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