weekend gifts

When I learned a few months ago that Jan Myers-Newbury was coming to Newark again to teach, I gave myself the gift of a weekend class with her.  Four years ago (can it be??!!) I took a 3 day with her when she was here and I couldn't resist another chance to play.  Jan is an excellent teacher who is mellow, patient, and extremely generous about sharing her techniques and information.   Here she is, demonstrating one way to wrap a pole.  There is no end to the possibilities.

Happily, there were lots of friends in the class: my friend Russ came up from Maryland and stayed with me for the weekend, which was a joy.  And Valerie Zeman, with whom I had been talking for several years on-line, was in class.  Here is  a gorgeous silk quilt she is making with vintage shibori pieces she has collected. Hand stitched, the picture doesn't begin to do it justice.

Here is one of my poles wrapped with leftover yarn and some raffia.

and here are a few pieces from day #1

I won't drive you crazy with an overabundance of pictures.  Last night, I laid out my favorites on the floor and here they are. Mine turned out to be very organic and I have no idea what I will do with them.

Some of them I will slice into strips and combine with who knows what; shibori does not play well with others and is not easy to use effectively.  But I must say, it is extremely interesting to look at. And the best part is its unpredictability.