Here’s how it works: For every item knit, your name is entered into a drawing for one of the following:

* 24″ Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom
* $25 Gift Certificate to Wookpack, Acton
* Drop Spindle Lessons
* Basket of Hand-Dyed Yarns

 

 

Don’t knit? Stop by the Brush Gallery anytime after Oct. 1st and purchase one of the hand-knit items. 100% of the sale price goes to the Merrimack Valley Food Pantry.

Dates to Remember: (All events held at Brush Art Gallery, 256 Market St., Lowell, MA www.thebrush.org)
Any time: Drop off knitted items
Nov. 20: Sit-n-Knit. Gather with fellow charity knitters as we knit and much on goodies from 12-4 pm.
Dec. 18: Celebrate your hard work with a wine and cheese party. Drawings for prizes held at 3:30 pm

e-mail me at cindyhughes@verizon.net if you have any questions.

Indigo Dyepots

Lynne and I spent yesterday experimenting with Indigo dyeing.  It was a great thing to do on my birthday.  Play with yarns and color.

Overdying

Here Lynne is putting a yarn I already had dyed with Turmeric to see what kind of a green we could get.

Colors from natural dyeing

These are yarns we naturally dyed using indigo, brazilwood, cochineal, onion skins and turmeric.

This Saturday, April 24th is the Netsuke Lecture at the Brush Art Gallery (www.thebrush.org) at 2:00 p.m.   I am blown away by the details carved into these miniature pieces and can’t wait to see others that Jeffrey Klotz will be bringing with him to show and talk about.  This should be a great lecture.

So lucked out to have photographer, Steve Noroian able to take this picture for me.  As you can see, the colors are true and the quality is improved greatly.  Thank you so much, Steve.  Kimono now tucked away in a safe place to keep clean until hanging in the exhibit.  Events take place at the Brush Art Gallery and Studios, Lowell (events listed at www.thebrush.org)

“Tea, Swords and Stitches” – A Contemporary Interpretation of Classic Kimono Design held April 4 – June 6, Brush Art Gallery and Studios, 256 Market Street, Lowell, MA  (978)459-7819.  Hours are Tues.-Sat. 11am – 4pm; Sun. noon-4pm.

April 10  – Opening 2-4pm with Japanese foods

April 24 at 2pm – Netsuke Presentation and Talk – “Now and Then: Similarities and Differences Between Today’s Netuke and Earlier Netsuke” Presented by Jeffrey Klotz, Chairman of the New York International Netsuke Society.

May 1 from 2-4pm – Demonstration of Japanese embroidery techniques from members of the New England Chapter of the National Embroider’s Guild and contemporary Saori weaving by Stacey Piwinski.

May 1 at 2pm – Japanese Iaido sword demonstration by Sensi Alex Markauskas.

May 8 – Brush Board Fundraising Event – Cindo de Mayo.  Check the Brush website (www.thebrush.org) for information on this event which will include dinner, music, and a promise of a fun night out.

May 15 at 2pm – Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony performed by Kaji Aso Studios.  Here is an opportunity to see the beautiful rituals of this time honored ceremony and how the kimono is worn.

Hope to see you all there!

Well, almost.  And I was still stitching at 5:00 tonight but didn’t cry.  Needs to be steamed,pressed and properly hung, but finished putting on the hem today and hung it over white fabric and pinned the sides out.  The picture doesn’t do the fabric justice, the sheen is so gorgeous.

I am pretty burnt out on this project and need to step away until I get back from Florida.  It’s been many intense weeks of long days getting this together.  Have no interest in starting any project in the near future but hopefully will get back into it when I get back from Florida.  The Artist at the Brush show is going up in June.  I will not be making anything that requires sewing!

Here it is two days ago putting the pieces together.  It’s the first time I’ve used my featherweight and love the cute little thing.  Spent the entire day figuring out how I was going to put the kimono together.  Doing the sleeves and putting in the sleeve lining took forever.  Again, just making decisions if this is the way I wanted to go.  I am not a good instruction follower but I was referencing Make Your Own Japanese Clothes by John Marshall as I liked the way the lining was put in.  I spent the entire day on the sleeves and the overlaps, again making a decision on how I wanted the collar/overlap done.

Day 2.  Figured out how I wanted the collar and put the rest of the lining in.  Thought I would have this done in the a.m. but here I am at 5:00 at night, hand stitching the facings and lining down.  I do have to say that if you’ve never sewn with handwoven fabric, it is a joy.  Very forgiving.  I love working with the fabric I wove for the collar and overlaps.

So as much as I thought I would be finished, I did reach a gag factor.  Sewing is not my favorite part and at this point, I didn’t want to look at this piece again.  However, a tae kwon do workout and a good nights rest helps and I am ready to (hopefully) finish today.  The hem is all that is left.   I say that as thought I’ll just whip that off and be done but if I’m still doing this at 5:00 tonight, I’ll cry.

Spent Sunday winding the red warp for the overlaps and collar, yesterday putting it on the loom and actually got about 1 1/2 hours weaving time.  Today got to the Brush at 9:30 a.m. and took this off the loom at 4:00 in the afternoon.  Probably spent at least 5 of those hours weaving.  Total of 9 yards.  I’ve decided I should have had people pay me to weave.  It would have cost them less than going to a gym.  Since my loom is an AVL, it only has two treddles, one to raise the harness and the other to advance the computer to the next pattern line.  So it’s like a stair master but I’m not standing so it’s not quite as intense.  It’s a motrin night as my arms and legs got quite the workout but I was determined to finish this today.  Good thing I run or ride the bike to nowhere in the basement or I wouldn’t have lasted.  Brought it home and washed it.  The picture makes it look a little darker red than it is because it’s damp.  This is a great fabric.  Used 60/2 silk, kind of an orange-red for the warp and a red for the weft to give it some movement.

So tomorrow it is sewing time.  All the fabric is washed and ready to go.  I passed out chocolate to those working in their studios at the Brush when I finished this as a celebration.  Thanked them for the weeks of listening to the loom banging and promised them a few weeks of quiet.  Sewing this week and next week off to Florida.   Then I have to start my piece for the Artists Show going up as soon as the Kimono show comes down.  Nice thing about weaving, it gives me time to think and I am excited about what I want to do for that show.  Theme is Fluidity.  I can tell you that even though blues are my favorite color, I will not be weaving in those colors.  I guess looking at the 4 panels of mostly blue I’ve just finished.  Thinking more of browns and greens so may have to call my piece the Mucky Chucky after the Charles River or something after the Merrimack.  Will deal with that later, one project at a time.

Went to the Brush and wove like a demon today to get the last sleeve done.  Here are the 4 panels hanging over a curtain rod.  At least it has kimono form.  The silk is so gorgeously soft.  My son’s comment – “Stripey, I like it”.  It is stripey and I probably would alter that, but it is woven and done and it is what it is.  Colors are vibrant and I do like that.  All’s that’s left it to weave the collar piece and sew it together.  I feel in a much better place now that the main hand-dyed panels are done and it lines up.  It’s time for a glass of wine.

Finished sleeve panel and have the second one on the loom.  When I hang the pieces on a pole, I can see the kimono finally taking shape and I am psyched about finishing the last sleeve.

The static electricity putting it on the loom and watching these fine silk threads dance around was annoying and I tried a swifter sheet since that’s what I had in my studio.  Not sure why I thought that would work but it didn’t.   Sonja suggested dryer sheet and brought one of those in.  That really helped a lot.

Glenn and I went to meet with the Japanese embroidery ladies last Monday and were wowed by the pieces they showed us.  We were to pick the ones we wanted in the exhibition.   When we saw them, we asked if we could have them all.  The details are mind blowing and you really have to appreciate the time that goes into each piece.  These truly are labors of love and passion for this art.

Next, Glenn and I headed off to H-Mart in Burlington to check out this mecca of Asian food we had heard about.  We were scouting out food for our opening.  It was so busy, we had to wait for a parking spot.  But it is all it is billed up to be.  A huge, clean, overwhelming experience and we came away with great ideas.

Off to work on the sleeve.  People know where to find me.  I tell them I’m handcuffed to the loom.

Almost finished weaving the second panel for the kimono.  The sleeves are next and I feel much more in control now that a lot is done.  Found a gorgeous red silk fabric to line it with.  I am so tired.  Weaving is physical labor!  I have a 16 harness loom and because I want to see the front side of the fabric and am weaving an 8 harness satin structure, I have to lift 14 of the harness everytime I throw the shuttle back and forth.  Do that for yards of 60 times per inch of woven fabric and I’m ready for wine and nap.