I was very surprised the other day, when a friend in England sent me a photo of herself, holding ‘Peg Looms and Weaving Sticks’!
I haven’t received my copy yet, so I was amazed to see that it has made it’s way to England before it’s official release date.
It was neat to see what the final version of the front cover looks like.
I still don’t know what the back cover looks like 🙂
So, this video, which I had planned to be a ‘Sneak Peek’ at the book, isn’t really a sneak peek since some people already have it (even if I don’t!)
In this video, I am focusing on the wearables in the book.
The book can be ordered from the Book Depository- I’d never heard of them until my editor told me about them, but I think it’s great that they ship worldwide, free. LINK
After many days of weaving, the long strip was finished.
I abuse my fabrics like crazy before sewing them: I throw them in the washing machine and the dryer (almost the only time I ever use the dryer, as I prefer to hang laundry to dry) and then iron the living daylights out of the fabric.
Tottie Tomato was happy to assist in the ironing.
She loves the puffs of steam and says it works wonders for her tomatoey little complexion.
The first one went well, and then, I checked and checked and re-checked to make sure that I wasn’t duplicating the first one, and that I was indeed ‘mirroring’ the second one.
And, to my great relief, I got it right…. but in all the tension, I forgot to take pictures, and instead, rushed off to the sewing machine to start piecing and stay stitching and assembling.
I was in my ‘scurry rabbit’ mode- get these pieces all stabilized before they go ‘sproing’ and unravel!
Happily…. very happily!
The piecing all went beautifully!
The vest is now interfaced and stabilized and pinned together, ready for a fitting and then lining and finishing!
Because I love weaving little square motifs, I combined sock yarns, embroidery floss and various yarns and threads while weaving clasped weft technique.
I dreamt that I was invited to visit the workroom of a friend who passed on awhile ago.
She and I had written back and forth for several years before her death.
I still hold her dear in my heart, even though we never got to meet, face to face, in this world.
Anyhow, in the dream, I was invited into 2 gorgeous little rooms that were full, floor to ceiling, with antique drawers and shelves, full of exquisite handmade lace and yarn, and thread and weaving and embroidery.
It gave me a whole new view of heaven! 😀
I was particularly moved by the colors of one jacket and 2 bags that were woven with a range of reds and blues and then embroidered with yellow silk thread.
For the rest of this week, I have been glued to my loom, and then my sewing machine, weaving a vest that was inspired by the dream.
It has been such an interesting voyage of discovery, as it took me places that I didn’t expect to go, and it had it’s own rules and requirements.
Here it is:
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
I wove it on my Saori loom, blending the yarns on the bobbin, and adding and picking up strands of weft as I wove.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
I knew that I was going to be shaping the vest by pulling on warp strands to add the curves that would build the vest, so I worked at making the shapes of the clasped weft be conducive to the warp pulling process.
I had thought that I would use the narrow band to add another ruffle to the outside edge, but I decided instead, to use it to weave the back of the vest.
This is one of the things I love about Saori weaving- being able to do freeform work that takes off in a different direction than I had originally planned!
I like to shape the garment after I have woven it, so I do my warp pulling after the weaving is off the loom, and don’t do any shaping on the loom.
The butterfly was woven while it was still on the loom.
I had thought that I would embroider lots of dragonflies onto the vest.
I didn’t embroider the dragonflies while it was on the loom, as I wasn’t sure where I would be placing the pulled warp sections, and didn’t want the embroidery to be distorted or to interfere with the pulling process.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
I had woven the butterfly a couple of weeks ago, and set it aside, as the piece that it had originally been part of felt like it was a ‘fail’.
How wrong I was! The butterfly and another section of the ‘fail’, fitted into the back of the vest just perfectly.
copyright Noreen Crone-Findlay
I thought that I would tat some dragonflies and stitch them on, but they just didn’t work.
It’s a wonderfully comfortable vest, and every time I wear it, I will think of a dear friend, and how she still inspires me!
So, my friends, here’s to life, to color, to love, and to the creative process!
May you weave sweet, colorful dreams! 😀
And, here is a video on how to shape fabric by pulling warp strands:
