nemo ignorat

A Pennant for The Gathering of Dreams

I am not a well organized person. Especially not when it comes to art or craft. I usually get the feeling, I want to make something and then let this feeling and the accompanying thoughts mature until all is penned up like in a pressure cooker. And shortly before the valve bursts open or the cooker explodes, I begin with a project and then just make it. It feels just right at this stage. 
Which is fine by me but when it comes to documenting my projects I really suck.
When Mo asked me if I wanted to participate in her "I Dream of a World Where Love is the Answer"-Gathering I spontaneously accepted. Got the silk and then froze. I was confronted with a specific topic. And as much as I think that only Love can be the answer, I usually am a way too realistic and pessimistic person to actually think, something some artists make can change anything. But I accepted the challenge and worked with it. 

I am a linguist. I do not work in the field anymore but that's what I learned and breathed and lived for quite some time. That is what I am. A scientist. Of Words. And a philosophy minor. So thinking about the word 'Love' and what it means was my natural way to work on this challenge. (You see, my work is either completely worked out by my subconscious processes or my well-organized brain works very methodically on a problem. Contrary to my assessment above.) 

So, what is Love? When you think about it, love is a concept. And a rather broad one at that. Love can be so many things. Love for the country, love for the world, love for a specific person or even an object. But this still does not narrow it down. So my thoughts went to what the concept Love my encompass. 

To me "Love" is a like an embrace. The concept "Love" embraces so many other concepts: generosity, humility, selflessness, caring, compassion, kindness, altruism, care and comfort and trust. Love is the opposite of Fear. If you love someone or something, you want to let it run loose, set it free (thanks Sting) and you will trust in it. 

Since I am German, I wanted to make it in German. German might be a rather unwieldy language but it is great when it comes to concepts. Especially philosophical concepts. Using a word does not simplify this word or reduce it to just one meaning. Meaning is something rather complex and even if we use words like 'table' we envision different things in our minds when we hear it. It might mean more than just the furniture. Along with a special image of a special furniture, a person might connect it to a certain feeling, connected to other people or situations. Now, if a word like table can contain so many different things for a person, imagine what a word like 'Love' may contain. And now imagine what all the other concepts, a word like 'Love' may contain. 

Somehow, I ended up with 'Selbstlosigkeit' (selflessness), 'Mitgefühl' (sompassion) und 'Geborgenheit' (care and comfort, safety and protection). When you love someone or something, you feel compassion, act selfless and this love may give you comfort and protection. 

I added some onion dyed cotton, used different silk thread dyed in indigo, madder and logwood. There is a lot of madder, because madder is of the Earth. And I just love the earthy part of its colour. 

Let's all protect this broken world. Feel compassionate for her well-being and for the beings living on her and be selfless about it. Step outside of the Dream and just Love. 

hand working

I know, for most of you this is old news. You all had your own thoughts about this topic many times over. But some things take a while to mature.

Yesterday, I was talking with a friend about crafts, DIY in general and sewing in special, and we were musing about working by hand in contrast to working with a machine. Although I actually own several sewing machines, I rarely ever use them.  (1 treadle, 1 hand cranked, 1 simple electric from India with only straight stiches and 1 40 year old Husqvarna, more like a tractor under the sewing machines, most of them with very personal stories behind them.) I learned sewing on machines when I was in school (around 10 or so) and later my mother insisted I take a sewing class when I was around 14. Mother and I had very different approaches to teaching, learning and crafting in general.

But I think, it is good that I learned sewing properly it helped me later when I started making my own clothes. My father taught me how to repair things. He was the one who taught me how to sew on a button. And I think it is good that I learned that too. 

Later on, mother's machine approach to crafting lost me. She had a knitting machine, the treadle machine was hers and she had an electric as soon as she could afford it. (My parents loved machines. They had an electric bread cutter, one of those fancy kneading/mixer/etc. kitchen appliances, automatic bread maker, they even had an egg cooker and electric knives and can openers and juicer and what not. The amount of kitchen machinery alone was mind boggling. Add to this the whole DIY shebang my father had and you can imagine, they needed a rather large house.) For a time, making her work easier with machines even made sense. After the war, she earned money by sewing shirts and dresses for other people. So she needed a productive method to work. (That was were the treadle machine came in. Electricity was rare in the late 40s, early 50s and she got it on food stamps she collected from the whole family.) She had two children (my brother, I came way later.) a husband and her parents to look after, cloth and feed. So everything that helped her getting things done faster was good. 

But later, when there were only my parents and me left (my grand parents were dead and my brothers moved out), she still favoured machines over everything else. She even had a rotary iron. (Our cat just loved to sleep on the still warm, freshly pressed bed sheets.) 

Me on the other hand always favoured doing things by hand. Yes, I learned how to use the machines and for a while I've sewn on the treadle, and I even used the Husqvarna for another while. (I got the Husqvarna in trade for a sofa from my flat mate's  mother who was a craft teacher in school.) I do have a washing machine and thank all Gods of Invention that someone came up with that thing. Hubby has a tendency to machines as well. So for a while we shared our kitchen space with one of those coffee makers (where you fill in whole beans and water and push a button to make real espresso). Over time I got rid of some of the machines again (except the washing machine). I have one of those espresso makers (the ones you put on the oven), a hand cranked bread cutter (hubby insisted on some kind of help, he is hopeless with a bread knife) and when push comes to shove, I choose to do tasks by hand. 

I always thought this was because I don't like the noise those machines make. They are all so incredibly loud. But - and here I resume my tale from the beginning of the entry - when I talked with my friend about sewing by hand and kntting by hand and favouring the spindle over the spinning wheel, I realised it was not the noise.

Yes, the noise is one factor but my main reason not to use machines is because I feel I am only handling a machine not sewing or knitting or spinning. When I sew by hand, my main goal is sewing. I sit whereever I like and I have a needle and thread and the stuff I want to sew. When I have a long straight seam, I like the help of a third hand but lacking a piece of furniture where I can attach it, I can use my feet to keep the seam straight and tight. I can even pin a piece of fabric to my trousers and tighten the seam this way. In short, I don't need anything else but the bare necessities. But when I sew on the machine, I am glued to one place which needs to be ideal. It needs an electric outlet, more space, should not be too high or too low and so on and basically I am just the machinist. Yes, this is oversimplifying the task of sewing on a machine but still, it is more about the machine than the sewing. 

But nevertheless, since I do have all those machines (the sewing machines, the spinning wheels, even my mother's knitting machine) I always think I should use them. Be more productive. I could do so much more than by hand. 

This talk yesterday made me realise that all this huffing and hemming about the machine assortement in my house is unnecessary. I now had over 40 years time to get not only aquainted with them but befriend them, make use of them, in short, be the machinist. And I didn't. When I think about sewing or knitting or spinning, I take my needles or my spindle and begin. Just like that. So maybe it is time to part from some of the machines. Find them a new home where they will be used.

I am a hand crafter. I will always prefer manual tools over machines. I am not running aroung naked, even hubby has enough clothes to wear and we are not freezing in bed because the next quilt takes a whole longer. I am a hand crafter, I can take my time and do things the way I feel best. 

End of Winter Darning

When the end of winter comes, I wash all my woolies, look for holes, wear and tear and try to mend it. Most of my darning happens in between and concerns socks. But then there are the various holes in sweaters. I usually use similar coloured yarn and just weave. But this year I went bold. 

Hubby's deak at his job had the tendency to eat shirts and sweaters. Most shirts are chafed around the belly (probably because he tends to sit rather close to the deask) and almost all sweaters get tears at the right arm. Luckily for us, the company hubby works for, got new desks which don't eat sweaters habitually. But there was one left, I needed to mend.

This is the inside of the sweater. You can see how the desk munched away at the arm. The yarn was too fine and the holes too many so that I tried another approach to mending.

I knit a whole patch from some singles yarn I've spun and sewed it on. Good enough for home. 

One of my favourite sweaters showed serious wear and tear. I've knit the sweater 25 years ago from yarn I got from ripping my back then partner's jumper. Because of the cable pattern, the yarn was not enough so I got some black yarn and added the stripes. Now the hems were frayed and I needed to do something. There was some wear below the arms as well and a small hole. I mended the thinning patches below the arms conventionally by weaving, the same with the small hole. But the cuffs with their ribbing were a problem. I could have used swiss darning, imitating each knit and purl stitch or I could have just ripped the cuffs and knit new ons. I chose decorative darning. 

you can see the cuff patches from the back better

Time ate away at the cuff, leaving a visible dent. So I crocheted sock yarn on to it. Attaching every other row with the cuff, so securing the tear.

conventionally mended hole and the crochet mending

About every five years, I need a new jeans. By then, the old one is worn out. Width is no problem but length is. I prefer 33" long legs but usually you get either 32 or 34". So I buy 34" trousers and cut them off. 

You can see the cut off part. I used some indigo dyed linen to secure the hem.

To protect the hem, I fold it over and attach it with some kantha stitching. This way, I can remove it once or maybe even twice to sew a new reinforcement on to it.

well, that was easy

Hubby's jumper is finished.

It turned out, the arms were much quicker to knit than expected. I caught up with some reading while knitting (reading on a screen while knitting is much easier than reading from a book) and got it done. It fits, and DH is happy. And in time as well. We had snow tonight.

Meanwhile in the studio

The warp is - well - warped.

7 m of the most sticky and tangled warp ever. It will not become my favourite. But, now it's warped and the RH loom is prepped and ready to go.

I suppose, handspun tussah singles should not be warped without sizing. The tangling was almost as bad as with the one chenille warp I used many moons ago. Live and learn.

Oh, my OLG festive exchange gift arrived at it's designated place and I got mine, so I'm free to share pictures. The topic of the festive exchange was 'pincushions'. Something everybody can use. Very nice.

I got these lovelies

Two tetrahedrons. One made from her handspun yarn and another one from an old jeans. So cute. Everything was wrapped in one of her shibori dyed fabrics. Which was really funny. She told me when she unwrapped my gift, she had a deja vu. Cause I wrapped mine in some shibori cloth as well. AND I used geometrical forms. My exchange partner and I had a rather similar thought process.

I took the form from Zentangle Stitches for Quilters and Fabric Artists. They are the pincushions from the cover and honestly the only really interesting thing in the whole book. Really. The rest is meh. But these shapes are super cool and DH already said, he could envision some larger cushions in this shape. Well, I can too and the pincushions were a nice try out.

I never was much into cushions, (nice) carpets and (nice) blankets (not only the practical ones that wash well) -  having cats and dogs who liked to chew and do other things to them. But with only one dog left, who just - well - sleeps on cushions without maiming them first, and who does not have a habit of puking on carpets or chewing on blankets, I am really looking forward to make some more textile things for our home. Make our sofas maybe a bit more comfy, even weave a carpet or two? That would be nice. Not just making textiles and giving them away but actually keeping and using them.

fishlis (assumentum bestullae)

fishlis

Three years ago, I've stitched fishlis I called assumentum bestullae (you can find more on them here). I showed them in an exhibition which lead to a falling out with the gallerist and I lost my fun for them. But when I went under the torrents of life, I remembered how much fun I had with them and began some new.

Baiser, for her kissing mouth

baiser

Baiser was called Wonky in the beginning. She looks like I felt. But then she mutated into the kiss.

And then there is Snarky.

snarky

Snarky's mouth looks like he could make some snappy remark any time. I like him.

No 3 still isn't developed enough to have a name. He or she is still going.

The fabric is still some Procion MX dyed old bed sheets from waaaay ago, long before I was able to successfully dye cotton with natural dyes. But the fabric's still here and wants to be worked into something nice.

Shirt tatoo

left shirt has shibori on front

and back

I'm getting along with my goal to sew my own clothes. They are both made of some organic cotton sweat shirt fabric, stitched and dyed in my new indigo vat.

When I opened the stitches I spontaneously thought of tatoos. Shibori as a shirt tatoo - I like that.

And more roses from the garden. Mme Louise Odier is about done for now. She tends to bloom a second time later. But the Veilchenblau, Raubritter, Albertine, Alexandre Girault and my dearest Paul's Himalayan Musk are in full bloom now. O I love May and June.

Raubritter

Paul's Himalayan Musk

Paul's Himalayan Musk in a different stage of blooming

Albertine

Roses are my weakness. I love the old English Roses and I stuffed too many into my little garden. Especially since a lot of them are ramblers. Never a good idea. But in May and June I simply love them.

I'm not really into flowers or flower arrangements. My roses live a life on their own, I just occasionally trim them so that they don't overtake my garden or the neighbour's. Funny thing is when I was in Japan, part of our workshop was doing Ikebana. Everything is connected in Japanese art. As is flower arrangement. I felt a bit weird but in the end it was fun. Moving out of my comfort zone ;o)

"my" Ikebana arrangement

The little tits and the sparrows are almost grown now. Only a few days ago their parents were still feeding them on my balcony but now they are all on their own here dining.

 

well, I'm back

still a bit dizzy from travelling back in time. Left Tokyo on Friday at noon, reached Moskow at 5 pm - after 10 hours flight, a short break of barely 3 hours while in transit. And finally reached my destination Frankfurt at 9 pm after another 3.5 hours flight. Travelling westward is confusing and though my body doesn't seem to suffer from jet lag, my mind is still not in synch with local time - or place.

Japan was fascinating and Tokyo was confusing. I am not a big city person. I've been to London, Rome and Paris but all those cities are simply big and old and populated but not a really BIG city like Tokyo (or as I suspect New York).

There are typical big city glas buildings

confusing street scenes (remember, I'm a small town girl)

funny ways of parking cars

and cute cabin bunk beds in hostels

btw this cute little suitcase and the bag were my whole luggage for the travel. I was so proud of me and it worked: 8.7 kg carry-on for 2 weeks - yeah. On my way home it was 11.7 kg and I went for check-in (instead of distributing the overweight in my shoulder bag)

gingko trees lining the streets

and along the sidewalk as well

manhole covers look different

and cute cats warn you in front of railway crossings (which was in Fujino not in Tokyo)

The workshop was a real experience, I gained so much new knowledge, learned so many new things, I still have to let it sit in my mind and mull it over.

Bryan is a wonderful teacher. With a magpie mind not unlike my own I was able to dive into a huge pool of knowledge. We dyed at the indigo vat, stitched and folded shibori pieces, braided kumihimo cords, wove on a Japanese loom, stencilled katazome, visited a katazome master in his workshop and were able to use his vats, learned a practical lesson about Ikebana, partook in a tea ceremony, walked through the Folkart Museum in Tokyo, warmed up in an onsen (hot bath), ate so many wonderful meals at Bryan's house and about, worked voluntarily through the night and went quiet at the campfire in Bryan's yard. We learned about silk worm raising, how to reel silk and how to make silk threads interesting and we dyed with madder and gardenia. I met wild monkeys and learned how bamboo grows. And we bought some things from local artesans and vintage.

a typical feast at Bryan's house

I was lucky that the group consisted of so many wonderful textile enthusiasts from all over the world. We helped each other and we all learned a lot from each other.

the countryside around Bryan's house

And I found the most beautiful kimono/coat in a vintage textile shop

a vintage travel kimono - how fitting

I had to make it my own with my one of my shibori pieces and some sashiko stitching. Every coat needs at least one pocket. Kimono or not ;o)

barefoot traveller -  as always

I just came home in time for my mother's 88th birthday, so a more detailed text will have to wait but I will tell you more, rest assured. And I have to try a new vat. Since I was hooked on Kumihimo at once, I ordered a Marudai while still in Japan. I hope it will arrive within the next days. This kind of braiding is so relaxing and I want to make some braids from linen yarn.

The Japanese loom was endearingly called The Beast.

The Beast

She is a wonderful little old loom and warms up to people only tentatively. But she still works.

See you later friends with more pictures and stories. Still overwhelmed and confused ....

sayonara

another cloth-thing has left my needles, a pair of trousers bundle dyed with red and yellow onions skins. The busier I am with other textile stuff the more productive I get. Weird.

In the background you can see our huge tree in the back yard during my favourite season.

The tree is as tall as our house and overgrown with one wistaria. Not much to see during winter but in spring when the wistaria is in full bloom it is a sight to behold.

I do hope there will some blooms left and that I won't miss the complete rose season during my stay in Japan. Who would have thought that this year everything is blooming so early.

Anyway, tomorrow I'll be sitting in the plane to Tokyo. Sayonara, I will tell you all about it in two weeks time.

what once was a sofa cushion

Another travel companion left my needles. A nice tote. I love backpacks but I haven't had a nice one which suits my needs for a long time now. And my red velvet bag is way too heavy in itself, so I needwanted a new one.

honestly, I love the crewel embroidery but I wouldn't be caught dead with a sofa cushion like that on my sofa. Especially not with my four legged friends on the same sofa.

But as a tote it's grand.

It was embroidered (not by me) on a sturdy. densely woven burlap oder linen. I added a cotton layer behind the embroidery so that I would have a nice inner pocket and protection for the embroidery threads.

I still have my katazome stencils to cut. Bryan sent us wonderful shibugami (stencil paper) but I can't decide on the motive. I's drawn about 10 and now I have to decide. And soon. I'll be off end of next week.

from furoshiki to doily

The woven scraf is finished and then I just wanted to sew a nice sleeve or furoshiki for it which went toally out of hand. And I ended up with this doily-like cloth.

I like those old embroidered doilies but would never ever use them. Over the years I collected quite a few and always wanted to try a patchwork piece with them. So when I pondered about the furoshiki for the scarf I pulled three embroidered doilies out of my stash and together with a embroidered pillowcase I sewed them together. Quilted the piece onto some old flanell bed sheet and the whole cloth on an indigo dyed napkin. To cover the cut border I used some dyed chiffon. And am quite pleased with it. But somehow the scarf became a mere addendum. So what, I just hope the recipient will like it.

furoshiki and scarf