chiengora - yarn spun from dog hair

I'm working on a commission of yarn from dog hair again. People think of this more and more in the spring, as their pets blow their coats. If you are looking for someone to spin your pets coat into yarn, it should be comb out, not clip. I spin it at $.030/yd.
So 100 yds is only $30.00, 200 is $60, etc. My min. order is $50.00.
I also do commissions where I both spin and weave the chiengora (dog hair yarn).
Looking forward to hearing from you, as I'm almost finished this commission, and love working with such fine fiber.
Cherri

just a couple more

Here is my fav, and another.

embroidery and felt jewelery

I needed to send some pics of my work out for publication and liked the pics so much I thought I would share them. The embroidery pics, I especially like the one with the needle and the shadow of the needle. More later.
Cherri

Harrison is Well

Some of you may know my son is military and deployed. Knowing this, I was grateful to hear his voice when I answered a call during a recent class. He is well, and thriving.
I rejoice for every day that I can say that.
Cherri

Some of my finished work

Just a few pics of my latest piece. It's Murphy's diaper. I wove one repeat of the patter....sort of. Here's what I did. I used a tabby. For every tabby shot, I wove two with a tabby in between. The first patter shot was in red, and the second was in fuschia. It made the pattern x2 as long as it would have been if I had woven it traditionally. Then I choose 2 blocks that didn't have long floats and alternated them throughout the length of the piece using tabby shots in between. at first I used 2 tabby shots, then I used 3, then 4 until I reached the center of the piece, then I reduced in the same manner. I love the piece. I love it's complexity and it's simplicity.
I'm attaching a couple of pics, hoping you can see the color differences, and what i did.
Cherri

Goings on

In addition to the Adult weaving class on Thursdays, I teach a middle school class.
Today, one student finished her weaving, another finished threading heddles, and finished sleying the reed. HOORRAAAAYYYYY! Good job.
Then one of the afternoon students is doing granny squares (crochet) I am attaching a picture of her work. She's doing such a wonderful job.
Hope you enjoy the pictures of their work.
Cherri

Weaving at the Visual Art Center of Richmond

Wow! What a night. I walked into the Visual Art Center today, believing I had a class of 3 students tonight, and I had 6! Considering that my afternoon class is just finishing up on their looms, 6 was the max. that I could take today.
I had to cut a brand new warp off the loom that I had woven 3" on. When I put that warp on, I remarked that it would probably mean class would be so big that I would have to cut it off....I was really kidding since there were only 3 people on the roster.

It's a wonderful class. They have planned some great beginner projects and one intermediate project. Amy's shawl is looking very nice, and Tess basically assisted me in teaching tonight. The students planned their projects, measured their warp, tied the warp/preserved the cross, Inserted the lee sticks, and tied their warps onto the lomos. They attached their raddles, and began spreading their warps in the their raddles.

I really like the folks in the class also. Hopefully they will be with me a while.
Cherri

Spring meanderings in the studio

MMMMMM, today was a play day in the studio. It is the 4th day in the past 7 that I have gotten to go in and weave a simple strain of thought. I measured a warp several months ago, that I wove a scarf that I love with. It is the handspun weft in blues and greens I wrote about in Jan or Feb. Well, there was a lot of that nice superwash merino yarn still on the loom, and I didn't know where to go with it. The loom was dressed for a diaper weave, but I don't really like overly "busy" work. I love patterns and the more intricate the better, but not to cover an entire piece unless it is camoflauged like the blue/green scarf.
Anyway, I decided to weave the diaper with a twist. I would weave each pattern shot twice, once in cherry blossom, and followed by one in fuschia. The piece uses tabby, so it didn't create a problem, but did elongate the diaper a bit. That turned out quite lovely, but too busy for an entire piece. So I scrutinized the pattern and realized that the 3rd and 4th blocks didn't have terribly long floats and I could alternate those throughout the piece and have a piece that had spots 'scattered' across it.
I liked it, but the spots were awfully close together with both and A and a B tabby between, so I extended the tabby to be A,B,A. Still too close, so I continued adding another tabby after each set of 2 pattern shots until I got to the center of the piece. I liked it. Now, I need only reverse the pattern to get to the other end.
Easier said than done, Verdad?
I have also done some spring cleaning in the studio. It was looking rather heinous with yarn fuzz under every loom, and thrum shorts strewn around along with tools that haven't been put away, etc. My precious little orchids were so happy that they swayed to the rhythm of "Rite of Spring" (Stravinsky, not Angels and Airwaves).
Twas a joyous day in the studio today. It was topped off by a friend bringing by a little ailing orchid who needed a play date with mine and was hence adopted into the studio!!!!Hurray.
Looking forward to seeing my students tomorrow night and hope to make it into the studio again tomorrow, although the botanical garden is calling me also.
Cherri

After school programs

I work with kids in an after school program. I teach weaving, crochet, and felting just many fiber arts. I love the kids and it's awesome to absolutely LOVE what you do.

More of Roseneath

So, how did this work get where it is, and what else is going on at Roseneath? Well, here is a picture of Susan putting that beautiful sherbet warp on, and Jane, measuring out an aubergine warp.....the beautiful aubergine, green and grey warp, and then Erica's black warp (not to be confused with Lisa's warp) Erica is going to cross her black warp with vibrant weft yarns in Sunflower, Emerald, and .....? don't remember.
Stay tuned to find out;0)

Work at Roseneath studio

OK, I got my camera back, then decided it was time for a new one. Hopefully the pics will be as good. These pictures are of my warp, and the 2 colors I will use for weft. The warp is teal, and the weft colors are cherry red, and apple blossom pink.
Then there is Susan's warp, which is the multi colored warp....probably sherbet colors? And the black and brown piece is Lisa's undulating twill (called overshot in Ann Dixon's book).

Weaving Vacations

It's been so much fun teaching the fiber arts these last 10-12 years. Now, more and more people are looking for vacations in their area of interest. Well, I've decided to offer some fiber vacaation opportunities. There is a beautiful bed and breakfast just a mile or so down the road, and I'm just 2 hours from the beach and an equidistance from the mountains, so it makes sense to make arrangements with some of the realties at the beach, and in the mountains, as well as the folks over at the bed and breakfast. I will be offering some weekend weaving getaways, spinning escapes, and felting forays.
Whether it be at the beach, in the mountains, or right here in scenic, rural Goochland County, Virginia, I can help.
I'll put more information up on my website within the week. If you have any ideas, e-mail them to me, I'm up for suggestions.
Yes, I think this is the result of a fantastically fun workshop yesterday, and the blessing that my students have been through the years. Ain't life grand?!
Cherri

PS my camera is back from vacation, so I'll try to post some pics.
Cherri

Amazing workshop!

What a great time!!!! This was one of those perfect days, in which I enjoyed the workshop, and the students as much as the students did. These 3 ladies are so full of joy and fun that they filled the studio with it.
All 3 ladies got their projects on the looms quickly and without any problems. Hazel was working with chiengora yarn that she spun from her dog's fur. It is a very clean white and turned out to be a nice warp. She really seemed to have found exactly what she wanted from the loom and the workshop. She is also an accomplished painter.

Cyndee got her loom dressed with a fine linen, which is a little inflexible, but it is really working for her. She crossed the first inch or two with alpaca and it feels soft and nurturing.

Helen dressed her loom with a 20/2 mercerized cotton warp in a sort of ruby red. She is interested in doing some fine tapestry work. She is a cool lady, strong in her faith which encourages me, also! She did the most tapestry work today, working on some interlocking and some slit tapestry.

Don't forget that I'm starting a Tues morning weaving group at roseneath rd, and have an opening now. We will meet from 10 am - 12:30 am, right in the fan district of Richmond, va. Hope you will join us.
Cherri

Staying in touch

This post is just to stay in touch until my camera return from Florida, where my daughter is on Vacation. I'm teaching another session of Art After School at the Visual Art Center of Richmond.
This session, I'm teaching weaving, but some of the students have been in my class long enough that they wanted me to teach them something else before they 'graduate' up to high school, so I'm teaching them to crochet granny squares. That's a real lesson for me, because it's something I've always wanted to learn.
I called my friend Emily, and hired her to teach me. She is a wonderful teacher, and within an hour, she had me feeling like a 'master' at crocheting granny squares.
Several folks have been communicating with me about tallitot, and perhaps a new commission will be on the horizon soon. I'm measureing the warp out for a tallit for my son in the USMC.
I am getting ready to begina Tues. morning weaving class at Roseneath. Just 2-3 students, as I don't want to crowd the studio. If that doesn't materialize, I may just enjoy having the studio less full for a while, as I enjoy working there more when there are fewer looms in the space. It also allows for the summer sewing class that I like to offer for teens. This year, I would like to have a crochet klutch also. We will see if that happens, as there is not a great deal of room.
We'll talk more later.
Cherri

Rigid Heddle Weaving Class in March

This is just to put the information out there that I am offering a rigid heddle weaving class in March. It's on Sat. March 15.
If you are interested, e-mail me, and we will decide which date to offer it, or will offer it both dates.
I have done the class in 4 hours , and I have done the class in 6 hours, so the length of time it takes is up to the participants.
You should count on about 5-6 hours and cost is $15.00/hr/person. I will offer it for 3 people min at that price, and a max of 4 people. I'm teaching the class in Glen Allen, Va. The zip is 23060 if you want to see if you are anywhere close.
If you have your own loom, that's fine, if you choose to use mine, you will sign a contract, pay $10.00 rental, and return it within 3 weeks, or of course, you can buy it.
If you want private lessons on using the rigid heddle loom, you can book me at an hourly rate of $35.00. It's a great low budget way to break into weaving.
maidensweaver@earthlink.net
http://www.cherrihankins.com

What's going on right now

I haven't had a lot of reason to post lately. I've wanted to be home with my son, as he prepares for his deployment. He is a marine. I also had the atarah to do for another serviceman. Now, my son wants a tallit also. He wants his to have his favorite scripture on the atarah in Arabic. Philipians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me".

I'm also writing proposals for the upcoming summer and fall seasons. One of the art centers I teach at finished booking for fall/winter '08 2 weeks ago! Good Job. This summer, I will be offering a Learn to weave in a week class at the Visual Art Center of Richmond - http://www.visarts.org
I will be teaching "The Serenity of Spinning" at Brookfield in Connecticut, A week of felting at Visarts, 3 weeks of youth classes at Visarts, a week of "The Serenity of Spinning" at Touchstone in Farmington, PA in July, a Learn to Weave in a Weekend class at Visarts in June, Rigid Heddle Weaving in July - Visarts, Tapestry Weaving in Aug - Visarts and back in Connecticut in August for a Felting Intensive. That's a weeklong class of full days of wetfelting! That one is gonna be FUN!
Touchstone, in Farmington, PA is a residential craft school, and I hope you will join me there. I will be teaching good spinning technique, and finding your rhythms with the wheel.

As I mentioned, my son's deployment is imminent. I have seen him for the last time for about a year. Already I miss him.
I'm talking to a potential client about weaving a couple of organic plant fiber tallitot. We've talked about organic cotton, hemp, and bamboo. We looked into ingeo and soysilk as well as tencel also. Embarking on a new tallit commission is always a joy.
Let me peek and see if I have any new pics>>>>>>Oh, here are the kids in the after school program at their looms and with their work. They are sweet, sweet people.

Camel Hair Tallit

Just had a request from a lady about another tallit contract.
It seemed like a good opportunity to mention that I do weave tallit from cashmere, camel hair, alpaca, silk, as well as other exotics and luxury fibers.
http://www.cherrihankins.com is the place to begin looking
I also have
http://custom-tallit.tripod.com
http://tallitot.tripod.tripod.com
http://tallitweaver.tripod.com
This will provide several opportunities for viewing my tallit and prices.
I hand-weave tallitot, and if the client requests it, hand-spun the yarns also.
More later.
Cherri

Openings in Thurs night weaving class

There are still openings in the Thursday evening class at the Visual Art Center of Richmond, also.
That would be the Art Center formerly known as The Hand Workshop. 1812 W. Main St.
You can review classes at http://www.visarts.org
Hope to see you tonight for the first night of class. If you have questions, e-mail me at maidensweaver@earthlink.net
Cherri

Openings in weaving class at Roseneath Studio

I have one and maybe two openings at the Roseneath studio. That is a Wed. night class. It meets from 6:30 - 9:00 pm.
We have only 5 weaving students in the class. Cost is $125/month.
If you are interested, e-mail me:
maidensweaver@earthlink.net

Thanks,
Cherri

Weaving class begins 1/31/08 in Richmond, VA

I have posted the pictures of the beautiful Weave in a Weekend projects as they came off the looms. The students got wonderful results. As we finished up our class, the Scholastic Art Competition awards were underway. We had a very busy bustling art center. It was such a blessing to see that wonderful art center being used to encourage young artists to expand their gift, refine it and grow into it.
We have a weaving class starting on Thursday. This is in Richmond,VA. I have openings and you should sign up today. We meet from 6:30 pm - 9 pm. We work on Floor looms and have a great time. You are welcome, no matter what your level of skill is. Beginners are fine. Intermediate are fine, returning weavers are fine. I take you where you are, instruct you, coach you, and help you find your direction in weaving and the fiber arts. Please join this very stimulating class.
Here are a few more pictures of the most recent students and their work: