I love a good art yarn. It is pure creative expression. The problem is that one of the reasons I love fiber arts is because I prefer my art to be useful. Creating beautiful things that also have a purpose is typically what motivates me most. These two priorities are frequently in conflict because I […]
Read more "What to do with Art Yarns"As the temperatures drop and the leaves turn I get an almost overwhelming urge to nest. For me this usually means copious amounts of baking and the laying in of craft supplies for the dark winter days. In order to facilitate this my creativity jumps in to overdrive and the start way too many projects. […]
Read more "Flying Squirrels"Persona Giuliana di Chambery began as Juliana de Chambery from Savoy. I liked the choice of Savoy as it’s proximity to both France and Italy gave me flexibility in the styles available to me. I have always leaned towards the Italian styles though, so now Juliana du Chambery is born to a wealthy cloth merchant […]
Read more "Giuliana di ChamberyI am finding that as I work through various projects, weaving is less intuitive than I expect. My most recent set of projects is a perfect example. This fall my wonderful husband took me for a romantic weekend to a Black Mountain bed and breakfast. In addition to good food, lovely accommodations and a small […]
Read more "Keeping with a theme"Using the lessons from my test piece, I decided to move forward with a more challenging project, and weave a pair of winingas. Winingas are a piece of clothing common to men’s attire in the early medieval Norse and Anglo-Saxon cultures. They appear again as puttees in British military garb in the late 1800s. Typically […]
Read more "Winingas"It’s almost 2 years since I got my 8-shaft loom and just over 3 since I dusted off my 4-shaft table loom and actually learned to weave. In that time I have made lots of towels, and a few scarves, a shawl and 2 baby blankets that were super challenging. So far almost all of […]
Read more "Weaving Lessons Learned"As the pandemic draws on, I keep dreaming of when I might be able to travel. I’m parking this here for future reference, and dreaming…
Read more "European Trip"For the last 15 years or so my husband and I have celebrated the feast of the rutabaga. It is essentially a long running gag based on the fact that once upon a time I had never cooked rutabaga and my husband had never even seen one, but really liked the sound of the word. […]
Read more "Feast of the Rutabaga"Those of you who follow me will know that I occasionally write about medieval foods, the preparation of which is one of my hobbies. Today I’m posting about a different kind of history, a personal one. I have enjoyed baking since I was a teenager. It was the one culinary art my mother had not […]
Read more "A Different Kind of Historical Recipe"So June, four years ago, I finished my very first quilt. I had made pillows before, but this was my first quilt that you could put on a bed. It was for my son who was at that time three years old, and still sleeping in a toddler bed. He is now seven and […]
Read more "First Quilt Expanded"