When I arrived, a few friends were already there. They were out on the patio picking grapes! Beautiful purple/blue concord grapes. I brought my basket and with the help of extra hands, it was filled in a short time. Audrey was joking that we should all fill a vat and take off our socks and shoes and stomp around on the grapes! Maybe next year!
Once we moved inside, we got busy with the dye pots. Grace had already overdyed some hand spun Finnsheep wool that was hanging up to dry. It was gorgeous, and provided great inspiration to dive in and get going. There was still some of the dye bath left so we added to that and I threw in a skein that I had brought from my stash. I got a nice purple.
I also shared Audrey's dye pots (twice) on the stove and did one of my own in the microwave...in addition to a few silk hankies that I dyed in the microwave.
Pretty soon, Bonnie arrived with a tomato pie! It smelled great, so we hurried up to clean up and take a coffee break with the pies. Grace had prepared a pumpkin pie...so we had 2 pies to enjoy! YUM!
After lunch, we moved out into the living room for some knitting...got a chance to see the new (antique) spinning wheel that Fred has been working on. I was going to take a few pictures, but I wanted to use the memory card in my camera to shoot a video of Grace working on her Double Hole Tape Loom. Fred made it for her last year.
The double hole tape loom is a great for weaving tapes, or strips. Some of the patterns are quite beautiful. Grace wrote a good article about the loom that appears in Weavezine..you can read it by clicking here, ...or find it by way of the Weavezine button on my sidebar.
One of the things I love about my loom is the portability of it. You can take it anywhere. My favorite place to weave is outside by the river. I tie one end of the warp around my waist...and the other end around a sturdy object (a tree). Your body becomes the tension device, and both hands are free to raise and lower the sheds and weave! Pick up patterns are fun and easy after you get the hang of it!
Here is the video I made of Grace weaving on her loom. Thanks Grace!
12 comments:
That sounds like a wonderful day!
Cyndy, it sounds like you had a great time. It is amazing the work it takes to make a pattern as in the video. Love those colors of yarn you dyed too.
Love the silk hankie and the overdyed wool!
I loved Grace's deep purple yarn. The gold/olive one was my second fav. Sounds like a great day...much better than neck cramps from painting! I should have come. So far as Grace's weaving, I don't know how she does such detailed work. I would have knots or a messed up design. I watch in awe....maybe someday I will have patience enough to learn, but I am not holding my breath!!!
Beautiful dye colors - and it sounds like a really wonderful way to spend the afternoon!
Sounds like a fantastic afternoon!
You came home with lots of beautiful fiber. I haven't heard anyone talk about tomato pie in a very long time. yummm..!
Lovely colors - what bliss to spend a day like that.
That's exactly how the Guatamelan weavers I saw wove - using their body for tension. They also sat with their feet tucked under them. If I tried that, I'm afraid I'd never get up again! But they were tiny women and very flexible.
I loved the purple color...and the weaving on that loom was very interesting...thanks for sharing your day....sounded like a wonderful day.....Ginny
ok, your life is right up there with tasha tudor for me.
i do not need a tape loom
i do not need a tape loom
i do not need a tape loom...
Lovely dye-pots day with friends! I absolutely loved Grace's article in WeaveZine and am planning to make a båndgrind / tape loom, Soon. (I have this piece of purpleheart, see....) -- how wonderful to see this video clip, I've been worrying about how narrow a heddle do I try to need to make, but it doesn't serve as a beater at all, as with a frame loom (oooOOOoh!)
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