Also picked up Lena Corwin's new book Printing by Hand. I've browsed through a lot of hand printing books, a lot of them giving you the same techniques, but this one feels refreshing. The photos and the projects are gorgeous. Just a great book to have. After getting it, I ran to the craft store to get the self adhesive sticky foam that I had no idea existed for this purpose. I want to make this easy quilt for all the new babies in the family!
I have been picking up some great reads and how-to's lately...The latest issue Craft Magazine is all about weaving. As Jill Scott says, the universe works its ways!
The white yarns are just filler for those gaps in at the beginning of the warp. Setting up the warp took about 3 classes which involved winding the warp yarn onto a warp frame, tying it onto the loom, then the tedious task of separating the yarns into the heddles and the reed. 
This is the plain weave. You can really see the teal colored warp through the brown colored weft. The warp yarn I used, is a varigated, meaning it's not perfectly even yarn, but thinner and thicker in some places.
I decided to use the free to use yarns Barnsdall has and not to plan so much. I love all these unwanted muted, colors probably from the 70's. I am practicing creating organically. There is so much control designing on the computer, that you forget how nice it can sometimes be to have parameters.
This is how far I got in about 3 hours, not quite a foot. It is about 12" wide. Starting from the bottom, you can see the alternating plain weave and basket weave, which the yellow/green solid area creates a twill effect. Also played around with vertical stripes, horizontal stripes and checkerboard when I added the cram color. You can see how some areas are more packed than others. Packing is pounding the weave down, a little bit violent, but will often hide the warp with thinner yarns and techniques like the basket weave.
The two ceiling fans we installed earlier this year has been saving us these last few weeks!! Surprisingly, we've only used the AC once this summer.
Got this mini note from Prix-prix at Renegade Handmade in Chicago. Hand screen printed and such an elegant use of the cereal boxes!
So I was walking up Damen Street in Wicker Park/Bucktown area of Chicago and peeped into the Le Sport Sac ,when the sales girl cheerfully greeted me with a, "Hello, just wanted to let you know that the Stella McCartney travel bags made of 100% Recycled Eco Polyester are sale priced at 50% off." Pause. I absorb the key words: Stella, Le Sport Sac, recycled materials, and sale, then continue to sense the danger in this situation. Yes, Warning: DANGER as Jon would say. Why? Because it is in these exact situations that I am still powerless against my old consumer ways. I would've definitely said no if it wasn't eco, like I did a few weeks ago to the Orla Keily bag I was drooling over at their new online shop. But when it is totally eco-conscious, well-made, affordable (for luxury items) and fabulous, what it one to do!? As a veteran of the fashion industry, and formerly a professional consumer, this was one of the more troubling dilemmas in the dramatic process of "greening" my lifestyle.
The coral form I made using the method of hyperbolic crochet. This one was a single, single, double.
view from the 21st floor at the W Hotel Lakeshore. It's summertime and everyone is either at the beaches, the parks or their boats!
View of the "L" train from Millennium Park.
Scuplture garden during our 2 hour lakefront bike ride.
Pretty colors at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Roadkill course at Moto.
My favorite building because of the argyle pattern.
While in SF, I got to meet Lisa Congdon and Rena Thom and visit their shop, Rare Device. Personally, I think the bag sticker says everything about them - sweet, hand made creative, impeccable taste, and rock stars!
Spent several relaxing days in SF for a family event this past weekend... wandered into Berkeley's architecture department, took in a view from Grizzly Peak, ate fried smelt from Sea Salt to remind us of Spain, visited Heath Ceramics in Sausalito, and savored outdoor mornings with coffee and the paper by the water.
In the process of getting rid of stuff, I've been documenting some items. It makes parting just a little bit easier. These are from our figure sculpture classes taught by our friend Damian almost 10 years ago. This particular brand of clay never completely hardens, so several, but not all, needed to go. Such a different dimension with photos.
My favorite socks from Muji made from recycled cotton. I bought a set for me and set for my mom years ago and just found that they still sell them!
