Weaving, color, weaving, color

Check-in for the annual fiber arts sale is tomorrow. Tomorrow! I have woven four scarves in two days, and am hoping against hope that everything dries in time. Seeing as these items are mostly woven out of silk and wool, I don’t want to pop them in the dryer and just see what happens.

These last four scarves were inspired by a talk we went to last weekend by Leatrice Eiseman, who is one of the important Pantone people who watch color trends across the globe. She is a psychologist by training and has some interesting things to say about the psychology of why we like which colors.

One of the things Eiseman stressed for 2012 is the combination of vibrant, almost neon colors with traditional neutrals (tan, gray, black). And that those yellow-greens aren’t going away any time soon. If you take a run through your local Ross, TJ Maxx, or Marshalls, you’ll see the neon-green-and-black scarves are already out on the shelves. I’ve tried making a couple of scarves in this type of color palette. We’ll see if they sell to the local crowd.

Color trends

Now to fill out all the pages of paperwork necessary to submit items to the sale tomorrow…

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.” – Marcus Aurelius

Hardware Store Glory II

Yesterday a friend invited me to her house for a group craft day. Bring snacks, show up with your portable art/craft, and share with others. It really was a great way to talk about what we’re working on, learn from others, and spend an afternoon.

Since a couple of them are interested in steampunk, I stopped by Surplus Tool and Commodity in Denver for supplies. Saturday’s haul for $5 and some really dirty hands:

Upcycling Wonder

Currently reading: Abarat Absolute Midnight by Clive Barker. A warning to those of you who order this book online: this thing weighs a ton. Barker is also a talented painter and many Abarat-related paintings have been included in this volume. The whole thing is printed on shiny art paper, more commonly used with your average coffee table book.

Current audiobook: Continuing the steampunk theme of this post, I’ve just started the audio for Goliath by Westerfeld, performed by Alan Cumming.

“Darkness always had its part to play. Without it, how would we know when we walked in the light?” – Abarat series, Clive Barker

Scarves for Men

As I’ve noted, the annual fiber arts sale is just a few weeks away. And I have little or nothing to sell. After discussions with my sister, I decided to try to make some things for men. Last year there were tons of scarves for sale, but most of them were clearly made for women.

First up in this series for men is a plain weave scarf I whipped up yesterday.

Masculine fringe?

The warp is Malabrigo wool, the weft is Pima Fesca cotton from Queensland Collection. I know, I know, Malabrigo is not really strong enough to put in the warp. That’s why I made it plain weave; so I could pull really really gently and not stress the yarns too much.

I hate loom waste so much I actually wove the last four inches using a needle and pulling yards of the weft through the scarf that way. For those of you who aren’t weavers, when you tie all the threads onto the loom, you can waste up to 30 inches of yarn in the process. That “loom waste” secures the threads to the loom, doesn’t get woven, and generally gets thrown away. Multiply that by 70 warp threads, and you’re wasting a heck of a lot of yarn. Because I wove with the needle, I only had 3 inches of loom waste on one end, none on the other. Hence the fringe; helps me keep the loom waste to a minimum by using a lot of the tied-on threads as fringe.

That’s the problem and the question for the day:
What kind of finish/edge do you put on a man’s scarf? I cannot really see a man wanting to wear a scarf with this fringe, so I’m considering undoing the twists and just knotting small groups of yarn into bunches. That seems more masculine to me. This scarf is really too thick for me to cut off the fringe, fold over the edge, and just hem it. Suggestions welcome.

Recent read: Tiaras Past and Present by Munn. Recommended for the magpie in all of us.

Current audiobook: The Night Circus by Morgenstern, performed by Jim Dale (of the Harry Potter audiobooks). I’m not entranced, but I am enjoying hearing Jim Dale perform again.

“It is not our abilities that show what we truly are, it is our choices.” – JK Rowling

National Spinning and Weaving Week

October 3 – 9, 2011

This week is the Handweavers Guild of America’s National Spinning and Weaving Week. Be sure to check with your local yarn shops to see what classes and events they are holding to celebrate.

Myself, I’m not weaving anything right now because I’m knitting and unraveling. I’ve finished two more pairs of wrist warmers for the upcoming sale, although the dye from the black yarn came off on my fingers. I’ll have to wash that pair carefully, to make sure I get all the extra dye out before I sell them. I also found six (6!) 100% cashmere sweaters this week at the thrift store.

Yes, eventually I need to make things using the reclaimed cashmere, but right now I’m still experiencing the thrill of the hunt. Hmm. Maybe I’ll knit wrist warmers out of the reclaimed cashmere…

Currently reading: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

Currently listening to: NPR Road Trips – Roadside Attractions

“Celebrate what you want to see more of.” – Tom Peters