Christmas card 2017

The 8-fold rosettes, swinging in the breeze:

December Pairing

The last of the 2017 pairings. Red for December. I bought this scarf in Spain in 2005.

6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm) oil on board

6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm) paper

Retirement Book

This little book is 4 1/2" x 6". 

November Pairing

The scarf for November was a gift my son brought back for me from Zanzibar. 
The geometric interpretation is a 10 point star weave, first seen here.

6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm) oil on board

6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm) paper

Birthday number: 33

Get it?

October Pairing

There is a 1950’s style strip mall that transports me from north-east Edmonton to somewhere in the Middle East. Among the businesses there is a pita bakery that bakes a good portion of the pitas sold in the city; there is a sweets bakery with more varieties of baklava than I knew existed; there is a grocery store where you can buy 10k bags of couscous; and there is a ladies clothing store with more scarves than I have ever seen in one place. The first time my husband and I went to this neighbourhood we were on a new-to-the-city explore. We ate at the bakeries, purchased couscous and saffron at the grocery store, and I bought a purple scarf at Sara. The second time I went to that strip mall I skipped the bakeries and was focused on going to Sara to purchase a scarf for a friend who was undergoing chemo treatments. The woman was very helpful. She insisted I also take a knitted cap - a gift from her to my friend — which would feel nice on a bare head and help hold the scarf in place. She showed me a fancy way to tie the scarf on, but I was not very good at it. I have been there a few times since, but the most recent visit was with a Syrian friend, new to the country, who was interested in clothing. While she did her own shopping,  I entertained myself by looking at the scarf wall. Not surprisingly, I was soon choosing between a few scarves that attracted me. In the end I selected the one that happened to go well with what I was wearing that day. While we were in the store the weather changed and the temperature dropped— as will happen in Alberta. I left the store wearing my new scarf, happy for the extra warmth, and feeling satisfyingly justified. It is the October scarf. The geometric interpretation is a 12 point star like the one in the previous post.    

6" x 6" (15 cm x 15 cm) oil on board

6" x 6" (15 cm x 15cm) paper 

12 Point Star Based on 4 x 3

These photos show the underworking of a 12 point star made from 4 triangles, with an interior woven design:

September Pairing

This month's scarf was a gift from a friend who went home to India to introduce her baby to her family.

6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm) oil on board

6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm) paper

September geometric design - How it was made

The next series of photos suggests that the creating process starts with a full-blown idea. It should be said that I prepared the series of how-it-was-made photos after the project was finished. A post with the finished design cut in paper will follow in a few days. 

1) The seven-circle grid (made larger) of circles divided by 6: 

2) Determining a 6 inch square, on an angle, within the grid:

3) Highlighting the shapes from the circle grid to interpret the scarf painting:

 

Golden Birthday - 7

August - Pairing

6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm) oil on board

6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm) paper

The Out Takes

It took me a while to work my way into this month's geometric design. The base design is the 8 circle Rosette. My design complications messed up the legibility and effectiveness. 

These are the rejects:

July Birthday Number

Here it comes.

Nearly here.

59!

July - Pairing

6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm) oil on board

6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm) paper

June - Pairing

6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm)  oil on board

6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm) paper

Dyeing for Blue

I ordered some yarn on-line. My delight when it arrived turned to astonishment - in a bad way - when I opened the package and found beige. There is nothing inherently wrong with beige, besides the colour -- and how really bad it looks on me. I walked around it for a few days trying to find some love. There was none. Instead of paying for postage to return it, I bought some Rit dye. I wanted this a simple as possible. Here is the story about the process. The movie is better but I could not download it.

  

1. The yarn, called "natural". I was expecting white to off white. 

2. Pre-soak in water with vinegar and a little dish soap. I used vinegar because the yarn is 65% merino, 35% linen. Had it been the other way around, I would have added salt to the water.

3. Twenty minutes later, ready for the next step. The dye bath is prepared: hot but not boiling water, water, dye, vinegar, dish soap.

4. Thirty minutes in the vat, fervently hoping that I was not making felt.

5. Rinsing time. 

6. Rinsed, squeezed and ready to roll in a towel to absorb more moisture. It is clear by now that the beige is history.

7. Outside to dry. 

This is a better representation of the colour.

8. Winding the balls. Two happy things: 1) while sometimes the threads were a wee bit attached to each other, I did not have a felted disaster on my hands, and 2) my hands were not blue at all after winding 4 balls. I hope that speaks well for colour fastness.

 

 

Flowery - Tiling Pattern: In Colour