Twisp of Fate

Here I am in Seattle, having just finished a 2-day workshop with Bobbie Irwin on the topic of iridescence in handwoven fabric.  I uploaded my photos to the computer, so here are some shots from the past 2 days.

Bobbie defined iridescence in fabric as having the characteristic of appearing to change color as you change your angle of view – or at least, one color predominates over the other as you change your angle of view.  Color difference, luster in the yarn, and weave structure all affect the degree of apparent iridescence.  She published an article in the Jan. 2004 Handwoven magazine on the subject, and is planning a monograph to be published some time in the future.

As mentioned in the previous post, we were sent our warp yarn ahead of time – 10/2 pearl cotton in 3 colors from a section of the color wheel, with the option of using both “basic” and “alternate” versions of each of the 3 colors.  Mine were yellow-orange, orange, and red-orange.  These were threaded as 3-inch stripes across the loom.  Then during the workshop we wove 3-inch sections using 12 colors from all around the color wheel, both basic and alternate versions, so using 24 colors in all.

Yarn palettes, both Basic and Alternate

Here are some works in progress from yesterday, on various people’s looms.  As you can see, we were all going to wind up with something different since all of us had different warp colors going into it.  But Bobbie brought many sample color gamps that she had woven previously, so we could get some ideas of other things we might want to try.

There were 20 of us in the workshop, so trust me, this is just the tip of the iceberg!

I stayed until 6:30 pm last night and finished 16 of the 24 colors.  I was exhausted!  Of course, we weren’t weaving the whole time – Bobbie gave us several 1-hour to 1-1/2 hour presentations with many examples of the new directions her explorations of the topic have taken her.   She had some samples woven with rayon thread at 60 ends per inch, rather incredible.  Also some beautiful pieces in silks and tencel, some with multiple colors in the warp and the weft that all display iridescence.

I finished my first sample this morning and took it off the loom.  Then we were to choose 2 colors that showed good to excellent iridescence with our warp colors, and weave a second sample using different weave structures other than the plain weave used for the color gamp.  I tried out several twills, 2 crepe weaves, clasped wefts, and using both colors in the weft (laying them in carefully so they don’t twist around each other).  Another very full day and quite stimulating!

I found Bobbie Irwin to be an excellent teacher – very organized, knowledgeable, but relaxed and with a wonderful sense of humor.  She will be the guest speaker at the Seattle Weavers Guild monthly meeting tomorrow, speaking in the morning about another topic that interests her – weaving transparent fabrics.  Then in the afternoon, she will give another presentation about Twined Rag Rugs.  Here is a link to a review of her recent book on that subject.