April studio updates
Here's what I've been up to in April: online workshops, some "meh" projects, a handwoven hat, and killing plants.
Let’s start with the biggest news: I finished my Maiwa Print and Paint class! My favorite sections were the last three. They covered working with iron and tannins, the effect of mordants on color, and discharging mordants. I have a huge pile of samples to sort though. AND, I have an eclectic painted warp to put on my loom! Can't wait to see how that looks.
Speaking of Maiwa, I recently signed up for my 5th (!!) Maiwa course: Tannins, Oxides, and Indigo. It's starts at the end of May and will be my final workshop... until they release their next one.
At the beginning of April, I took a broken grid quilt workshop with Stacey Sherman. We used improvisation and foundation paper piecing. My quilt is still very much a WIP. I can't say I love it, but we'll see where it goes.
On the weaving front, I'm working on a second damask piece (a follow up to my first). This is another project I'm not crazy about. The nice thing is that I can change the design without rethreading the loom.
As an attempt to get back into garment sewing, I'm trying to complete one wearable project a month. This bucket hat is a bit of a freebee, but it is sewn from my handwovens! The fabric came from my first ever ikat (and indigo!) project: a random wrap indigo scarf. The pattern is a modified Sorrento bucket hat from Elbe Textiles.
And my garden is slowly progressing. I have 4 flowers (lol!) that are in the process of being hardened and will be planted at the end of the week. The others had some unfortunate mishaps (🤣🤣🤣) but I started a second batch of seedlings and have learned from my mistakes.
Year of Stories recent read: Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov