The Shawl That Had Its Own Ideas

School has resumed for the year and I can devote more time to felting and less time to schlepping.  This is not to say I've done nothing all summer, wool-wise.  I just haven't blogged about any of it.  So let this first post-summer blog be about an experiment, one of many I undertook this summer.

Before I left MI last winter, I saw a woman in a gorgeous fisherman's knit shawl.  At least I thought it was a shawl.  I admired it and she let me really look at its construction. Not that I wanted to knit one like it;  I wondered if it could be a template for a nuno-felted shawl.  It was created like a fat T.  One long piece that draped around the shoulders and hung down in front on either side, with a square attached that covered the back.  I sketched it; I estimated the measurements.  And then we moved and it had to wait.  In July, I finally pulled out the initial sketch.  I cut two finished scarves and some patterned silk material I had.  I chose wool and yarns I thought might work with the colors.  And I started.

The colors felt like autumn and fire and molten lava and turning leaves.  I layed strips of chestnut wool to create seams and to add design elements on top of the silk.  I thought I would use red and burgundy yarns in the process, but as I continued, the work changed.  A variegated brown yarn with specks of green and gold and orange got added.  Wisps of merino wool in colors of fire joined the design.

I let the piece sit for several days before felting.  I usually do this to give myself time to feel done with the design.  When I was finally ready, it took several hours of wetting and rolling and rubbing and throwing.  And when I was done, it did not hang at all like the shawl upon which I had modeled it.  In fact, it became clear that it required a bit of hand sewing to become what it really was: a vest with a ruffled collar.

If I ever catch myself saying I'll just "crank out a couple scarves" again, I should just throw a bunch of silk and wool and yarn right into the garbage.

Amazing, but true, I forget this is a real process with failure always a possibility.  Just because I have made so many scarves, cockiness can derail me at any time.  The first time I try a new design or style is usally the best effort.  I take a lot of time laying everything out.  I test for readiness frequently as I felt and full it.  I don't try and cut corners on the time it takes.  Now, I know that the current results of my recent lack of intention (other than to build inventory) still look fine.  They are salvageable.  But they also had large sections of wool that came off the silk.  The designs weren't fulfilled. They are not what they should have been, could have been had I really set my heart and mind and hands on the act of creation, not cranking out goods.

Lessons learned here?
Set an intention.
Be a beginner with each new piece.
Be present.
Do the work.

Sounds like what I teach in yoga class.

It's more fun to be the child

Summer break.
No school.
Baseball games 5 - 10 times a week, plus practices.
Morning rehearsals for musical.
Two one-week volleyball camps.
One one-week sewing camp.

Somewhere in between schlepping, cooking meals at odd times, laundry, grocery shopping, and my summer teaching schedule, I am supposed to be making art?

Right.

Beneficial

In order to get the entirety of this post, you'll need to know a couple things.

One, I used to be a performer, as in I made a living onstage in the theatre.  I worked a lot and therefore met lots of other actors, many of whom went on to much bigger careers than mine.  When you rehearse for weeks on end and then sit backcstage with folks night after night, you develop deep, short-lived friendships.  It is very different from side-by-side office space.

B, I have a family history of all sorts of reproductive cancers, including immediate relatives who had or have breast cancer.

Third, personal finances preclude me from helping others out financially at this time.

How is any of this relevant to Woolynns, you ask.  It seems fate or god or timing has brought them all together recently.  At my last two shows in Michigan, I had women tell me that my square scarves would make nice chemo scarves.  I had a woman ask if I could teach a workshop on wet-felting to a group of cancer patients.  (I was unable to do that due to time constraints.)  A friend from high school started purchasing my scarves as gifts for his friends with breast cancer, including a commission this Spring.  (He also chastised me for not having enough pink scarves in stock.  I've been working on that.)  And then there is Suzanne Whang.

Suzanne and I acted together sometime last century.  We reconnected last year on Facebook.  I had seen her periodically on TV over the years as her star rose.  (Go read her bio and you'll see what I mean.)   This Winter she came out of the closet with her cancer diagnosis.  She'd been keeping it hidden for nearly five years.  Even with insurance and a good income, five years of health issues of this magnitude have wiped her out financially.  Many friends in Los Angeles began having benefits in her honor to raise money for medical expenses.  I wanted to help, but didn't have a penny to spare. That was when it hit me.  I can hold my own benefit.  Woolynns' Whang Fundraiser started on my etsy shop on June 1st.  15% of any online sales will go directly to defray medical expenses for Suzanne.  It runs for two weeks, after which I will decide whether to continue it for the month or find my next benefit recipient.

I know there are countless stories like Suzanne's.  She is fortunate enough to have numerous friends who are coming to her aid.  I consider myself lucky to be one of them, and I intend to create that sort of financial support for others who don't enjoy her large following as the years go by.

Adding to my pink inventory as directed.

amateurs.

Novice photographer meets never-modeled-but-sure-I'll-try former dancer.    Some of the better results:

Looking for Melmac

The Bloomington citywide garage sale is going on right now. I was shopping for plastic plates and cups and flatware for this summer's beach outings.  I was more than successful at that, but I had some good Woolynns finds, too.  Several skeins of ribbon yarns at one sale started me off.

But then, the really good find.  First, you have to know that last night I began laying out wool on a hand-dyed piece of cotton scrim in beautiful shades of gold. I picked merino wool in copper, yellow, fuschia, and violet.  And then I got stuck with where to go with it.  But this morning, I came across this wool yarn in all the right colors.  

Cannot wait to get back to laying this out.

Preview part I or Shooting Heads and Shoulders

Here's a taste of what will be listed on etsy soon.  (The photo shoot with a real live person, and all the new big wraps, had to be postponed.)

Tried for a cobweb scarf.  Not how it turned out, but still lovely.

Subtle Spring

Devil's Own

Any name ideas?  I love this.  It leaves me speechless.

Detail of "Speechless"

Sepia

This is on pale green hand-dyed gauze.  (I didn't dye it.)