The End of Another School Year

It's always an interesting time/ very busy, particularily in March, hence the reason why I've found time to update this blog now.  We did felt yardages using secondary structures like lace, webbing, etc as a base for the wool, and that finished up that course.  Our first part of printing and design on fabric was completed, and I have to say I was surprised to find in myself a sudden and huge interest for using natural dyes.  I did not buy any new material besides cotton canvas, instead choosing to reuse old bed sheets (white or beige), overdying them and printing my designs on top.

-It should be said here that there is a strong bias for using natural materials and dyes in this school.  There's nothing wrong with this, and it is an environmentally conscious thing to do.  I however, am more inclined to 'use up' or 'reuse' materials that would otherwise be thrown away.  Once made it can't be undone- so to speak.-

Textile history went along with an essay on the use of textiles in armor, something I will be exploring next year.  Ah, and weaving- I finished two orange/green scarves of cotton, and a macrame hanging from fabric scraps I'd had leftover from the year.  I didn't give that course much of a chance to like it, and I found that once the initial set up of the loom was finished I was actually pretty fast as weaving.  So next year I will try and make more of a yardage type of woven fabric, and get more out of the course than I did.

The year end show was a success, lots of people coming in and taking a look around.  The sale was less so I think, though a lot of pottery sold.  I think it's safe to say a lot of students were more interested in sales outside of the school, such as the many summer fairs that are approaching, and other previous plans.  But I ended up selling one of my woven scarves, a vest, and potentially a felt scarf (if it all works out by the end of this week).  It was a good experiment on pricing and what people are looking for.