Interesting stuff – Page 3

Weaving in Wales – Summer School winds down…..

September 10, 2013/0 Comments/in dye, garments, Interesting stuff, Projects, summer school, tapestry, weaving /by bschutzgruber

One of the best things about summer school is the ‘Walk About’ on Saturday afternoon. This is when we all get a chance to see what everyone else has been doing all week. It’s always a bit of a scavenger hunt adventure to find them all and this year was no different = 16 courses were held in 6 different buildings spread over the entire campus! Turkey Red Dying won the prize for most creative dirctions by using ‘Follow the String’ to lead us through a labyrinth of hallways, in and out of the building (due to wet paint!) until we arrived at their location.

We got our classroom cleanup and table displays ready.

classroom_2

Here’s a sampling of the work produced in the Tapestry course woven by
Sally Bohlings —— Alison Coates ——– Sandra Combes

Rita Corbett ———— Andrea Cross

Elizabeth Hancock ——– Barbara Wright

Here’s a quick tour of some of the other courses…..

Bags from Bits

Rule Breaking Weaving

Pick-up Damask in linen

Designer Spinning

Eco Dying

Sewing Handwoven Fabric

Warp Ikat

String Bags

Turkey Red & All That Madder

Weaving in Wales – Off the floor and onto the bench….

September 8, 2013/2 Comments/in Interesting stuff, Projects, summer school, tapestry, weaving /by bschutzgruber

With my landscape finished plus a spacer in place….

Thursday morning I ‘moved up in the world’ — from sitting on the floor to sitting on the bench = YEA! This bench is designed so the seat can be moved higher as the weaving moves up the loom.

In designing my next project, I wanted to continue working on achieving a sense of depth to the tapestry, plus I added working on being less literal in my interpretation of my starting photograph.

One of my favorite photos is one I took from the castle rooftop of the market square in Norwich England.

I love the shapes, lines, and colors but have never succeeded in getting a good starting sketch because there’s so much going on in the photo. I decided to focus on one set of rooftops, outlining the basic shapes, tracing a cartoon, then transferring those shapes onto the warp yarns.

I started weaving using a range of colors which really helped me to be less literal and stay focused on the shadows and angles of the roof lines – moving from ‘Norwich rooftops’ to simply ‘Rooftops’.

Friday…..

And by Saturday morning I was weaving the final section to finish the piece.

Rooftops 4″ x 4″

Weaving in Wales – moving into mid week……

September 5, 2013/0 Comments/in Interesting stuff, Projects, summer school, tapestry, weaving /by bschutzgruber

The good news….
I’m no longer a beginner tapestry weaver and my instructor challenges me to improve my skills.

The bad news….
I’m no longer a beginner tapestry weaver and my instructor challenges me to improve my skills.

Tuesday I brought my newly finished sample to class. Alastair’s comments were, “Nice straight selvages and the slits are good (Yea!), but you need to pack it down a bit more.” (Darn… not done with this yet.) OK… so I began packing.

Low and behold….. my lovely circle is now a lovely oval…..arg!

Alastair’s comment that it took him 7 yrs to perfect doing circles made me feel a lot better and really appreciate the skill necessary to create tapestries with nice round circles in them. I wove a bit more – making sure I was beating FIRMLY – and drew another circle with the plan of trying it again as the week went on.

The large scaffold frame had been warped. (Yes… we are talking about a seriously heavy-duty frame that would normally be used in construction!)

Since I do not have easy access to work on one of these at home I jumped at the chance to weave on it…..

…which also meant I’d be sitting on the floor for the next few days.

Because the back wall was painted white with a white heating unit… there was no way I would be able to see my white warp yarns against that…..

….so I used my raincoat for a backdrop.

I decided to work on a landscape for my next project because I’ve struggled with getting a sense of depth in my fiber work. Using one of my photos as my guide, I selected my yarns and began weaving – making sure I was beating FIRMLY as I went.

By the end of of the day, this tapestry was solid.

Wednesday, I continued working on the landscape. One of the techniques tapestry weavers have used for centuries when weaving a large space that’s basically a solid color is to weave a shape rather than simply going straight across. This breaks the monotony and gives some texture and interest to the weaving. We had seen this technique used in some of Alastair’s work and I wanted to give it a try.

This involved a lot of weaving…. un-weaving…… weave it again…. un-weave…..
but FINALLY….. by the end of the day after multiple tries…. I got it!!

Landscape 4″ x 5 1/2″

I really like the effect this gives the sky and will definitely be using it in other projects.

Weaving in Wales -The adventure begins…

September 3, 2013/2 Comments/in dye, Interesting stuff, Projects, summer school, tapestry, weaving /by bschutzgruber

Arrival at Summer School wearing my ‘Surround Sound’ vest

On August 1st, I boarded a plane and flew east across the Atlantic for the Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers biennial summer school being held at University of Wales Trinity St. Davids College in Carmarthen, Wales. Over 200 fiber loving folks gathered for a week to participate in the 16 course being offered this year in:

Spinning
Spinning Beyond the Basics
Creative Spinning
Short Fibre Spinning

Braiding/Knotting
Australian Aboriginal String Bags
Kumihimo/Marudai Braiding

Dying
Eco Dyeing
Turkey Red/Madder

Sewing
Bags from Bits
Sewing Handwoven Fabric

Weaving
3-End Block Weave
Warp Ikat
Pick-up Damask in Linen
Tapestry
Rule Breaking Weaving
Inkle Weaving
Textiles that Shape Themselves

I arrived Friday evening and wandered about Carmarthen, the oldest town in Wales and legendary birthplace of Merlin, on Saturday and Sunday.

deciphering signage

enjoying market day

exploring the castle

Complete with a rainbow, summer school began Sunday evening as we all gathered to reconnect with friends and meet our instructors.

There were 12 of us in the tapestry class taught by Alastair Duncan. Alastair was born in Scotland, raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland and now lives in Wales.

Classes ran Mon-Sat from 9am-5pm with evening lectures, activities, or continuing to work in our classrooms or taking work back to our dorm rooms.

On Monday we……

talked about design

warped frame looms

and completed several exercises.

By 10pm I had completed my first project and was ready to call it a day.

Project 1 (3 1/2″ x 6″)

Recycle… Upcycle…. Fairs… and more…..

July 20, 2013/3 Comments/in garments, Interesting stuff, Projects, weaving /by bschutzgruber

The past 30 days have been filled with projects coming to completion (deadlines are my friend!) with 2 major events this month: demonstrating weaving all day at the Saline Celtic Festival and co-chairing AAFG’s participation in the Ann Arbor Art Fairs.

Deadline: Have the ‘Surround Sound Vest’ completed for display at the Saline Celtic Festival

Earlier this year I saw a portfolio case woven from recycled/upcycled VHS tape at Ten Thousand Villages in Ann Arbor. Ten Thousand Villages is a national organization focused on Fair Trade working with artisans in developing countries around the world. Ann Arbor has a ‘brick & mortar’ store on Main Street where I volunteer. The case had a wonderful sparkle but was rigid and that got me thinking…. ‘Could fabric suitable for a garment be woven with magnetic tape???’ Audio cassette tape immediately came to mind – it’s thinner/lighter weight and being a performing storyteller….. I have a LOT of cassettes that I’ve acquired over the years!! I had a sample warp on the small loom I use for demonstrations so I wound the magnetic audio tape onto a bobbin and gave it a try… it wove OK. I put the sample through the washer and dryer…. it came out OK!!! The fabric is a bit stiff so it would be best for outerwear. I decided to make a long vest with narrow panels that I can wear for performances.

I used 10/2 cotton (purple) and 10/2 tencel (accent) for the warp (12 yards long – 8 1/2″ wide – 24 ends per inch) and began to weave using a simple plain/tabby weave structure.

Several days and 150 min of tape (3 cassettes) later….. I had only completed 60 inches = ARG….. 9+ yards to go. This is taking a LOOONG time. Weaving with the magnetic audio tape is slower than using regular yarns because I had to make sure that each pick (shuttle pass) lay smoothly and did not kink before I beat it. I was getting 15-16 ppi (picks-per-inch). Plus I discovered when my first bobbin was finished and I moved on to the next cassette that magnetic audio tape comes in different colors!! Now began the adventure of finding cassettes that matched as I wanted the fabric color to be consistent. Time to rethink my project…. perhaps a full garment made of this isn’t such a practical idea after all. So…. into my stash I dove and found a wonderful purple rayon boucle that would be perfect to use for the rest of the yardage. I was able to complete the 9+ yards in the same amount of time it took to weave the first 60″.

Off the loom, washed and dried I had 9 1/2 yards of fabric, 7 1/2″ wide = no room for errors!! I made a muslin prototype to verify fit and did a lot of measure twice (or 3… or 4… times!) BEFORE I cut anything.

Pattern: #1028 Artist Vest by Dana Marie Design, Co.

The selvages on the magnetic tape fabric were very rough so I used my serger to give a smoother finish to the edge. I used a cotton/polyester bottom weight fabric to make bias tape for the bands. Sewing the magnetic tape had challenges as the sewing machine needle caused some snagging when it hit the magnetic tape but I was able to carefully work the tape back into place.

And here’s the end result!

Last Roll - 10

‘Surround Sound Vest’ made her public debut on July 13, 2013 at the Saline Celtic Festival.

Her ‘Celtic’ experience continues with her ‘international debut’ in August when she’ll travel with me to Carmarthen, Wales where I’m taking a tapestry course by Alastair Duncan – part of the biennial summer school by the Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers in the UK.

Thoughts for Father’s Day

June 16, 2013/3 Comments/in Interesting stuff /by bschutzgruber

Gene Schutz (circa 1973)

I have no memories of ever thinking Dad looked deformed. He was just ‘dad’. To me what was strange were the pictures of him when he was young – like the basketball picture from his high school yearbook. There he was – standing tall, poised, ready to shoot, both arms extended… and equal length. You see the man I knew did not have matching arms. His right arm was 3” shorter. There was no elbow and the arm fused in a bent position. The right arm I knew… had a hand that was brown and tan but arm itself was pasty white in color, soft with no muscle tone, cold to the touch and covered by a road map of scars from multiple surgeries.

I have lots of memories of watching him get ready in the morning. Being a small child looking up – dad wearing dark trousers and a white, short sleeve, crew neck t-shirt. He would slip a cotton knit tube over his right arm, slide the arm into the opened topped hard protective cuff he always wore, and set the tongue in place. Using his left hand, he would weave the laces back and forth, both at the same time, hooking them on the prongs, securing the tongue in place – like lacing up a boot. Then using his left hand and his teeth, he would flip those laces around tying a perfect bow. All of this took well under 10 seconds. Next he’d put on a short sleeve dress shirt, buttoned with his left hand, and tucked in. He would whistle as he’d place the tie around his neck. And again, using only his left hand, toss the ends around tying a perfect Windsor knot. He’d put on a sport coat, pick up his large, leather school satchel, and head out the door to walk the block and 2 houses up the hill to the high school.

It was common knowledge in my family that during WWII he lost his right elbow due to shrapnel and because of this… well, he just did things differently, that’s all… no big deal.

He was 22 when he was wounded… and completely right-handed. It took 2 years of surgeries, physical and occupational therapy to transfer all his right-hand abilities to his left. By the time he was mustered out in June of 1947, he was able to do anything with his left hand that he had ever done with his right – and he could do it just as well.

The occupational therapy involved knitting, embroidery, hand stitching, and tatting. One of things that won Mom’s heart when they were dating was the long-legged, long-armed, jester doll he made for her. “Willie” hung on the door of my parent’s bedroom for 50 years.

So much fiber… but only so much space!

June 1, 2013/2 Comments/in Interesting stuff, Projects /by bschutzgruber

‘STASH’…. Webster defines it as “a secret store of something”. Fiber artists are famous (or infamous!) when it comes to our stash because you never know when you just might need that specific yarn, color or fabric. Granted… sometimes our houses do look like an episode of ‘Hoarders’ as the yarn, roving, fabric…. whatever our passion involves takes over our houses as most of us can’t afford to rent separate ‘studio’ space. My friend Jean had a loom instead of a dining room table. Others have taken over garages or basements and plastic bins are our friends.

For me… my looms have always been in the living room. They’re the first thing someone sees when they walk into my house. (What can I say…. it’s got great natural light and I get the fireplace!)

Our daughter’s former bedroom….. is now my sewing room.

One of the things I love about fiber artists is the sharing of our ‘stash’. When we realize we are not going to be using something we put it out there for other fiber folks to acquire. This way it can go on to have a new life… plus we all know we can now acquire more stash! So, when a fellow fiber artist decided to liquidate part of her stash, I was given the opportunity to acquire some beautiful wool roving for felting, in an amazing range of colors, at an excellent price… of course I jumped at the chance. As it turns out…. I now have 23 1/2 lbs of beautiful wool roving, in an amazing range of colors!! OK… now my challenge is where do I put it??? It’s taken me a week to organize it all into color bins (so I can find what I want) and rearrange (yet again) my basement storage but it is done!!

Now…. back to the fun work of creating!!

April-May happenings

May 11, 2013/1 Comment/in felt, garments, Interesting stuff, Projects, weaving /by bschutzgruber

It’s been a month since I last posted and life has been busy!!!

April 13th – Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild Fiber Feast – Fashion Show, Luncheon & Sale.
30+ guild members had items for sale and/or on the runway. I had 3 pieces on the runway, a sales table, and modeled some wonderful garments! It was a FABULOUS afternoon.

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My focus then shifted from fibers to my other life as an artist – storytelling.

April 25-28 – The annual conference for the Northlands Storytelling Network held in Lake Geneva, Wisc.
I presented a workshop (with Dorothy Cleveland of Minneapolis) on story structure “Hero vs Heroine…. Does It Matter?”, told an impromptu story (‘Spot Attends a Funeral’) at the opening Slam event (first person, factual stories, 6 minutes or less) where I was the only performer to get a perfect 10 as my high score. Multiple judges mean the high and low score are tossed out so I did not win but came in 2nd. Not bad for my first attempt at a slam!! 2 of my stories (‘The Mysterious Visitor – a String Story’ and ‘The Insatiable Pumpkin’) were videoed by StoryLibrary.org and will eventually be posted on their website. Workshops, Fringe performance, connecting with good friends (long time & new) and hearing great stories at the 3 concerts made for a superb set of days!!

May 3-4 I was thrilled to perform once again at the Jackson Storyfest, Jackson, MI.
Celebrating its 26th year of free concerts. This year, 5,122 (4,538 students/584 adults) heard stories Friday morning in 15 venues!!! Fabulous kids and 15 fabulous tellers. More stories Friday and Saturday night for teen/adults with Dan Keding and Mary Hamilton, afternoon family show with Gemini, plus workshops by Dan and Mary.

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The opening of a new shop The Eyrie in Depot Town/Ypsilanti has brough me back to fiber.

This is wonderful shop of every eclectic items, most of them made by Michigan artists. Several of my felt purses are being carried there. If you’re in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area stopy by and take a look!!!

First embroidery projects

April 11, 2013/1 Comment/in embroidery, Interesting stuff, tapestry /by bschutzgruber

My grandmother taught me to embroider years ago when I was 5 or 6 yrs old. We traced coloring book images onto pillow cases and I worked from that. After all these years – I still have one of the first one’s I ever did. As you can see it was well-loved and used often!

But history buff Andy Wilkinson in London , England has taken ‘my first embroidery project’ to a whole new level!! How I conquered sewing by making a Bayeux Tapestry

A Frame for ‘Day Dreaming’

March 19, 2013/0 Comments/in felt, Interesting stuff, Projects /by bschutzgruber

After looking at the wall pieces in the AAFG exhibit at the Village Theater, my felt piece ‘Day Dreaming’ needs some ‘drama’ before I submit it again to anything. This morning I got an idea = actually frame it using an old window frame!! Did a test print on paper to see how it might look = I like it!!! Checked out the local Re-use/Re-cycle place and yes… they have old window frames for only $5 = woo-hoo!! Next step figure out how to actually do it.