heat

...a lovely parcel was in the post yesterday!
We are experiencing a terrible heatwave - the temperature itself wouldn't be awful, at 34°C - the problem is the high level of humidity - that literally knocks you down. I feel drowsy - no desire to approach the loom, actually no desire to approach anything at all! I just hope it will end soon...

Prints

In my quest for Fifties-inspired textiles I found Angie Lewin and her fabulous linocut prints - together with her textile designs, available from St.Jude's - they are contemporary but have a distinct retro feel that I love

These cushions remind me of some other lovey designs from Heather, at SkinnylaMinx, that you can find on Etsy

...my first reaction would be to go and put some golden yellow warp on the loom...

Me, the lurker

This is my next cushion - a piece of rather funny toile de jouy called "au loup!" in blue on cream with a piece I wove - simple plain weave with stripes in different shades of blue - some of the cotton in the warp was indigo dyed. I still don't know whether to add another piece of patterned fabric or not...

I've been thinking about blogging - and I realized that I have this tendency of always "lurking": I do enjoy reading blogs - especially those of creative people - but most of the times I am reluctant to leave a comment.
I don't know why, I could say because I'm shy, or because writing in English sometimes is not so spontaneous for me as it should be, it's something I need to work on. Sometimes I read long posts expressing serious thoughts and I wish I could do the same... there's a lot of introspection to be done just by reading a few pages on the web!

This is also what I like about weaving - once the loom is set you can wander away with your mind and think thoroughly about the smallest things...

more fabric please!

I completed the project with the second panel (...with all its "textile drafts" if I can call them so) - and it's time to change my threading on the loom, ready for the next warp. Actually "completed" is not the right word as I know perfectly well that I'll be mulling over the things I've done, thinking how to improve them or - as usually happens once you think "it's done!" - getting the best idea and get frustrated at the thought...why didn't I do it before?
At the moment I am completely fascinated by the world of Mid-century textiles - got my eyes on this book for reference - I particularly like colour combinations and "atomic" shapes of printed textiles.

There is an exhibition I'd love to see - from Atoms to Patterns - crystal structure designs from the 1951 Festival of Britain - at the Wellcome Collection in London. Again, it's about getting inspiration from the forms and shapes in nature - however hidden and minuscule they can be.

So I've got the feeling that my next samples will reflect this influence - isn't it exciting when you have plans for the next thousand warps? - my gosh I'd better stop sleeping!

...

Last weekend (last week too!) was a long one - including Bank Holiday - so after a 400 km return trip to attend a wedding we just got lazy and decided to take it easy...



I also made it with the 'fifties' fabric - I covered the seat of the chair but I still have to finish sanding it down -
I think it looks good, or at least improved: the original cover was a terrible mustard colour - the loom was nicely threaded so I decided to take advantage of it and experiment a bit more. The wall hanging is waiting for its brother in reversed colours - at the beginning I had no idea how to manage the spacing of the dots, then I decided for a pointed entry of Fibonacci sequence, which I love -

Museum

I'm here but sometimes I wish I could be in the UK or somewhere else
- it still amazes me (and always will) how people all over the world sharing the same interests can meet up and have a 'conversation' or exchange ideas on their blogs - even more so because I know how precious the company of like-minded people can be . There are not many handweavers here in Italy - and less than the national average in the region where I live!


Today I've been to the depository of my local museum -where a kind lady showed me some textile fragments of damask and velvet from the XVIII and XIX century. The idea is to draw inspiration from the shapes and colours of these fragments - and of course have a chance to peek around! Some other textiles I found really inspiring: mezzeri - lightweight cotton fabric printed with flora and fauna motifs, with the most common the 'Tree of Life'. The name derives from the Arab word for "cover": women originally used them to cover their heads, but they were used also as shawls and bedcovers. They were particularly common in the XIX century in Liguria. Mezzeri are still used today as covers for bed/sofa but the modern versions have lost some of their appeal, as colour combinations are decidedly ugly and the patterns too big.

Fifties

About a month ago I've been to an exhibition on Antonia Campi (unfortunately there is not much about her on the web, I am trying to get my hands on the new catalogue...)
I suppose it's just one of those moments - when you realize just how much you love some specific shapes, colours and surfaces - they were there before, but now you are aware that they're special to you - and you crave for more...
Back to my weaving I fancied something black and white - then, after the exhibition where I saw the most lovely plate in white, black and pink, I decided for these three colours.
Pink had a lovely sort of "creamy" shade in the Fifties...

Above are samples - in wrong colours! - just to check the structure and colour&weave effects. As I want to cover a chair seat I need a strong and balanced fabric - plain weave still my favourite.
Today I've been threading the loom and hopefully tomorrow I'll prepare the warp.
Can't wait to see the fabric done!