Where did summer go?

I've noticed that it's stone dark now by 8p, and that can only mean one thing. Summer is nearly over. On the other hand, the weather has been so wonderful the last few weeks that I'm starting to realize that September and October are the best time of year out here. The fog isn't as heavy and, with the inversion, it's a nearly constant 73F outside. Granted, we were 30F cooler this morning (hello FOG!), but it'd mostly pulled back by 9a and was already warming up. Too bad I had to go to the office because this is still sitting on my worktable:

From Garment Class

Yup, after another weekend down with Barbara, Suzanne and Jeane, my shirt fabric is cut, overlocked, interfaced, stay-stitched and ready to assemble. It was a lot of work to get here, and it's worth noting where I started.

The goal for last weekend, for me, was to learn how to modify a commercial pattern in order to make a shirt. There are benefits to doing this - in particular, having arms, cuffs, collar, and other fiddly pieces already addressed seemed like a real benefit when we were working on the jacket. Plus, it's a good skill to have. So, prior to the previous class, I hit JoAnn and found some likely contenders. I settled on this:

I liked the fitted look of the front and the non-traditional collar. Plus, I was pretty sure I had enough fabric! So we laid out the pattern and got to work. Once again I don't have pictures of the whole process because we work pretty fast and furious. But, it essentially went like this:

• 1. Open the pattern and check front/back for fit against the sloper. Move the shoulder seam accordingly, increase the Front-to-waist, move darts. Leave all other parts the same and make a muslin.
• 2. Try on muslin, confirm "good enough" and then attach collar and sleeves. Move dart points (again), change armhole curve, reshape sleeve, try on again, realize I need another full muslin.
• 3. Make second muslin, try on and confirm WTF!?!? on where we moved the darts, slash/open sleeve cap to add more ease, make another round of sleeves, try on again, and then come up with final dart placement and agree that sleeves are "good enough."

It's now mid-afternoon on Sunday and I need to get back that night. It's a 7h drive, so we sat down and talked through the details of the finer points of sewing up the shirt (collar attachment, cuff easing, button bands, etc.) and then I jumped in the car and headed home. I had notes on what needed modifying one last time on the tissue paper pattern so I felt confident when it was time to get going.

The next weekend, I picked up woven interfacing and the other things I'd need to sew up the shirt and then spent the day on Sunday doing cutting and prep. I made it a point not to fuss. The stripes aren't perfectly vertical/horizontal. The unfinished edges may still end up a bit wonky, but they're overlocked so they won't move. I've interfaced where the fabric needs it and even preshrunk the interfacing before putting it on.

It's just sewing now and I'm feeling confident. The classes have shown me so much about the process that none of it seems intimidating. And, this being the third bit of fabric that I've cut up, I think I'm over it. I've also picked up some really, really good books on tailoring that will remind me of the steps I went through with Jeane, so I think it'll all be just fine.

The other thing we learned was that it's probably easier to just make the pattern from our slopers rather than trying to modify a commercial one. My homework is going to be drafting a shirt pattern based on my sloper between now and our next meeting in December. In December, we'll make arm slopers and then we'll transfer that to my shirt pattern. Perfect.

And Chris is even up for me taking all his measurements because I'm feeling confident enough to start sewing for him. He'll get a shirt for sure, hopefully a jacket as well in the near future. And it'll look great over a knitted vest.

I'll make a mental note to take more pictures as I'm sewing stuff. And hey, there's that tapestry thing we're doing, too.

So, Lynn - how's that blanket coming? And Sarah, what this I hear about cotton singles for tablet weaving?

I know I'm not the only one who's been productive.

The Benefits of Fit and Help

Sorry, Lynn, this isn't about tapestry, cut pile or card weaving. I did two of the three of those last week, and hoped to do the third, but this past weekend was really all about pattern drafting, pattern layout and sewing.

Installment three of the "Fit and Style" class I've been taking in Palm Springs was just Barbara and I - our other two classmates ended up having conflicts. Rather than trying to reschedule, Jeanne was kind enough to go ahead anyway and the session ended up going in a very different direction. We both had fabric ready to be cut and sewn, so after we drafted, tested and finalized our skirt basics (that went fast, BTW), the three of us started talking about what we really wanted to do. Barbara was hell-bent on making her skirt as she'd never really warmed up to making the shirt, plus that fabric wasn't woven off, so her choice was easy and small enough to be finished before heading home on Tuesday. I was also having second thoughts about the simple shirt now that my production fabric was done. I wanted something a little, well, MORE from that fabric, so we decided to use the Horoscope Shawl and companion fabric to make a casual jacket.

As a reminder, here are the two fabrics I used:

The warp yarn is the same in both - Webs 14/2 Alpaca/Silk. I started with the light grey (the light warp yarn in the left-hand fabric) and dyed in 12 colors to match Bonnie's warping plan. For the original shawl, I put a stripe in between each major section of the plan using the dark grey and wove it off with the same. For the companion piece, I used the leftover dyed warp, threaded in some-what random stripes and filled in the gaps with the undyed light grey. I wove this off with some single, tweedy, navy blue wool. They both went into the washer but the shawl received a brushing to soften the fabric and raise the nap. Sett was 24epi for both, plain weave.

After having made one kimono, without any special sleeve treatment, I knew that I wanted something just a bit more fitted and without as much bulk in the sleeves. I'd also come armed with four yards of muslin so Jeanne had me draft a simple jacket starting with my basic so that we could try it on and see where we could make simple modifications to give it a bit of fit and shape but still finish it before the weekend was over. I drafted the body, incorporating my shoulder slopes, and attached a simple rectangular sleeve. Neither of us liked that, so we went straight for a modified-T sleeve.

Again, a simple modification, so I attached that to the muslin on the other side, sewed the whole thing together and we looked again. The last modification before diving into drafting the final pattern was to taper the sleeve rather than having a simple rectangle. Overall length would be driven by how much fabric was there and that didn't need to be done until the body was sewn. We pinned the muslin to get the sleeve shape in the ballpark and then used that to draft a paper pattern.

So, pattern pieces in hand and a test-fit out of muslin and it was time to go. We did some calculations for the button band and decided do a separate facing piece for the collar. Bottom hem would be addressed when we got there - either self-facing or with scraps from around the studio. Time to cut.

I don't have pictures of the cutting/assembling process as we were moving really, REALLY quickly. I was up against it in that Sunday was cut and sew and we were still doing a bit of winging on the pattern. Jeanne was ever at hand to help me think through both the cutting and the piecing. I learned how to do the button band properly (something that absolutely eluded me when making the first kimono), we prevented mistakes by talking things through, figured out why the muslin was behaving oddly in the sleeve corner in front (my front is 1/2" longer than my back due to shoulder curve) and just generally talking about how garments worked. While this was a "simple" pattern, it was nearly at the extreme of my ability. Given my pace, she offered up part of Tuesday morning to finish things up to where I'd be confident to complete it at home and that spurred me on enough to get the body sewn, button bands and collar facing attached, and the sleeves cut and attached before going to bed. That left closing the side seams/sleeves and addressing cuff and hem facing in the morning.

Next morning, we started bright and early at 7:30a and, by 10a, I had a finished jacket. Button bands, cuffs, collar facing and hems needed to be hand stitched down, but the rest was done. Button holes could be done on my own time. I jumped in the car, had a long and heavily delayed drive home (accident on I-5). I unloaded, had dinner, turned on the Tivo and started hemming. By 11p it was done, ironed and placed on a hanger. Today, I woke to this:

Honestly, I love it. It still has the overall fullness and shape of the kimono, but the bulk under the arms and on the body are gone. The jewel neck gives it a wonderful finished look and doesn't disturb the overall vertical feel of the jacket. The two fabrics are absolutely different, but work together in a subtle and pleasing way. I've one minor issue with a seam under the left arm, but I can address that at my leisure. It's totally wearable as is and I expect I'll be wearing it a lot.

Detail of the set-in sleeve:

There are a lot of seams coming together here, and once we incorporated the difference in front/back length, it all worked out. Symmetry point of the sleeve is NOT where the shoulder seam hit - we had to bias it toward the back by 1/2" and then all was well. I also learned about releasing this seam so that the fabric could lie flat.

Button band/hem facing:

The button band has interfacing to help stabilize as well. Sewn at the top and bottom, right sides together, before turning inside-out to give the sharp corner. Bottom hem facing was simply tucked inside the button band before tacking down. Facings all came from the companion fabric where possible, and are symmetric where possible.

Stripe sort-of matching:

When deciding how to cut the sleeves, I chose to mirror the overall colors of the horoscope shawl in an effort to disguise the set-in cuts as well as give a flow to the garment. I'm really happy how it worked out and looks deliberate - because it was! I also took pains to ensure that stripes matched at the shoulder seams as a misalignment would drive me absolutely batty. It wasn't hard at all and I'm glad we did it.

So there you go. A busy weekend, lots of fun and learning, and I now have a pattern that I am confident I'll use again and again. I need to raise that armhole opening by half an inch to better match the sleeve as I had a lot of easing to do, but I'll do that when I make another one and then I'll transfer to tag board. And, I'm already thinking of another one. And, AND! I feel confident enough that I could alter it a bit further to even take out more of that sleeve bulk. Yeah, this has been so worth it. Just fabulous.

And now I need to go dye some yarn. What did you guys do this weekend?

OK, You Two, Cough It Up

I know you're out there and I know you're weaving, because you're dropping tantalizing hints on FOAY.  So, please post here, in more detail than on FOAY, because all this inkle/card/tablet/backstrap weaving is fascinating to me.

In the meantime, I shall be twisting the fringe on that gradient scarf.  And trying to enjoy the process, so I don't fall asleep doing it.

Reflecting

I confess that I do have a habit of whinging about things that are really rather trivial. "It's too cold outside." "I miss my husband." "I messed up this project and now I have to undo it." In reality, I am an extremely fortunate person. I have a beautiful home, food on the table, a husband that truly loves and appreciates me, a group of friends that will tell me when my fly is open, and the ability to make choices about how I spend my day. I also know that I was not given any of these things; they came as a result of hard work, compromise, and occasional profound sorrow. Why am I getting all wistful, you might ask? Well, I'm just at a point where I have a moment to reflect on the fact that I *AM* lucky. And that I make my own happiness - despite weather, proximity of loved ones or fibery fallout.

Yesterday, our fellow Raveler, Gloria19, showed another picture of her "Daily Tapestry." Tapestry has been flying about in my head of late - I dwell on pictures and textures and have woven miles of it while running. But I keep putting up barriers to actually just getting something out and doing it. Seeing Gloria's project again really pushed me toward the notion of a fiber diary. Something random-ish, something small, something that will help me reflect on the day. Be it morning, noon or night. And, in the way of a marathon, it starts with a single inch and will eventually be a Finished Piece. I've never been good with written journals and the notion of making Art with fiber appeals quite strongly. This might be just what I need.

So, while dealing with Life and all that comes with it this week, I am also letting myself dream about a Daily Tapestry and thinking about how I will start with that. I will allow myself to mix styles (soumak, tapestry, cut pile, twill!) and just let this be a piece of pure creating. A pilot light, if you will, to ensure that the larger spark doesn't go out. I'm not ready to commit to a start date yet, but setting one will be part of my first goal. Size, start date, palette. I think that's something I can get my head around this week. And perhaps this little daily nudge will help me be thankful for the truly wonderful life I have - and for all those who are a part of it.

Oh, and it's a bit too humid here in Wisconsin. :-)

Finally Underway

After lots of interruptions and other projects, the production fabric is finally on the loom and underway. I wanted to try weaving something nearly full-width on the Gilmore, mainly to get a feel for what it's like to throw a shuttle that far. I needed to do some rigging to get a wider raddle in to place, but here's the process:

I put all the sectional warp pegs back in and, again, used no packing material as I wound on. The warp is a mix of 10/2 and 20/2 cotton along with an end of 10/1 silk noil (as previous). I held all six strands together while winding the warp and threaded randomly. Oh, and Lynn? 864 ends is a lot of ends. A lot. The warp is 36" wide and 24 epi. This was slow going.

Weaving is underway; I've got about the first 9" done. It feels very open, but I remember that it was like this before and I simply can't fret about it. The cotton shrinks mightily and that'll make the Spot Bronson pop. I like the shots of somewhat darker stripes. I hope it translates well to the final garment, but we'll see.

Now, for those with a sharp eye, you might ask, "What's that dark stuff down there?" That, my friends, is the header row. Again with the tweedy wool single of which I have TONS. Here ... look again ...

I gotta say, I *really* like the look of that fabric. Depending on how much I'm able to weave off, I'll try and save some at the end to get a big enough chunk to truly evaluate it. I think that'll be back. It'd be trivial to warp up something narrow and just bang that off in plain weave. The contrast is just so striking. But that's for later.

Here's hoping I can make a big dent in this today as I don't know when I'll get back to it. Lots more rolling about in my brain. I'm hoping throwing a shuttle will help quiet things down.

It Rained

And therefore the scarf is done.  Well, it's off the loom, at least; fringe-twisting can wait till next week.

I like this.



I hope it softens up a little when I wash it, but it's got a great texture now.  As I was weaving it last night, I was thinking to myself, "Remember to press this after it's washed and before it's completely dry, as Sara said." but now that it's off the loom, the twill is very three-dimensional and I like that, so I think I won't press it.  The warp stands up in bold relief from the weft.  Interesting, as I thought the strong-minded Wensleydale weft would lord it over the BFL warp.  I was wrong.

A couple of close-ups:






I debated trying other wefts, but found myself dawdling over the choices and finally decided to just plunge ahead and weave this off. As always, I wish I were a better photographer, so I could show you the subtle differences in gleam between the BFL and the Wensleydale, and how the green-to-blue of the weft does interesting things to the green-violet-pink of the warp.

And I'm very pleased with how well the handspun yarns held up - not a broken end to be seen!

Another step forward

Still thinking about how to wind stripes for the wool warp, in between various other mostly work-related tasks.


To refresh your memory, the colour options:

I ruled out the blue ('teal') in favour of the burgundy. Yesterday a patch of lighter skies coincided with lunch; after I cut the grass, I wound my first-ever wraps to investigate how these stripes might work. Based on the premise that I'm not fond of wide stripes, I decided to work logically and think of the 15" warp as 10x1.5" repeats. So each wrap is 1.5". I worked out colour proportions based on how much yarn I have and how much I like the colours. Lots of dark purple, then :-) I know that everything will be knocked back about 50% by the dark silk weft, but I'm having a little trouble imagining that. I might go and troll the internet for pictures of handwoven stripes.

Totally unnerved by the wide yellow stripe, I tried Diane's suggestion and wound the purple, violet and yellow together randomly.

I have to say that this did so little for me that I didn't continue. I can sort of see it woven and it's interesting, but not something I would wear,

So I broke all the stripes into much narrower units. And got suiting, or something related to it. I liked this while I was wrapping it, but after I set it on the warp and watched it for a while, it became busy. So today I try wider stripes. I will try a 5" repeat, and I will try to devise a set of rules that creates semi-random wider stripes across the entire width of the warp. I might try the teal instead of the burgundy, too - I'm wondering whether I'd be happier with colder tones. 


I have a hunch my waffling is driving Lynn mad :-) But I've never worked with colour before in this way, and I've never even thought about stripes. I need to have some basic understanding before I start so I can avoid the easiest, most lethal mistakes, like choosing colours I don't like. I'll be making enough of the more difficult ones late.




In a similar vein, the next knitting project: