The orange weaving I posted a couple of times ago became this Tangerine Dream Vest. I took it with me to Carlsbad this week and it went to a new home yesterday. I loved how the colors played together. There was a lot of texture in this and lots of different kinds of fiber including-- cotton (warp), wool, silk and novelty yarns. I like to use different textures in things because they come out so much more tactile. This vest also has buttons sewn randomly on the lapels to keep them in place. The other view is of the back.

Charleston House. Formerly the home of Vanessa Bell (Virginia Woolf's sister) and Duncan Grant. We visited this wonderful home just at the end of our stay in England. To get there you take a train from Victoria Station to Lewes, and a taxi from there to Charleston House. It is out in the countryside with rolling hills of green and yellow all around. The house was a mainstay for the Bloomsbury Group during the Second World War when the bombing was going on in London and they all wanted to escape. Vanessa and Duncan spent a lot of time in this place painting. Not just canvases but all over the house. There are mantels in several rooms that have been painted, all kinds of furniture including the dining room table. It was a very lived in house. There has
been so much written about who these people were and how they lived that I won't go into that here. Suffice it to say that they invented the Bohemian Lifestyle. What I did want to say was that while all the artwork was great to see, all or most of it original --it is the feeling of the lives lived here that make the place different. It is the sum of the friendships and loves that changed it from an ordinary house to the unusual.

The gardens and the pond are as beautiful as the house itself. Most of the statuary and mosiac work is just as it is presented in the history books. There is a sense of peace about the entire property that is hard to convey. It is not surprising that they came and stayed such a long time.

Today on the Kromski rigid heddle loom a bit of the sunset. A medley of oranges with a sprinkle of green and purple, lots of texture in this one. It will be a vest when finished and is destined for the Carlsbad Gallery. Orange makes me feel warm and alive and is pretty positive in general. This was not always the case. For many years I avoided Orange because it was too in your face, too committed to be bold and assertive. Now I find myself wanting to tuck bits of Orange in a lot of my work. It is funny how color affects us differently at times.

More on England soon.

Home from England. We spent a couple of weeks in England and most of that time in London. The weather was beautiful, some rain and moderate temps. Although this blog is mainly about weaving, this part is going to be about England because that is where the weaver went (me). This first picture is the London Eye, which is basically a huge ferris wheel that allows people to get a great view of the city and river Thames. I have to admit that I have never ridden the Eye because I hate hights, but I think it is a beautiful part of the skyline. Of course everywhere you look in England there are great things to see and experience. The second pic here is of Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery behind the fountains. I always debate which art museum is my favorite when I'm there. I think the Nat Gallery may have more Impressionists but the Tate has the Pre-Raphaelites and they are the soul of art to me. Don't even talk to me about the Tate Modern. We did spend time at the Victoria and Albert looking at all the textiles and being amazed at the wonderous things under that enormous roof.

The day we were in Trafalgar the schools were on strike. The students and teachers were marching through protesting, although we never could pin down what they were trying to get. They all were having a grand time having gotten out of school for the day. They marched down through the square and on to the parlimentary buildings.
Can you imagine people in the States doing that?

This last pic is of the Victoria arch, on the other side are gardens and the road that leads to the palace.


This was our fourth trip to England. I think I love it more every time and never get bored with all the interesting things to see. All of Europe is more in tune with the environment and the state of human rights in the world than we are here in America. We need to be asking why that is, and why our government thinks it is above the other nations in responsibility to this earth and the people on it.

May all your travels be safe and bring you greater understanding of other people.