Evergreens, beewax candles, stacking dolls, dalarna horse, along with my handwovens brought cheer to welcome the winter.
Balsam Sachets – I was inspired this summer to make little balsam sachet pillows after reading KerryCan’s Love Those “Hands at Home” Blog post about her balsam pillows. I immediately ordered two large bags of ground balsam fir to insure I would follow through on the project. Throughout the late summer and autumn the aroma drifted from the balsam bags calling me to create a handwoven fabric worthy of this amazing scent – colors that said balsam, evergreen, winter. Then in early December, I wove with Swedish cottolin using the last of the M and O’s dishcloth warp alternating three to five shuttles of colors to create the fabric I’ve dreamed of for many months.
Then…came the decision of shape. I was inspired by Tonya’s Handwoven Ornaments and decided to create a sachet to represent the balsam tree. After chatting with Tonya about her process, went to a local quilting store to find the best interfacing to iron onto the handwoven fabric. My goal was to support the fabric and also keep the balsam from poking through the handwoven threads. Some people ask me if it was hard to cut my handwoven fabric. My answer, no….I wove it to cut it. The hard part was really just the slow part – stuffing the balsam into the small holes created by machine sewing and then hand sewing them closed. These were gifts for the family and they all delighted in this first trial of tammyweaves balsam sachets!
After completing my dishcloth warp for my fundraiser, I still had a few dishcloths that needed woven, so I put on a new warp and wove up 15 more dishcloths for gifts to be given. As I took the dishcloths off the loom, I noticed my color choices had changed – they were darker – reflecting the colors of the early mid-west winter.
As winter continues here in Ann Arbor, I ponder the joys of 2016 and the amazing weaving opportunities I have experienced. The quiet winter morning and the magic of Jack Frost at sunrise awakens my spirits to dream of the warps to soon dance upon the loom.
And, I wonder what creative dreams you are having. Do share!