Traveller Scarves

 We have visitors coming who we met while in New Zealand....way back when...It'll be so lovely to reconnect with them, and of course their visit takes us back to places shared when our children were small.... and all these thoughts led to these scarves in a subconscious way.

 I started with making two simple nuno felted scarf lengths...white on white...habotai on merino...I love the simplicity and pureness of this stage....it would be lovely for a wedding ensemble....a perfect canvas...Absolute luxury....

Then I folded the scarves in half, rolled them up, and dyed in turquoise....more dye comes in contact with the ends than the middle. I like the random nature of the patterning. Then I re-rolled them, and dyed in a shallow immersion dye bath of magenta.

At this point it was hard to decide how much farther to go with the colouring. Luckily I was working on two, so I could practice restraint with one, and play with the other! So the bottom scarf remained in soft blending of blues, pinks, purples and white....

So the NZ connection?  I was working very instinctively on these...no formed plan or conscious inspiration...At this point I realized I was thinking of NZ, of the soft colours on the horizon in the Marlborough Sound; the blues and greys of the Wellington winter (as it is now); and of paua shells (abalone)...That I had just come across while digging in my very disorganized jumble of a craft box....that traveled with me from here to there and back...

 The other scarf I dip dyed in a yellow dye bath, to complete the paua shell colour blending of purples, blues and greens....

I quite liked the rainbow colours this gave, but it was not what I was looking for this time, so I overdyed the whole scarf once more in a very mild turquoise dye bath...turning the yellows to greens, and the red to purple...keeping it gentle....aqueous....

And I am happy with these. I loved the process and I love the finished scarves...I want to keep them...but these are for ArtCraft....

Along with the earrings these beads are made into....

I'll create more of these in a series of travelers scarves...it's lovely to create and let your mind wander into the places you've been and the people you've met and miss!
  Warm wishes,
Fiona