wandering though the yarns in my studio, I have shifted gears, and now, its all weaving, all the time. Its always amazingly difficult to change direction, seems impossible and overwhelming, and takes time and energy to get going, but going I am. The seasonal shift occurs about this time each year.
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I am currently fascinated with the colour palette from turquoise to green, with all the subtle tones that lie in between. I am working with many fibers, cotton, bamboo, silk, mohair, some I have had for many years, others I have discovered recently. How a project gets started depends on many influences, often a casual sighting, rather than an in depth study. Colours influence each other, and colour relationships fascinate me. Exploring how to use colour in garment construction is another thought cycle.
I am preparing for the Twist Festival in St Andre Avellin, in PQ., Aug.24 and 25, and look forward to feedback from my friends and clients on all of my new directions. This is a festival that celebrates all the weaving, knitting, felting type of crafts. Suppliers sell materials and there are finished products for sale. The whole town is supportive in a very jolly way, and the countryside is just beautiful. I really recommend a trip to the Twist Festival and hope to see you there.
Janet