Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Parts that Made Up my Week

Well, some of them.

I finished these.
White merino/mohair warp, undyed merino-with-scale weft, it's soft and the design is shown by the different sheen, which I like. This is sold and is going to Scotland.
Same warp, variegated white-to-pale-blue superwash merino weft. (Color below is closer to true on my monitor.) For the number of things going on in the draft, it doesn't show up and I don't know if I'll use this draft again.
The variegation almost hides/disguises the wave pattern close up, which I found interesting; I haven't decided if I like it or not, but it mostly gives different views closeup and from a distance.

I fringed/hemmed some more, and there are eight waiting to be washed; none waiting to be fringed/hemmed. But I'm more interested in weaving at the moment and trying to improve my techniques, particularly the selvedge of pieces wider than 40cm. This is annoying/worrying me so much I have contemplated giving up weaving, but nah, no way.

In between, when the weather and my schedule allows, I am weeding. Our garden is what it is, and I try not to be too discouraged. I've been looking for visual clues to "controlled chaos" to no avail; if you know of websites, blogs, books, please let me know. Cottage gardens are considered almost a hoax in New Zealand; here, especially in Nelson, they are extremely labor-intensive because of our mild, plant-friendly climate, but my uneducated guess is, choosing the right plants and planting in the style of a cottage garden may be the answer? And leaving no negative space, of course.

While I worked, Michael Wood's "In Search of Shakespeare" kept me company. I watched all episodes four times and I want to tackle reading my Riverside Shakespeare cover to cover again. But I might do this in conjunction with audio recordings. Some of his language I understand better when I hear rather than read.

In the last post, I said, "I enjoy time-, energy- and idea-consuming projects." Around that time I discovered this blog, which is just too wonderful not to share. I haven't reconciled how the qualities I love in these dolls can translate into how I work, but who cares!

10 comments:

  1. Absolutely stunning work! Shakespeare can be breathtaking, and bears revisiting in many formats. Enjoy your toil!

    ReplyDelete
  2. When I read Shakespeare in college, we had to read so many in quick succession and I got the feeling of how he and cohorts might have worked, churning out one after another. He was like a popular, block-buster author, and to tell you the truth, I began to appreciate him less and less; I was too busy trying to understand what was happening in the plays and not enjoying lines and meanings. So, now that I'm supposed to be wiser, it might work a bit better. Or not. LOL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My best ever experience of Shakespeare (well, so far - I am not ruling out better ones in future!) was the first time I saw a play that I hadn't already read. After being schooled to death in the texts, it was a revelation to see a play as a play! (It was Winter's Tale, by the way)

      Delete
    2. The first I one I ever saw was Macbeth, stripped down to leotard-like costumes and a few black boxes for "stage" and actors playing multiple parts, i.e. witches coming back as important persons, by an English touring company. I was 14 or 15, I found an ad in the corner of the newspaper, and begged Dad to take me. Not the greatest intro, so I don't know why I stuck with him, but then I saw gazillion wonderful student, amateur, and semi-professional productions in Minneapolis and needless to say I've never looked back. Nelson used to have a loose group lead by a wonderful man, but he's gone to Auckland (and further?) for the bright lights. I still see in town former students who played various parts and remember them from different roles. But now, I can't tell you why I like his plays. I just do. Maybe it's out of habit, almost like continuous reading of van Gogh biographies?

      Delete
  3. Awesome work, Meg! I just love white on white. Have a great week. Hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  4. They makes me nervous, though, Connie. I wash my hands all the time like an OCD patient, I'm constantly picking up plant matter and other-colored lint, but in this case, the worst offender is the mohair that sheds!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the light falling on these. They must be beautiful wrapped around a body and moving with the person.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope so. They shed quite a bit so I didn't experiment, LOL. That's the extent of my quality control. But I learned said giftee, (last day in office today apparently,) is going (home) to Scotland to get married and the client who arranged the purchase, (executive assistant now, but also a wedding gown maker,) knows what the wedding dress looks like, and she was overjoyed that the colors would go perfect with said bride's jacket. And I got paid. So happy dance all around??? :-D

      Delete
    2. Happy dance indeed! I wonder if they'd invite me to the wedding so I can see it??

      Delete
    3. That would be very interesting, Cally, but I forgot to ask which part of Scotland. :-D

      Delete

I love comments. Thank you for taking the time to leave one. But do be sure to leave your real or blog name.