I’m starting to accumulate clothing in need of color:
- one new terry cloth bathrobe (the old one being quite threadbare)
- seven button-down shirts, suitable for work if dyed conservatively enough
- half a dozen white T-shirts
- one or two sports bras
- three pairs of bamboo socks
- three pairs of cotton socks
- 3 pairs of sweatpants
…and probably other stuff I haven’t dug out yet.
The only possible way to handle this, of course, is to have myself a dyefest: mix up dyestocks, print Thermofax screens, carve katazome stencils, melt the soy wax, haul out the fabric paint – and have fun with it all! I’m thinking not this weekend but maybe the weekend after (so either August 11 or 18) – a lot depends on when Mike finishes putting in the outdoor dye sink. Soon, I hope!
Meanwhile, I have mostly been trying to wrap my head around some esoteric topics in double weave, for an upcoming guild study group meeting. But in between banging my head on double weave, I have managed to understitch about half the cape, and hope to finish it tomorrow or the day after. Once that’s done and the seam allowances trimmed, the cape will be more-or-less done, and I can start working on the vest pattern. I’ve decided to use the Celtic Braid panel in the vest, which (to answer Pat’s question) I don’t intend to wear open. The cape is heavy enough that I suspect it would drag unattractively at the vest if the neck closure isn’t fastened. I’ll need to make a few modifications to the vest pattern to make it work with the panel, and I suspect another muslin may be in order, just to make sure I’ve gotten it right.
The other thing I’ve done is write up the lesson plan for my upcoming workshop on the creative process. It’s turning out quite well; I’m pleased with the learning activities and the cadence of the exercises. The first run will be in October, for one of my guilds (Black Sheep Handweavers); then I’ll be offering it for a guild in Texas next March. I’m hoping it goes well and the students get a new look at ways to generate and explore ideas, create original designs, and design experiments/samples to refine and improve their designs.
Off to bed! Tomorrow is another day, a perfect opportunity to learn something new.
