Interplay

It’s the beginning of October. The leaves are starting to turn, and my view is full of greens, orange, brown, and red. I don’t want to work, but to play. I’m counteracting the autumn colors with this:

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Two kinds of gorgeous purple merino from Mineville Wool, one more blue, the other with some pink and magenta mixed in. Then some brilliant shots of thick-and-thin turquoise, emerald, sapphire….

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I started to warp this up, and realize I have no idea what this particular piece of fabric will be. I think that I’m going to stay simple with this, just to let those delicious colors speak for themselves. I’ll use my rigid heddle loom and craft a stole, with a thin and simple purple weft – about 14 inches wide, and 6 and a half feet long. I might bead it, I might not. I’m happy to entertain suggestions.

This is one of my favourite parts of weaving – the  interplay of texture, colour, and function. Having a plan is always nice, but for the moment, I’m going to just see what feels right and we’ll see what we end up with. Whatever it is, you can’t really go wrong with those luminous colors, and the fibre is lovely and bouncy and soft.

Whatever you’re doing, remember to play once in a while, eh?

 

The “Helene” Blanket

I’ve added this to the Blanket and Home Goods page already, but I love this thing so much I had to give it its own post. This is the “Helene” Blanket. A moody mix of purples, green, blue and a dash of pink. Mysterious, happy, comforting. It’s plain weave, which I love. It is underrated as a draft, but sometimes you just want to let the fibre and colour do the talking for you, you know?

This is one of those times when I wish I could keep what I make, but it was a commission and I have to let it go.

It’s 100% merino wool from Mineville Wool Project, three different kinds: a lovely 4 ply, a dk weight, and a 1 ply chunky.  All of it lovely, all of it machine washable. All of it soft and velvety, cool to the touch but so warm in a blanket. The piece itself 40″ x 88″ with fringe – more than wide and long enough to binge-watch a whole lot of Dr. Who, Game of Thrones, and Marvel superhero movies with one’s sweetie.

Midline, the Helene

Midline, the Helene

I don’t usually let the cat do this - the blanket is for a cat-lover so I let her do it this once.

I don’t usually let the cat do this – the blanket is for a cat-lover so I let her do it this once.

Soft, warm, and cozy.

Soft, warm, and cozy.

Random stripes of colour warp, and weft with vareigated purples in two different weights

Random stripes of colour warp, and weft with vareigated purples in two different weights

Sometimes it starts with the wool…

Jewel-toned, Soft, and Cozy.

jewel-toned merino with chunky fringe

jewel-toned merino with chunky fringe

A new scarf, hot off the loom. I made it from a gorgeous merino that was a one-off from a Nova Scotian company called Mineville Wool Project. It was some of my favorite fibre to work with, and the colors just glowed.   I have some left in a few colors – I confess that I bought a lot of the stuff; whenever I went to my local yarn store I just couldn’t resist.

Good thing, too, because I don’t have a pile of it left. Just enough for a few definitely-one-of-a-kind handwoven scarves. The stuff finishes up like velvet, and keeps you warm and stylish all at the same time.

If you see something you like, or have wool that you’d like me to work with, it’s as easy as asking.

hot pink/cherry

hot pink/cherry

what's left of this stash...

what’s left of this stash…