sweetgeorgia

Top 5 for 2007

I’ve been holding out. I’ve really been holding back from writing this post for a while. This is SweetGeorgia’s 4th annual Top 5 list… you can see 2006, 2005 and 2004… but those old posts seem so irrelevant now. Michelle and I frequently remind ourselves that 2007 is “the year that never was”. 2007 was supposed to be a year of chrysalis… of breaking down, blowing everything apart, re-examining each and every one of the shattered remains and then beginning to rebuild… consciously. It’s a year of rebirth.

Many of you were so supportive earlier this year when my workload and general life difficulties caused me to crumple in a sobbing, drowned lump of a girl formerly known as me. I am grateful for the time and space I have had this year to re-evaluate and thoughtfully consider what is important in my life and what is not. This year allowed me to make some painful but essential choices… among them, the choice to slow down my design firm of ten years so that I can pursue my work in textiles. Dyeing, weaving, designing… and yes, SweetGeorgia Yarns.

So, here is my Top 5 for this year. SweetGeorgia Yarns will re-open in 2008 with new products, new colours… new ideas and new ideals. But I need your help and your input… tell me…

1. What do you love about SweetGeorgia Yarns?
2. What do you hate about SweetGeorgia Yarns?
3. If you’ve purchased from us, what made you compelled to? If you haven’t purchased from us, why? Price, availability, retail distribution…
4. What would you like to see us offer? What kind of yarns, fibres, colours… you name it.
5. How important is pattern support to you? What kind of patterns are you interested in?

Of course, I will be sending one randomly selected responder some gorgeous, naturally dyed yarn. Please send me your thoughts BY EMAIL to info [at] sweetgeorgiayarns [dot] com by Monday, December 31 at midnight PST.

So, this is me. At the end of 2007. Looking forward to new beginnings. A brand new life. This is me now, but it won’t be me next year.

And this is indigo-dyed bombyx silk warps. It looks like a mess now, but I swear, it’s gonna be beautiful.

Stretching to grow.

Without a doubt, I love me some sugar-crazed pink and red. But lately, I’ve been going completely out of my element and dyeing colours that I absolutely love but are just so unlike me.

The weld and walnut are from Earth Hues in Ballard, Seattle. The indigo is Maiwa’s natural indigo. And the silk is all different weights… fine 20/2 silk laceweight, dk-weight silk singles, heavy worsted silk/merino singles.

I’m experimenting and just trying to work with colours that I’m not entirely comfortable with… I’ll grow into these. The most interesting combinations are actually the walnut dyed silks that are overdyed in indigo… the result is this earthy green, dark gold colour. It’s almost impossible to describe.

Reconsidering Natural

Reassess. Reconsider. Rediscover. You’ll note that I’m having difficulty writing full sentences right now. I still feel a little hungover from this weekend… I was quite fully and mercilessly drunk on the natural dyes and textiles from Maiwa’s Natural Dye workshop, led by Charllotte Kwon, owner and founder of Maiwa…

What I learned and received from the workshop was so much more than I had expected… and not just in terms of the fabulous reference binder of swatches, or the notes, or the technique (which is really just measure and cook)… It was really the appreciation of the work done by artisans everywhere, the understanding that the knowledge about these historic techniques absolutely must be preserved, and the overwhelming feeling of responsibility in everything we do… We dye, we spin, we weave. But how much and what kind of resources do we use? How much do we consume? How much do we waste? How can we change, adapt, improve our process so that we live more gently?

All this, combined with the October 2006 “Green City” issue of Vancouver Magazine, the launch of the “OneDayVancouver.ca”, and a million other tiny, niggling questions and contradictions in my head, have just been overwhelming to say the least.

What can I say? I got more than I paid for… and definitely in a good way.