Grand reopening of The Golden Fleece

Almost a  decade ago I left the Golden Fleece , new owner ship, and the fact that it was becoming another knit shop , not the spinning, dyeing felting weaving, doll making, and knitting shop I had worked at for almost 8 years. One of the customers  then , new to the country from Sweden ,  was Gunilla. She is know around the area's  knitting shops now as "the knitting doctor" . Well last month Gunilla bought the golden fleece and is bringing back weaving and spinning and will be adding other crafts as well as knitting. She invited local dyers, spinners and and me to come and demonstrate for two days. Santa Cruz is having record breaking low temperatures  and crazy winer like rain falls in june, but despite the wind and rain customers flocked to the Golden Fleece this past week end to welcome and check out the NEW Golden Fleece.

Katrina 8 yrs old really took to to weaving  and sat and wove, {with a  short cup cake break,} for about 12".

maggie teaching drop spindle spinning

I met so many nice new people and some I have not seen for years.  I was to busy to take many photos but the shop was very cheerful and warm and buzzing with excitment. Gunilla's  lovely teen age daughter Lynnessa sat down and  tried weaving for the first time before i packed up { she was busy helping to ring up customers and stock shelves for both days,and fell in love with it. }

I introduced many to SAORI weaving and we will be having weaving workshops at the store soon with introductions to weaving on ridged heddle looms in the cozy class room area .
 Sunday our power went out and our road was closed by fallen power lines and trees so I had to drive 27 miles a back roads  to make it to the store, power was still not on, nor roads open so I drove home the extra distance again, power  just came on about 1:00 AM this morning.I am so glad I made it out. It was a  very very fun week end surrounded by many wonderful fiber people and worth making  the  crazy curvy and  narrow back road route detour ! 

Student's weaving and sewing

Sheila's second shell

This week Sheila my fiber arts student made number two lined classic  shell. when you find something that works it is so fun to make many in all kinds of fabrics. We have a little more tweaking on the pattern to get it to fit just right. we are 95% there though.

 The first blue silk one was a featured in the blog HERE . This  new one is Japanese cotton with a silk lining . I love her Fabric color choices. She can see fabrics that I would just past by. A great eye and  great taste too.

Weaving a summer scarf on the Emila ridiged hedle loom.

At sheila's home  I left a ridged heddle loom for her to learn weaving on. She is weaving a gauzy random warp sumer scarf.  I can't wait to see the finished weaving! It is turning out very nicely .......so in a few weeks I will show the progression and off the loom photos next.

SUN HAT FROM SAORI WOVEN SCRAPS

Today I made a hat with no top with left over  woven fabric scraps from my beach saori cloth. I
 took two hats that I like, but usually can not wear because I wear my hair up and used them as a pattern.
I took photos of my creating process from measuring the brims and crowns of my hats to sewing the the brim-less hat  more photos here:   process photos here if you have google photos 

ok I will  probably never wear the hat with the dress but  they do display nicely together 

velcro to adjust the back

back closed

It was fun to use up the the scraps and now I have a hat to protect me from the sun and go around my pony tail, or up do.

and I can roll it up and put it in my purse .

 http://www.saorisantacruz.com

New Saori top for the dress/jumper

I was cleaning up from sewing my dress/jumper yesterday and saw that I had quite a bit of yardage left I did not use, almost 2 1/2 yards .

http://saorisantacruz.com

So I made sleeves! A boat neck slip over top that changes the dress into yet another look and when the fog comes in I can slip it on easily and take the chill off. I love layers and this top feels so good over the dress it is hard to believe it was an afterthought.  MORE HERE

the top

 worn over the dress

changes the dress/jumper to another layered look. I love SAORI!

" I am confident that through saori weaving , which encourages the generous exchange of ideas, methods of expression, and teaching, we will be able to feel more at one with each other and our world, and build a huge network of friendship and love."

Misa Jo the founder of Saori

Peaceful Weaving
jill nickolene
www.saorisantacruz.com
my Etsy shop

clothing and Saori weaving

February was gloomy and I wove this fabric I named "beach" dreaming of the warm sunny sand . I though to design maybe a summer tunic.

Over the last several weeks I have been draping and drawing and considering designs for my 11+ yards of cotton , rayon, linen fabric. ALTHOUGH I liked many styles , I may use them for other pieces, I was convinced that they  would  just hang around and never be worn or rarely if that.

Even the skirt and top I draped, when I tried them on they still felt fussy, heavy.
So now I was at the" less is more" stage. I asked my self what do i love and want? I love jumpers, you can wear knit shirts, or shells under them, and leggings , or to cover up a bathing suit .So I went  to sketch  something I would actually wear to in teach in and enjoy wearing to the summer farmers market.

I had two frayed, faded summer dresses I had made several year ago . I took things from each of them that I liked. I like front and back seams, more options to add a little fit. keeping the lines simple but a nice style for the saori  woven design patterns to emerge with out screaming look at this. type of thing.

So  I cut out from old cotton fabric scrapes my  new design. added some center front pleats for bodice definition   basted and fit it then used that as muslin for my pattern.

I felt that release of okay that's it, "go for it"

My hand woven saori fabric ended up about 18" wide. I needed to piece the lower dress skirt for the flair so I cut the fabric into smaller sections and sewed the width in those areas that need them . Arranging the  weaving  patterns  in a way i though would be attractive with the cut of the jumper .

more construction details  here

my old faded and stained favorite summer dresses

I wanted a combination of these two styles I made several years ago

i want to mention although i have two very good sergers I do not use them for saori hand woven. The textured yarns and uneven weave tends to throw off the cutting blade deflecting the the stitching  and then the edges do not get  caught and are cut off. I use the zig zag stitch which stabilizes  the fraying nicely. I do not get two hung up on covering seams or linings unless I am entering a show.

I used commercial seam binding as facings . Sewed them down by hand to give the neck line and and arm openings strength and integrity.

The bit of fabric with the fringe in tact I saved then  I appliqued over another scrap and left the edges raw with a straight stitch to keep them from further raveling. This became a set of double pockets placed asymmetrically on the dress.

I was about to sew the hem when i realized I wanted a unstructured hem and to pick up on the frayed pocket theme I decided to leave the  hem RAW and sew a single line just to keep the fabric from future fraying.

It was late afternoon..... no time to drive to the beach today but hear are photos I took last evening till I get to the beach with my saori beach warp dress and camera in tow.

peaceful weaving

jill nickolene

www.saorisantacruz.com

my Etsy shop

  

Meet Thomas , weaving on his Saori loom

I received these photos from Cheryl yesterday evening of her 6 year old grand son Thomas weaving on his new saori loom. She shared these special comments.

( SORRY THESE PHOTOS WERE REMOVED AS THE FORMAT WAS NOT COMPATABLE) 

"Thomas split Mother's Day, spending the morning with his mom (my daughter Kris) and  the afternoon with' Granma', in the studio trying out his new Saori loom. One of the best Mother's Days ever.

Thanks, Jill"

wow fantastic colors Thomas.

It is so very important to introduce children at an early age  to the opportunity of successfully  expressing emotions. Sharing "inside" thoughts, communicating with options other than with words has a lasting a life long benifit . Weaving with the whole body/mind , coordinating right brain left brain , lower body as well as upper body is very healthy. Allowing Independent creativity with good tools and equipment is magical. although I have taught children with pot holder, frame, cardboard looms, I have never had the natural success and joy and ease of teaching children as with the saori looms.  I always have used what ever I could afford loom wise for years to teach with.  I still think it is wonderful to use simple hand held looms espically to supplement the the over under rhythm IF children respond to it. .
Saori is the only loom manufacture that makes floor looms the correct sizes for the wee size children. they take to the treadles very naturally.  Children with special needs espically respond to the ease of use of saori floor looms , many other type of looms restrict  there abilities.
  Saori has two sizes of folding looms great for children/adults the piccolo from age 4 to adult, and the sx60, [this is what Thomas has here],  can  work for age 6/7 to adult.  Having  a loom with the correct height and pedal reach, ease of use with clear wide sheds comfortable for shuttles and hands to reach  is even more imperative with children.

"Today was the first day that Thomas sat and worked/played at the  SAORI loom.  He had a wonderful time and is planning to come by the studio after school tomorrow afternoon.  I'm pleased at how quickly he grasped what he needed to do. I had a blast watching his project take shape."   Thomas wove for 40 mins.

 He looks  so happy and proud with his first weaving. Thank you for sharing your joy and passing on your craft to Thomas Cheryl !