Today's blog post:
Silk yarns
Becoming obsessed with projects seems to be my modus operandi; I’ve worked for years to just accept it and produce whatever it might be. As we all know, those projects are either successful, moderately successful, or just downright ugly. Right now, my obsession is working small, especially as Shop Small Saturday is coming up. As ridiculous as it may sound, an “aha” moment hit me. I can work small with the same kinds of designs that I already like. Working small does not always mean a whole new set of designs, although it could. I like color, so I’m going to use color–lots of it! Plus, new techniques (to me) and ideas can be tried out. A kind of sampling, if you will.
Part of this experimentation is with embroidery floss. Think of all the colors possible there. They’re almost infinite by using a few strands of one color with strands of another (or two) color. At 14 epi, they work pretty well. I also have silks around that I have begged asked for from my silk-weaving friends. These are bobbin ends and amounts that are really not useful to them. Plus, I made a trip to the local needlepoint shop, The French Knot. Boy, this is not your mother’s (or grandmother’s) needlepoint shop! The interior is full of very organized kinds of small skeins of yarn, from cotton, silks, alpaca, and more. I concentrated on the silks, and even those were available in variety, but the shiny stuff got my attention. They’re all gorgeous! And, I don’t even want to think about how much these yarns might be per pound! A record of each yarn is being kept, with an opinion as to its performance: appearance, weave-ability, and whatever else comes to mind. Once I know what works best for me, I can perhaps dye my own small skeins in Mason jars. We’ll see. Or this current obsession may pass and be supplanted by a new one.
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