Baskets and Dye Pots

wine bottle basket

   BASKETS

This summer we've been expanding our horizons.  First we explored the ancient and very useful art of basket weaving.  Basket making was practiced in neolithic times before the invention of pottery (let alone glass liquor bottles).  Baskets were light, portable carrying devices well suited to the nomadic life of neolithic hunter gatherers.  They could be created from any fibrous or pliable material found along the way.

Over time as prosperity allowed the basket makers began to embellish their creations in their own style so that today many baskets are intricate works of art that tell stories about heritage and ethnic traditiions.

building a basket

Luckily we didn't have to strip bark, wade into the marsh to find reeds or rip down vines to find basket making materials.  Today you can purchase an assortment of materials.  So our novice basket weavers had a head start when they took the basket making workshop.  They even had some modern tools in the form of clamps.

finishing the rim

the finished product

DYE POTS

Every summer guild members take advantage of the weather to explore the world of dyes.  Dyeing is often a messy process that can leave lasting impressions on indoor spaces but a garden hose can return a patch of grass back to its original colour with a minimum of fuss.  For this year's "dye day" the group decided to explore indigo.  Members were encouraged to bring samples of waffle weave that they had woven as a studio project.

indigo dyed cloth

 Plants in the genus indigofera are the most common source for the natural form.  Indigo exists as a precursor in plant material and must be extracted, fermented and finally oxidized to give the distinct "jeans" blue colour.  Lucky for us the dye is available in a synthetic form as well.

Indigo is often used with "resists" to create patterns.  A "resist" is anything applied to the cloth to prevent the dye from penetrating.  It can include folding, scrunching and stitching cloth or using a solid resist such as clothes pegs or clamps. 

indigo with physical resists

woven shibori with stitching.

Guild members are continuing to enjoy the summer break.  We've been out an about with our tent spinning wheels and portable looms so you might see us at a community event.  Our regular meetings will resume in September when we will be gearing up for our annual sale ELEGANT THREADS.  

Knitting Tales

Maggie's Miami Beach Yarn

  Many of our members are acomplished knitters.  Some even spin their own yarn although its unclear whether the knitting grew out of the need to use up hand spun yarn or the spinning grew out of the need for something to knit with.  In extreme cases some members have been known to raise their own sheep or alpacas.  

There are pros and cons to knitting with hand spun yarn.  On the one hand, you can create unique pieces that highlight the unique yarn. You also have first hand knowledge of the fibres that you are knitting with and how they have been processed.  They may be deliberately overspun to create an active yarn that will pucker when washed.  They can also be glorious combinations of colours and fibres that make even the simplest knitted object unique.  The downside is that hand spun yarns will have some element of inconsistency depending on the skill of the spinner.  They may not be a standard grist and you can't buy another skeine if you run out.  That often means adapating patterns to fit the yarn.

Sheila's merino wool vest is made from natural coloured hand-spun yarn.  The yarn was spun over a period of years while attending events.  The pattern stitch is called "Sketch" and is from the "Twisted Stitch Sourcebook" by N. Gaughan.  Sheila had hoped for a sweater with sleeves but had to fit the "cloth" to  the supply of yarn  The antler buttons are a good match.  

Sheila's vest of hand-spun wool

Jetty's shawl & felting

Jetty's shawl is an example of an informal piece made from hand spun wool but you'll note something else in the photo.  Spinners always have bits and bobs of dyed fibre around. Jetty made good use of those bits and bobs to make a felted picture. 

Jane's tank top

There are a multitude of yarns on the market these days.  Some feature interesting fibre blends that have practical applications, think wool/nylon sock yarn.  Some feature complex colour grading for stripes.  Wool/silk blends are one of the most popular for knitted clothing because they combine the warmth of wool with the softness of silk.

Jane's tank top is knitted from Caesura Papersilk.  It is a 50/50 mix of wool and silk in a lovely blue.  The pattern is by Asa Soderman.  It is a seamless knit, in other words it is knitted as a tube.  Note the button detail on the back.  

button detail

Below is an example of a sweater being knitted from the top down to give a seamless finish.

knitting from the top down in progress

Knitted landscape with sheep

The final piece is a preview of our guild challenge for this year.  We were asked to create a piece (in any medium) that was inspired by the landscape.  In this knitted piece Maggie has captured sheep grazing amongst the flowers on a hillside.