“...Colors of time passing…brought together and made tangible...” ~ poet James Schulyer

I continue to find metaphors in my weaving, and many of the metaphors concern color.  Not texture, not intricate patterns, not involved drawdowns.  Color.  And that has been the essence of Saori weaving in my life. 

At the Estes Park Wool Market in 1999, I took a class from Valentina Devine--a class on color, using color, combining colors, losing one's fear of color.  Valentina is a wonderful teacher, and her attitude about color and free-style knitting set me free--free to combine colors in my knitting, and later weaving, in any way that makes me happy.

I've finished my Saori banner, with its emphasis on color.  Here are a few more photographs of various sections, on the loom--

I used my tapestry fork to beat in distorted wefts. 

The tag is the way I keep track of the lenth of my weaving--that's 180 inches...

That tag should say "210" inches, instead of "110"--nearing the end...

Only by viewing from this direction could I see more of the colors...

The completed banner(s) measured 216 inches on the loom--that's 18 feet, just right to cut it in half and make two banners for my entry hall.  I have 10-foot ceilings, so 9 feet each, plus fringe, minus shrinkage during the wet-finishing should work out fine.

I stretched the banner-off-the-loom down the hall--Rosie posed nicely, walked the "runway", and when my back was turned, she raced back down its length, rearranging it as she went....

the epitome of innocence...

The banner is named "Celebrate!"--celebrate my new loom, my new-found enchantment with weaving, and the continuation of our story.  Now that this project is done, I'm a little sad--so it must be time to warp the loom again for the next project.  Someone on Ravelry said this week that they always start to wind a new warp before their current weaving is finished--that's a good idea.....

"I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow..." ~ Kermit the frog

When it comes to weaving--or spinning, or knitting, or painting for that matter--color is the most fascinating element in my "play".  You can still give me a box of 128 Crayolas and turn me loose with a sheet of newsprint, and I'll be happy.  My friend Nancy asked me last week if there are any colors that "don't go together"--my answer was "No".  But fiber has captured my heart in a way that crayons never have, and so the tactile nature of the fiber arts comes in a close second to color.

A few years ago, I played around with acrylic paints and watercolors and chalks and colored pencils--all the things I never did when I was young.  "Art" wasn't considered very important in my birth family.  And so I studied math and language , and became a teacher.  But as I got older, the fun started!  Oh, I had been dabbling in knitting for a long time, but becoming a "crone" at age 60 really offered me the freedom to follow my heart....and Saori weaving and free-style knitting gave me permission.

 Progress on my Saori banners--

a blue "river" inlay

The yellow tag pinned to the selvedge shows 130 inches...

Colored bits of handspun waiting for the loom...

And Rosie bides her time....

"Those undulating wefts are telling stories, singing songs." ~ Jill/nickolena

Updates on my "challenge" banners--

Feb 3. 2011--inlay with a netting shuttle

Feb 4, 2011 ~ 82 inches 

On my banners, I’m just playing, using up leftover handspun and trying different techniques.  I think this is why Saori weaving appeals to me--it’s free-style, pretty unstructured, spontaneous, colorful…..


And some photos from our trip to Santa Cruz in January to pick up my loom--

Sunset and contrails over the Pacific

Evening at the Santa Cruz wharf

Sunrise over Monterey Bay

...and Rosie waits...

“Sometimes you just have to buy the flowers instead of the bread (heard that somewhere).” ~ prayerjd/Joann on Ravelry

So this time I bought the flowers, and, at age 64, I can say "I'm a weaver."  That didn't seem so true before, even though I did some weaving.

Jill (nickolena on Ravelry) has a group there called Weaving in the Saori Way.  She asked me to be a group moderator a while ago, probably because I like to talk.  In January, she started a conversation thread in that group that issued a weaving challenge to herself and anyone else who wanted to join her.  She challenged herself to weave a yard a day--she's now on day 14 and has woven 16 yards of beautiful fabric--see her blog for details--http://centeringwithfiber.blogspot.com/2011/01/day-12-of-saori-weaving-challange.html

My challenge began on January 29, and I'm weaving some every day.  I tend to weave more slowly.  I'm using the 6.5 yard warp that came on my new Saori loom and am weaving two 9-foot-or-so banners for my hallway.  Seeing Saori banners on different Saori websites, billowing from bridges and tall buildings, is something that piqued my interest in Saori weaving last summer.  So I may have to weave banners for my backyard too.

My project is called "Celebrate" (tentatively) and is an effort to use up the many small balls of leftover handspun that I've collected over the years--

I'm also using 6 ounces of handspun from a sheep named Brenda to unify all those colors.  I bought the mixed batt from a fiber artist named Brenda (http://www.pansgardenyarns.com/) at the Dixon Lambtown wool show last summer.  I'm using a lot of a technique called clasped weft, am inserting un-spun roving and hand-dyed locks in places, doing some inlay, and am using some tapestry-like techniques for curved lines, using a small tapestry fork to beat in the curved weft.

My progress so far--

Day 2--Jan 30

Day 4--Feb 1

Day 5--Feb 2--60.5 inches 

And Rosie prefers to supervise from afar today...