The Rising Star Quilters Spring Fair is next Saturday, May 14. Check out their Facebook page for more details. See you there!
Spring Fair!
I’m delighted to announce that I’ll be selling my hand-dyed clothing at the Rising Star Quilters Spring Fair. It’s on Saturday May 14, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm, on the lawn at Jason Russell House, 7 Jason Street, Arlington MA. I’m planning to do a demonstration of indigo dyeing at 1:00 pm. Dyeing with indigo is a craft that lies somewhere between alchemy and witchcraft – you won’t want to miss the chance to see it in action!
Lots of fabrics for sale at tempting prices. Vendors include:
- Betsy Habich (www.betsyhabich.com)
- Dorien Keusseyan
- Sue Clark
- Missy Shay
- Ann Kegel Bausman
- Jen Flores (https://www.jenflores.com)
- Chikako (https://www.chikakodesigns.
com) - Becky Nicoloro
- and ME! Jan Stetson (www.blackwalnutfiberarts.com)
In addition to textile sales, there will be activities for kids, a bake sale, raffles, and admission is FREE! Hope to see you there!
Reviving an Ancient Weaving Technique
Exciting fiber arts news from Bangladesh.
Textile hub Bangladesh revives muslin, the forgotten elite fabric
Pins + Needles!
I have five items on display in CraftBoston: Pins + Needles, a six-week online exhibition and sale of wearable craft. Go to the Featured Artists page and scroll down to the profile for Black Walnut Fiber Arts. I’m thrilled to be in the company of so many talented and accomplished artisans. Come on by and have a look. There are treasures aplenty to be found!
Back to the dye pot
I recently dyed a cotton fleece hoodie, purchased from Dharma Trading Company, for a good friend. She selected a color from the samples I made in Carol Soderlund’s workshop Color Mixing for Dyers (2016 edition) and chose to decorate it with sinuous, free-form lines of ori-nui shibori. It’s a beautiful shade of coral, and the color variations created by the shibori make it even more interesting. I used ball-point hand sewing needles to stitch the ori-nui, hoping to reduce the possibility of damaging the knit fabric. The piece came through in great shape, so I guess it worked! Had to order the needles online — when I asked about them at my local fabric shop, the folks there looked at me like I’d completely lost it.
Plunging my hands into the dye bath just felt wonderful. What with one thing and another (and another, and another these past couple of years…) I’ve had a bit of a hiatus from dyeing. So good to be back!
Huzzah! The blog is up!
I’ve long intended to include a blog on the Black Walnut Fiber Arts website, and finally, I’ve done it! As you can see, it is now up and running.
Over this past weekend, Mother Nature transformed the landscape surrounding my home from a symphony of tans and browns to endless planes of wind-blasted snow. I would have loved to spend a snowbound Saturday doing some indigo dyeing, and I’ve got plenty of items in the queue. But, with heavy cloud cover, arctic temperatures, swirling snow, and raging winds, the three-season porch where I do my indigo work was way, way too cold. January is arguably not one of those three seasons! Although on a bright sunny day, it’s actually lovely out there. Today, it’s again overcast and cold. No indigo for me!