Guest Post: Sandra Morris Jager

December 2nd is my 2nd annual Studio Sale! There are details and a map on my website for those interested in coming out. It's a perfect opportunity to pick up that painting you have had your eye on, or a gift for the art lover in your life. My entire inventory will be available, plus calendars and a brand new collection of 10x10 squares, ready to go at studio prices.

As an added bonus, this year both of my talented sisters will be joining me in Mississauga and bringing out some of their work. My home will be overflowing with art! Here is an introduction to Sandra's work, who makes luxurious, hand-woven wearables. Last week I featured my sister Brenda, so be sure to read that post as well!

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One of Sandy's hand woven shawls

Sandy, at work on the loom

If anyone had told me ten years ago that I would be a weaver, I’d have said that they were crazy. After all, I had a busy home-based fashion business, specializing in bridal design and dressmaking. But after doing this for many years, including a return to school for more formal technical education, I burned out and needed some time off. I took up knitting, which eventually led to spinning. Yes, with a spinning wheel, not a bicycle (though I do that too). It is how you make yarn. It seems only natural in retrospect that I would end up sitting in front of a loom at some point. After all, a love of textiles has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

I’m all about colour and texture. Like my sisters, I paint and draw, but my favoured medium is cloth. I am a relatively new weaver, having only been at this for six years now. With each project, I learn something new that I can apply to future endeavours. Weaving is a multi-faceted activity which combines a variety of elements to produce a finished piece. Some of these seem very obvious to me, yet may not to those without exposure to the process.

First, there is the choice of yarns. This is where I start. The fibre type, whether wool, cotton, alpaca, silk, or another fibre, will dictate many of the characteristics of the cloth; its drape, loft, and warmth. Also too, the yarn diameter and texture play an important role. Colour may be what we first see when considering a piece, but it probably has the least impact on the attributes of the cloth itself. Having said that, for me, colour is the second most important choice I make.

  This has led to experimentation with hand-painting dyes onto my measured yarn (the warp) before putting it on the loom. So much more interesting than flat colour! This also guarantees that no two pieces will ever be the same. This is particularly the case with my tencel scarves. They are dyed with a technique involving snow or ice to break the chemical bonds in the dyes, resulting in unpredictable watercolour effects and sometimes unplanned colours. Next up will be combining these hand-dyed warps with handspun weft yarns.

Layered onto the yarn is the choice of pattern. Weave structure determines whether one yarn dominates or if both are equal partners and how dense or drapey the finished textile is, among other things. Sometimes the marriage of yarn, colour, and pattern is a gamble and other times it is a perfect match. As with all thing artistic, creative play can be as valuable as experience in putting all the elements together to create an aesthetically pleasing and functional piece of cloth.

I’m looking forward to sharing my passion and some of my work with you next weekend!

Another lovely finished scarf.