Studio 49 Retreat 2016

My 11th retreat with some wonderful people up in Northern CA. Part of the Motherlode Weavers & Spinners Guild, Studio 49 meets on Saturdays for more textile arts.

The first retreat was in 2006. I went with my dear friend, Kathleen, when I was 7 months pregnant with Ian. The weekend was intimate, small and full of comradery. I've been every year thus far and it has retained the same intimacy and friendship. I just love this group of weavers, spinners, knitters, dyers and artists. We've changed locations, weather fronts, food options and activities, but the loveliness remains the same.

My sister, mom and best friend caravaned up in two cars stuffed to the rafters with all the paraphernalia we might need for a 3 day stay. Sleeping gear, clothes for all weather, crafts to do, crafts to share, items to sell, gifts to give and of course an empty bag or two to bring home all the goodies we might collect.

Sunrise Saturday morning. The hill on the right is still a bit blackened from the Yosemite fire 2 years ago. We weren't sure if the retreat was going to happen that year. The fire was under control just in time.

Our shared Studio 49 Retreat 2015 10th anniversary fiber goodies. I love the different ways the same fiber get spun up with different hands touching it. My Deadline shawl is on the bottom right.

Made by retreat fairies, these handmade, hand quilted, hand appliqued placemats were a gift to every attendee at the annual luncheon tea. Aren't they just adorable?!?

Retreat swag. An apron, 2 oz. of Polworth Top (our challenge fiber for 2017), knitting patterns, fiber samples, handmade soap, and a hand sewn drawstring bag sewn by the same retreat fairies.

Stuff I bought. More Polworth Top (because 2 oz. is just not enough!), fiber batts from Dreamy Goat Design Studio, knitted sheep bag by Lea, handwoven scarf by Virginia, and some pick up sticks. Some of these items are destined to be gifts.

Stuff I won in the raffle! We have a huge raffle full of amazing items from many many great vendors. 

I got lucky this year. A Zoom Loom with Woven Turtle Kit, a bump of pencil roving from Noro and a lovely orifice hook.

This is one half of our great room. Several concentric circles of spinners flow in and around each other.

This is the other half of the great room.

My gang. (from left to right) Me, my mom, my sister and my best friend. The gourds are all by my mother. The big dog gourd is a custom order created for one of our fiber friends.

Can't go wrong with having family and friends share in our love of arts and crafts. Thanks to everyone at Studio 49 Retreat for another great year!

Ripples of Joy

(I’m a day late and a dollar short, but here is my post for yesterday.)

I finished and delivered two items from my UFO pile this week. May I say how pleased I am with myself for being so productive? 

The Yoga Mat Bag - this was not really a UFO since it only went on the list a few weeks ago and so technically is a new and finished-right-away project. My niece is taking her first yoga class. It is her 5th birthday and my sister asked if I would make a mat bag as a gift. My niece keeps borrowing my sister’s mat bag. I made that one years ago. Now my niece has her own. As you can see it is purple and pink, and matches her mat and her Rapunzel dress.

The Quilt - I don’t consider myself a quilter. I’ve made 4 quilts in 30 years of sewing. So I’m not a quilter but I do quilt. I like quilts because they always tell a story.

This is a special quilt for a friend. The quilt top and fabric came from his mother’s stash. She passed away a few years ago. He kindly gave me all of her fabric along with many quilting and knitting related tools. It was a very generous gift. The quilt top was already sewn and my friend asked me to finish it someday if ever possible. 

Well, it sat for a long time. Then a surprise baby came along for he and his wife. This January, the baby turned one. I thought it might be appropriate to finish the quilt to celebrate the happy occasion. So, a few months ago, I dug out the quilt top, backing and binding from the gift stash. It sat again for awhile. In December 2011 I realized I had run out of time. I basted the layers together end of December and started hand quilting beginning of January. I hand sewed every night for 2 1/2 weeks. 

I missed the actual birthday but I gave the quilt to my friend and his family yesterday. They were very surprised and amazed that I remembered. Really though, the quilt is a legacy from my friend’s mother. I just helped finish its story.

Soon after the giving, I watched a large orange coy fish swim just below the surface of the water at the pond in the Chinese Garden at the Huntington Library. The fish’s tail waving back and forth created gentle ripples on the surface of the water. It made me think how joyful that fish must be to swim all day. I thought about how happy it made me to finish the quilt for my friend and how happy it made him. That’s how I create my ripples of joy - making stuff for my friends and family.

Controlled Chaos

I love designing. I love the process of thinking through the details of a project. I think about shape, color, texture, purpose, the recipient. Sometimes I think for a long time and sometimes design decisions come quickly. I love designing for different mediums.

Then comes the practical aspect. The process of turning a design into reality.  The finished design opens the door to chaos and the path out of chaos is in the myriad of steps to complete a project. Be it a quilt, a sweater, a new yarn, a towel. I love the process - controlled chaos. 

The chaos of quilting is defined by piles of fabric, pieces to arrange, threads to trim, and batting to baste. Quilting by hand or machine is the next stage of the chaos. Then the quilt requires edge binding. When I’ve cut the batting and sewn the binding to the front ready to hand sew to the back I know that the chaos is contained. The visual treat of piles becoming straight lines then turning into a textile that can be folded neatly is amazing.

The chaos of spinning is defined by the shearing of sheep, processing the fiber into roving, choosing dye colors, splitting and pre-drafting the roving and finally watching the individual fibers twist into yarn. 

The chaos of weaving is defined by cones of yarn, a warp chain, dressing a loom, sampling. I love the moment when the warp is finally tied to the front beam and the tension is even. The path from draft to weaving always feels a bit messy to me. There are so many steps to do before actually weaving. When I get to throw the first pick of the weft, the chaos disappears.

Life is chaotic and messy, too. I rarely feel in control of mine. Containing the chaos of my textile crafts helps me feel organized and neat. Although, looking at the stuff around me - the piles of paperwork on the floor surrounding my desk, my spinning wheel and basket behind my chair, my loom and sewing table stuffed into my bedroom - sometimes makes me wonder if my textile work may be contributing to my sense of daily chaos. I love my life.