Talented people:II

I feel honoured to be friends with these very talented people! I am in awe of their ability to create and to inspire. Best of all, they have encouraged me and I am grateful.

Shipbuilding has a limited edition of textile creations and she has launched an online shop.

I admire her ability to work with different mediums: yarns, textile, and paper, and her patience for printing her own fabrics and dyeing her own yarns. 

Alternative thoughts has just graduated from the RMIT textile course. Her works are displayed at the Fuse exhibition. So I would encourage you to go to see that.

She works with an amazing variety of materials and techniques. This is an example of her glass works. Her blog is being updated slowly. Blogging takes time and effort. I also understand that when you are new to blogging, it takes even longer.

Jane B. is a shibori and batik artist whose patience is amazing. Her attention to detail is admirable and the length of time it takes to create one of her pieces is mind boggling.

As I said, I am in awe of them. I feel privileged to know them and I have learnt much from them.

Rooftop Cowl

A photo of one of the rooftops at Nijo Castle in Kyoto. I originally took the photo as inspiration for a weave pattern. I can see it so clearly as a weave.

However, since being home, I started to knit the 'alexandria cowl'. It is a gift to a friend in Japan and hopefully she will get it in time for their cold winter. As I knitted, I kept seeing the image of the rooftop in my mind, especially in this colour.

I love the texture, the contrast of thick and thin creating these ridges.

I have knitted this before and had also given it away. I think I will end up knitting it a third time (and hopefully the last time, for myself).

In the meantime, this edition has been re-named the 'rooftop cowl'.

Tools of the trade: I

I love tools - tools for making things. Tools for cooking, for knitting, for weaving, and even tools just for admiration as they are so beautiful.

Japan is a great place for tools. Fortunate or not, there is a limit on luggage allowance so there is also a limit on how many different tools I could buy.

A few years ago, I visited  the Inagaki Kiryou manual weaving supplies shop. It was established in 1897, on the outskirts of Kyoto in the Nishijin area. I did not have my camera with me. I told all my weaving friends about this place but I felt that my words can not truly describe it properly nor could they describe how I felt when I was there.

They are traditional tools, beautifully made and functional. The owner has limited English. Between that and my knowledge of Kanjii, a bit of sign language, it was enough for us to communicate and to explain what the different things are used for.
(On their website, they do recommend that you have a translator with you as they are not fluent in English.)
He brought out all the selections. When we have picked a shuttle, he brought out all that he had so we could choose the which one we wanted as they all had individual wood grains and colours. The shuttles were made of oak. We could get bamboo or timber bobbins to use with them. (My swedish cardboard bobbins also fit with some of these shuttles.)

There were a lot of things that looked familiar but also a lot that were ( I think) peculiar to Japanese weaving!?

We saw those ceramic weights that I found in Melbourne, and found out what their use is.

They are added to the swift to slow down the speed!
In the ceiling, there were all these old tools hanging there. They have all acquired that mature timber patina and gave the shop this amazing atmoshpere. There were bobbins, shuttles, old bamboo reeds, etc.

One of the really sad things was that as the tool makers retire, unless there is a new generation to take over, there won't be anymore supplies. This is the case for some of his beautiful timber tapestry beaters.

So if you are in Kyoto and you are a weaver, this should definitely be on your itinerary. However, if you can not get there, they have also developed a good website in English and it is worth a look.

Saori, Osaka: III

The red building of Saori was visible from afar. Kenzo Jo mentioned that he was impressed by the red barns that he had seen in the United States. When they had the opportunity to establish this new building, he wanted it to be this colour!

Misao Jo is 97 years old and she still goes into the studio to weave each day!

At the Studio, every bit of yarn is put to good use. It changed my way of thinking when I was on that shopping spree. I no longer worried whether I had to buy enough for a 'whole' piece/project. If I saw something interesting, I can just get 10/20g or one ball of knitting yarn. I now have inspired uses for the thrums that I could not bear to throw away, or the few bits left over on a cone.

If people had fnished with a bobbin and had left overs, they were left in a neat arrangement so that it can inspire the next person. It opens my eyes to combinations of textures and colours that I would not have dreamt of before. It was very liberating.

The built-in bobbin can be used in many ways other than winding on yarn. Kenzo Jo and Setsuko both showed us various ways to spin fleece into yarn, to creat fancy yarn, to form loose/tight twists, S and Z twists as you wind the bobbin.

 

This blue fancy yarn we created on the bobbin reminded me of all the overhead power lines we saw in Kyoto. This way, you don't run out of yarn. You just make as much as you need.

 

Note: all the photos except the one of the powerlines were taken by Kaz.

Fuse 2010

This is the graduate exhibition of the Diploma of Textile Design RMIT TAFE and some of my friends are finishing this year.

It is at the Counihan Gallery in Brunswick until 18 December. If you are in Melbourne, (Australia) and you like textile in any way, please please do try to get there to have a look!

Confessions of a yarnaholic

Is it possible to save the world economy one ball/skein of yarn at a time? I wonder if each knitter, weaver, crafter, etc went out and bought some yarn, what difference would it make.

It sure does feel like that at times. Stocktake sales, art and craft expos and shows, online shops, the temptation is all around and I have had a few moments of weakness lately. In addition, there are all these ideas floating around. New things I want to try but I don't seem to have the right yarn in my stash........
Or should I design my projects around yarns that I have in my stash?

Do you buy yarn with a project in mind or do you buy it just because you like the feel/look of it?

I had a conversation with a friend from Japan recently and she imagines that there are a lot of sheep in Australia and therefore we should have an abundance of choices with woollen yarn. Sadly, I told her that most of the wool/fleece are exported and processed and milled abroad, and that I have to buy 'Australian' yarn from the US or other countries.

So when I went to Avril, I totally lost control. I visited the retail stores, the one in Shinsaibashi, Osaka (level 2 in Daimaru) and the one in Sanjo St, Kyoto. Look at those beautiful cones on the wall. The colours, the textures. I was like a kid in a lolly shop.

At each store, they have displays of Setsuko Torii's designs. You can feel them and try them on. They are beautiful. There are people doing hand knitting workshops, and learning how to weave on knitter's looms.

However, my favourite one is the head office. I roamed along the corridor, shopping for yarn like I am at the supermarket shopping for grocery. Each type of yarn, in various colours neatly stacked on shelves. Large cones and skeins. At the end, the quantity I wanted is wound off onto cones. Usually when I have too much choice, I can't make a decision and I don't buy anything. For some reason, it was the opposite at Avril. I can look at each cone and think of a project for it. My imagination goes wild. I am inspired, I am giddy with excitement. I was there for hours.

I bought a bit of everything: linen, silk, wool and cotton. I bought for weaving on the Saori loom. I bought for a few projects I have seen in the Vav magazine.
Thank you Masumi for your patience with me. Avril truly is my favourite yarn store in the world!
Now I just have to weave, knit and make some beautiful things with my stash!

New addition to the family

Her name is Chibi and she came pre-warped, threaded and sleyed! Yes, and built-in bobbin winder, too.

The setting up took half an hour; from box to ready-to-weave......

But first the P2P piece, I am determined to finish that before starting another weaving project.