A second visit to the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester on Friday to see the Indigo exhibition. Our first visit was a bit rushed but this time we had time to sit and watch the video presentation and to look more closely at the exhibits.
There were some real gems but my favourite bit of all was the basket of samples that you could pick up. Oh that indigo smell! It's better than chocolate!
Ideas to follow up were making a warp to dye and try IKAT weaving on my new loom, and to find out about aqua leaf indigo dyeing that gives a beautiful turquoise colour. I'm also going to try using starch paste as a resist to dye some fabric for a quilted cushion.
I resisted buying Jenny Balfour-Paul's book, but it will go on my birthday and Christmas wish list.
Saturday was York, once around the walls and then to the City Screen to see the live broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Juan Diego Florez may be short, but he has a lovely voice!
So Sunday was resting the sore feet and getting to grips with spinning some Alpaca/silk blend tops I've had for a while. I decided to use the fast flier on my Lendrum wheel to make a fine yarn, but with a high twist. Not easy, but I did get the rhythm going after a while. The secret appears to be to get the fibre prepared so that drafting is kept to a minimum, almost like threading the fibre onto the bobbin. I found that trying to draft was frustrating and the yarn was very uneven. I'm not sure Mabel Ross would approve of my methods.
Another mental note, plan before you start and work out exactly what you need to do. Is it too late to change after a lifetime of, oh it will be alright.
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