I have an antique swift, from my weaving days–Canadian, 1860’s, handmade, a little bit worn and missing one of its sticks (much the way I feel these days!). I don’t use the swift much any more, just when I am getting ready to whip my rugs. I like Briggs and Little yarns from New Brunswick the best; I overdyed this skein to give some slight variation to the colour. Getting from the broken swift to a ball of wool takes patience, but it is good preparation for whipping, which takes LOTS of patience. Some rug hookers hate the process of whipping a rug, but I love it. It is repetitive and meditative and puts me in close contact with the rug and my thoughts.
I think I have said before that I whip all four sides first and then do the corners. It postpones the toughest part and doing the corners one after the other ensures that they will look similar. I don’t baste the sides, but I do make a careful mitre on each corner and baste it firmly before I whip. This is Carissa’s birthday week and I am still optimistic that I will have the rug ready for her visit on Saturday. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
Archives for December 2012
the blues
I have had orders for these several of these small shoulder bags with a pocket on the front. They were originally designed for Jan who works at my bank and likes a small shoulder bag to hold the essentials for her work. They are also great when you are going out and don’t want more than your keys, your cards and your phone. I had some of this luscious blue left so made a few bags up, and still had enough for a pouch which I lined in waterproof basque fabric. I think it worked out well.
christmas cake time
My mother brought these tier pans, made by her father, when she came to Canada over 65 years ago and they have baked Christmas cakes every year since then. My favourite is the Laura Secord Elegant Light Fruit Cake which, luckily, needs no ‘ripening’ time–finally found the time this afternoon to get the cakes mixed and in the oven.
the power of art and love
These days I am completing a few orders which I will photograph and post soon. And also working on the wedding rug which is so close to completion–fingers crossed it will be ready for 12/12/12! In the meantime here are some links that will inspire you.
The first is the promotional video for Danny Gregory’s new book, A Kiss Before You Go. Danny’s first book, The Creative Licence, gave me the inspiration to start sketching and, like many others, I have followed his drawings and writing over the years, absorbing the lessons. His new book is a beautiful testament to the power of love and art. I read it in one sitting.
My friend Nora sent me this video about children in Paraguay making music: http://vimeo.com/52711779. It reminded my of the Kinshasa Symphony which I saw at the local doc fest last year. Both of these films are powerful documentaries, again about the power of love and art, and both have particular resonance for me. I am returning to rural Kenya in January. Right now I am working with local school children and rug hookers to gather art and hooking supplies to take with me. I will be teaching school again and working with adults in the community centre–hooking rugs! I met Heather Ritchie last year. Heather has been teaching rug hooking in Gambia for some time–and she inspired me to teach hooking in Matangwe, the small village I will be staying in for a month. We will begin with the women making rugs for themselves, but I hope we can turn our efforts into a small enterprise.
So this morning, as I make my way to my studio, I am thinking about the power of love and art–and the importance of sharing it. I hope that you have caught a little of the power too.
THE suit
I am giving a talk next year to a group of fibre artists, so I have been thinking about the key events in my ‘journey with fibre’. My mother made me my first Vogue Paris Original when I was 18. I had spent hours in Eaton’s fabric department thumbing through the pattern books until I found my dream, Vogue 1313. These patterns were well beyond the standard Simplicity and McCall’s–they cost about five times as much and were complicated–bound button holes and welted seams, inset pockets and several types of interfacing. Each pattern even contained its own Paris Original label! I was sure my life would be transformed when I put on this glorious suit and in many ways it was. But it took some coaxing to convince my mother that this was the suit for me. She had never made a Vogue Couturier pattern before and was not sure she had the skill. And it was even more of a selling job when I found the fabric–Munrospun–a beautiful wool woven in Edinburgh Scotland. At that time, Easton’s carried a full line of wonderful woollen fabric. I remember the bolts laid out on table after table, Harris Tweed, fine Italian wool and so much more. The green Munrospun I chose, as close an approximation to the pattern fabric I could find, was $17 a yard, a fortune in 1966 when the average yearly wage was around $6000.
I loved that suit and felt beautiful in it. My mother said her hands were shaking as she first cut into the fabric. But she did a wonderful job. The suit looked just like the pattern picture. And this is the magic of the world of fibre and creating. She and I became so close over that wool and pattern; through the many fittings and the discussions, the pinnings and repinnings — and the courage and plain hard work on her part — we came up with something beautiful. It was made with love and to this day we both can remember all the steps with a visceral clarity. It’s like talking about an old romance. I wore and wore that suit with pride and confidence and I am still filled with warmth and love for my mother who so valiantly played her role in my journey with fibre.
It took me months to find pictures of this pattern, but here it is in all its glory, now $65 on Etsy. A lifetime away from our great expenditure of $3.30 in Canada!
the biggest thank you
To everyone who came to our show yesterday and made it such a success–a big thank you. We were overwhelmed by the interest and the support. It takes a couple of days to get over a day like yesterday, but I promise the orders will be in the mail tomorrow, and those that I still have to make, will be ready for Christmas. You make it all worthwhile. Thank You!
2 more totes
I made a second black denim tote, this one lined with turquoise screen-printed fabric from Kenya. I think the pattern and the colour of the lining work very well. The leather on the bottom of the tote is recycled from a big coat–very durable. I like the double pocket on the outside and the same inside.
Below is a special order Bird in a Hurry tote in red–again recycled leather, this time a skirt. I put a big pocket on the front and divided it into two small pockets for a cell phone or keys as well as a bigger one in the middle. Inside a zippered pocket. This one is in the post on Monday–the black denim available at the show tomorrow.
