A very special thank you to everyone who stopped by the booth to make a purchase. We are very grateful for that as well as the opportunity to meet you!

We hope to see you again at next year's show!

Carol

Carol's Finnish ancestry and Craig's recollections of his formative years in Dassel intersect at the Dassel History Center as their furniture and textiles come together under one roof in celebration of the local area's Finnish heritage. This event is one of many across the state that are connected to a much larger annual celebration of Finland, Finnish America and Finnish culture sponsored by FinnFest USA, a nationally based organization. The exhibit will be open through Labor Day.

Exhibition

May 24th through September 1st

Please visit the History Center website for additional information and hours.

Opening Reception

Saturday, May 24th, 10am-Noon and 2pm-4pm (extended hours)

Come celebrate handmade craft with us and the Dassel community. Carol and Craig will both be on hand to discuss their work with you.

They'll return again for the final days of the exhibit during the local Red Rooster Day festivities on Saturday, August 30th and Monday, Labor Day, September 1st.

Directions

Follow this Google Map and go to the intersection of 1st and Lake Streets. You can't miss it!

The Venue

The Dassel Area Historical Society, with its outstanding leadership and community involvement, carries out its vision to "Preserve the Past, Enrich the Present and Secure the Future" in the former Universal Laboratories, Ergot-Yeast building where they have carved out a very special place in this restored structure. All you science nerds out there will be impressed by the Ergot Museum. The Dassel Area Historical Society has put together an excellent permanent exhibit covering the history of ergot entitled "Ergot: from Blight to Blessing." Some of you may be asking, "Ergot... what?" Well, come on over and check it out. It's definitely worth a road trip!

Come celebrate craft!

Carol

Less than two weeks until the 60 Artists on 50th Art Show, my first event of this busy season. Above is one stack of towels yet to be hemmed, and below is a stack of towels, runners and scarves that have been hemmed/fringe twisted, ready to be wet finished and pressed.

The rest are either waiting to be tagged, or are in the bins, all set to go. No time to take photos of those, so you'll have to come visit my booth to see them in person! Please stop by to say hello.

Hei hei, and happy treadlings!

Carol

The shapes are great, but how to add color to the mix? Any stripes in the warp or weft would merely break up and distract from the larger pattern. I want the color to go with the flow, and this is exactly what echo weave is made for.

Starting with a base of advancing point twill, I add an "echo" that follows the first threading pattern, but starts on a different shaft. In the draft below, I've used two echoes, meaning three colors in the warp. Each color takes turns appearing on the surface.

I wind the warp holding the three colors together and beam as usual. Since the threading order jumps around, this stage is slower than normal, and I'm constantly double-checking, but it'll be worth it.

The first scarf has an advancing zig-zag as the larger motif, on top of the advancing points in the warp. Vaguely fractal-like. Advancing echoes are perfect for scarves because the layers of complexity make it look interesting both from a distance and close up.

Hei hei, and happy treadlings!

Carol

First, out with the old. I had to remove the mechanical dobby assembly.

Then, in with the new. It basically slid right into the old dobby box, followed by a lot of careful adjustments.

Retrofitting this old loom posed a few challenges, but the kind folks at AVL were very helpful, and I was able to convince Craig to fashion a few shims and such, so we got everything seated correctly. Likewise, there was a small software glitch in the new loom driver, but again, with a bit of help from AVL, I was on my way. Now everything is running like water.

Here's a sneak peek at the very first warp on the new technology - a set of bookmarks. (The math behind this design involves very simple number rotations, with each color alternating between foreground and background at a different rate.)

When this loom was originally built, I was still writing computer programs on punch cards. I guess that makes us both vintage models. Looks like these two old dogs (loom and weaver) are both open to learning new tricks. This is gonna be fun!

Hei hei and happy treadlings!

Carol 

This activity is made possible, in part, by funds provided by the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC) through a grant from The McKnight Foundation.

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Often I'm asked what inspires my weaving designs. Inspiration can be found anywhere and everywhere, but there are main themes that keep popping up for me. At the top of my list are nature and mathematics, particularly where the two intersect. I think it's amazing that we can express the patterns of nature in equations and graphs. But perhaps even more fascinating is that some of the most basic, "pure math" concepts can be found in nature as well.

Probably the best known example is the golden ratio (a+b/a = a/b), an ancient and important idea first described by the Greek mathematician Euclid. Studied for centuries as a purely academic pursuit, it also occurs all over the place in nature, such as plant branching patterns, spirals of seashells and in human anatomy, as shown in DaVinci's Vitruvian Man. So when we use this formula in design, we are mimicking the proportions that nature uses in its creations, and the result is usually quite pleasing. No need to analyze, it just looks "right".

I've incorporated a few mathematical concepts in my textiles to some extent, but as I follow those themes, I often run into the limits of my loom's capabilities, and need to scale back my designs. But that's about to change.

I'm thrilled to announce that I have received a 2012 Next Step Fund grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council to help me break through that barrier. The Next Step grant will allow me to upgrade my loom to a computerized dobby system and sectional warping set-up, giving me much more flexibility and efficiency in my weaving. For my grant project I will be exploring a variety of mathematical ideas in my weaving to convey, sometimes overtly but mostly subliminally, the patterns found in nature. This will often involve long, flowing lines, or irregular or even non-repeating sequences. The loom upgrade will make weaving these kinds of patterns possible, or at least much more feasible.

Coming soon will be new textile designs based on various number series, geometries and oscillations derived from natural phenomena. The objective is to satisfy my inner geek as well as produce interesting and beautiful cloth. No quizzes involved, I promise.

Hei hei and happy treadlings!

Carol 

This activity is made possible, in part, by funds provided by the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC) through a grant from The McKnight Foundation.

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With a standard boat shuttle, the yarn rolls off a bobbin through a side slot, while on an end-feed shuttle, the yarn spirals off the end of a pirn and through a slot near one end (hence the name). End-feed shuttles are considered by many weavers to be invaluable tools, and most who use one would never give it up. I happen to be lucky enough to own a very old end-feed shuttle, but I had never used it. Why not? Because an accomplished weaver, and expert in the field, told me that I would need a special type of pirn winder, and it was "impossible" to wind the pirn properly on the type of winder I happen to own. Full stop. For some reason, the admittedly oversized skepticism center in my brain didn't kick in. I did exactly the opposite of my usual tendency ― I did not Question Authority. She had given me much good advice in the past, so I simply accepted it. Besides, my regular boat shuttles have served me well, for the most part. I didn't really need the end-feed shuttle to do good work.

Well, this week handed me the opportunity, and I took it. After wrestling with a particularly sticky weft, I finally got fed up with it jamming up in my boat shuttle and dug out the end-feed shuttle just to give it a go, what the heck. And, what do you know? My little old single-ended manual winder worked just fine and dandy!

And the weaving is now going lickety split, the sticky weft laying in smoothly as can be. It's not all sunshine and unicorns, though, because the thing is heavy, almost 13 ounces! I think it was an old fly-shuttle, retrofitted for manual use. Something that heavy will cause some trouble in my hands and wrists if I use it constantly, so as soon as I'm done with this particular sticky weft, I'll go back to my regular boat shuttles for my more well-behaved yarns. But rest assured, a new, lighter weight end-feed shuttle just shot up to the top of my wish list! (As I recall, our last tool acquisition was in the form of a couple of sweet hand planes that now reside in Craig's shop, so I think it just might be my turn, eh?)

So, go ahead and listen to the experts, but don't forget to question them once in a while!

Carol

After playing with the blocks for a while, I ended up with something pretty much the same as this classic dräll example from Carol Strickler's 8-Shaft pattern book.

I thought of using a subtle pairing of white and off-white linen threads, which is the traditional and formal combination in dräll weaves, but I'm looking over at the big box of colorful cottons that are begging to be used. So for this run of table linens, I'm going to splash some hues around.

In this first runner I'm using the same colors in warp and weft. That means there is always a group of squares that only show the weave structure, which is a pretty subtle effect when there's no color contrast. The sheen and twist of the perle cotton yarn make the blocks reflect the light differently from certain angles, kind of like Craig's parquetry squares.

Weaving the whole piece in the same color or with very subtly different colors is an idea for another day. For now, there are just these small oases of serenity in a more vibrantly colored landscape.

Carol

I've mentioned before that I've always loved the water, and the colors associated with it, so I had plenty of these blues and greens on hand in a variety of cool cotton and bamboo yarns. As I look back at what I've created during this heat wave, I see bookmarks, scarves and towels, all in this palette that reminds me of a summer day at the lake. Even the samples I wove as class examples are conspicuously from the cool side of the color wheel.

Fall events are coming up fast, so very soon I'll need to dig into the rich reds, browns, greens and golds that I recently acquired for my Fall and holiday textile offerings. But the temps will have go down a bit more before I dare crack open the box of wools. It seems impossible that the snow will fall in just a few months, but that's Minnesota for you. In the meantime, think cool thoughts....

Carol

They say setbacks are opportunities and this time it was certainly true. After I wrenched my back last month, I needed to find a way to ease back into weaving, so I tried some inlay techniques that had been on my list of things to explore. This was a perfect time to do this because the plain weave background requires that the treadles lift only one shaft at a time, which is much easier on the back. I tried a few variations, and the one that I think worked best was where a few picks of the ground weft are followed by placing the inlay weft. This made for a nice, easy pace for my “therapy” weaving. In keeping with my renewed ergonomic mindfulness, I chose to create a simple, random inlay pattern for these runners. The ground fabric is my favorite organic color-grown cotton and the inlay is four strands of a fine organic cotton in black.

I’m happy to say I’m pretty much back to normal now, and I’ll sure try not to hurt myself again, but there is always a silver lining. I’m glad I was forced to push this inlay technique to the top of my list, because I know I’ll be using it again very soon.

Carol

When I first saw a similar version of this spidery looking weaving draft in print, I was intrigued. I liked the geometric, kaleidoscope maze-like nature of it. But do you see those long floats, where one thread travels uninterrupted over several other threads? That’s always a sign that something interesting is going to happen.

I decided to use this draft for some towels in bright confetti colors. (Full confession – I’ve used this draft, or similar versions, before, so I did know what to plan for. But I won’t spoil it for you. Read on…)

Step 1. Mock it up on the computer. In days gone by, weavers would spend hours laboriously coloring in squares on graph paper, denoting if a warp or weft thread was on the face of the cloth at each intersection. Thankfully, we can now use software to play without the drudgery (hooray for pixeLoom!). When the computer creates a rendition of what the cloth will look like, the weave structure is faithfully interpreted, and if I were weaving with wire, the picture above would be pretty close to the final product. But it doesn’t take into consideration that yarns are flexible, and will bend around each other and snuggle up together if they can.

Step 2.Weave it. While on the loom the yarns are under firm tension, and it looks quite a bit like the software rendition.

Step 3. Finish it. After the miracle of wet-finishing, the yarns find their rightful homes and we finally have real cloth. Who would have guessed those diamonds were in there? Now you can go back to the draft at the top and stare at it as if it were one of those Magic Pictures, and maybe the diamonds will pop out if you cross your eyes just right. Don’t stare too long, though, or your eyes might get stuck that way.

Last week's beginning weaving class was full of truly delightful people, enthusiastic and eager to absorb it all. And like all other classes, I learned from them as well. The photo above is a student's very first handwoven project, and a fine example of the nice work done by this class. They should all be quite proud of the wonderful scarves and table runners they created - such talented new weavers!

A first handwoven table runner (look at those fantastic selvedges!)

A beautiful handwoven scarf

I thoroughly enjoy teaching, but here's the paradox: I'm also a bona fide introvert. So, even though teaching can be a fun and rewarding experience, when the class is done, I find my equilibrium again by getting back to my loom and working quietly. 

I normally listen to the radio while weaving, but for a day or two after a week of teaching a big class, I'll keep the radio quiet, and fully immerse myself in the clickety clack of the loom, letting myself be mesmerized by the back and forth of the shuttle. In a few weeks, I'll be in the classroom again to help create a new batch of weavers. I think I'm a better teacher because I weave, and my students inspire me to be a better weaver. It's all good.

Brightly colored towels for Springtime

Last week I spent time weaving twills with some wonderful students. Every class has its own unique mix of student perspectives and experiences, and this group was absolutely delightful. A couple were fairly new to weaving in general, some had woven rugs and wanted to try weaving a lighter fabric, another had been concentrating on color for most of her previous projects and wanted to try some new patterns, and another had been a weaver off and on for many years and was coming back to the fold once again. We all found ourselves weaving dozens of different twill patterns, some planned, some serendipitous, but all quite lovely.

As part of my teaching mission, I promote the virtues of sampling. Taking good notes is helpful, but there is nothing quite like handling a piece of finished cloth to help you understand what those notes really mean. In my own studio, whenever I try out a new yarn or new technique, I’ll weave several samples with different wefts, different setts (threads per inch), etc., just to see what happens. In addition, for almost every project I weave, I keep my notes and a swatch of the finished fabric in a notebook. I go back to these notebooks often, either as a reference of the “nuts and bolts” specifics for how I created a certain fabric or as inspiration for new pieces.

As an exercise in this class, I had each student weave a few extra inches in a twill pattern of their choosing to exchange with their fellow classmates. So, in addition to their individual projects to take home, they now have a small collection of samples and notes that they can use for future reference, as well as mementos of the week. It may seem like a small thing, but even this little sample exchange reinforces the idea that everyone has something to contribute, and we all can learn from each other. A big thank you to my students for a great week!

View from the Studio

We tend to keep our holidays relatively low-key around here, but even so, it seems like the new year brings with it a contrasting quiet. The beautiful snowfalls muffle the sounds of the city, and are quite calming to those lucky enough to work at home – my daily commute is a mere flight of stairs to my attic studio!

I finished off the last warp from 2010, and did a bit of routine loom maintenance. Now, for some reason it seemed fitting, as a clean slate perhaps, that my first new warp of the year use some lovely neutral tones – organic cotton in cream, caramel and a bit of black. (A cleansing of the palette, so to speak.)

Organic cottons on the warping board

These organic cottons will be woven in a version of Finnish lace, my personal favorite combination of yarns and weave structure for towels – starting the new year with a bit of comfort food for the loom.

Twisting fringe on a bamboo lace shawl

The first step is to secure the ends, to keep them from unraveling. In the case of a scarf, that often means twisting a fringe. Two groups of threads are twisted in the same direction, then brought together and twisted back in the other direction, and secured with a simple overhand knot. For anything that will be hemmed, a simple zig-zag stitch with the machine is all that's needed at this point.

Next comes wet-finishing. Technically, what comes directly off the loom isn't even called cloth, but the "web". The threads are under tension on the loom, so they don't get a chance to interact within the weave structure. It can be stiff and quite uninteresting at this point. Wet finishing is what transforms the web into cloth. Mild detergent removes any spinning oil or sizing in the yarns. Gentle agitation allows the threads to relax, bend, bloom and/or full, to settle into their final resting locations within the cloth structure.

Trimming excess thread "tails" from a towel

When almost dry, I trim any tails at color changes or joins. Then, a hard press really locks in the integrity of the cloth. First one side, then the other. Even if the item will never again see an iron, this step is indispensable in creating good cloth.

A hard press with a steam iron sets the fabric

A handwoven item deserves a hand-sewn hem. Yes, there are those who disagree, and I respectfully let them. But for my textiles, that's my philosophy and I'm sticking to it.

Handwoven bamboo placemats get a hand-sewn hem

The leaves are turning to vibrant colors, and while the calendar says it’s autumn, we’re having a nice warm and sunny stretch.  I know I should be weaving in the traditional fall colors, especially for upcoming events and sales, but these turquoise colors gave me one last shout from the shelves.  So, a batch of bright cotton towels to pay homage to the summer that has come to an end.

My current project grew out of just such a scenario. The client saw one of my towels, and loved the design, but not the colors. Not so much into blues, could I do it in greens? And while we're at it, could I make it a table runner rather than a towel? Absolutely.

And so a collaboration begins. We talk, she makes her color selections, requests dimensions to fit her furniture, and I order the materials. The box of yarn arrives, filled with greens and golds, but definitely not your 70's greens and golds. These make a gorgeous cohesive palette. (And I make another entry into my color notebook, thank you very much.)

Weaving software and color wraps help me work out proportions and color rotations. I struggle at first because it's not looking like the original design. But of course, that's the point! If I give the original vision a little slack, the new version can take shape. I wind the warp, dress the loom and prepare the shuttles. At each step I like it more and more.

By the time I weave a short sample, I find myself smiling. I am so happy she asked me to weave this for her because she was right, this is absolutely lovely, and another reminder that simply keeping an open mind can lead to wonderful things.

As a full time handweaver, I am happy to see that first on Lipson's list is joy. While all of the qualities are intertwined, if you will, I find that because I take such pleasure in the process, I probably embrace the other aspects to a greater extent than I might otherwise. The entire process of handweaving brings me joy, and I believe that joy is reflected in the textiles themselves. I enjoy the unlimited opportunities there are to continually learn and improve my skills. I enjoy interpreting the beauty I see around me and incorporating that into my designs. I enjoy sharing my craft with others.

A recent conversation with a repeat customer let me know that this is indeed a worthwhile endeavor. She has purchased towels and table linens for herself and for friends, and is very happy with how they improve with use. I know that some people display my towels just for show, but this woman has fully embraced the idea of surrounding herself with beautiful, functional pieces, putting them to good use on a daily basis, and that makes me smile.

Time for some spring colors to make an appearance. Actually, bamboo is an all-weather fiber, and this pale green and blue paired with the white would transition well from icy winter outings to sunny lakeside picnics.

Most cloth is two dimensional, but sometimes it is interesting to create three dimensional fabrics. One way to do this is by working with the natural tendencies of unbalanced twills to curl: a warp-faced twill will curl one way, and a weft-faced twill will curl the other; convex and concave. Careful selection of the right yarns and their placement can accentuate these natural tendencies to form lovely undulations in the fabric.

While under tension on the loom, the fabric is about 11 1/2" wide and flat, like normal cloth. Then, when taken from the loom, the pleats magically take shape, collapsing into a bumpy, skinny, 3" wide scarf.

Wet finishing enhances and sets the pleats permanently. Furthermore, in this particular design, the stripes in the warp produce two distinct faces to the cloth: green/blue on one side of the finished scarf and white on the other! Way cool!

I designed a twill sampler pattern to show off just a few of the myriad 4 shaft twill variations that are possible. The fine bamboo yarn yielded a perfect weight and feel for a bookmark. My first bookmarks were done in pastels, and were popular at the guild sale in November (who doesn't love a nice bookmark?). This next series is made with green and brown organic tones.

This 2 1/2" warp is the narrowest I've woven for a long time (Once upon a time, I wove a pair of shoelaces!). Although it was quick to dress the loom, at only 88 ends, the weaving needed a different approach. My usual method of throwing the shuttle was not well suited to this narrow warp. I needed to change the position of my arms, bringing my elbows in closer to my body, and use a much smaller motion. I still flick the shuttle, rather than passing it deliberately from one hand to another, which would slow me down considerably.

It was strange to weave in this minimalist fashion on my big loom, almost like whispering in an amphitheater. But it created a kind of cozy feeling as I focused my attention on this tiny warp. Having a variety of projects throughout the year really magnifies my sense of satisfaction in this craft. Here is the finished bookmark.