Following the Invisible Thread

The first night after moving to Tucumcari almost three years ago, I had a dream that a voice said, "Follow the invisible thread." It woke me and I've never forgotten it. Right now is one of those "invisible thread" times. I just have to hang on to that thread and know it will take me to the right place. But, trusting without seeing the way is challenging, for sure!

I hope to have a new home and studio before long. In the meantime, I've been traveling many backroads, visiting museums, art galleries, and reading books - all inspiration for new creative endeavors.

This Way Forward - Don't Look Back

For some time I've felt an uneasiness and a lack of passion in my work. I needed a new challenge. A reason to push myself differently. Don't get me wrong, I'll always be a weaver, but there has been something missing. I had many ideas including adding a local clothing boutique to my studio, but none of these ideas felt right in my gut.

I'm a total believer in, "Wherever you go, there you are!" So living in a remote rural area of New Mexico, hours away from a good grocery store and other conveniences was a challenge at first and a continuing adventure - one that I was willing to embrace knowing that right here I am. But after our vacation to the East coast in April, something shifted for me. I must admit, I was a bit depressed and felt like I needed to move ahead with something new and soon. I was coming up with nothing!

As always, a larger, unseen plan was unfolding. We found out just two weeks ago that my husband will be the new director of the Small Business Development Center in Roswell, New Mexico. So there you go, our future is "this way forward!"

Of course this means my handweaving will be on sabbatical for a few months as I work full time at packing and moving. But I can tell you, I'm not looking back and can't wait to see what new challenges and experiences I will encounter in the months ahead! Who knows, maybe I'll even start weaving aliens!

Back In The Rythm or Not?

How does one come back to reality after almost a month away? I must say, it's not an easy task. I once again, experienced the deep South in the spring, my favorite time of year as a child. And I remembered how much I miss my ocean. It felt like a long, lost friend.

And now, I'm back, and wish I was raring to go. Alas, this time it's a slow start. Once again I'm re-evaluating exactly what I want my studio to be.

But for now, the loom is dressed with a warp that reminds me of the color of sand and seashells.

Bamboo Scarf

As promised, here are the pictures of the bamboo scarf using the huck lace pattern. It's not as soft as I'd hoped. I did beat it a bit tighter than the small sample piece. But it's a lovely weight for a cool evening. And the drape is just wonderful! I'm thinking about adding some beads to the bottom just above the plied fringe. The bamboo shawl will have to wait until I return.

Next weekend I head out to Dallas Market to buy for the boutique, and then a much-needed vacation to the East coast. I'll post pictures when I can.

Bamboo Samples

I've finally come up for air. This last month has been the busiest I've been in a long time with a trip to Denver where I went to Market to investigate buying clothing for a boutique here in my studio space. I've been busy contacting reps, gathering information, phone calls, emails and so on. I never knew there was so much detail involved in opening a store. At this point, it's still just an idea.

In addition to that, I've managed to weave and sew a few more garments. I have an order for a shawl with a lace weave. So with the remaining yarn on my shelf, I've been sampling. The first attempt was an Atwater-Bronson Lace pattern at 19 ends per inch.This pattern really didn't suit me, so the next sample I tried was a Huck lace pattern and sett it at 15 ends per inch. I loved the soft interlacement and the drape is lovely.But I needed to be sure so I wove one more sample with another color weft since I'd used up all the light blue. This one was at 20 ends per inch and felt stiff with no drape at all. It reminded me of placemat fabic - not good! The yarn has been ordered and I'll use the Huck Lace at 15 ends per inch and make a test scarf before I attempt the final piece. I'll try to post pictures as soon as it's finished.

Thinking Spring

It's been a harder than usual winter here this year. So what do I do? I think spring and lighter fabrics and colors.

I've simply procrastinated weaving with the bamboo on my shelf. I've also never created a garment with this wonderfully soft and silky yarn. Now seemed like as good a time as any.

This week I warped my loom and adjusted my weaving techniques for fine and very soft threads. I added a novelty ribbon from my stash which shows as a definite stripe in the fabric. I chose a simple twill pattern with the warp threads a tad darker than the weft.

The finished fabric was lovelier than lovely - ohhhh baby! It's so soft - like a kitten's nose.

After placing it on Manny manikin as a partially sewn garment, it still wasn't speaking to me as a good designed piece should. So, I embellished the front with additional ribbon and, voila! I love it!

New Year - New Studio

This is the time of year when I re-evaluate my previous year and decide what I want to change in the coming year. 2009 was as expected, slower than previous years in the boutiques that sell my wearable art. But I was pleased to discover that local traffic has picked up. ZoZo Fiber Arts Studio has been a presence in the downtown of Tucumcari now for almost two years.

New and exciting things are in store for 2010. Instead of just a working studio, Jan and I have decided to partner together. We hope to gradually morph into a boutique and studio later this year.

So first things first - this week I'm clearing out my old unnecessary clutter and moving my sewing area and loom to create more space in the front for display of merchandise. Right now chaos reigns, but I'm really looking forward to this new year with a new look and purpose.