Tile inspiration...

Okay, one more West Elm post. I saw these really cool wall hangings that I think are only store display props. They reminded me of Japanese sashiko which is an old embroidery technique using evenly spaced running stitches to create geometric patterns. Although it would be sweet to tile a bathroom floor or a foyer with something like this!

Cotton Flake

My curiosity got the best of me when I bought this spool a while ago (100% mercerized cotton) on a whim, not really sure how it was going to weave up. Oh my goodness, I'm in love. I used it for the rag placemats and had a few extra inches left over on that warp, so I wove a little sampler. 

Fabulous!


It might be my new favorite fiber. Twills look amazing with it, and it creates super soft fabric with such an interesting texture. 
Time to plan some projects with it! This is where I bought it, if you're interested.

Hip Rocking Chair...

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Recently a few of my friends have been popping out fabulous little carbon copies of themselves, and in turn have needed to outfit a nursery. One friend had a particularly difficult time finding a stylish rocking chair that wasn't essentially a big overstuffed abomination. (No offense Lay-z-boy.) 

Lo and behold! I happened to be in West Elm the other day and found this cute and comfortable rocker. Who knew? A great alternative to the overstuffed older styles.

Rag placemats...


I've been doing a little more ripping lately and after inhaling a little too much fiber dust and practically coughing up a lung, have decided to wear a mask while doing this wonderful activity. And banish our cats from the room, due to the large amount of threads that come off the rags. I guess this is the occupational hazards of the job...?

After a stint of rag rugs, I decided to switch to placemats. One of the first things I made when I first got my loom 8 or so years ago was a set for my sister and since I haven't made any since, I thought it time to revisit that idea!

I decided to use a mercerized cotton flake for the warp to give some visual interest.

My moment of zen...

I love me a chained warp. There is something so beautiful about the way the fibers clump and go over and under each other, all neat and tidy. I think it might have something to do with the fact that it is the means to keep the warp together, keeping it from tangling. 
There aren't words to express the exasperation that can come from a tangled warp, the realization that it needs to be re-warped, of having to start all over again front the beginning, all that fiber being wasted. The chain saves that from happening. 

 This is the start of some rag placemats. Stay tuned to see how they turned out!

Tasty brunch and neat DIY!

I never thought of this - and I'm not sure if it will stain your tile if you leave it too long - but you could make a wipe board out of already existing tiles!

I went to brunch last week with my awesome friend JL at The Fat Radish. (Highly recommended to those who live in NYC!) They used the tile to post their tea selection. Cool.

Where's yours?

A lot of people, now that they know I've opened this little business, ask me when they see me, "Why aren't you wearing anything you've made?"

Sigh.

I've been quite busy making Christmas presents, and frankly have sold most of my stuff (this was not an attempt at gloating) but I figured I should probably put something together to show off in person. Okay. I'll squeeze that in, along with the rest of my tasks....

So here it is. A new scarf. Based on this one, but scaled in both directions and I changed the pattern a little. Solely for me. Consider it an early present to myself.

100% alpaca with ombré over-dye

Yarn Co...

Often I buy fiber off the internet thinking it's one thing, just to get it in the mail and find out it feels totally different than what it is. Such is the life of buying tactile things in a not so tactile way. So I've started to scour the NYC area for various yarn stores. It's really hard to find spools for weaving, but there are lots of sources for knitting. 
Recently I went to The Yarn Company, the boon being that they are close to my apartment and also sell high quality yarns. I found this really great 100% merino wool. So soft, naturally dyed, knits up quickly. 

Perfect for last minute Christmas gifts!


What The King, taught me...

So I have finished the Steven King book, On Writing, the one so suggested by my friend and fellow artist.

Although he was talking about specifically writing and how it relates to him, I felt it could be applied to many artistic endeavors.

My takeaways:

-If you love your craft, and you loose yourself in it while doing it for long periods of time, it was meant to be and it won't feel like work. (Hopefully you'll eventually make money at it.) Yep, check!

-Practice does not make perfect, because what would be the fun in that? You'll learn by doing and continue to do so. I really appreciated this comment being a self proclaimed perfectionist and all.

-On bringing out your manuscript for the second revision: "If it looks like an alien relic bought at a junk shop or yard sale where you can hardly remember stopping, you're ready." Maybe I should use this time tested revision process I learned at my old job? Put it away for a bit and upon review, you'll realize what needs fixing.

-"Kill your darlings." A shortened version of Hemingway's famous quote. And do I know this one well. My first exposure to this was within the first month at my previous job where I was at a brainstorm with a certain lovely designer, EE. We were talking about all these ideas - probably for a laundry hamper? - and there were certain designs we could not let go. It turns out these darlings were just something we wanted; they didn't fit our design criteria and definitely were not designed for the person in mind. Oh, how hard it was to let those ideas go....

All in all, a great and quick read. Thanks to CH for the suggestion. And now onto The Alchemist, her other suggestion.