After receiving the horoscope instructions, I looked at the warping order and groaned. Winding off warp is my least favorite task. but the little sample you included was motivation. I ordered my bamboo from jane stafford in BC.I also enlarged the width by adding about 8 ends in each of the color groupings to make a shawl.
After getting it all beamed, I wasn't sure I liked it. As much as I love color, it was overwhelming. I had put on extra yardage to experiment with weft colors. tried out black, both a dull and shiny. sampled with a grey thinking it would tone the whole thing down. looked dead. even tried a cream. that was way wrong! In your paper work you had commented that I had a lot of orange and red. I had a cone of red cotton the right size. bingo! I love it.
Only have about a yard woven at this point but it will be finished hopefully by Christmas so I can wear it to the family dinner. Will send you a finished photo after the holiday.
It's done. I love it. but. . . . I'll never wear it. Way too bright. I should have used pastels of my colors. Am thinking I'll use it for a table cover.
RE: horoscope shawl doneRe: horoscope shawl done
I had taken a front view photo but the picture had the dog's butt and tail in it but it also didn't show the stripes as well. My weaving space is also my quilting space so the floor does get really trashy.
I think I had promised you a finished photo by Christmas. didn't happen. It was off the loom but not cleaned up. twisting the fringe took almost as long as the actual weaving.
Nature has been kind to some of us, though most don't see the weather we've had this weekend as a blessing. Schools were closed on Friday and are again today because of the ice. (Lucky we didn't have your workshop this weekend!) Those of us who teach got bonus weaving days.
In my usual manner of having to do everything two or three times to get it right, I used most of that time making my fringe.
Anyway, here it is, my finished piece. It is hard taking your own picture.
The workshop was terrific. And I am so inspired. I need more snow days! Mary Anne
Dear Bonnie,
It has been said “that good things come to those wait” and I know this is true.Taking your Horoscope Weaving Workshop was a long anticipated dream of mine.In December of 1999, I saw your “Horoscope Scarf for New Millennium” on the cover of Handwoven magazine, loved the idea, and put it on my Future Projects List.It took ten years to bring this to fruition, but it was well worth the wait.
Your workshop went beyond all expectations.Bonnie you are a great teacher.You gave us so many wonderful ideas using color and showed us countless gorgeous samples.I am so thoroughly inspired, that 48 hour days are needed, just to weave a small portion of them.Oh, the joy!
My piece was woven using Pearl Cotton from my stash, 10/2 for warp and 20/2 for weft.Due to my workshop loom size limitations, it does not have a border.The finished width of 11 ½” and the beautiful hand of the cloth make this perfect to wear as a scarf or use as a table runner.
The Color Horoscope Weaving Workshop, presented to the Memphis Guild on January 23-4, brought together a fabulous group for an exciting foray into color exploration.
Hi Bonnie. !!
Fringed, washed and dried the horoscope shawl made in your Memphis class.
It was exquisite until the 2nd round in the dryer !
The wool weft just took over, but it feels wonderful, is much softer than expected and a great color experience. Since we didn't have to decide which colors to warp with, it took away the 'decisions, decisions' problem.
Although, we *did* have to decide what weft to use for the shawl after we wove samples of different wefts. I have enough warp left so that I can play some more with wefts and maybe make little things like pouches and sachets.
You filled our heads with many things to ponder as life progresses. The
*desires* wrappings are next on my list and will tackle before the end of the week. That will be fun as well, since the colors are so beautiful. As you said many times "There is no right or wrong." so they will all turn out as wonderful as our shawls. Thank you for such a fun and positive experience. Hope you will visit us again. !!
Kaaren Reid
Kaaren's shawl picture was waiting for me when I got in from the airport on Monday the 25th. By the time Thursday rolled around, I received 3 more pictures of finished weaving. I felt very inspired (grin).
Here is Bobbie's Hi Bonnie,
Your Horoscope Workshop was the best workshop I have ever attended in my 10 years of weaving. In addition to providing the opportunity to warp and weave something new and different, I learned a lot from the tips you shared with us, gathered from your 50 years of weaving.
Warping the loom was somewhat of a challenge, because of the many changes in thread colors and the fact that I was doubling the Bambu 12 yarn I used. Your directions were clear and easy to follow, though, so that helped me get through the warping process successfully.
The actual weaving was a breeze. I wove plain weave with a single thread of Bambu 12. After washing the scarf, I trimmed the fringe to 2 inches.
I finished my scarf Tuesday and washed it Wednesday. Even though I planned to twist the fringe, I changed my mind and just trimmed it to 2 inches.
The warp is Bambu 12, doubled and the weft is single threads of Bambu 12. The finished scarf has a wonderful drape and softness.
If your ears are ringing, it is because we are still talking about how much we enjoyed your workshop and that we learned so much. Thanks again for a great experience.
Bobbie
Elizabeth's--still waiting for her words.
And Joloy's Bonnie,
I enjoyed the workshop. I learned about color and ways to figure out how to put more color in my weaving. It was very inspiring with so many ideas to work with once you get home.
I would say to my friends that this is one workshop that they should take.
My color horoscope scarf is woven in 10/2 cotton warp and weft is 20/2 cotton in black.
It took longer to measurer the warp than I expected. It is worth the extra time to weave this scarf.
Thanks for a great weekend.
Joloy Watlington
Mary Anne's will follow soon, and I hope the rest of the class. This was surely my best workshop to date!
