31/10 happy birthday to me me me

Today I had a pomegranate - I love them but don't often get them.
I thought it would be good luck to eat one on my birthday!

...not much progress today I'm afraid. I'm the queen of procrastination!!!

I just love October

I had the shape of this cushion in mind for a while - a simple rectangle with short ends stitched at 90° degrees, when I found a stripey piece woven some time ago and decided to have a go.
The good thing about this shape is that it's lovely to cuddle! Maybe now I'd need a matching throw...
October is always a magic month - I reckon autumn does good to me - even if it's raining -

Have a Happy Weekend!

Weekend break

I finished the jacket - the simplest shape and no lining - the merino is so soft it's a pleasure to feel it brushing against the skin. I'm proud of it! - and am already planning the warp for the next woven length - maybe this time I'll try some more complex shape.

I managed to overcome my fear to cut and sew handwoven fabric - I washed the length in the washing machine - wool cycle - before ironing it and starting to cut, and as a precaution I zigzagged all the pieces before sewing. Then welcome bias binding!

Last weekend my husband and I spent three days in London - we went to see Origin, week 2 - quality of the pieces on display is incredibly high, and exhibitors are friendly and willing to share about their work.
Woven textile designers were there too - a feast for the eyes!

Weaving and Thinking

What do you think of while you're weaving?
After the first ten centimetres the rythm is set, I know the repeat and I know when to change the weft - so I just go on automatic, while I listen to music or some interesting radio programme...

The weaving proceeds and I follow my train of thoughts.

It is usually triggered by the music, as I have my favourites (that I listen to over and over again) that recall particular moments, or just trivial things like 'what am I going to prepare for dinner?'

This time I tried to jot down a few ones, so as to have an idea of what goes into the weaving apart from warp and weft.
It starts with the memory of
- a yellow vintage coat bought in a sinister place in Koln when my best friend used to live there
- a series of mental pics of Germany
- a bouquet of flowers, possibly roses, yellow and pale pink
- autumn colours, we haven't seen them here, yet
- I'd love a new woolly hat, I can see the shape, maybe with some fantastic yarn from Noro - or Malabrigo
- my gran, who used to knit a lot - and wouldn't teach me how to crochet because I was (an still am) left-handed...

And so on, like this, for hours - until I get to the end of the warp.

I now got the habit to keep a notebook by the loom, so I can write down anything worth remembering - because most of the times, once I move away I will definitely forget what I was mumbling about!

In the studio I keep a photo of my gran when she was young - she is always with me.

it takes time

After so many days it was such a joy to be back to the loom!
...and to make it all the more interesting, a few warp threads decided to abandon me at the very beginning.
I now have these little mobiles hanging delicately from the back beam, they look sort of cute - while the others are (for the moment) behaving.

this poster at Studio Violet

slow progress

I am stuck at home with an evil flu - and my warp is there, waiting for me... I don't seem to be able to do any weaving these days, or to be honest, I don' t seem to be able to do anything at all! Auf!

Catching up

During the summer, the Italian Grazia launched a campaign promoting the new look of the magazine.
A pleasant surprise was discovering that the illustrations were by Paula Sanz Caballero, a favourite of mine - whose work I first seen in Selvedge





I love her attention to detail - and her choice of fabrics. She's such a talented artist!