Eggcitement 2009

Eastern New Mexico Art Space here in Tucumcari recently held their Eggcitement fundraising event of donated Egg Art.

I am happy to announce that I am now the proud owner of an original Amado Pena painted ostrich egg. His studio and gallery are located in Santa Fe. His work is absolutely incredible. The colors are vibrant in oranges, blues, purples, browns and torquoise. The images are abstract Native American people and artifacts -- very much his signature style. As far as I know, there is only one other egg of this type that he has done which was donated to the last Eggcitement event. I will cherish this work or art and maybe even create a woven fabric inspired by the colors.

Linen

Last year I purchased a linen-rayon blend yarn in several earth tone colors. They've been sitting on my shelf talking to me for quite some time. Several weeks ago I impulsively warped enough yarn for a wide scarf. I wove it in a loose plain weave. On the loom it looked a bit like the old burlap feed sacks we used to get on the farm when I was kid. That was a bit concerning! I wasn't feeling too optimistic about the outcome.

But once off the loom and washed and dryed, I fell in love! This fabric is light enough to wear in the summer. It has a nice enough drape to not be too bunchy at the neck when wrapped around as a scarf. I think it will probably soften with wear and washings. I can't wait to get the chenille warp off my loom so I can do more projects with this yarn. I'm thinking lace weave patterns will be the next experiment.

Purple

Purple -- I was over it after years of wearing it and surrounding myself with it. I was bored with purple. I recently told a friend that the years I wore purple were my passive days - Passive Purple! Now, I know purple isn't passive. It's deep, vibrant, rich and wonderful. But in those days when I preferred purple, I was a passive person. Guess what, I am no longer that person and I know wearing purple will not make me passive! So I got brave and bought a purple shirt and then a purple dress. I'm finding I really like purple again.

As I was working on my next garment this week – a purple vest – I noticed that my little work corner was surrounded with purple. In the background is a triptych wall piece that’s almost finished from a photograph I took of a allium I had in my backyard when we lived in Denver. I’ve printed it on silk fabric and it’s mounted on purple linen and black silk. I’m having lots of fun experimenting with this medium and once again, surrounding myself with purple.

Change Is Good, Right?

Frances and Yvonne have come and gone. After making handbags from my scraps for my Christmas openhouse, Yvonne decided to start her own business making handbags. She moved into Timeless Treasures on old Route 66 to be more visible to the tourists in town. I wish her well.

Jan is set up in the back room with her slab roller. She moved her design area for her fused glass into the front room where she can also enjoy the music while she works. She comes in two to three days a week.

Several weeks ago my beautiful glass shelves which displayed my yarn, fell off the wall. What a huge mess! It's an old building and in spite of Carl's effort to install them properly, the wall was just too old to hold the weight. The only damage was a few broken pieces on my warping mill. I've replaced them and cleaned up the mess. Now I will have to be happy with light-weight wire closet shelves. It's not as neat. The ends of the yarn fall through the openings. But it's a studio, right? It's not meant to look neat all the time! I'm just happy to have my yarn up on the wall where I can see it and be inspired by the colors. As I weave, I usually am planning my next project.

Catching up after a long absence . . .

After the holidays Carl and I traveled to Borrego Springs, California, to reunite with my singing buddies, Billie and Willy. What a wonderful time we had singing together.


I made a couple of new friend - incredible women. They fell in love with my scrappy serape coat. It looked great on both of them. I haven't introduced this one to the stores yet as I have been testing it. After their reactions, it's definitely on my list of things to make before fall.

From Ribbon to Chenille

I've decided to discontinue my "Simply Ribbon" designs. The ribbon yarns have become quite pricey and most people are "over" the novelty yarns. I really loved the challenge of weaving with something knitters were using and the garments were fun to wear. But the phase has passed and it's time to move on. I will still do special orders until my stock yarns are gone. After that, for an additional charge, I will still take custom orders.

Rayon chenille is a fabric that is timeless and much more practical. So I'm switching back to mostly chenille. I want to do some experimenting with bamboo yarns and maybe I'll even offer something in corn and milk by next fall. But for now, I'm enjoying playing with new color blends and designs and dyeing techniques with my trusty chenille.

This new design I've decided to call a Shoulder Shrug. It can be worn three ways - with the long edge to the side - point in front as a poncho look or draped in front as a cowl neck scarf/neck warmer. It can be ordered with or without fringe.

I've had lots of fun designing these new scrappy jackets and you'll certainly see more of this type of garment in the near future.

New Pictures of My Studio

Since I hadn't posted photos since I first moved in, I decided it's time to give a peek inside my busy working weaving studio.

And here's my yarn stash -- or some of it. Most of the greens are on the counter behind me as I'm designing my next project.

This is my sewing and design space. Behind this space through the window is my office and a work station for my woven photographs plus the fused glass work space with tables and glass kiln.

And another scrappy cropped jacket.