Coca~Cola A Wall Hanging

Sometimes a new challenge can be fun and exciting.  Often it is something that one needs to branch out and seek new adventures.  That is exactly what the Coca~Cola wall hanging did for me.   Just coming off of three very challenging years of health issues and family disasters,  I was asked to submit a woven piece. The piece is for an exhibit and benefit auction for the John C. Campbell Folk School. At the time I was asked my stress was getting more and more less stressful and my creative side of the brain was wanting to get started again.  So, when asked to participate in this project I immediately said, yes.    My piece will be first exhibit at the Corporate  Headquarters of Coca~Cola in Atlanta, Georgia and then it will go to the Woodruff Art Center in Atlanta for the special Folk School Auction.  Needless to say it was suggested that a Coke related piece would be nice.  When I hear that I thought I was doomed, but thank goodness my creative brain was working!  Boy I too the Coke theme to the extreme!

Below are a few photographs of the three piece wall hanging I created.  The piece measures 36 inches wide and 46 inches tall.  It hangs on the wall by a hand forged iron bracket that my Blacksmith husband, Ron Howard made.  The structure is overshot and it just happens to be a name-draft of "Coca~Cola".

For those who will be in the Atlanta area think about going to the benefit auction on February 4, from 5 to 8 pm.  Of course there is more to bid on than my wall hanging.   Check out the John C. Campbell's web page,    www.folkschool.org    and look for the link to the auction page.

Now on to my next challenge!
Happy New Year!

There is a Message in all of this Color!

So, I guess I must admit, I love color.  It has always been easy for me to sort through my weaving stash and find cones of color that go together.  Making a piece and knowing that the selected  yarn colors are going to blend and be pleasing.  It is also like that when I dye yarns.  Once again the colors just seem to go together and make me smile. I realized I do a lot of dyeing and painting of yarns to make pieces that are special and unique.

A good example is this scarf that I just finished a few days ago.  Actually it was a demonstration for a class I was co-teaching at the John C. Campbell Folk School, http://www.folkschool.org/ .  I was the color part, teaching students about using MX dyes to paint  their warps.  The class called Crimp, Color and Create was a result of a brainstorming session I had with my friend and fellow Folk School weaving instructor, Dianne Totten.  Dianne has been doing lots of exploration with what she calls "Crimp Cloth".  She weaves fabric using shibori pull threads and a polyester yarn.  The pull threads are tighten and then the polyester warp or weft threads are steamed.  The heat makes those special threads conform to the folding of the fabric.....this creates the Crimp.  My job as part of the class was color.  Students learned about safely using dyes, mixing and applying several colors and getting great results. The painted warps that the students produced were just beautiful. After the class I was able to take my demonstration warps home and I decided to weave a couple of very different scarves.   The first one, at the top of this page is my favorite.  I choose to weave this scarf as a namedraft in Overshot.  The letters I used was my name.  I think it turned out to be very pleasing. The second scarf I used black polyester in my weft, my painted demo warp and a shibori pull thread in an overshot pattern.  Steaming the scarf is very easy and to see the crimp cloth emerge is so thrilling. 

Dianne and I will be offering this same class in May of 2012 at the John  C. Campbell Folk School.  Be watching the catalog this fall to be able to get more information and to sign up.

Another note of interest is that Yarn Circle, which I am a partner of, is now carrying 8/2 polyester yarns in 8 ounce spools.  We also carry a selection of Pro-chem MX dyes.  Call for more information at 828-835-4592. http://www.yarncircle.com/

Don't forget to sample!

Pam

  

Can you believe all this color came from Mushrooms?

Last month I was lucky enough to get into a mushroom dyeing class at the John C. Campbell Folk School. http://www.folkschool.org/  The class was taught by Susan Hopkins who came all the way from New York. I was amazed on the range of color we got from mushroom just outside my front door. We also collected mushrooms that were growing on the Folk School campus. On the first day of class we were delighted to discovered Inonstus Hispidus, a rather large crop of it growing in what appeared to have been where  lighting had struck the tree. I and another fellow student, Sandra took the mushrooms to the weaving studio to use the large scale. We were interested in seeing how much dye mushrooms we had.....32 pounds! It was when we were cutting up the mushrooms to dry, that I named it the "pork chop" mushroom because.....well that is what it looked liked when we cut it.

The gold colored handwoven scarf in the of the table was dyed with the "pork chop" mushroom.

I used an assortment of yarns and all of them took the dye just fine.  The mordants that we used was alum, tim and iron.  It was wonderful to see the color that came out of the pots! 
I am still combing the woods to see if I can find anymore mushrooms, but now that the leaves have fallen and it is getting colder...well I may have to just wait till spring!
Pam

A Helpful Trick for Weavers -

Today I am busy working in my studio which is always a fun thing to do.  I am in the process of warping my Schacht Baby Wolf so that I can weave a wall hanging.  It will be a sample for the students that are taking my class, Beginning Weaving - Weave a Wall Hanging  dates are August 8 - 14 at the John C. Campbell Folk School. 

I was gathering my equipment to get my warp onto the loom.  I like the "Back to Front" method because it gets off the yarn onto the loom for easy threading.  So the tools that I need are lease sticks and a raddle.  In warps past, I used some rather ugly yarn to hang my lease sticks from.  Today when getting ready to set up the loom I asked myself, why not have something handmade and lovely to hold my lease sticks.  Since I am also a inkle weaver, I took a band that I had wove sometime back.  I then got Velcro strips and sewed them to the bands.   I now have a lovely handmade inkle bands  that not only looks great, but is very useful.  Now on to finishing thread my loom.
Happy Weaving!
Pam

Pam Howard - Fiber Artist: Preview "A Helpful Trick for Weavers -"

Pam Howard - Fiber Artist: Preview "A Helpful Trick for Weavers -"

Teaching is a Wonderful Thing!

Penelope, Pam and Rivkah

Over that last month I have talked about teaching a class at Yarn Circle.  The class was called Dyeing to Weave on a Rigid Heddle Loom.  It was a class where students first dyed their wool yarns, then learned how to warp and weave on a rigid heddle loom.  My two students, Penelope and Rivkah did a great job with it all.  During that time I realized that both were enjoying what they were learning.  There was an age difference between the two students, but it didn't matter.  They both were very happy in what they created.  Rivkah went on to not only weave her scarf, but went home and knitted a hat and a purse with her left overs.  As a teacher I was thrilled, and felt like I had done my job.

I must say that it does take a special type of person to be a teacher.  Someone who can instruct a subject in a clear and calm manner. I know when I look for teachers to teach at the John C. Campbell Folk School, I look for someone who is knowledgable, easy going, calm, fun and creative.  Things I would look for a teacher if I was to take their class. Over the years I have realized that not everyone enjoys teaching..  When I was about to enter college I told my Mother I wanted to be a teacher.  Her being a teacher herself said...WHY???  I said "why not".   Well she explained that I really had to make sure that I wanted to teach.   Well I then decided to make take another path and do work that after a few years I grew to dislike.  In the meantime, I started teaching weaving, spinning and dyeing classes on the side.  After a number of years, I realized that I really did want to be a teacher after all.

Lucky for me, I get to teach at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Yarn Circle and assorted guilds and conferences.  Well the money may not be as good as I could have gotten in my previous job, but I sure do love what I am doing.....  Isn't that what it is all about?  Enjoying what we do!

Pam

The Weavings of the Settlement Schools

Pam Travels to Berea to research about the weavings of the Settlement Schools

This past week has been a wonderful exploration into weaving history for me! My dear friend and "weaving Mom", Barbara Miller and I traveled to Berea College in Kentucky. We spent several long days searching their artifacts and archives looking for information on their early weaving program. Berea was one of the first settlement schools to start a thriving weaving program, which was called Fireside Industries. In about a 50-year period many strong willed women associated with the settlement schools help to start weaving programs throughout the Appalachian Mountains. These "Fireside" programs help the local women to earn money during very hard times. Barbara and I have been researching the nine settlements schools that were first accepted into the Southern Highlands Craft Guild. Not only will you learn some history and production tips, but also you weave samples of the same types of things the weavers wove.

Here is just one item of what was woven as a production item. These fingertip towels were made in mass quanties at Arrowcraft, now known as Arrowmont in Tennessee and at Fireside Industries in Berea, Kentucky. You can still find these little towels with all kinds of motifs in antique shops through out the country. I remember growing up as a child and seeing the ones my Mother had.

Here is a lovely overshot wall hanging made in Berea, KY

Men’s ties were a popular production item from Berea, KY

Here are woven items that came from the settlement school weavers at the John C. Campbell Folk School, in Brasstown, North Carolina. Although Brasstown was mostly know for their woodcarvings they also produced and sold lovely cotton, linen and wool runners and wall hangings.
Why don't you come join us, learn about our tales, travels of the settlement schools! If you are interested in learning more about this important history of Appalachia and the different kinds of weavings they wove, come join our weaving class at the John C. Campbell Folk School, July 11 - 17, 2010. For more information or if you want to sign up, call the Folk School at 1-800-FOLKSCH.

Happy Weaving!!!
Pam Howard