Rosalie Neilson loves using color and geometric design in her weaving, her specialty being warp-faced rep. She is featured in a 2-hour DVD called Rep Weave produced by Interweave Press (now Long Thread Media). She publishes articles regularly in weaving and braiding journals and maintains an active teaching schedule. She has developed a series of Zoom workshops, both in Kumihimo and Huck Lace. Her publications include three books on Kumihimo design and An Exaltation of Blocks, a two-volume book with a toolkit of printed Design Pages and Transparent Overlays for weavers and designers to explore literally millions of unique symmetric patterns.
Kumihimo: From Defense to Decoration
Learn about the history of Japan through the perspective of kumihimo or plaited silk cords. The slides document the development of Japanese plaited cords from fossilized remains in grave mounds to the Samurai era when silk cords laced together a warrior’s armor. It also explores the current fashion trends using cords as obijime (an integral part of securing the obi and kimono) to decorative neckpieces. Slides include those taken in Japan, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a professional advertising photographer in Kyoto, the Portland Art Museum, and the 2019 Braid Society Conference in Iga Japan.
Materials fee: None
Supplies: None
Roman Numerals, Rabbits and Fudge: The Fibonacci Factor
Leonardo Fibonacci, a 13th-century Italian mathematician, introduced a sequence of numbers which has helped weavers and designers create successful stripe proportions. But what happens if the number of warp ends for a project doesn’t fit neatly into the Fibonacci number sequence? Learn how to make “Fibonacci Fudge.” The Roman Numerals and Rabbits are explained in the slide lecture. Weavers will practice the mathematics by making two warp “wrappings”.
Materials fee: $15
Supplies: Masking tape, scissors, calculator