Thursday, January 23, 2014

I've just posted a picture of a scarf I hand painted last summer.  It is 100% silk and the process I used was very simple.  You do have to use special paints made just for silk.  Otherwise its a snap.  Wet the scarf, paint and let it sit covered with plastic wrap for 24 hours.  When you take it out you will be very surprised at how the paint has spread and made your wonderful 'picture'. 


 This one I named 'waterlilies' and its the first one I did.  I have another one not finished but will post the picture at a later date.

This one below a friend did and I remembered to take a picture while she was doing it.  The pic on the left is right after she finished.  It is still wet and in the tub with the plastic wrap covering the top.  After it set for 24-hours, it was rinsed in cold water, hung to semi-dry, then ironed to get the silky shine back into the fabric.  I think hers turned out just beautiful!

Her colors were so much more vivid than mine and she used a little more paint.  I think I am going to try that the next time I paint one. 

Thursday, January 9, 2014


 My New Year's resolution for 2014 is to weave more.  This is such a pleasurable experience for me!  I guess that's why it just might work, rather than trying to diet or exercise more which I always fail at.

This is another scarf like the red one I did for my niece for Christmas.  It is a rayon yarn, slightly nubby that was on sale at my favorite yarn and fiber store, Paradise Fibers in Spokane WA.  Very aptly named I must say.

I started purchasing this yarn (on sale) sometime last fall, it is now nearly sold out much to my dismay.  I love the feel, the look, how it works in my loom.  Its so soft, so vivid and the drape is just beautiful.

I hope this one turns out as well as the red one as I'm making it for my daughter.  She picked out the colors and we talked about the structure and pattern.  I tried working a twill pattern but it makes it a little too dense, and the color showing was mainly the weft, which in this case is the stone color. So that was all pulled out and a simple plain weave is being used instead.  It will be a little larger in width but not quite as long and the red one.

I have so many ideas in my head for new things to weave.  And I have so much yarn with which to weave.  Some is hand spun, some is purchased yarn.  Its nice to combine them in a project just to see how it will look.

Stay tuned for more pix!

Here's Jet with her human mom (my niece).  She just got her first bath at our house.  The breeder was kind enough to give her a bath just prior to us picking her up in December.  I didn't think she was dirty yet, but apparently her momma did.

They have so much fun together.  They both love playing in the snow, chasing each other around in our fenced yard, which is around 2-1/2 acres around the house.  I am not fast enough to catch her so she stays on her leash when I have her outside.  She is so sweet, so funny, so attentive to us.  What a wonderful little dog.

The class for agility trials begins in February and they are both perfect to start then.  These dogs are the ones you see on TV running, jumping, running through the tunnels, over the bridge-type structures in the arena.  My niece loves to run so she will be much more able than I to help Jet learn her paces.

They are both such good girls and really deserve each other.