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Instagram-ma

My husband has (once again) supplied me with my blog title. . .   I have received some recent input from a couple of young relatives in the realm of my social media presence (such as it is) to the effect that my site is old fashioned, no one blogs anymore (good news since my posts have been so spotty:) and I have to be on instagram.   I have been thinking about updating my site , but I need to carve out some (a lot) of time to really think about and work on it. The style that my young advisee likes it visible on quite a few websites. It is severe, lots of white, lots of empty space.  I actually love the serene look of the sites he showed me, but I am not sure the textiles I make will work in it.  I am a fan of warm, saturated colors, cozy, fabric-y spaces with lots of texture. But I am game, and will start thinking hard.  Input welcome.

I did take the step of starting an instagram account. When I told my husband, he said, “that probably means that instagram is on the way out, instagram-ma.”  My most ardent supporter! But I have been having fun looking at all the amazing weaving being done by yes, young! weavers. Now if I can just figure out how to tag . . .

IMG_0948Winter is showing her beautiful, fierce face around here, and Fiona and I are trying to figure out how to enjoy her while keeping our toes intact.  I recently acquired a pair of Kathoola Micro spikes for my boots and they have been incredible.  Fiona and I have been out in all forms of winter-y precipitation with no fear of her dragging me off my feet, as she snow dives.  It is fun to see, writ large in the snow all the little critter trails that drive her mad.  In other seasons her leaping and sniffing seems loony and random, but now I can see all the woodland activity that her nose shows her all year round.

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In weaving news, I have been prepping for teaching beginning Weaving at WEBS starting in March, re-training myself to do things the way I learned instead of the idiosyncratic way I have developed over the years.  That means returning to the warping board after years of reeling!  It has been interesting, but amazingly slow to re-teach my “old dog” self.

I have also been working on some rep pillow for the Fall edition of HW.

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First try . . .

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Second try . . .

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Done!, but I will now refer to on-loom rep as “fake news” because (and I did read about this . . . but . . .) the on loom version which one meticulously squares, relaxes when off the loom a lot! Resulting in some oval-y circles.

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Got it right in the sample, and then messed with it during the weaving – damn me!

 

I have also been working on a herd of cowls.  These were inspired by a beautiful garment I saw while watching a Hunger Games video with one of my son’s art school friends.

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And to cap the winter fiber fun off, I participted in a fabulous Dimity workshop held at our town library and run by (who else) the inimitable Ute Bargmann.  We had a week-long dimity fest, and the capper was when we were moving looms out of the library in fear for our lives as a massive ice floe hovered over our heads – we ran for our cars (carrying looms!).IMG_0883

Lovely winter . . .IMG_0899    Not Fiona’s, but whose?IMG_0926

And I got a turned Ms & Os off the loom only for it to be rejected by my product tester.IMG_0965

COMMENTS
  • February 12, 2017
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    Judy Lepthien

    Lovely post in lovely quiet winter. Always good time to weave pretty things like you do. How about a FB page or do you have one? I guess it’s getting pretty old fashioned too. You’d be in with Tweeting, ha haa. We need to get you back to Colorado! All the best to you.

  • February 12, 2017
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    Bettie Zakon-Anderson

    Hi Instagram-ma! I love your blog because of the pictures of your work, but also because I enjoy your writing. So I vote for keeping the blog. You could do both. 🙂

  • February 12, 2017
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    I love the feel of your website – trends fade and if they don’t mesh with your personality it’s not worth picking them up. And people still blog, it just doesn’t have to be every day. I find Instagram has a lot of great weaving posts and there is so much inspiration there.

    I also have been obsessed with the Hunger Games scarf, playing with a version that will hopefully work with non-wool fiber (I live in the desert). Love your versions. Well done!

  • February 12, 2017
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    marlene toerien

    HI I love your blogs, so please continue with them.

      • February 15, 2017
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        marlene toerien

        Yes it is unseasonal but inspirational. l love your style of writing, I am one of a few here who weave for an income, so I love to read how you do it.

  • February 12, 2017
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    Cynthia

    Hi- I just had a suggestion. Your images are so large that they take quite awhile to load. It may be hard for some people to wait that long. Large images are nice but these could be half as big and still be rich in detail.

  • February 12, 2017
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    Mary Lou

    Wow – I finally got notification of a blog post from you! Does this come under the category of “paperwork”? Lovely winter photos – been experiencing my own winter wonderland down in the valley with a lovely snow shoe. Back to the place mats… Hope you bring those items for show and tell.

  • February 13, 2017
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    Valerie

    Hi Lisa,
    It’s true that social media moves on (and on, and on) to the next thing pretty quickly. The thing about the blog format is it fits with weaving. There is nothing instant about weaving. It is a methodic, meditative activity and your blog format reflects this true nature of weaving.

    Sure it’s fun to see a quick piece of weaving eye candy on an instagram post, but it reveals little of the depth of what went into that fabric.

    FWIW, Sarah Swett does an interesting thing where she does instagram posts and an occasional blog posts that links thoughts together. Check https://www.instagram.com/sarahcswett/ and http://www.afieldguidetoneedlework.com/blog

    I always look forward to your posts….and remember, the short story never did replace the full novel.

  • February 13, 2017
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    Allen

    I haven’t woven much at all lately 🙁 I still have to hem 4 christening blankets that were off the loom last June!

    I have been doing a lot of knitting, though. Sometimes I wish weaving were a bit more portable. It sure goes faster than knitting. 🙂

  • February 14, 2017
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    Laurie

    I’ve been “percolating” over your younger relative’s comments about your blog all afternoon, and feel compelled to say that though the younger generation may be the voice of the future, I feel that they just don’t get the immediacy and the beauty of your aesthetic and what your work (and your blog) conveys.
    I spend (way too) many hours at a desk, but every chance I get, you will find me surfing the net, looking for a weaving fix, which informs, instructs, and inspires me. (and keeps me semi-sane). I have browsed many blogs from weavers all over the world, but there are only a few which I find to be beautiful, inspiring, and instructional, and yours are at the very top of my list. The fact that your posts, and the few others’ posts are few and far between speaks to me of the enormous amount of work that goes into each and every installment.
    I also spend some time on IG, and know that there is far more frequent content in its abbreviated form, and while I truly enjoy them, they make me appreciate the few posts you (and my other favorites) have labored to share with us, your fortunate followers.
    I love your look, your work (enormously), and your writing. It’s great stuff – and I wouldn’t change a thing. (with all due respect to that young relative).
    Thank you for sharing your weaving world with us.

  • February 15, 2017
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    Arlene

    Just received your blog and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

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