Time Out for Meditation

Ripples in the sand

Now and then,we all need some down time.  We need a period when there are no deadlines or goals to meet, no people to please and no pandemics to worry about.  We need time to just sit on the beach and count the ripples in the sand.  

  

Even if you love your craft it can sometimes become a source of stress.  You might be doing commission work with deadlines.  You might have a study group challenge to work out.  You might even have a self imposed goal to perfect a design or learn a new technique.  All that stress can lead to a creativity block.  When you can't find the inspiration to keep going don't just quit instead take a step back and try something simple that you can do with a minimum of effort. 

Mindless knitted scarf

You could try some mindless knitting like this scarf that Sylvia says was pretty much mindless knitting.  What makes it interesting is how Sylvia salvaged some ugly pink wool by over dyeing it to create a variegated yarn.  A larger shawl is shown in the picture below.  It may look complex but it is simple repetitive knitting.

shawl from over dyed yarns

Corrie's plain weave with warp stripes

If you have a loom you could try some "meditative weaving".  Pick a simple design or plain weave and just throw the shuttle with no goal other than enjoying the rhythm of the process.

plain weave scarf

Try making something familiar such as tea towels.  Wind a narrow warp for dishcloths or mug rugs. Weave something for yourself. 

Marilynn's tea towels

 

wool singles

The ultimate past-time for meditation has got to be spinning with its rhythmic motion and the soft swishing of the wheel.  Just feeling the fibre slipping through your hands has got to be soothing.  So make yourself some yarn for that mindless knitting project.

Hopefully after a short period of down time you will be recharged and ready to explore new horizons.

With that in mind take a look at Rita's towels in deflected double weave.  It is an unusual choice for tea towels but in 2/8 cotton it makes a thick and thirsty cloth.  Some of the towel patterns are reminiscent of those ripples in the sand. 

Rita's deflected double weave towels

A Bit Of this And A Bit of That

Marga's knitted crib blanket

Like a lot of groups our guild is holding meetings on line.  It works great for our business meetings and it is nice to see the faces of friends that we miss.  Sometime it is even more fun when those friends are in their home environment with pets and partners drifting in and out of the scene.  (Sheila's cats are the best.)

But some things just can't be reproduced with internet magic.  The best part of our guild meetings has always been "show and tell'.  It is that time when we get to share our triumphs and pass on lessons learned.  

It is almost impossible to see a piece of cloth held up to a camera so our guild now has a photo show with both detail and overall photos of an item.  The detail photo allows you to see the structure and fibers or subtle colour differences.

   The picture of the knitted crib blanket is from our latest meeting.  Unfortunately the knitting group hasn't been able to meet during the winter but hopefully as the weather improves it may be possible to meet outdoors.  Many of the knitters are also spinners.

Jude's silk fusion lamp

Our members have a variety of fiber interests and most are proficient at more than one.  So it is not unusual for show and tell to include a wide range of objects including items that are made directly from raw fibers.

Rita's ice dyed yarn

Colour is such a major design factor in the visual arts that almost all fiber arts enthusiasts have an interest in dyeing.  Sometimes it can be fun to just experiment with colour.  At other times it is a necessity to get the exact colour you need for a specific project.  Rita's exploration of "ice dyeing" has given her a range from magenta to purple.

Carol's River Scarf

The yarns used in the woven scarf were also hand dyed in order to get a range of colours that represent water.  The scarf was a "challenge project" to weave something inspired by water.  The elaborate design started off as the meandering course of a river.  Using that line as a starting point and Fiberworks software Carol came up with a narrow symmetrical pattern to fit the scarf width.

With access to our studio limited we haven't been able to organize the popular studio projects this winter.  For the spring we are trying a different approach.  Two of the small looms have been set up with a waffle weave pattern in cotton so that members can weave dishcloths.  The small looms are easy to space apart.  In addition to that one of the table looms has also been set up for dish cloths.  Members will be able to do their own "studio project" at home.  The photo below shows a dishcloth in progress on the loom.  

honeycomb dishcloth in progress

And finally the Double Weave Workshop was a great success.  A Tale of Two Seasons starts in early April.  There are more on-line workshops in the planning stage so check here next month if you are interested in learning opportunities.