So this weaving. I decided to try weaving from the other end, just because I wanted to experience that. Normally this is done to achieve four selvedges, but since I didn't have a nice selvedge at the beginning, it wouldn't matter for this piece. I simply did it to see how it's done, sacrificing a few inches that I might have added to the length of the piece - because I knew I wouldn't be able to close this gap completely, even with plain weave. The sheds are too difficult to open, and I reached the limit of my sword size at this point. I had predicted that I would not get closer than 3 inches, and this shows I was right. Now I have to face cutting it, unless I plan to display it forever like this. Then a bath, and then finishing. Still unsure what this will look like, finally, but it will most likely be what it is - a piece of weaving: flat, rectangular, as long and as wide as it is.
Then there was a natural dye workshop. It's hard for me to resist this kind of thing, especially when it features the expertise of someone like Emily of Local Color Fiber Studio in Bainbridge. I've done natural dye classes before, and they're always a little chaotic, but they produce beautiful images, beautifully dyed yarns, and give me a nudge toward doing more of this myself.
The pot above is made from grapes, gleaned from a vineyard where Emily works part time. They're especially dye-friendly grapes, and they made a beautiful lilac shade on the mohair yarn we were using.
Another attraction of the class: spending a beautiful day by the water in Port Townsend. Just watching the yarns come out of each dyebath and hang in the sunshine was pure sensory delight.
Madder dye, before and after...
I took some fiber to dye, and came home with nice colors - they will look good as stripes in another backstrap weaving, along with the green Targhee I've been spinning during the Tour.