Fall Colours

There is something about the fall that seems to stimulate the creative soul.  I think it is the changing colours in the landscape.  The blaze of colour is short lived and just begs to be captured through some creative effort.  Inspiring colour schemes are everywhere and they change daily.  Brilliant yellows soften and reds turn to orange then rich browns.  Purples creep into green shrubs and here on Vancouver Island the moss creates bright green patches throughout the "lawn".


Some of the items that guild members brought to our monthly meeting reflect the fall colours.

Linda's pile rug

Myrtle's ruanna

Orange pumpkins are everywhere in anticipation of Halloween which may have been the inspiration for this pile rug.
The ruanna of mixed fibres brings to mind chestnuts and deep orange/brown hues.  It has tucks at the shoulders



Several of the scarves used purple and darker blue yarns or a mix of both.  The lace-like scarf was knitted from a luxurious yarn and is light as a feather.  The scarf with a blend of colours has a subtle curving pattern that runs lengthwise while striped scarf is made of different textured threads.

detail Sheila's scarf

Lynnette's advancing twill scarf

Sylvia's scarf of hand dyed yarns

In our area lichens are very common and as leaves drop they become visible in the trees.  This puffy scarf reminds me of an old maple tree with pale green and grey lichens.

differential shrinkage scarf

Everyone's pallet is not dominated by fall and that is a good thing.

pin loom shawl

This shawl was pieced together from squares woven on a pin loom.  Two different yarns were used to create a central motif.






Two of the items demonstrate surface effects that we can generate with a little ingenuity and dye (whether natural or synthetic).  The silk square was printed with leaves using indigo while the curved flower motif was created by dyeing the handwoven yardage after a resist had been applied.

resist dyed shawl

printing with natural items

Our guild has some expert spinners as illustrated by the skein of hand spun natural linen.  

Maggie's hand spun linen

At our monthly guild meeting we were treated to a lecture on Mexican textiles.  While the cloth is still hand woven on back strap looms the use of synthetic threads and automated sewing machines has changed the look of the traditional clothing.  In spite of that, the colour mixes are characteristically bold and the colours themselves bright compared to our more subdued work.