LAST FALL I had a bumper crop of indigo in my
garden. The plants grew thick and dense as a
hedge, covered with pigment-rich leaves. I brewed
dyepots each Saturday for a month and dyed over a
dozen 4-ounce batches of white Romney wool in
shades ranging from light to medium to dark blue.
Before frost killed back the plants, I had a big basket
of wool destined for a special project.
At that time, the project was just a mental picture.
I had an image of myself in a knee-length cape—
something graceful, classic, and tailored. I imagined
the fabric to be smooth, not bumpy or fuzzy, and yet
with a distinctive handspun, handwoven appearance.
The colors would be rich as a bouquet of gentians,
columbines, and forget-me-nots. Before I even started
spinning, I was wearing that cape in my mind, and it
felt good.
Spinning yarn for a project like this takes many
hours, and it’s easy to get confused, discouraged, or
waylaid between bobbins. Having a goal in mind
helps me stay on track, or get back on track. In this
case, I developed the pattern for the cape at the same
time that I prepared the fiber and spun the yarn. By
the time I had spun enough yarn to weave a length of
fabric, I knew just how wide and long that fabric had
to be. How reassuring! I was confident as I warped the
loom and wove the cloth that everything would turn
out fine, and it did. I’d like to share some comments
on the project