Weaving Workshop, part 2: In which I twist fringe and weave on a really old loom

On Saturday we had part 2 of the Beginning Weaving workshop at the Charleston Museum, taught by the talented Judy and, as near as I could tell, enjoyed by one and all.  For the most part our weaving was finished when we got to class, so we learned what happens next: how to take them off the loom, deal with The Fringe Question and account for any loose ends.

We also got to go into the store room at the Museum (a magical and wonderful place) and see some woven textiles in the Museum's collection, then out into the exhibits to see the enormous 4-harness loom and even more woven textiles.  Plus we got to watch as Judy pinpointed the patterns using her grandmother's weaving pattern book.  History in the making, folks!

AND THEN! We got to weave on a different 4-harness loom (from the 1850's, I think).  It was more complicated than our rigid heddle looms, but made sense now that we are bonafide weavers. 

All that was left after that was to compare our finished scarves. We decided they were ALL quite lovely!

Examples of fringe on Judy's scarves, woven from yarn she dyed in my Indigo workshop (shameless plug alert).

Demonstrating fringe twisting on my scarf.

Judy explains the finer points of removing a project from the loom.

Some woven coverlets in the Museum's collection.  So much variety!

The large 4-harness on exhibit.  My kids have woven on it during Homeschool History Class, because our museum is awesome like that.

Jacquard weaving on exhibit.

See how it looks like I know what I am doing? See how close an eye Jan Hiester, Curator of Textiles, is keeping on me while I touch the valuable antique?

The awesome Claudia, showing the smaller 4-harness loom who's boss.

Sweet Lynn, who can do EVERYthing, weaving while Judy looks on.

Angela used her own LYDIA Yarn to weave her scarf. It's SO soft!!

These were both woven with similar yarns, but with different techniques.

The beautiful Jessica with her beautiful scarf.

I love how Emma Lee's turned out with silvery-blue and white!

Kristy got creative with fringe knotting!

My finished scarf! Plaid tidings!

Weaving, Part 1: In which I branch out into alternative textiles.

First of all, let me reassure you that I will not be giving up knitting in favor of weaving.  It just ain't gonna happen.  If, however, the universe brings me a rigid heddle loom, I will now know what to do with both it and a whole lot of bits of yarn I have yet to knit...


Secondly, let me introduce you to our instructor Judy...

I love this pic of her because she looks so happy.  And you know what?  I'm happy that we crossed paths at one of my indigo dyeing workshops, because that led to this beginning weaving workshop at The Charleston Museum.  Plus it meant I got to hang out and learn from someone who has been weaving since she was a wee slip of a girl, in addition to studying Navajo weaving in Colorado for several years.  I told y'all that interesting people show up at my workshops--now do you believe me??

 These are only a few of the things she has woven--not all on a rigid heddle, but all gorgeous.

Once we put together our Ashford looms, we had to learn how to put the warp on.  There is probably another term for this, but I didn't retain it.  There were strings going EVERYwhere up in there!

Somehow I ended up doing mulitple warp colors and then weaving with more than one color, too.  It might be because I took 5 different colors with me since I couldn't make up my mind before the class started....

Before tying them down.

After tying them down. But before re-tying, since I didn't do it right the first time....

Me shuttle's been wrapped, arghhh, I'm ready to weave!

Say, "Weeeeave!!!!"

 

And presto! Weaving!  It's uneven and might be really really wonky when it comes off the loom, but it's been a fun project to play with.  My friends and I have been texting each other pics of our weaving and egging each other on, and thank goodness for that because the first time I turned that one wheel thing to give myself more weaving space, it darn near went ALL to pieces!  (As you can see, I could have paid better attention to the vocabulary. Sorry, Judy!)

The workshop concludes this Saturday and I will find out how well I did on my very first project.  If it's terrible, you can plan on seeing how all my friends' projects turned out instead....

Indigo Under the Trees: Scenes from the April 12th workshop

Our most recent Indigo Dyeing workshop with The Charleston Museum took us outdoors at the amazing Dill Sanctuary, a property owned by the museum on James Island, just outside of Charleston. The weather was perfect and the students were, as usual, fun, interesting, eager to dye, and super creative!

The view. Breathtaking, isn't it?

The view in the other direction.

Charleston Museum Curator of Textiles, Jan Hiester, shares some indigo history.

Time to dive in!

Messy fun.

Experimenting with shibori techniques--gorgeous!

I love all the different shades of indigo.  It never gets old.

I dyed a silk scarf.  I love my job.

In which I talk with the owner of an exciting new hand-dyed yarn company, part 1

My favorite: Limeade: 40% Alpaca, 40% Wool, 20% Silk: 1 ply: DK Weight

As a knitter, knitting instructor and knitwear designer, it is very often my privilege to come into contact with some Pretty Amazing People Who Love Fiber.  Occasionally, I manage to become good friends with some of those Amazing People, and then I get to follow along on their fiber journeys as well.  This is so much fun for me.  Because I work hard at what I do, when I see other people work hard as well and create new worlds of textile in their lives, it inspires me to keep plugging away at my own little corner of the knitting universe.

Angela Cline is one of these Amazing People and is the founder and owner of LYDIA Yarn LLC.  She took time out of her busy day of dyeing scrumptious yarns to talk about the new company and whet our appetites for eye-popping color and fabulous fiber.


KnitOasis: Where does the name come from? LYDIA Yarn?
AC: It stands for Luxury Yarn Dyed In America.

KnitOasis: What do you think will make LYDIA different from other hand-dyed yarn companies?
AC: It goes back to the first word in the name LYDIA: Luxury.

KnitOasis: So, Luxury? What does that mean for you and for your customers?
AC: I love the feel of good quality yarns and it is so easy to tell when something was made really well, that is what LYDIA yarn customers are looking for. I think of luxury as the yarns that are made out of rare and amazing feeling materials such as Cashmere or Mink but I also think of luxury when looking at yarns that were made really well. The animals were well taken care of and the coat has an amazing healthy feel to it. The processing of the yarn and the materials used were well thought out and the finished product is sturdy and will last a lifetime. At LYDIA this is what we look for in yarn before giving it the tag “luxury”.

 KnitOasis: What experience do you bring to this venture?
AC: In my spare time I started getting into dying when taking classes with friends at the Charleston Museum. I learned about different techniques and processes that can be used from natural materials, such as leaves and walnut shells, to chemically processed materials, like pre-reduced indigo and powdered acid dyes. I found the entire process fascinating. After experimenting on my own with dyes and discovering effects I could create, I started to research the market for this yarn. I found a whole world out there and a community of people who do this for a living; it was exhilarating to discover this. I have an employment background in large manufacturing so I am very comfortable with lean production systems. This experience helps when it comes to running any type of business that produces products for retail. I also have an education in management and business and that really comes in handy when it comes to running the daily activities of a business from an accounting and procedural point of view. I just wish I had LYDIA yarn when completing my MBA because of all the business plans I had to write then.  I could have saved so much time!

Oyster Shell: 70% Superwash Merino, 30% Silk: Light Fingering Weight

KnitOasis: Describe your initial Etsy shop offering.
AC: Now that the Etsy shop is open LYDIA is selling a wide array of yarn bases in colors from all corners of the spectrum. Everything from the delicate light fingering weight yarns in a soft purple/red color “Oyster shell”. To the thick, warm cuddly yarn made out of sturdy superwash merino and nylon in the earth tone colorway “Grandma’s Couch.”

Current Offerings;
2 ply yarn – 1 ply Alpaca: 1 ply Merino: Fingering Weight
40% Alpaca, 40% Wool, 20% Silk: 1 ply: DK Weight
80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon: Sock Weight (High-twist)
80% Superwash Merino, 20% Nylon: 1 ply: Bulky Weight
70% Superwash Merino, 30% Silk: 1 ply yarn: Light Fingering Weight

Peacock: 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon: Sock Weight (High-twist)

Check back tomorrow for part 2 of my chat with Angela, and learn about what inspires her and what she has planned for the future of LYDIA Yarn.

Scenes from last month, plus a change in venue.

I wanted to share some scenes from the January Indigo Dyeing Workshop, held at The Charleston Museum:

Gradient!

Dyers at work

We had 2 big vats this time to accommodate the large group.

Indigo

A before and after!

Tie dye awesomeness

Looks like fun, doesn't it?  Participants always tell me they had fun, and heaven knows I have a blast!  Every workshop is unique and a little bit different from the last one.  The next one might be a whole LOT different!

We will be taking the dyeing to the Dill next time!  The Charleston Museum has a beautiful spot out on James Island and when we haul out the dye vats again, it will be to go to the Dill Sanctuary.  You can see some fun pics from the recent Charleston Museum Oyster Roast here.

Registration will open soon, check back on the Classes page for more information as it becomes available.

Planning ahead. It's better that way.

Coming up in 2014 (yes, it really is just around the corner!), two dates for you to mark on your calendar:

January 25, 2014
Indigo Dyeing Workshop
Registration is now live for this class, to be held again at the Charleston Museum, and since it fills up quickly, I suggest registering sooner, rather than later. Why? Because I can't wait to see what fabulous things YOU can do with Indigo!

February 7-9, 2014
Vintage Winter Shawl Class
This is a repeat of last year's sold out class at the SC Knitting Guild's Knit Inn.  Registration for this will be open by the first part of December (which is now a month away--yikes!).  This year, they will not be taking any walk-in registrations, and all the classes (and hotel rooms) are first-come, first-served.  I don't yet know what date my class will be, but you should plan to come for the whole thing anyway because it's loads of fun!

photo by Sean Money, The Charleston Museum

Another go with Indigo

 

Last Saturday I was privileged to once again teach an Indigo Dyeing Workshop at the Charleston Museum.  We had another great bunch of dyers, who were a blast to work with!

First we got a peek at some of the indigo items in the Museum's collection, and Curator of Textiles Jan Hiester gave a brief history of the use of indigo in the Charleston area.

Then the dyeing began.  Can you see how green the yarn is in the vat?  It looks kind of sickly, but trust me, it turned out a beautiful blue--that's the magic of indigo.

Laura brought a dress that she wanted to try in the vats.  She was thrilled with the results! It turned out great!

A little silk tie-dye? You bet! Delores did a beautiful job! 

Look for the next Indigo Dyeing Workshop to be scheduled soon.

An Indigo Morning

Last week I was privileged to accompany staff members and volunteers of the Charleston Museum to an Indigo class.  Actually, it was more like a slice of a PhD course in Indigo.  Father John, our gracious host, gourmet chef and knowledgeable instructor, has been studying and experimenting with Indigo for the past 8 years, and he's still learning and experimenting.  This was so encouraging to me, since it feels like the more I learn about this ancient dyestuff, the more I realize I don't know. 

His Indigo plants are so tall! That's Jan Hiester on the left and Susan on the right (Awesome Museum Volunteer and All Around Fun Person).  Father John is describing the types of Indigo historically grown in SC, plus how he has managed to have such thriving specimens.

These Indigo leaves have soaked overnight in water.  See how blue the water is now?  Once the Indigo water has been drained off, the leftover leaves (in back) can be used as a fertilizer/compost.

If these folks ever ask you to go to a class or lecture with them, do it. Charleston Museum people rock :) L to R: Neil Nohrden, Assistant Curator of History, Jan Hiester, Curator of Textiles, and Stephanie Thomas, Education Coordinator.

Once the leaves are removed, it is necessary to aerate the liquid.  Father John used a fish tank aerator.  The blue on the bubbles is what will eventually be the Indigo dye.

After aerating, it settles.  That blue sludge on the bottom? Yep, Indigo! Next step is drying, then crushing into a powder, then mixing in water and various chemicals to further reduce the Indigo so that it will dye cloth or yarn.

He dyed 10 yards of cotton for us--and made it look easy.  See how yellowy-green the fabric is inside the vat? Awesomeness in the making. Also note the fabric hanging on the walls, all perfectly Indigo dyed by our host.

Finished product, framed by the beautiful yard at Father John's place.

 These photos only give you glimpse into our morning--and if I hadn't lost the rest of them off my phone with the lastest iOS update (my fault--I should have backed them up sooner, but I didn't foresee issues and well, I'm grateful I had already emailed these to myself!), you would see so much more.  I took copious notes and have been telling everyone who will listen about how much I learned and what a lovely time it was.  Father John even served us a gourmet lunch, in the midst of teaching us so much about dyeing with Indigo!  It was an experience I'll never forget.

I'll be passing on more of what I learned, plus giving you a chance to do some dyeing yourself at my next Indigo Dyeing Workshop at the Charleston Museum,  Saturday, October 19, from 10am-12:30.  More details and registration info at their website.