In the pink.....

Afternoon in the studio...

Pink epitomizes the pinnacle of quality, according to the http://www.phrase.org/ - Elizabeth I admired the variety of dianthus flower as we now know as 'pinks' where the idea of excellence comes in. Whether the colour pink came first or the flower can be argued, but the verb is rather interesting, and being all things to me are wrapped around textiles - the verb pink, means to cut or pierce - the edges of the flowers look to be 'pinked' - voila - pinking shears!

I have a fondness for pinks - my grandmother's garden had a mass of them, but it was the smell that swept me away. My first bouquet from my husband was a posy of pinks.......however, I love tulips as well and today this is what swept me away. That and pink of course - it is just that time of year I guess. And it is quite a wonderful colour I must say - I am quite tickled pink to be celebrating the colour.

The dressed window at The Loom - advertising the Spin In! at Providence Farm this Monday - which just happens to be Valentine's Day. 10-2

Come and spin wool for the new Textile Program at Providence using the farm's wool. Lunch and wool will be provided. Bring your spinning wheels and spin to your heart's content.

Now what else has been happening at the studio these days. I can see why people write regularly on their blogs, as it is hard to keep up with all the goings on. It is my students that are working the hardest these days. I know I am teaching, but what they are producing is nothing short of wonderful. Michelle is working on a blanket that is so rich that it

is almost hard to be near it! There are these little sequins that wink at me when the light is right - wool, rayon, and our new favourite yarn Berroco Lustra.........

The blanket is threaded to a goose-eye block - very electric!

One of the other fabulous students, Alison, wove her first scarves with beautiful Sublime and Little Flowers, Lustra and Mochi Plus. When I think of the fibres we had 35 years ago, so limiting that you had to spin for interest. Now with knitting being so popular, the fibres available are amazing. We are so lucky to have such a variety. Speaking of fibres - the studio is now carrying a line of linen - we have a distributer right in the Cowichan Valley.
Alison is now on her second warp for handtowels ready to weave her twill sample - a variation on each towel.

My best weaving friend Ann and I had a draw down night a couple of weeks ago, both hand and PCW - we had a great time, but one of the best parts of the night was this wonderful book on stripes which I will make sure I include the title in the next blog. I cannot remember the name of the author and I would like to quote some of the content - it is sure to make you look at stripes a different way. If I can figure out how to edit in after posting, I will edit it when I get to the studio. I used her 'harmonies' of stripes as an example of designing stripes with Alison and Kate (who hates stripes) - and the 'striping' they are getting up to is awesome.

And then my dear student Nadine....she has the ability to make things happen when they are supposed to - all the planets are aligned in the right order and the energy around her just makes things happen. Nadine had a warp on for some time to do cushion covers for her dining room chairs - a bold red and brown warp, with this electric blue thread running at regular intervals........but it just stalled. Along came Nadine and along came Gaye from the Loom with this wonderful sari strips all sewn together and wow - chair covers woven in no time flat and

they are fabulous. I look forward to seeing them on the chairs in her beautiful home.

I have so much more to write, but I am saving some for the next blog which I hope to do soon - my favourite Shetland wool will be celebrated with Alberta's most wonderful warp - stay tuned.

And I leave you with Gabriele's stripes - pre-stripe book - she has the stripes down - lovely Super 10 and a hint of cotton boucle....it will be a beautiful runner - perhaps the weft will be linen....

And don't forget to put the Unfinished Project Project on your calendar. February 26th and 27th at Whippletree Junction in the courtyard, 10-3.........bring your mug, lunch, projects, yarn exchange etc. etc.

email if you have questions or phone the Loom.

I love Lucy!!

It has been some time since I wrote only because I have been so busy - and I am having a wonderful time being busy I must say. I will try to bring my blog up-to-date, so it may be somewhat longwinded.
I have been doing a fair amount of spinning and teaching spinning. The fleece I have been spinning most recently is Shetland and I am in love with Lucy's fleece. My friend Alberta, one of the best shepherds I know, has wonderful sheep with wonderful fleece. I have been spinning in the grease and it is like one long staple - it just doesn't end.

I plied it into a boucle and it looks very pretty - stockpiling for a future project. I have been combing different fibres together and getting some interesting yarns - will have to take some pictures.....

Then of course I have been talking about doing some natural dyeing, so I thought I had better stop talking about it and do it.....so solar dyeing came to mind, much like sun tea. I used to do it many many years ago, so now in the day where everything seems to be eco minded, I thought it would be fun. I picked St. John's Wort, bracken fern, yellow dock and sow thistle and put them in jars with water and let the sun do its work.
Ever the educator, I labeled and put examples of the plants next to the jars. I left them for about 5 days and then yesterday strained and put back into the jars along with some mohair/wool from Eastwin Farm. I used alum for them all and put some pennies into the dock and wort....they are quite beautiful already - lovely shades of green.

St. John's Wort - it looks yellow but it is quite green unless it changes tomorrow!!!

And Yellow Dock - which is my favourite - a lovely celery green. A fellow spinner came by and told me about buddlia being a great dyeing plant - so save your spent blooms for me!
Then there are marigolds, coreopsis, St. Anne's Lace, tansy, goldenrod, and on and on, never mind all the seaweeds and lichens - it is never ending and I want to dye it all. I have to look for my copy of natural dyeing by Jane Patrick - a very old publication that I contributed to, and it was full of different dyeplants that were tested for light and colourfastness.

Every day is rich with activity at the Studio and I meet many extraordinary people. Well I also meet other 'people'. I had a student of mine come by The Loom where I was working today and said she had to show me something...................

Yes, a couple of very pretty sheep came to visit - Clune Forest lambs all groomed and behaved as they had been at a 4H workshop for showing sheep. I did keep an eye on my roses that Karen gave me.....

One of the wonderful parts of my daily life at Whippletree is having coffee and goodies from Black Coffee - the best coffee on the island. And their soups are wonderful. My camera is always at the ready and I couldn't resist taking the following picture - Creamy carrot soup in the courtyard - nothing better under the cedar trees where so much happens on a daily basis - whether it be my Cowichan knitting sisters knitting on a Sunday, cool on a hot day because of the trees, to my spinning classes spinning in the rain but very dry under these dear cedars.