Circle Vest



Fabric on the loom



Well it all started with a January 2010 Threads magazine article about an easy circle vest.  I had alot of trouble visualizing it so I finally got around to making it out of fleece.  I did not like that it stopped at the waist and blossoming out.  So I thought how about a longer version.  I made it out of thin sweater knit fabric and loved the look and edged it on the serger.  Every time I wore it someone asked me about it...not the oh did you make it more of the oh where did you get that.  More of a compliment to me because it did say handmade.  So the next step was to weave fabric.  I thought I was making it for the weaving conference fashion show in June so I wanted it to yell out on the runway.  I used my friend's Romney wool from Tiffany and Brown Sheep Nature spun sport wool set at 5 EPI in a 8 shaft twill pattern and fulled the fabric.  While it dried I took a trip to Newport for some R and R.  The next day I cut it out and stitched around the outside and the armholes.  Note to self:  next one will be woven so that when the collar is folded back it looks a bit different and I will use something with a bit more drape, cotton or tencel.  Final note to self:  This was a fun project and I look forward to weaving and sewing it again.  P.S.  Too many notes to self so I did not enter the vest in the fashion show.





Waiting for fabric to dry at Nye Beach

Fabric drying at home









Karen this is for you

After a high octane coffee this morning with my friend Karen I decided it was time to get back to my blogging work....I finished the circle vest last month that has been brewing in my head for maybe years.  It is a pattern I am developing for handwoven fabric.  Here is a photograph of it finished.  Next week I will take you through the steps involved in the project.  Thanks to the tresses of  Tiffany and Patricia it has a truly delightful feel or hand.  My next vest will have the reverse at the collar I was looking to accomplish.  More talk to come.    

The year of the hat...

I say it will be the year of the hat...no not just for Easter and weddings...all year long.  Thank you Prince William and Catherine Middleton.  Check out Kate's hat designer, Vivien Sheriff.  She also says interest in hats are on the rise.  I anxiously await the renewal of the hat.  I love hats and plan to make one a month for the rest of the year.  I made the hat and purse in the lower right in March and it just does not have a wedding in it's future, it is more for a blistery Winnie the Pooh type of day for walking with the dog.  Wear a hat today and feel glamorous.     

Tabernacle Colors

I just delivered the cloth I wove for dear friends Linda and Carl.  Linda wanted a cloth to cover a serving tray she uses in the colors in the Tabernacle.  Read Exodus 26,27 and 28 in the Bible for clarity.  The blue symbolizes the human body, purple the royal Messiah, scarlet suffering and yellow is glory.  I hope they enjoy the cloth during this season of Lent and use it often in their home tabernacle.   

Happy

Today, five years ago, daughter Amy married Jono.  What a happy day!  I still see her father walking her down the aisle and it sends chills down my spine, the sheer happiness on every one's face.  During the several days of celebration in Portland, Oregon I got away for a walk and came across a delightful yarn shop called Lint in the Pearl Distract.  It was the start of Spring and they had in the window these little terra cotta pots filled with knitting kits of felted flowers from Pick Up Sticks.  I choose one to create and celebrate the day.  I can still hear my daughter's father in law or out laws as we call them...saying " what will you do with that when it is done".  Hmmm it took me 5 years but the Iris is done and it is my new pocketbook. 

Celebrate and be happy today--Amy and Jono have been married 5 years.

  

P.S.  My scarf has been found. 

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Irish Blessing

I did a needlework for my mother with this blessing on it ages ago.  I always have loved the words.  

An Old Irish Blessing

 May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.



 

Janette C. Merriman woven tranparency of wool warp, weft and inlay.



Moral

I am feeling sad today...I am missing my favorite handwoven hand-dyed scarf.  See left.  I lost it last weekend in Talent Oregon when I went out to dinner to celebrate my Dad's and Sister's birthdays.  I had it wrapped around my neck in perfect fashion.  It showed up just right in the photographs of the birthday bash.  When I went to get dressed the next morning my scarf was missing.  We went back to the restaurant...not there.  Striped the bed, tore the house apart...not there.  Emptied the suitcase once again...not there.  Checked the car...how could it be there...not there.  I put an ad on craigslist...no response.  I guess I will have to forget about it...it is gone forever.  I really will not be able to make another one...it was a hand-dyed warp.  On the positive...I could make one I like even better! 

Moral of the story:  Double tie your scarf as Jennifer Moore will show you in this you tube.  

The funny thing is I was just boosting I never have lost a scarf when Barbara Setsu Pickett gave a presentation at the Contemporary Fiber Arts Guild last week and she commented that the way to tie a scarf doubled will keep you from loosing one of your new scarves.  She and her son have a line of shibori scarves out called Mihara.  They are BEAUTIFUL!