Yesterday I tried that idea of blending roving with daylily foliage to make cordage.
Here's the silk roving at work, now being added to whatever this thing is. It might become a table mat for hot dishes.
Happy about how that worked, and the timing, because yesterday afternoon Gary and granddaughter suddenly appeared, ready to learn cordage. Perfect.
I had her pick a faded daylily leaf and split it several times end to end, to see how to start collecting her materials. I'd already prepared and damped a batch for her and Gary to use.
Which they did, very excited about it.
Then, Kira proving very adept, we added in a bit of silk roving, her choice, showed her how to splice to get an endless string, then went on to use some wool roving, too .
She was smiling happily throughout. I noticed how quickly she figured out how to move her fingers to keep the threads moving into place. She's very good.
and here's the giant string she made!
So a seven year old can make a very good mixed yarn thread. Cool or what?
I explained to Gary about z twist and s twist, and how plying works, and he knows now just how technically interesting this simple skill is. Kira now plans to teach her mom, Janee, whom I've known since she, too, was a little girl.
Happy students, happy teacher. Just half an hour, and years of benefit. Learning to make for yourself is an important step to a lifetime of feeling capable. Also fearless in making art . And anyway it was great fun for me.
Then Textiles and Tea was a bit of an anticlimax, the guest being Rebecca Winter, formerly an acclaimed doll maker using her handwoven fabric. But not a word was spoken about doll making, to my disappointment.
She's now written a book about shadow weaving, highly technical, unintelligible to anyone without floor loom experience , and that was her focus. So I show you her beautiful weavings, and the weavers among us will understand
An artisan of many talents, including bookmaking, with handwoven covers. She binds using the Coptic stitch.
So there was still plenty of interest, but doll making will have to wait for another guest I guess.
Yesterday was a day of art all round. Intersectional, intergenerational, interracial, intercultural, you name it! Just a lovely time with friends.
Happy day everyone, weave on, make your own string, you'll be glad you did. This sounds like a late night TV pitch "Never buy string again!"
