Loomy Tunes

A Wee Detour

2012-01-28T09:24:00.000-05:00

You're right!

This is not a woven article!

I took a wee detour to the dark side this week, and I've gotten reacquainted with my crochet hooks!

This is the cowl pattern that I worked in the small mop cord, and I really love how it works up so fast. I had this yarn left over from a woven scarf, and I love the softness! (Can we call this stash busting???)

And, since I was on a roll, I went diving into my stash. I paired up some rayon chenille with some variegated cotton flake. L O V E L Y !!!!

Each cowl was wet finished last night and they're almost dry now....just in time to wrap up for gifts!

I've noticed a lot of cowls these days....and that really makes sense. They do the job of a scarf, but you don't have to wrap them, or worry about them sliding off and getting lost.

And, I've started a scarf using that mop cord, too. I want to experiment with dyeing the finished items when the weather gets a little warmer. That cotton thread is just too much fun!!!

I did feel a little guilty that I haven't thrown a shuttle here at the house, but, as Tina said on Tuesday, "It's all fiber." I've noticed that a lot of weavers have other fiber interest....it does make sense!

I did finish the math on my wool poncho, and I have started winding the warp on the reel. I have a few inches wound so far, and I'll get back to that later.

Sometimes you just have to take that detour in the road....you don't travel that way too often, yet it is familiar and enjoyable. We all need a change of view sometimes!

Enjoy your weekend, and

Happy Weaving!

LouAnn

Riverrun Scarf Finished!

2012-01-27T14:37:00.000-05:00

Last night I bound off the January Sock Yarn Project. (I am planning to use 1 skein of sock yarn a month for myself this year. It won't always be socks.) 5 days ahead of the Jan 31st deadline.

I inserted the blocking wires into the scarf while it was dry, and then steamed it with my iron. It is so cool to watch the stitches relax as the steam hits them!

Close up

Once it was dry, I tried it on.

I am really pleased with this scarf, it is almost 2 skeins of the Noro Silk Garden. (My In Town daughter happened to have a skein too!) The scarf is almost twice as wide as it was supposed to be. For next month, I have a really cool pair of socks picked out.

On the weaving front, I am finished with the 3rd Waffle Weave towel in the 12/3 white cotton. I plan to weave one more, then cut them off and finish them. These will be for my own kitchen since I am pretty sure they are going to be too narrow to sell.

I have chosen the next pattern for these towels. It is from the Davison book, and it is called the Friendship Twill pattern.

I am going to have to tweek the threading quite a bit since I only have 196 ends, but I think I can make it work. I will then play with the treadling awhile to see what I can come up with. I am still going to be using only 1 shuttle, but a lot of fancy treadling it looks like.
One thing I need to remember when I use the Davison book is that it is written for a falling shed and this loom is a rising shed. I will have to be very careful when it comes to the tie up.

Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina

Anti-Nudity Laws Being Enforced in North Knoxville

2012-01-25T10:03:00.001-05:00

This week, officers responded to a call to a North Knoxville home when a concerned citizen reported naked looms in a modest brick bungalow belonging to Margaret Davidson. Upon entering a room full of looms, the officers were affronted by two naked devices. A third loom was badly dressed in a project over a year old.

Ms. Davidson told officers she had every intention of dressing all the looms but could not due to working too many hours with people who did not value loom decency. She asked the officers to give her time to comply with the Anti-Nudity ordinance; the officers gave her three days.

When the officers returned to check for compliance, they found the previously dressed loom had been vacuumed under and worked on. The project has shown progress sufficient to comply. The two looms that had been undressed in their first visit now contain a double weave sampler and a lace curtain project.

Ms. Davidson has been given a warning, which will not go on her permanent record, as long as follow up visits show her in full compliance.

The dust bunnies scurrying across the loom room floor are another subject altogether. Fortunately, the health department doesn't know her address.

Happy weaving!

Maggie

What A Day!!!!!

2012-01-24T16:26:00.000-05:00

One of the challenges about doing the blog on Tuesdays is that I find it rather difficult to convey the unique joy of being with this group of people. We are a very diverse group, yet we all LOVE to weave, which binds us together as a group. And, while we are here, there are so many things going on ALL at the same time!!!! (I had 27 pictures from today!!!) So here is my attempt to show you as much as I can about today's gathering.

A big TW welcome to Jinx. She is a long time friend of Pat and Carl; and she finally decided to start weaving, too.

And, of course, it would not be a first project without the first tangle. But, lots of folks jumped in to help out. That's just the way we roll!!!!
(Thank you Christy, Cindy and Lanny!)

Tina and I wound on a 60 yard warp for Ellen's Place Mats. Since this is a pattern that is often woven at the Center, we are having a special hang tag done for the mats for this warp to celebrate her contribution to the Weaving Department.

I cranked while Tina watched for errand threads that like to jump the bar. (Sneaky little things!!!)

You can see Bonnie back on her loom....just weaving away.

And, here's Tina cutting off the last bout for that warp. She was already threading the loom when I left for the day.

Maggie and Linda took some time to catch up on all the news. We had a big discussion today about the "sock looms." This will be an on going topic!

Lanny's warp is over the back beam, and we all thought he would get to cut it off today.....but that didn't happen after all. (He was busy helping to untangle Jinx's threads!)

On the other hand, Ms. Ila did cut off her warp of mug rugs!!!! Grand total: 39

Maggie put Ms. Joyce to work cutting the white fabric she's using into the right size for her place mats.

Ms. Andy got all the math done for her shawls, and started winding the warp. I'm looking forward to seeing this project step by step!

Before we sat down for lunch, we took time to make a new group picture. We're missing a few of our regulars, but it is so hard to get everyone here on the same day (and to get them to sit down long enough to take their picture!!!!) But, it was time to put the Christmas picture away!

By the way, I know that Ann is celebrating having her daughter home again!!!! We'll all catch up next week.
In the meantime:
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Back to Work

2012-01-23T08:46:00.000-05:00

I've packed away my rug weft possibilities for now. I've got to get back to my regular production. Spring is coming! Before I did that though, I got 3 more rugs done on that warp.

The fluffy fringy one was fun to weave, although slow, as all of these are to do!! I'm still not sure how much I need to make a rug so grabbed 3 bags of selvage material and divided 2 of them in half before starting to weave. I think it ended up being 63 inches long. Surely someone will like that by their bed or in front of a sofa?

I do like the way the yarns worked out. It reminds me of a shag rug we had in our living room while I was a teenager back in Niverville. Mom would vacumn it and it would look great....until we walked on it. This one reminds me of how it looked like after we'd walked on it but these colors are much richer than those were.

When I got the last batch of loopers a couple of years ago, when I worked through the bags and removed all the extra strings and divided them by color, I ended up with a whole rubbermaid of yellow. So, I made 2 of these rugs, just adding a looper of another color every 30 loopers. These are cheerful! When they were moving things to the new annex on Tuesday, some bags of loopers appeared. Since we're not really weaving with them much now, they were up for grabs. I grabbed them to help even up my color choices since I still have alot of yellow. Even after weaving 2 rugs that rubbermaid is pretty full!

So I'm done with weaving rugs for awhile. I do have to hem them all yet, or at least a dozen of them. Maybe this afternoon....

On my Thelma loom I've had placemats for a long time. They kept calling me but Nilus won with the rugs on it. I want to change out that sectional warp beam for a regular one so that I have 2 looms for my regular production warps, so needed to get the warp off. I'd woven 2 placemats last year. On Wednesday I decided to weave it off.

I ended up with 14 placemats and a 36" runner at the end. By the time I was weaving these, I'd finished watching all the seasons of LOST plus the bonus sections. It's kind of sad to see an epic like that over with. I'll be washing these placemats before I cut them apart. Might wait til we get that drain field fixed...

I've begun to watch Leverage now. Season 1. It's got a real sense of humor with it.

Also, the regular production warps will be back. I've almost finished this totally black warp on Nilus. There are only about 8 more bobbins left to weave on it. Not the most exciting warp but I sell alot of black, so black it is! These will be 2 jackets and 4 vests.

On Saturday we were supposed to have our gutters replaced. It rained. So, today they were supposed to do it. It's raining...... At least we got our roof replaced much earlier. There are still alot of blue tarps around Knoxville from the storm in April. Hopefully in the next day or two we'll have some nice days and they can replace the gutters for us. We're still waiting for the weather to be right for the drain field to be replaced. Got that estimate last week.....and we're ready for them to do it. We need the rain but maybe if we could have a week or two of nice sunny weather........
So I'll keep weaving. I have to plan out my warps now for spring. I will order yarns to fill in where I need them to git er done!! Black will be a dominant color. I don't like to weave or wear black but alot of people do so that's what I weave. I picked up some accent yarns at a knitting shop recently so they will be rotated in fairly quickly because just that bit of yarn can give a vest that little something that it needed.
Til next week.
Carol

Re-Entry

2012-01-21T10:14:00.000-05:00

Just a week ago, I was here.

I still have the waltz from the Yule Ball stuck in my head.

I had taken pictures for my usual Saturday blog on Friday, only to find that wi-fy was not easily obtainable. Since I didn't take my computer, that would mean using one of the kid's computer, and finding just the right spot in the lobby, and hoping the spot didn't move while I was typing. I finally admitted defeat, and went on with my vacation.

I rode the Forbidden Journey on my Broomstick as many times as I could. I looked in every shop in the village.

I had my Strongbow Cider at Hog's Head Pub.

We had breakfast at the Three Broomsticks (the large English breakfast for me!)

This was in one of the windows along the main street. Notice the pirns???? They are laying beside the sewing basket.......

I'm thinking that someone thought this made sense. In the next window was the dress that Hermione wore to the Yule Ball. The pirns are resting on a length of the fabric that matches the dress. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this.

And, when we went back to the hotel to rest up, I had a fiber project to work on while my feet were propped up on the ottoman. (Remember when I got Tina's stash of mop cord??? Some of the cord was small and soft, and it is working up the same gauge as the sample.) This is a cowl that works up very fast!

Of course, there's more at Universal than The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and we were in and out of both parks numerous times during the four days were were there.

So, I'm back to earth, and working on the plans for my wool poncho.
MATH....lots of math!!!! I'd rather weave too much than not enough, so I'm going to put on a 4 yard warp in the navy, and use the red for the weft. The Harrisville Wool has 20 wraps to the inch, so I'm going with 10 e.p.i. to give the wool room to full. I found an interesting plaited twill in Carol Strickler's book that is simple, yet appealing. I'll have enough warp to sample the design before I weave the fabric.
Let's get this day going....I've got a few errands to run, and several loads of laundry to get started.
It's back to real world, folks!!!!
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Making it up as I go!

2012-01-20T13:42:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, I cut the Hollywood Place-mats and Runners off of my little Leclerc, Alice. I thought it might be time to tackle some of those 100 yd 12/3 white cotton warps that I got in the great haul we posted about last spring. I must have six or seven of them, and they are wound with 7 strands at once and there are 28 bouts, so that makes 196 ends. If I do 14 epi, (which I think would be logical) that would be 14 inches across. Remember, I did not wind these warps or plan what to do with them!

Since they are so incredible long, I thought that it would be a good idea to wind these babies on the back beam first and then thread them through the heddles. ( I usually do it the other way!)

I started doing the math as I was looking at these 2 warps, and I saw right away that the only raddle I have is 20 inches, which would be 8 inches short of the 28 inches I was planning on. Also, I remembered that this little loom has a max weaving width of 27inches! I also remembered that on Tuesday Carol mentioned something about using an epi of 12, which would give me an even wider width! (Just did the math, 16.3 inches, per warp!)

So, I think I am going to have to re-tie the cross on one of these warps, and put it away, space the remaining warp ends at 12 epi, and start winding on. I wonder how long this is going to take to wind on?

I am planning on threading for Waffle Weave towels first, and when I get good and tired of that, I saw some really cool towels over on "Hey Dawn- whats happening at the Studio" Blog, that I thought I might try. They are made with a white warp and colored weft. I have some navy and some tan in a weight that will be compatible with the 12/3. 100 yds is a lot to work with, I know that I will be switching and doing something else with it after that, I might even be ready to try some Huck lace by then.

Who knows how many things this warp will end up being when it is all said and done! If I get good and tired of it and I still have some left, I will have no problem with re-tying the cross and putting it back in its tub and doing something else for awhile. The only thing is I have at least 6 more of them! Oh My!

Until next time, Happy Winding and Weaving, Tina

Math Class 2 - the basics - planning a rug

2012-01-19T16:25:00.000-05:00

So - yesterday Maggie wrote about higher math - the calculus of weaving - lace patterns, fine thread, a kazillion ends. Today I am tackling a much simpler question - do I have enough fabric to make one last good sized rug?

Here is the fabric. It is light weight cotton. It came from the never ending stash at the center. Using the finger to nose method I think I have 7 yards of it. It is 46" wide. If I cut it in 3" strips (which is what I was planning) I will have 15 strips or about 105 yards of fabric. If I cut it in 4" strips which the cheat sheet on the wall at the center tells me to do I will have about 77 yards of fabric strips. Of course the 4" strips would make a little fatter weft and my number of picks per foot would be less. "Picks per foot" sounds funny but that is a better way to look at rugs.

Here is my loom. The warp has already produced 8 rugs. I think I have about 60 inches of usable warp left. The woven width of my rugs on the loom is 28". To be safe I am going to assume I need 30" for every pick. At 105 yards of fabric that would be 126 picks - assuming that each pick would be a little less than a half an inch wide (I guessed .4). That would give me maybe 50 inches of rug. At 77 yards of wider fabric strips I would get only 92 pick but they would each be bigger - probably more than 1/2 inch (maybe .54) - so I might get oh - about 50 inches. I guess it should be no surprise that the same fabric - cut differently it still is the same amount of fabric therefore a rug about the same size. So if I want a 60" rug I need to find some contrasting or complementary fabric to add about 10 inches. Maybe some white stripes at the beginning and the end.

Here is the last rug that I wove on this warp. It is a combination of a pale silvery blue and white nylon. Yes - just like that stuff I shlepped on Tuesday from one part of the annex to the other. I have woven 5 nylon rugs on this warp. The others have been solid. All of the rugs have been variations of baby pink, baby blue and white. Anyone need a rug for a baby gift? How about a rug for a bathroom at a beach house?

I best get a few more things done this afternoon so that I can get my strips cut and my rug woven. Then the warp gets cut and it is time for more math - how long should that next warp be? how many ends? Yes, weaving is a lot more than throwing the shuttle.

Be well,
Ann

Math Class

2012-01-18T14:07:00.000-05:00

Day four of Staycation 2012, and it's way too cold to do my outside projects! I've been inside, plotting new weaving projects, or trying to. Jenny is bare naked, needing a project, and I want to make lace curtains for the living room. To the right is Davison, open to page 96, Lace Stripes, treadling number one. I believe it will be 519 ends, including 4 floating selvedge threads for edge stability. That's 34.5 inches wide, not counting shrinkage, but I think that will be wide enough. The windows are 28 inches wide, and I'd like the lace to show. I'll need enough for two windows and two doors. For the two little windows on either side of the fireplace, I'm crazy enough to attempt the pattern on the next page that has 72 threads per repeat! It's Johann D's No.32. I've done another pattern by Johann D. He must have been insane. Or had lots of time on his hands.

And then there's the other brain teaser I've been working on today. I'd like to do an eight shaft huck lace next, once I get the shag rug warp done. But I've been going through Carol Strickler's book, and I just don't get Profile Drafts! I finally figured out the threading--Thanks, LouAnn!--but I simply cannot understand the treadling. I've read it about 327 times today, and it just isn't sinking in. I downloaded an essay on the subject from that great website from the University of Arizona, but I cannot grasp what it's saying.
In the fine print at the bottom of the page in the Strickler book, she says that each square in the treadling sequence represents "one five pick half unit." I beg your pardon? I hope LouAnn is right, that as I start to weave, it will make sense!

So I read and take breaks. Once to go to the Three Rivers Coop, which is amazing in their new location. If you haven't been, you must go! It's at 1100 N. Central, and they're open 9 am to 10 pm, so no excuses! It's so much nicer than their old place!
Next, I wove on the shag rug, which you can see has made some progress. The edge has rolled under the apron beam, and the anchor is nearing completion. The beige is an anchor. It's for Matt's and Dana's nautical themed bathroom. It is crazy soft and fluffy! Unfortunately, the strips of fleece are making me sneeze like crazy! I can only weave on it a little at a time.
I've also worked on the mittens, which are showing progress. One more bunch of bobbles and they're ready for decreases. And then I can start some crazy socks I've been dying to try, joining Noro sock yarn with solid sock yarn, in a faux-Fair Isle kind of pattern. Can't wait!
Gotta get back to it! If you have any brilliant insights into Profile Drafts and their treadlings, please let me know!
Happy Weaving!
Maggie

Moving Day!

2012-01-17T21:32:00.000-05:00

Today was the day - a promise to move all of the weaving materials from the old portion of the Annex at the Craft Center to the newly constructed weaving storage space that you have been hearing all about.

Today was the day but when I woke up I heard rain - not misty rain but heavy, pounding rain. I checked weather.com before getting dressed and saw that the rain was supposed to be moving through. I decided to be optimistic and put on my work clothes. It rained most of the way there - but let up just as I was getting off the interstate. Obviously others were optimistic too - so we got to work.

Tina packing up nasty insulation

Not only did we need to move our yarn, loopers, freece, rovings, fabric and loom parts - we needed to remove the wet nasty insulation, and ceiling. Yuck!

New to us weavers - Cindy and Christy - ask when do we get to weave?

Cindy vacuumed the cones and boxes as they came in. Christy moved boxes away from the door so that more could come in.

My lovely pant legs - yes they went right into the laundry

I schlepped bags, boxes and cones between the old and the new storage areas. Actually we all did part of the schlepping job - it was sloppy as you can see from my legs. But miraculously the rain stopped while we were moving things - came down hard while we had lunch - let up again and then when we were done it poured again.

All our stash in the new storage space

Now we need to get the shelving up - so that we can get things put away in an orderly fashion. then we will know what we have. Oh and we need to move back all of the materials being stored at weavers homes. I do hope the new space is big enough!

Empty wall in the new space - it won't be empty long

We saved space along one wall so that Allen can get the first set of shelves in and we can begin the organizing. One it is all up on shelves it will be much better.

Allen in the old space - after we removed all the weaving supplies

Now the rest of the crafters can find things they haven't seen in years. It is their time to clean and organize. Allen is doing a little final ceiling repair and will re-mount that dangling light fixture. Once he gets his tools and equipment out of there we will be done on that side.

Meanwhile.....

Ila works on more mug rugs

I think Trudy is supervising - she was just glad to be out of the house

Bonnie works on her new warp

Aren't these going to be beautiful

Our newest weaver (Judy) threads her heddles - I promise I will slow down and introduce myself next time

And speaking of moving.... there were some heavy negotiations going on about moving from one loom to another. Linda is going to pick up on Allen's place-mats. And Allen is going to start weaving Tina's bread cloths.

Allen is sharing some of the looms idiosyncrasies

Tina is showing Allen the pattern for the bread cloths

It was a very busy day. Lots accomplished. And I think it is time to turn in - after I take my Aleve.

Be well,
Ann

More Rugs

2012-01-16T10:42:00.000-05:00

I did hope to have the rug warp off by today but there are still 2 rugs left to be woven on there. I cut off what I'd done yesterday and serged the edges this morning so I could take some pictures to show what I'd done this past week. I guess I wove 6 rugs. Friday I worked at the Art Market Gallery again so didn't get a chance to weave. Whether I'd have gotten the warp completely done was probably not possible. I ended up with a bit of a head cold toward the end of the week. I hate when that happens!!

So this first rug was a joy to weave. I'd cut another small piece of flannel plaid I'd gotten at Walmart and love the way it wove and the way the rug feels. I do have some balls of it left but not enough for a whole rug. I'll mix it in with some other leftover plaid down the road for a rug.

When Linda and I were at Great Northern I spent alot of time looking at their spools of fabric. I got a nice big spool of black plus 4 of a teal combination. The ends were sealed so you couldn't see the other side of the fabric and I didn't look. I liked the soft look of it. Well, when I took the paper off to see it now, it was a nice deeper teal that this picture doesn't really do justice to. I put 3 rows of black every 5 inches across the whole rug. I guess it's about 55 inches long. That was another fun rug to weave.

Two other rugs were woven using the leftovers of the bright stripes and also the pink and black stripes. Those stripes are all gone now!
Then I started in on the fringe bags. Boy, it takes a long time to weave these!! First of all, it's all dumped into a bag and is a real mess. Well, the strips of striped fabrics were a mess too, but this was a bit dustier! Since it comes from the floor or wherever they wove the fabric, makes sense!
Not really knowing how much a bag of the stuff would weave, I spent quite a time finding the half and cutting it in 2 pieces so half could be at one end and the other half at the other.

Also found that not all selvages are the same. Some have a core warp that's very fine and beats in like crazy. Other ones, like the black white and red below had a nice wide core warp and wove much faster. Sad to say, I used it all up. I did have to throw some of it away because almost half of it didn't have that core warp and could not be woven easily. It wasn't worth it to try either!

Kind of cool how it all blends together as you change the colors. This one was about 60 inches long. It'll be interesting to see how it prices when I get to that.

I need to hem these rugs plus the ones from last week. That should take about a day!
I am also prepping weft for a rug for my Mom using her old tops and skirts. I'm about half finished sewing the strips together. Should have a picture of that next week. Then my sister's old tops are next to be sewn. I cut those strips before Christmas.

Once I get the last rug or two off this warp I'm changing back to production weaving. I think after I do a couple of warps for that I'll slip in a warp for rugs. It takes time to get the weft ready for rugs and I don't want to have to wait to figure out what to weave next. If I have all my wefts ready, I can get them done quicker than if I don't, I hope!! That next rug warp is going to be cheerful colors, too!!
We are ordering more carpet warp for the Tuesday Weavers in the next week or two so I'll pick up some more black but also may get some cheerful colors to put together for some nice rugs, maybe some more with loopers!

We dodged the bullet last week as far as snow goes. School was an hour late on Friday but that's it. We were ok and I could get off my hill. No telling when the next one will hit but for the forseeable future we're ok down here!! Saskatoon got blasted with a pile of snow over the weekend and Moose Jaw got a bit as well. But, we're ok down south here! ha!!
Until next week, stay warm and keep on weaving!!
Carol

Rag Cutting machine in action!

2012-01-13T11:54:00.001-05:00

A couple of months ago, I ran across a Rag Cutting Machine on a weavers marketplace on Ravelry. I mentioned it to the Weavers and they all agreed that it might be a good addition to our tool belt. We purchased the machine and it came in a very short time. We were really busy at that time with the Fall Craft Show, and though I played around with it a little bit, I was having trouble making it work properly.

Today, I set it up with a small roll of cloth so that only 2 cuts were going to be made.

The problem arises when the fabric begins to roll on itself very slightly, and before you know it it has folded itself in half and then the tension goes all wonky! With the spacers in there it is a little tricky because they add more space between the fabric strips than there was origionally.

I got the bright idea to put those nails between the strips as it comes off the cutters and that did the trick. I was very careful to go slowly and watch the new spools of cloth closely, but I had no further problems.

These rolls of cloth are ready to be used in the place-mats I am finishing up today. They are neat and tidy and I really am impressed with our new tool. ( They are so cool that they can even defy gravity!)

P. S. I still love my new cart!

Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina

weaving & painting.....painting & weaving....and all that jazz!

2012-01-10T15:43:00.000-05:00

.....and a BIG win for the Crimson Tide!

Can you tell who was a very happy camper today???

(They weren't playing the Big Orange, so it's OK to cheer!!!!)

Welcome to the Tuesday Weavers, Judy!!! Even with all the hub-bub going on today, she got her warp wound and on the loom.

And, welcome back, Pat!!!!! We missed you!

Pat found some quiet time to thread her loom for the Guild workshop.

And, through it all, Ms. Ila is getting those mug rugs woven off the warp she put on for Foothills.

Pretty Maids All In A Row!

Maggie, Bonnie and Andy kept the production going on the back row.

And, now to the Annex!
Supplies were moved out....walls were primed......

.....window facings were cut and nailed.....and the floor got a coat of porch paint.

......and on it goes!!!! What a whirlwind day!
The weather held for us to get the painting finished and inside it was always sunny and bright! Gotta love it!!!

All of that busy in one place!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Check it off!!

2012-01-09T09:17:00.000-05:00

I love to be able to check something off my virtual list. That happened this week when I "checked off" the centerpiece mat from my list. Ok, it's a kit, but what a cool picture!! It's all wool and came with the pattern and this stack of wool pieces. Deciding what to use for what was fun, then figuring out how to attach it to the base was another thing. I bought some tiny pins to do that since the heat n bond wouldn't stick, wool was too thick. It worked out nicely with the pins and I got into the rhythm of pinning and sewing the pieces onto the background.

This was my project the last few weeks in the evenings with the Christmas tree lights on and watching something on TV.

I enjoyed it so much that the next time I head down to Greenback to the quilt shop, I may just pick up another kit or a pattern and pick out wool from their huge selection there and make another piece.

I have been weaving as much as I could this past week. Having to work at the Art Market Gallery on Thursday and then helping to paint on Friday, made for a very short week of weaving. However, I did get that black warp off the loom.
The last one I wove was with those fuzzy selvages. I picked up a bunch in summer and this was my first try. Linda'd told me to pick up a comb to help bring the threads forward and up before I beat each row in, and that's what I did.

The black is actually a much truer black than this picture shows. I kept thinking, this takes forever. Is it worth it? Well, I think it's worth it. It may take forever, but chaining loopers does too, especially after dyeing them ourselves. I've dyed some more but forgot to take a picture of them. Also, have to quit dyeing til we get that septic tank fixed so I'll keep weaving with the loopers I got a year or so ago. I do want to use them up too.

The rest of the rugs on the warp were the bags of already cut strips of stripes from Great Northern. I got 3 rugs from this black, grey, white, turquoise combination. It's now finished.

The hot pink and black striped strips wove up nicely and I got 2 of them done. There's some left. I've got a bag of solid black strips that I'll combine with what's left of this to make one more rug on the next warp.

There are 3 of this combination, I think. I do have some left and I'll use the black again, to stretch it if need be. A bit of solid black for a band at each end will look good.

Yesterday I wound another solid black warp. I had to scrounge to find enough black carpet warp to do it, but it worked! Guess I'll be ordering more black when the Tuesday Weavers makes their next carpet warp order. That's got to be soon since we're kind of low at the center!!

Saturday I got a new book in the mail from amazon. It's the Weft-Faced Pattern Weaves by Nancy Arthur Hoskins. Wow, what a book. This is a very detailed book with lots of sample projects to weave to figure out the different weave structures. When I took a class with Robyn Spady a few years ago at Midwest, we did a couple of these weaves. I enjoyed them then, but this is a very detailed look at what happens if......

Today is our daughter's birthday. Where did the last 25 years ago??? Now, if I can find that birthday card I bought for her......a year ago.........I'll be in fine shape! Her birth mom's bringing her a cookie cake and I suspect we'll go out tonight for a special dinner with her. So, happy birthday, BG or KP, or whatever your name is right now! ha!! Oh, actually, Thursday it'll be exactly 25 years since we got her. I remember that day sooooo well!!! Thursday's also my sister's birthday.
It's all good.

We woke to rain again this morning, but it's supposed to quit raining and by tomorrow be in the low 60s and dry. Guess I'll be packing my paint clothes (now that I have some) and be ready to paint some more. We are hoping to get the inside of our annex space painted as well. Just getting a coat of paint on there to lighten the wood inside as well as protect the floor, will help preserve the space. This may be our last opportunity to paint til spring when it warms up again. Once it's painted, Allan'll be building shelves for us and we'll begin the massive move of our weaving stash into there. Then we'll finally know how much we really have and see who wants to weave what!!
Til next week.
Carol

A Slow Start

2012-01-07T09:51:00.000-05:00

I'm moving a wee bit slow this morning....I must have used some muscles yesterday that had NOT been used in a while! I don't even remember the drive home yesterday...at least I did remember to fill up the car before the prices go up again.
After a soak in the whirlpool, I wove on my placemat warp until bedtime. I want to get one set done before I start on a throw pillow for my great niece. My sister made her a cover for the cushion in her window seat, and had this fabric left over. I think I'll combine it with two other prints, and weave the cover for the pillow. I'll save enough to make an envelope closure for the back.

I tie dyed some socks and my favorite shirt that I ruined cleaning rusty heddles. Interesting, huh? They went in for their second wash last night right before I headed to bed.

And, in went some loopers to be dyed. They are looking good this morning. I'll probably rinse them this afternoon. I can't believe how many strings are still on these babies....we worked hard that day in the garage!!!!

These wools are calling to me....when are you going to make that poncho????? I need to sit down with Carol and get some expert advice. In other words....I need to finalize my plan!!!

So, although I'm moving slow this morning, I am moving in a forward direction! I've got some little men that haven't made it back into storage, and some odds and ends to pack away....then we'll be back to normal around here.

Enjoy your weekend....S L O W is OK, right?
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Good Morning AACC!

2012-01-06T18:22:00.000-05:00

It has taken longer than a week, that is true, but our dear Alan, and his wife Sharon (with the help of her 2 sons when needed) have extreme overhauled the AACC annex! It was time therefore for the painting to begin! I have been watching the weather reports for the last month, trying to get a warm enough, dry enough day to do it, and today was the day. I told them all on Tuesday that I would be there painting and whoever could come that would be great, and that we would get done what we could get done!

This is what the annex looked like on Tuesday, the gray part is the old annex and the unfinished siding is the new Weavers addition. They more than doubled our storage space!

This morning, at around 10am we started arriving, we had to wait just a little while for the temps to rise to 50 F . (Lou Ann, Lanny and I did a little organizing inside while we were waiting.) By the time the temp was just right, Carol, Ann and Alan were there.

The back side had been mostly primed.( Thanks Alan!)

Our goal was to get as much done as we could. I really wanted to get it all at least primed!

We divided into teams of rollers and brushers!

Alan had the coolest tool to stir the paint! Lanny and I had to take turns, just for fun!

Carol, is on what we call the 4th side.

Lou Ann is on the first side.

Ann with Lanny's assist, on the 4th side.

Ann and I on the first side.

Lanny on the back!

I have to tell you that I had the best team possible! We all just kept going until about 12:30pm when we stopped to go to lunch nearby. We all needed a little rest and some food and drink!

Here is what it looked like when we quit for lunch. (Or close to it anyway, I think Alan had finished putting the siding up on the first picture!)

We had gotten 3 sides completely primed and the 4th side needed to be rolled. We were running out of primer however (the siding soaks it up like a shop vac!), and Alan was going to get us another 5 gallon tub of it when he went to the store.

We had a great lunch and headed back to see what we could finish. The temps were holding for us, so we finished the primer we had on hand. While we were waiting for Alan to get back, I ventured to suggest that we open the paint and start working with that on the sides that we knew were ready. I am not at all sure that the others thought it a good idea, but since I was the "crew chief", that is what we did!

Well, to all of our surprise, we were able to get 3 sides primed and painted, and the 4th side is primed and waiting for it's coat of paint. I will be watching the weather tonight to see when we can get that done. Here is a few pictures of how it looks now.

Front and 1st side.

First side again, with the Weavers entrance, below.

4th and final side with the primer applied.

We were all gone by 4:30pm, and I expect there to be many hot baths and ibuprofen tablets taken this evening. I know that I am going to partake for sure.

It was a delightfully fun day and we all felt a huge sense of accomplishment in what we had managed. Now if the weather will cooperate just one more day....

Welcome home Tuesday Weavers Stash, welcome home!

Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina

On the eleventh day of Christmas.....

2012-01-05T16:51:00.000-05:00

I was a tad over ambitious when I wound a warp for my mother-in-law's Christmas present on December 10th. I took my little table loom to the center on December 13 to thread the Rosepath pattern and that night I beamed it on at home. Now this wasn't just a little scarf ambitious - this was a set of 8 place-mats ambitious!

Rosepath pattern on a striped warp

When winding it on I decided to use v-blinds to separate the warp on the beam. Many of my weaving buddies do this routinely so I thought I would try it. I started weaving - I got through most of the first mat - I really liked how the pattern and the stripes were turning out (I got the idea from the header on Rocky Top Weaver's Blog). Then my tension went completely wonky on both the right and left edges. Some of my pieces of v-blind were just a hair too short and threads were slipping off both sides. I tried doing some minor adjustment and realized that I needed to re-wind.

I noticed the problem somewhere around the 16th. I knew at that point that the tension was not going to get fixed in time and the mats would not be woven by Christmas. I took a picture of the first mat on the loom and sent it inside a card with my mother-in-law's other present. (I am guessing that I am not the first person in weaving land to send a photo of a project on a loom with the promise of a present soon)

My loom with a kraft paper tail

The Tuesday after Christmas I carried my little loom back to the center and cried "help" to Carol. She said finish weaving the last inch on the first mat. Then pull all of the warp through and re-wind it on using - yes - good old fashioned kraft paper. It went on like a dream. I cut the first mat off and re-tied the warp and have been weaving rapidly ever since(and watching lots of football).

Why did I try the v-blinds? Well - everyone else was doing it. And because I have been using slick white butcher paper instead of kraft paper for several of my most recent projects and the warp would slip on it. I found the slippage annoying - although I don't think it was really causing a problem. But now I have a new supply of kraft paper - the perfect width of my little Shacht table loom and I am happy!

Today is the 11th day of Christmas. I have 2/3rds of the last mat to finish. I will cut them off tonight and they should be ready to be in the mail by the 12th day of Christmas or maybe .... the 13th day of Christmas.

Be well,
Ann

Sick Days

2012-01-04T16:09:00.000-05:00

I hated to have Tuesday off and miss Tuesday Weaving, but I woke up yesterday with a wicked sore throat, and I know how I hate it when people come to work sick. "Hey, I feel like @#$%*! I'm going to breathe on you all day and put my hands all over this food! Ahhhhh-chooo!" Yeah, I hate that. So I kept my germs to myself, called off for today, too, and spent the two days being incredibly lazy and self-nurturing.
The sore throat never really got going, probably due to the Vitamin C I take daily and all the juice I drink, and the sniffles and runny eyes tried to get a toehold but never did. But what a lovely lounging time I had!

I confess that I have a difficult time sitting and knitting, though I love to knit. I always feel like I'm not doing anything when I 'm knitting. So I took advantage of this down time and worked on some mittens. I started these mittens way back when I lived in my Maryville apartment, probably four years ago, after I made Mom a pair in the same pattern in an olive color of the same yarn, Mission Falls 1840. I had tried to get fancy with the thumb gusset before I quit, putting a cable up the middle of it, but when I picked them up yesterday, couldn't make sense of it. I ripped them out to the cuffs and started over. I'm past the thumb gusset now, plain stockinette, and up to the first knuckle of my fingers. I'd like to finish them this week to take advantage of the wicked cold weather, but it's back to work tomorrow, so we'll see!

I also spent some time weaving on the painted warp. I finished the pink silk and started the third scarf, using the pink silk as tabby and a lavender cotton as pattern weft. I'm only using one strand of the cotton, because it's twice the thickness of the silk. It's not my favorite of the three, but it's still quite nice. It glimmers with the silk underneath the pattern, and the cotton lets the painted warp come through. Bead selection is already swirling in my brain as I weave, and the pattern is well-memorized, meaning it's going very fast. This is another warp I'll be sad to see go.

Bella got a new harness, by recommendation of Tina. Unfortunately, the cold wind makes me stay inside today, and we'll have to give it a whirl tomorrow. I was happy to see that it came in pink!
And I had to bake something, being away from work so long, so I made chocolate chip cookies. The jar was full yesterday afternoon. I think the cats are eating them.
Stay warm, and weave something toasty!
Maggie

Happy Birthday, BOYS!!!!

2012-01-03T15:42:00.000-05:00

Aren't they cute???

It's our Birthday Boys!!!!

Happy Birthday, Lanny and Allan!

It was such a busy day....Cindy had news of her great loom buy! Way to go!!!!

Beatrice is back after a bout of the flu, and ready to get back to work on her new warp. As always, Carol is ready to give guidance and support.

Ms. Ila (almost got completely cut out of the picture) is busy with the Wolf Pup.

Allan, Ann, Lanny and Carl were all busy at their looms, too.

We had a great discussion going about the age of the barn looms. The loom that Carl is weaving on is estimated to have been built around 1800. And, we think the rocker loom might be even older!

Tina found her threading error, and added on a bout at the back of the loom. Now she's ready to tie on her warp.

Bonnie and I wound on her warp, so she'll be weaving towels next week!

Andy has enough thread left on her warp to eek out a runner (maybe!) She's going to show us her shawl technique next!

Ta-da!

Our new rug rack arrived, and we got it set up and in place in the shop! It looks so much nicer now....and you might even be able to find just the right rug for your space. And, you can even see this wonderful old loom on the shop floor!!!!

****And, a reminder for all the Tuesday Weavers: painting day is this Friday, 6 January. Allan has worked his magic on the Annex, and it's time to paint. So, wear your painting clothes and bring a brush or roller, and let's get this finished!!!!

What a great way to start the New Year!

Happy Weaving!

LouAnn

New Year

2012-01-02T09:58:00.000-05:00

It's January already!! So where did the year go? It always seems to go by faster and faster.

I don't do new years resolutions. I do mentally make lists of what I want to accomplish, at least in the next month or so. I do eventually have to get back to my regular production. I'll have to get a yarn order ready for that but I'm going to procrastinate for a week or two. I've got several projects ready to go on for production already, but first, I'm going to continue to keep doing some rugs. I've been storing some boxes of rug weft material at my husband's office. Stash takes up space!! We brought 4 huge rubbermaids home last week and I began to use some of the fabric strips that I bought at Great Northern in June. However, these rugs are all from my stash of loopers.

Don't you like how, just by picking certain colors, you can change the whole look of a rug inspite of what colors you're using for warp? I think using different colors in the warp just add a bit of interest to the whole look of the rug. This more warm toned rug doesn't have any turquoise in the weft but plenty in the warp. I like the bits of colors that show over the weft loopers.

There are 2 of these rugs.

I just made one rug of these primary colors, well, I did add green to the mix. I'm going to do another one of these soon, I hope.

Ah, yes, the pink and purple one. You're right, Teresa, looks like a grandma would love to pick this up for her granddaughter! I'm hoping so anyway. I did 2 of them hoping that was a good idea.

In the middle of all this, I decided to dye some of those loopers that we'd cleaned at LouAnn's house. I weighed one pound bunches of them and dyed them in empty plastic cat litter pails. RIT calls for half a cup of dye in 3 gallons of water. So that's exactly what fits into the pails. Would it be possible to dye 2 pounds in 3 gallons? I don't know. I like the fairly intense colors that resulted here.
My only problem with all this is that DH has been watching our septic tank pretty closely. The guy that's supposed to fix the drain field has been AWOL for several months but it had been doing ok without help.........til I needed to rinse out the loopers. Friday afternoon I came home and had to take the pails outside to drain, take the cover off the spigot outside and attach the hose. It wasn't too cold (high mid 50s) yet but the pails were pretty heavy to haul out there. I did rinse them a couple of times before bringing them in to sit overnight.......because......they needed to be washed in warm water and detergent. Yeah, right, with the tank at an uncomfortably full level.....as in, no showers, etc.
Saturday was the start of the holiday weekend. Try to call someone to come empty the tank for you then!! We did have success with a guy who's been here before. He came mid afternoon and emptied it. If you live in my area and need someone, call me. I'd send business his way any day!! He went above and beyond, I thought!!! Hopefully we have a lead on another guy to fix the line. All the damage is still from those storms that came through in April which resulted in so many of us getting a new roof, etc.

Tina, LouAnn and I spent hours cleaning loopers at her house. So after washing, dyeing, rinsing and then throwing them back in the dryer to help them dry, there are some serious piles of knots of debris still in the loopers!! Guess once they're completely dry, I'll have fun sorting through them again before bagging them to be ready for weaving down the road. These colors might work for the rug I plan to weave for his office.

Since our septic tank is, at least temporarily, problem free, I think I'll bag up some more of those loopers and dye them so I have a good supply for a rug later on. If I use the big bag full that I brought home, that's fine. I know where I can get more!!
So what's going on the loom next? I've got a black warp on there and this bag of strips is waiting to be woven into a rug. Normally our rugs don't look so great in a contemporary room, but this rug would look great in a very modern setting. Linda, I think we should have bought more of this!!! Their web site doesn't show any more of this particular stripe so I guess it's all sold. Too bad. But, I'll just weave up what I have and hope someone likes it enough to buy it in spring!!

We've had a nice fall so far weatherwise. The other night I actually was watching the weather and there was this big swath of cold air predicted to come down here. It was come via Laura in Prince George and my family in Moose Jaw. I talked to my sister and she said there were alot colder already there and they'd had some snow. Last night the cold air started to come down here. No snow, just a few clouds in the sky but they predict snow in the mountains an hour from here maybe by Tuesday. We should be fine. We're protected down here in the valley. But, it's the kind of weather that's good for staying inside and getting work done on projects. That's what I plan to do this week. Maybe I can check off a thing or two from my mental list. Trouble is, as I check something off, another item gets put on the bottom of that list!! I guess it's a good thing. I'd hate to be bored with nothing to do. We sure don't have that problem around here!!
Until next week,
Happy weaving!!
Carol

In With The New!

2011-12-31T09:32:00.000-05:00

It's already started....the New Year's celebrations all over the world. I just saw the news clip of the fireworks over Sydney Harbour....stunning!!!
I was mulling over my post for today, and thinking of the old and the new. It's been an interesting year.

This is a shot of one of my poinsettias that I've had for a few years. Some folks are very careful about their care, but mine seem to thrive on neglect! I shove them out the door in the spring...just as soon as the threat of frost is over, and they stay outside all summer until the frost danger returns. Then, after they drop all their leaves, the new ones return. This was an especially good year for my plants. And, this one was outstanding!!!! They'll be at the sliding glass doors until Spring returns.....and out they'll go again!

I messed up my favorite serger right before the Foothills show, and it is now waiting on parts to fix it. (I bought it new in the late '80's, so it's had a good run!) But, while I was at the shop, the nice salesman showed me the new, improved 5 thread serger. Oh my! I think a woman must have been involved in this development! Threading this baby is so much easier....that crazy lower looper is now a breeze to thread. And, the needles tilt forward to ease in threading. I finally got the tote bags from the Center serged and washed...so they are ready to be finished up. It's already getting a work out!!!

And, just for fun, I'm trying my hand at "knitting" socks. For those that know me, you know that knitting is not my thing. Now, if you threatened me with the life of one of my children, I probably could knit.....but I just can't seem to handle two needles! (I can crochet all day long!) But, I LOVE hand knitted wool socks!!! And, since my knitting friends have enough to do without me whining about socks, I thought I'd try my hand at this! We'll see how it goes.....

Tonight we welcome in a new year, and reflect upon the old. I have set a goal of one new overshot pattern a month for mug rugs. That will give me a nice inventory next November when we set up for Foothills again. And, there are lots of projects that are rattling around in my head that I want to weave in 2012.
Also, there are a few old projects that need finishing up on the looms and on the sewing table. It's a good thing my new serger is up for the tasks.
Happy New Year to all my friends, and
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

In with the New!

2011-12-30T11:53:00.000-05:00

I figured I would skip the "Out with the Old" part, since I plan on finishing several projects that are still UFO's. This Christmas the adult kids suggested that we buy gifts only for the children. Dear One added that he thought everyone should buy themselves something, wrap it an put it under the tree for Christmas morning! This was received well by all, including me.
I took advantage of an end of the year sock yarn grab bag at Little Knits, online yarn store. For about $6 a skein you get 10 skeins of sock yarn! They choose the colors for you, so I figured it would really be a surprise when I opened it. Unfortunately it did not arrive before Christmas, but yesterday, when it came, was just like second Christmas!

Here they are, and I like all of them, which really surprised me! My in town Daughter will get to pick one as a replacement for the one I borrowed from her.

Now comes the fun part, I get to match these yarns with different sock patterns on Ravelry.com, and get started on my own personal "A Pair of Socks per Month Club" I still need to pick up a couple of skeins to make 12 but I think I have enough yarn to work with for now.

On Ravelry.com, I have gone through many pages of sock patterns, and I have put several in my queue, to start soon. Most of them are for the self stripping yarn, and they have really clever ways to use that yarn to it's potential, and not just do the plain self stripping sock. (Though I may do one or two of those as well.)

On Ravelry, you can search what people have done with a specific yarn that you have, in this case I spent most of yesterday evening researching this yarn. There are over 3000 projects that have used it! I found 5 that I could really enjoy! Too bad I only have one skein!

I may, sometimes do a scarf, if I feel like the yarn would be more suited to that, than on my feet! I am going to print out patterns and use ziplocs to match the yarn and pattern, just like the Yarn Harlot does, no need to re-invent the wheel is what I say. I will post the yarn and pattern at the beginning of each month, probably over on Farmstead Studio, but I will make a reference to it over here as well.
The Christmas stuff is down, and almost all packed away, we don't dally over here, I am surprised that we made it all the way to the 29th! Once I get my chores done today, I will take a stab at finishing place-mat number 3 and 4 on the Hollywood warp.

I may do 6 place-mats and a runner with this medium weft instead of changing to a lighter weft. I knew I should have put on a longer warp!

So that is my plan for what it's worth,
Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina

A Little Bit of Weaving Goes Around The World

2011-12-29T13:15:00.000-05:00

Sorry to have been away so long. Life for me was just a bit out of control for the last few weeks - nothing bad - just too busy. On Monday, the day after Christmas, I put my seventeen year old daughter on a plane to Brazil. She was traveling solo and will be there at an international camp for 4 weeks.

The holidays and times of transition seem to lead to lots of reflection. Seventeen years ago yesterday this picture of my mother and daughter was taken.

That would be our last visit. The following week my mother died unexpectantly. This picture is one of most precious possessions. I know that my mother would be very proud of my daughter and the young woman that she is becoming.

A blink of an eye and seventeen years later I am putting that little baby girl on an airplane trusting that the people who are supposed to greet her at the other end will actually be there. This morning I saw pictures on a camp blog of her smiling face and know all is well. One of the other things I saw on the blog was several of her new young friends wearing the friendship bracelets that my daughter wove on my inlke loom before she left.

Unfortunately, the picture I stole from the camp blog is blurry so you can't really see the bracelet - but I know it is there.

These bracelets left Knoxville on December 26th and will be distributed in Brazil over the next four weeks. By the end of January they will be in Brazil, Denver, Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Germany, Sweden, Norway, India, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. A little bit of weaving and lots of love goes around the world.

The love goes across the generations, too.

Be well - Happy New Year to all,
Ann

Ain't Nothin' Free!

2011-12-28T16:10:00.000-05:00

Previously, I've mentioned the new sewer line I have to have installed from the street to my house. After two weeks of getting estimates, as well as waiting for no-show plumbers, I selected one. They were supposed to start last week, but the rain kept them away. Then, they were scheduled to be here yesterday, but since it was Tuesday, it rained again. They didn't call until I was in Maryville-- Knitting Nest's end of year sale!--and asked how I felt about the hedge.
Now, you all should know how I feel about that hedge. It's full of poison ivy and frequently out of control. A lot of it is dead, but weed trees and ivy are taking over. I told them to take it out! They couldn't get the backhoe in there without doing so, anyway. It's gone now, from the vegetable garden to the street. I'll still have to clear out the remaining 20-30 feet, but I can do it! I have a two week vacation coming up soon, and that will be one of my chores, especially since the part they took out contains the most poison ivy.

I'd hoped to post a little about weaving, since I'm 24 inches away from having the pink Lover's Knot scarf done, but I spent three hours at the Subaru dealer, getting the oil changed. The last time I was there, I didn't have an appointment and it took ten minutes! Unfortunately, Ruby Suby also needed a check up from the body shop. Seems she can't move trees! I was backing up a narrow road someone had advised me to take, and as I watched a boulder from the backup camera, a tree out the lens' view met Ruby's bumper.
I have a call into my insurance agent, but have yet to hear back from him. I'd like Ruby to get fixed as soon as possible, but the dealer said they're still working on hail damage repair! Can you believe that? The storms were in April! But we walked by a car in Maryville today that was completely pitted, with a broken windshield, so I guess that's right.

I once had a jar in the bathroom of many differently colored hair elastics, and one day caught Weftie in the act of pulling them out, one at a time. Soon, they were all gone. Today, I have found them, so at least I get to save a little money somewhere! Miss Etta helped collect them, as well as Bella's long lost brush and some random trash, behind the fridge. And I had to post a photo of Miss Etta, since some of you doubt her existence. She is shy, but she just needs a reason to come out sometimes.
With the backhoe rumbling outside, I'll finish up the vacuuming and maybe finish the scarf. Have a great week, and happy weaving!
Maggie

The Few...The Mighty!!!

2011-12-27T15:45:00.000-05:00

Although we really missed the rest of the regulars, a few of us managed to make it to the Center today. And, as always....we had a delightful time! Lots of chatter, lots of laughs! So, stay tuned....here's the rundown of some of the highlights of today:

Bella and Maggie were able to come today (I'm so glad they were able to fill that position at the Farm so that Maggie could have her Tuesday's free!!!!) Bella did her job so well....she kept Maggie at the loom long enough to do a couple of place mats!

That also means that Bella kept an eye on Tina while she worked out the tangles on that breadcloth warp. Just stay with it, Tina!!!!!

And, although Ann was working out a tension error on her warp, she was also waiting for word that her daughter's flight had landed safely.
Hey....we can multi-task with the best of them!!!!

Why is Bonnie cracking up????
Wouldn't you know it, the yarn Carl needed was on the TOP shelf....and, it's too tricky trying to get a ladder back there right now! Being resourceful, Carol borrowed Carl's cane to knock it off the shelf.
No person (or yarn) was harmed in this procedure!

Cindy finished weaving on the little Harrisville, and cut off the warp this afternoon. YEAH!!! So, what's next, Cindy?????

It's hard to believe that another year has passed....the next time we'll be together the calendar will turn to 2012. We have a lot to weave....a lot to explore. How exciting!!!!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

The Day After..

2011-12-26T12:11:00.000-05:00

Christmas always flies by!! We had a wonderful few days of family and friends, eating too much, opening gifts and wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!! You've not lived til you've had prime rib and sides made by a really good Greek cook...

The past week just flew by. I did somehow manage to get 4 more rugs woven on the new warp. These are all ready to go, hemmed and just waiting to be given or shipped off to friends. The next rugs I weave will be ones that I'll save for May when I'm featured artist at The Art Market Gallery here in Knoxville. I have to figure out how to display them yet but I think a variety of rugs will be a nice change there from what I usually have when it's my turn to be featured artist!

The next rug I'm weaving on the loom will be using only 4 colors of loopers, 3 of them shades of purple and the other that hot pink. Surely there'll be some Grandma who has to get it for her granddaughter's bedroom, right?! Here's hoping anyway.

Inbetween, I also found time to check the Singer website to see how old my little featherweight sewing machine is. It's hard to tell from the numbers but the letters AL before the numbers indicate that my machine was made in 1954, just 2 years younger than I am! Makes me feel old when we talk about the featherweights being wonderful antiques that still continue to sew well. I suspect that as time goes by these will become harder and harder to find. I've found them at the quilt conference vendor areas. There's a guy that always comes to the conference in Pigeon Forge in March. He's getting older and has a helper now that comes with him. I hope that someone will take over for him when he no longer does the shows. I think it takes a real tinkerer to keep the machines going and to repair the ones that haven't been loved in awhile.

I had a short list of wishes for my Christmas gifts. I wanted DVDs to watch while I weave. Here are most of the ones I got. Bones, NCIS and NCIS LA are on their way so once I finish watching the last 3 seasons of LOST, I'll be digging into these. It'll probably take me til next winter before I get through them all but it certainly will make the time fly as I throw the shuttle!!

My DH got himself a new TV for his studio recently so I got the old 32" flat screen TV he'd had in there. It's nice to have a bigger screen to watch but the sound isn't as loud as my old smaller TV. He's such a sweetie, tho, he found some speakers and connected them to the TV and I can turn them on and have sound coming from behind me while I weave. I just need it louder when I'm weaving the production warps. That's when the shuttle flies and it gets pretty loud with that and you can't hear the voices (I listen more than watch the shows). When I do rugs, it's slower and I can hear it fine. It'll be sometime in January before I get back into the normal production.

I hope that each of you had a wonderful weekend and look forward to a great New Year!! I don't do any kind of resolutions, just plan to continue to make things. I'm behind on baby blankets for friends (a boy is due by summer and I know there are others) so will try to get a few quilts made as well plus the projects that are sitting there waiting to be sewn.....plus the weaving, that 20/2 I bought at Midwest just because the colors were so pretty and the cottolin (same reason, different projects) or the 10/2 cotton that will be scarves inspired by Sheila O'Hara's class....so here's to just keeping going and making things that are pretty for people to enjoy!!
Til next week.
Carol

Deck the Halls

2011-12-24T10:26:00.000-05:00

Not all of the little men made the trip from storage this year.

But, just enough to be festive are lined up to watch the festivities.

The stockings are hung....and the sorting caps* are laid out on the hearth.

These are the kids' first stockings....and yes, I still have them. I cross stitched them on small red gingham. And the sorting caps are for our Hogwarts Yule Ball that we'll be having Christmas night.

I started putting the goodies out on the table. I found the snowman fruit basket at my downstairs door this morning. Thank you, FedEx. I guess you delivered it last night, but you didn't ring the bell. At least you didn't throw it at the house. It is a gift from my former neighbors in New Mexico. I would guess they are snowed in about now. I LOVE tangerines...especially at Christmas!!!!

And, Rudy has been admonishing me for not getting this rug done....all I lack is the header! But, somehow weaving has taken a back seat this last week. My mystery project is drying downstairs, but it isn't finished. I guess that's normal this time of the year.

So, I'll get in gear, and make a quick trip to post office this morning. I've got Christmas Eve services later today, and there's a couple of last minute items to pick up.

I hope you and yours have a very

Merry Christmas!!!!

LouAnn

Shiny Baubles!

2011-12-23T10:47:00.001-05:00

I know! I know! I know I have been saying forever that I do not need to add another craft to my cart, but I have been introduced to Pinterest by my in Town daughter.
Pinterest is like having online cork boards, to which you pin pictures of your favoritest things. It can be food, kids, arts and crafts, architecture, just about anything really. You can see what other people have posted to their boards and sometimes get ideas for things that you can really do at home!

I only have about 8 things on my boards since I am a total Newb. One of them is this cool ornament that you can make with plain globes and fabric pieces and of course Mod Podge. ( Which I continually call Modge Podge!) I had fabric already, so we needed a quick trick to Hobby Lobby, (with my East Coast Daughter, who is in town for the Holidays), where we picked up the ornaments (half price already!) and Mod Podge. Then home again, home again jiggity jig!

We raided the fabric stash, and each chose the fabrics we wanted. Then, armed with scissors, we began to cut the fabric in squares and strips. I chose fabrics that had many different colors and scenes already on them, so that I didn't have to do any matching of colors, though you can see that I did end up combining 2 fabrics on one of the ornaments.

Messy, messy, messy, but loads of fun. We used sponge applicators to apply the sticky stuff. Be sure to wear an apron or something protective, cause you will get in on your clothes and you will not be able to get it out again!

Then we hung each one on a shelf to dry over night.

I think they looked good already!

I used a rose floral fabric for this one!

This one was a fabric with a farm theme.

This one had a Peter Rabbit theme.

My daughter did the next two ornaments. This one is a Silent Night theme.

This is strips of fabric!

I think it is going to take several more coats of the Mod Podge to really make them shiny, and my in Town Daughter says that we will need to let them cure for a couple of months before we can pack them away.

Here they are in their proper place!

Hmmm, this year I have discovered two new friends, Spray Paint and Mod Podge, watch out world!

Here is to a meaningful Christmas to all of you!

Merry Christmas, and Happy Weaving, Tina

I Hear Sleigh Bells!

2011-12-21T10:53:00.000-05:00

Or is it just ringing in my ears?

I'm feeling particularly smug because I finished everything and got all the packages in the mail yesterday. Everyone will get their gifts on time, and I can relax and enjoy the rest of the season. Well, except for those pesky guests at the farm who also want to enjoy the season!
I finished beading the scarf by toiling at wee hours in the morning. I felt about halfway through that I'd done too much, but I forged ahead because I didn't want to un-bead. Overall, I like the way it turned out, but the next two scarves will be slightly different. And because they didn't get done in time to be Christmas gifts, their future homes have changed. Can't be a spoiler, so you'll just have to wait and see.
But it's so nice to have the pressure of the deadline gone, and to be able to focus on other things. Last night, all the Chefs, dining room managers and sommeliers were treated to dinner at Town House in Chilhowie, VA, a small but beautiful restaurant that is getting a lot of well-deserved praise and press. www.townhouseva.com/ I wish I would have taken pictures, but we all said that halfway through dinner. Everything was delightful, well thought-out and delicious. Well, except this slimy oyster-tasting stuff on a spinach leaf that was an appetizer. I was definitely in the minority on that one, but I thought it was gross. It was a texture thing.
Dessert was amazing, but I really don't like their platings. Stuff is just kind of piled in a bowl or on a plate. You've seen my stuff enough to know that I like architectural platings, with nothing on the plate that doesn't belong and clean, finished lines. The first time I ate one of Karen Urie Shields' desserts, I was horrified by the big pile of stuff on the plate. But as I dug into the pile, each new spoonful revealed another surprising taste and texture. That's how it was last night. The first was a bowl of off-white and brown shards of stuff, hiding something freezing cold and chocolate-y, with a pungent smoke flavor in the shards and some sour cream. The next dessert was parsnips ice cream, um... and um... okay, it was seven glasses of wine, two beers and a shot of sake into the dinner! I might not remember the second dessert that well! But all agreed the first was much better and very exciting to eat. We had a discussion about her platings and mine, and how I could meet in the middle somewhere because of how pleasant the surprise of uncovering new flavors and textures was. We will see. I'm not sure I can loosen up that much!
Tomorrow, it's back to making others happy for the holidays! I think my Christmas will probably happen next Wednesday, because on Tuesday, it's new sewer line day! Woohoo! Can't wait!
I hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing holiday weekend! Give big hugs, eat lots of deliciousness and raise a glass to all those people making others' holidays bright this weekend!
Maggie

TW Christmas Pot Luck!

2011-12-20T17:16:00.000-05:00

It was a much smaller than usual group today at weaving. Though we made up for it with a wonderful pot luck, with everything from Spicy Cauliflower soup to yummy chocolate cake! We even had enough to share with the worker bees upstairs in the shop/office area!

I can say that we were a very quiet group as well, which is usually not the case! Let me show you a little of what is on the looms as of today.

Carl and Cindy are beaming a new rug warp on the old barn loom. Here is Carl at the reins! He is just getting ready to smooth out those threads, after a wind on.

I just love how it looks on the back beam!. This is a wool warp, threaded at 6 ends per inch I believe.
I think that it will make marvelous Blue Jean Rugs!

Ila is churning out the mug rugs on the Wolf Pup that we used to demonstrate at the Foothills Craft Show last month. I believe she is doing 4 Mug Rugs per color.

Bonnie is threading a new hand towel warp.

While Lou Ann is doing Place-mats.

I have finally started winding on this pesky Bread Cloth warp, I was determined not to leave until it looked presentable!

And Allan has made great progress on the Annex addition! We will be ready to paint it when the weather will co-operate!

I know that I didn't get a picture of Andy today, she is putting a warp on for Pat to use for an upcoming workshop. We sure missed both Pat and Linda today, they are both in our prayers as they heal from their surgeries. The only picture I got of Carol was when I realized we were both wearing the same faded red shirt! " It's so comfortable", we both said!

As each one left we wished each other a Merry Christmas. As I now wish to you as well, from all of us Tuesday Weavers, to all of you, Merry Christmas, and Happy Weaving, Tina for all!

Early Christmas Gift

2011-12-19T10:17:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday DH was down in Atlanta with his family while his Mom had her hip replaced. She's now in rehab and doing well, slowly recuperating from the surgery. It'll be a different Christmas this year but having her recovering is so much better than the pain she'd been in this fall after her bone broke.

He came home with our early Christmas gift from his parents.

A couple of years ago when she turned 80 my Mother in law got an old featherweight Singer. I"ve always liked them. Was sorry that back in 1974 when I got my Singer Flexistitch that I hadn't gotten the featherweight instead, so much lighter and cuter!!
I guess she decided she wasn't going to be sewing much on it and hoped I would, so I got it!! I love how it all fits into the case so nicely. The sewing bed part folds up so that it fits well into the box.

This particular model is really ornate and doesn't have a scratch on it. I do hope that I continue to maintain its pristine condition!!

It even came with some vintage singer needles!!! I don't think I"ll use them but sure do like the way they look in their packages.

I've got the book that was written by Nancy Johnson-Srebro as well on the Featherweight so I think it won't be hard to figure out. I really like the straight stitch foot that's on it.

I'm going to find a small throw pattern for a quilt and use this machine to sew it all together. It does need to find a home in the house on a table that's just right for it too!! I'm so excited about the prospect of sewing on a machine that's been around so long. I'm not sure how old this one is, just having gotten it and not having had a chance to talk to my Mother in law, I'm just waiting to get more details. All I know is that this is my gift and I'm thrilled!!!

On the weaving front, the warp I showed that needed to be threaded last week is off the loom, serged, washed and dry. I'll be assembling a top today that hopefully will be done tomorrow so I can send it on with Ila for LaDonna. Then I"ll put another rug warp on. That might be on by later today as well. I'm going to do all looper rugs on this one. I need to get that stash down so that more loopers can come into the house!

Saturday we went on a mini vacation. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside so I don't have any but we went on the candlelight tour of Biltmore Manor in Asheville. It was gorgeous, tons of beautiful trees, nicely lit rooms, lots of stairs to climb and always new things to discover. We hadn't been there in about 10 years so there were new rooms to discover. They have an temporary exhibit going on how they discovered what the original wallpaper or chair fabric were on the furnishings in the house. Then they went to France to get reproduction fabric or wallpaper made. I found the fabric so interesting because it was velvet. They have some of it in a room now too. Very cool. Having taken Robyn Spady's class where velvet was a sample we wove and watching videos since made their video of the fabric being woven just totally understandable!! There's a pattern with their velvet made by the cards on the loom but the whole basic construction was just like we did in Robyn's class!!
There was also an exhibit down the road at the manor of Tiffany Lamps. They have over 30 of them there. What a treat to be able to see them as well. Of course, no photography again!!
Guess we all have to go to the Biltmore website to see some of the pictures!!

Our Christmases are always very quiet. There are only 3 of us plus the cat and we like to just lay low, relax and enjoy ourselves on Christmas. We usually go to Atlanta sometime before the New Year. This year DH will probably go down this week to check on his Mom and then go for a couple of days after New Years. I'll probably go to Canada for a couple of weeks late in January to see my family there. So I'm looking forward to a not so hectic time these next few weeks!! Just the way I like to celebrate Christmas!!
Have a very Merry Christmas!
Carol

The Countdown

2011-12-17T09:03:00.000-05:00

I left you last Saturday with a crazy to-do list/plan of action. These are NOT the cookies I baked last Saturday! These came out of the oven this morning looking exactly like they are supposed to look.
The Red Velvet cookies I baked last week did not flatten.....in fact, the snickerdoodles and the chocolate chip cookies I baked last weekend did not spread out like they were supposed to do. I had a long talk with Maggie on Tuesday about my cookie failures, and we decided that it might be the butter that I was using.
Long story short.....these are the real deal!

Today is our family gathering, and I've got the tablet and cracker candy plated and ready to wrap.
The ham is ready to plate, and I've got to mix up a batch of rolls this morning to bake at my son's house.
Needless to say, there will be LOTS of goodies from all the family to add to the table.

But, before I rush off to the gathering, I'll leave you with a shot of my mystery project. Yes, I got it on the loom. And, yes, the first one is almost woven. I'll reveal the project next Saturday!

In the meantime.....enjoy this countdown to the special day. Try not to make yourself too crazy and take some time to enjoy the music and lights.

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Studio Day!

2011-12-16T13:37:00.000-05:00

Normally I do my weaving on Wednesdays and Fridays, sometimes Saturday mornings are good as well. This week however I have been getting ready for Christmas company. On Wednesday I blogged over on Farmstead Studio about how I single handedly took on the guest room. While I was in the middle of that process, there were several things that made their way across the landing into the main studio.

Some of it was already there, I must admit!

I started in one corner and began to semi organize a few things. I kept running across little bits and pieces, and I needed someplace to put them all! I had purchased an craft organizer sometime last summer that was perfect!
Screws, bolts, nuts, washers of all sizes, odd buttons and even batteries went in nicely!

It is a bit dark, but I think you can see what I mean.

Then it was time to find a place in the closet, for the camp bed, and tackle the work table. I found a couple of boxes of various sizes that really helped.

Inkle loom kits and Inkle odds and ends fit to perfection. They are now labeled and on a shelf!

With the table clear, I took a break from cleaning and cut some fabric strips for my place-mats. I also found a lighter color fabric to try on the next set! I cut some of that too!

The darker fabric is what I am using now. That is the second of six place-mats below.

Then it was back to work! I dusted the table, and the looms. I still need to vacuum, but on the whole it is done. There are still a couple of corners that could use some attention, but at least I can walk in the room and see where everything is!

I had to come downstairs for the sweeper, so I thought I would break for lunch and do my post. My last big chore is to go through the pantry, (checking for expired stuff as I go,) and see what I have and what I need to purchase to have some sort of meal plan for the company season.

I found several things during this weeks clean up, fabric that I had forgotten I had, boxes that I could use to organize, a couple of skirts that just need to be hemmed, my favorite reed hook, a couple of decks of cards the grand-kids will just love (they even have Santa on them), and Lou Ann, I found that Inkle book you were looking for!

Now for the Pantry!

I hope your Holiday preparations are going well,
Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina

Prettier in Pink

2011-12-14T11:02:00.000-05:00

When I left the Center yesterday after lunch, I said I was going to take a nap, but when I got home, I apparently hadn't gotten enough weaving done. I wove and wove and wove and reached 72 inches on the scarf with the gray tencel. This morning, I hemstitched--woohoo!--and because there was a thread about three inches in from the right side that was pulling obnoxiously for no apparent reason, I cut the scarf off. I pulled all the threads evenly and tied back on.
Several years ago, Clinch Valley Weavers had a white elephant swap, and Helen Gairns came with a big box of yarn she wanted to get rid of. I bought a beautiful fat spool of pink silk that since then has languished in my stash, waiting for the perfect project. I saw it the other day when I was looking for hat knitting yarn and thought, hmmm... I wonder what that would do as weft in the Lover's Knot warp?
Dear Wally found that spool once and had a good time with it, making it almost unwindable, but when I want something, I don't let much get in my way. I spent a good two hours this morning untangling and winding the silk onto bobbins, stealing glances at the newly finished scarf and trying to imagine the pink silk in the warp.
I wish a camera could do it justice! I took the photo on the left with flash, and the others without, but neither method shows how lovely the silk is blending with the warp. I simply love it! It doesn't stand out as much as the flashless photo shows it; it just blends right in, and lets the warp show much more than the gray did. And the hand of the fabric is going to be so much more luscious!

It's also quite noticeable that the gray tencel is much thicker than the pink silk. The pattern is much smaller in the pink. Once the gray is washed, I know it will be soft and drapey, too, but the pink has stolen my heart!
Unfortunately, the tighter thread has reappeared, but since the gray scarf doesn't seem to be affected by it, I will carry on. I can't find the source of the pulling on that thread, but hope it becomes apparent soon, so I can fix it before the next scarf. Hmmm... I wonder what the next weft will be?
This afternoon, after some shopping and lunch with Mom, I'll take the gray scarf to the bead store and look for some yummy embellishments!
I hope you have a yummy day, too!
Maggie

Another Terriffic Tuesday!!!

2011-12-13T15:59:00.000-05:00

It was back to business as usual at the Center today!
Since Carl had cut his warp off the loom, it was time to re-dress the barn loom back in the corner. Cindy wanted to learn how to warp front to back, so she became Carl's apprentice. They will be ready to tie onto the back beam next week.

Lanny is weaving the last scarf using one color with a twill treadling, and Maggie is hard at work on that wonderful placemat warp.

(Maggie knit that sweater she has on....very chic!)

Ann is back from her retreat...and she's hard at work getting her warp ready to put on her table loom.

Bonnie was putting the finishing touches on her plans for the towel warp that will go on the loom on the back row.

****see the rocker beside Bonnie......

Yes....this one!!! Ms. Pat WOVE the back and seat on that rocker! Allan had donated it for the Center auction, and Pat was the high bidder. She did such a great job!

Another example of plotting and planning going on!!!! Ms. Trudy had a twisted thread on her heddle, and Carol is the one that can help her fix that problem!

LaDonna made us apple dumplings today! YUM! And, there was some weaving time, too!!!

Tina brought the new rag cutter for us to see in action. Cool, huh!!!!! It uses box cutter blades to cut the strips!

Guess what we got in the mail????
Our very own woven tree ornament from Amanda over on Weave Away!!! We got to watch the progression of pictures as she wove them, and made the ornaments, and we LOVE it! Thank you, Amanda!!!!

Next week we will be having our Christmas potluck.....we'll have time to weave, too. But, it is always amazing when all those wonderful smells fill the lower level of the Center!
So, in the meantime, back to your regularly scheduled weaving!!!!
LouAnn

Need a Rug?

2011-12-12T08:41:00.000-05:00

I got the warp of rugs off the loom this past week and sewed the hems on each of the 9 rugs. I'm using carpet warp for the warp and felt that it would result in a fairly thin fringe so just wove about 4 inches at each end with a couple of the warp threads and I like how the hem looks now that it's done. I serge the raw edges, lay the rug out on my table and carefully pin the hems before taking it to my sewing machine to sew. I use my walking foot to sew the hem. Works great!

There are 2 rugs like this. I had quite a bit of the main color fabric but wanted to add a bit of contrast so one end has 2 rows of the lighter color stripe and the other end has only one stripe.

There wasn't a ton of the stripe fabric strips left so I pulled out about a yard of a blue and yellow patterned fabric and added that.

I like how the colors play off of each other. There's only one rug like this. The nice thing about rugs is that you can make them all so different on the same warp.

I bought the bolt of the purple and teal flannel and it's all cut into strips and sewn, rolled into balls. I made two rugs like this, pretty much the same size.

This is the softest rug. Flannel feels just great under your toes. I've got a bunch left of this fabric, enough for at least 2 more rugs. I'm going to store them until I get another warp on that will work well with it.

So then it was time for loopers. There are 4 rugs kind of like this, the last one is alot longer to finish the last of that warp. These are all pegged for gifts this year.

Just using 7 colors of loopers, you get such a nice mix of colors, nothing planned except I had one rule. Never chain 2 of the same colors next to each other. They often are the same in the next row but as long as they're not side by side I didn't care.

My Thelma nilus loom still has the placemats on it. I've woven 2 1/2 placemats so far. That's a pretty poor record and she is calling me every time I walk down there. This week I hope to get quite a few of those placemats woven. There's another warp planned with 2 other colors. The weft was from R & M's stash of strips when we went there ages ago.

On my Nilus right now is a clothing warp waiting to be threaded. I'd like to get this warp off the loom this week too. It's 2 jackets, 2 tops and 3 vests. Shouldn't take me more than a few days to do it if nothing interrupts me.

Tomorrow my mother in law is having her hip replaced in Atlanta. Our own Tuesday Weavers Linda is recovering from her knee replacement being replaced here in Knoxville. A dear friend of mine's daughter and grandson have just gone through surgery in Atlanta as well. Her daughter gave her kidney to her son who's 12. Her son's still in ICU but from what I've heard both of them are slowly healing. What a wonderful gift to give! They'll all be down there through Christmas and probably well into January. Makes me thankful for my health and for friends willing to be there to help their family members..
Well, I've got to go get an oil change so my DH can drive my van down to Atlanta to be there for his Mother's surgery and then I have to tackle the Christmas cards. We send about 200 of them and I sign each card. However, this year my DH did print labels for the majority of them since they're sent to mainly to his music friends and other guitar players!
So once that's done I'm heading back down to the studio to thread that loom!!!
Stay warm and keep weaving, right?!!
Carol

Saturday's Horoscope

2011-12-10T11:02:00.000-05:00

I had been making notes about my blog for today since Thursday night....you know...clever little thoughts about weaving and the holidays and getting things done. When I got back from the post office this morning, I opened up the newspaper, and what to my wondering eyes should see:

"Try to keep pace with your work, because there is a strong chance things could quickly get out of hand."

Would that be referring to the fact that my Christmas tree is only decorated on the bottom half? We are doing the Hogwarts Yule Ball for our Christmas theme this year, so my Gryffindor ornament was put on the tree first. That's my kids (c. 1985) when they were part of the Nativity Pageant.

Could they know that I haven't finished my goodies for the family get-together next Saturday and the box I've got to mail to my brother in Texas?

The top is Tablet made from a recipe from my niece's Scottish mother-in-law. The bottom pan is Graham Cracker Candy which is like a pecan Heath bar without the chocolate. There's still Red Velvet Cookies to make.

Maybe it could be that looper rug I'm weaving for the guy at the Mill who wanted one for his kitty.

I swear it takes longer to make a chain of loopers than it does to weave them in!!! As you read in Tina's post yesterday, we worked on the loopers here Wednesday. I'm just using the white/natural ones with a black one here and there. And, although I would love to dye some for another rug, that is going to wait until after Christmas!

Ha! I bet it's referring to my brainstorm project!!!! You know, one of those "Wouldn't it be a great present if..." projects that pop in your head and you just can't wait to try it out!

No hints here....you'll just have to wait and see.

So, now, I think I'll get off the computer, lay out the cream cheese to soften, and start my laundry.
I can weave while the clothes are washing,
mix up the dough,
put the clothes in the dryer,
bake cookies,
finish trimming the tree,
and maybe thread the new project.

Hummmmmmmmmmm......that sounds like a solid plan.
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

We were expecting snow flurries!

2011-12-09T14:09:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday we were indeed expecting snow flurries, but that isn't what is in these pictures!

It was cold enough, so cold in fact, that Lou Ann brought out a space heater! But no, this is the lint that comes off of those sock loopers we went after early November. You can even see some already sorted in the plastic bag!

Lint and strings, not snow!

We started out with 6 boxes from the sock factory, Andy took 1, Linda took 1, Bonnie took 1, Carol wanted 1, that left one for the Center Weavers and 1 box for Lou Ann and I to split. Those last 3 boxes ended up in Lou Ann's garage.

We opened the first box, and dove in, sorting out the lint and strings. Here is how it is done. load up your hand with as many loopers as you can handle, the shake out as much lint as you can onto the floor. My right hand got tired of shaking so i switched to the left for awhile. Then you put them in a plastic bag or container according to color. (Light or dark) I had to wear a dust mask, but Carol and Lou Ann didn't.

There are not nearly as many black ones as there are white/gray/natural ones. We are gearing up for a dye day once we get these sorted.

Lou Ann made us a wonderful hot soup for lunch, and dessert was GS thin mints from her freezer. After lunch we worked a little longer, then as the temp dropped even further, we called it a day, and headed for home. In all we processed about 45lbs of loopers and we are maybe 1/3 of the way thru the first box. It is going to take several more days like this to get them ready to wash and dye. However, we decided that it will have to wait til after Christmas.

I really appreciate Lou Ann letting us store the boxes in her garage, it makes a perfect sorting station for this more than messy job!

Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina

Effortless

2011-12-07T14:02:00.001-05:00

the underside

I've had quite an experience the last three days, working with one of the most famous pastry chefs in the world, Francois Payard. He taught me so much, and I think our guests learned a lot from him as well. But now, I'm in need of a little rest. Most of my free time yesterday was spent imagining myself at the loom, weaving on this beautiful warp, with a pattern I'm loving to weave. There are no threading errors, an easy-to-follow treadling progression and the ever-changing colors to watch. I love the way the shiny silver tencel sparkles above the dyed bamboo, which also has its own shimmer. This is going to be one sexy scarf!

Almost halfway through the first scarf!

But what I like best is the effortlessness of the work. I can think about other things, watch HGTV holiday shows, pet Bella, look at the awful gray weather outside while I'm glad I'm warm and safe and dry inside. I need this today!
Because soon, I will have to deal with some unpleasantness regarding my sewer lateral. Know what that is? Did you know you have one of your own? Did you know that if you own your house, you own your sewer lateral? And that if it's defective, you can be forced to repair it or the city will turn off your water? It will cost thousands of dollars, and must be done within 120 days. My particular lateral sits under my 100 year old red maple, and so its life might be endangered, something I'd prefer not to think about today. A couple of plumbers are coming tomorrow to give me some estimates, and I'm hoping my dear tree is able to stay where it is. If you know of a good plumber in Knoxville, let me know!
In the meantime, I'll be in the loominaria, weaving. I hope you're doing the same! Happy weaving!
Maggie

Happy Birthday, Carl !!!

2011-12-06T15:58:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to one of our favorite weavers!!!!

And, what did he get for his birthday???? A rug, which he wove!!!! And, isn't it a beauty!

Thank you for sharing your day with us!

Carl and Lanny cut five rugs off of Carl's loom before the Foothills show, and today was the last of the warp. And, since Carl was going to keep this one, he took it home to tie the fringes.

Of course, that means that we'll be putting a new warp on the loom next Tuesday.....wonder which one will be going on the loom????? (Tina had wound up a bunch of warps way back when to get some of the cones off the shelf. They are hanging up just waiting to be chosen for the loom.)

It was busy, as usual, at the Center today. (I could have sworn that Christy was in this picture....but she must have stepped out of range just before the shutter snapped!!!!)
Tina fixed the threading error on her warp, and Bonnie got busy winding the warp for her towels.

I actually got her to grin at me for a picture!!!!

Andy had a great weekend at the Holiday Market in Oak Ridge...she's very talented!

And, healing thoughts go out to Linda today...she's having her replacement replaced (gotta love those knees!!!!)

Stay warm.....
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Have Loopers......

2011-12-05T09:55:00.000-05:00

I've got a few loopers that I got about a year ago. I've waited this long to use some of them at least!! Knowing how many of each color made sense to me, so I divided them by color. This is about 3/4 of what I have.

The chair on the right is one I got at a show last year. I love it! It's an antique chair that the Cannon's rewove the seat on. It's also not very high, more of a side chair and perfect for chaining loopers!!

The box on the right is where I mix the looper colors I chose for the weft. Then I chain them in bunches and pile into the container on the left. While I'm doing this, I'm watching LOST. I'm up to the bonus features from season 2. We watched it all when it was first on. Knowing that we probably missed some inspite of that, I got the series for Christmas last year and now have time to watch it episode after episode!!

DH got himself a new tv for his room Saturday and I inherited his 32" flat screen for the studio. I just got it so will be interested in seeing how much better and bigger the picture will be. The old tv was fine but this one will sure be awesome. Guess I got an early Christmas gift!!
Looper rugs make me smile. They're cheerful especially when it's raining! Right now the sun is trying to shine but there are clouds all around us, the kind of dull gonna be rain clouds. We're supposed to have a bunch of rain the next few days. Of course, on Tuesday when we need to paint those boards for Allan to put on the annex. Guess we'll paint after they're on. Hopefully one of these Tuesdays will be dry!!

I was hoping to get the rugs off the loom before today but there's still room for my knees so I'm still weaving. There are only a couple of more rugs on the warp so might get it off tonight. When you weave with loopers, you create a ton of lint. All different colors of lint!! When you get up, you have to brush yourself off before you can walk!! I'll bring down the vacumn cleaner before I put another warp on!!
The first rugs are fairly thin, fabric that I got to match the warp that I put on. The middle section is flannel. There are 2 rugs like that. It's a plaid from Walmart for $2 a yard and 60" wide. That was a good deal and the rugs are soft! I've got more of that ready for the next time..

Yesterday afternoon I pulled out the flannel design wall I bought and set it up. That would have been a picture, me trying to get the rods where they belonged!! Good thing I was alone in the studio. I've been fooling with this very nice fabric I picked up in Michigan in June. Had to buy more to add to it to make a twin size quilt but this is the plan for assembling it. I already have the rows in piles with the row number and might have time to sew it this afternoon. The first two rows are overlapped a bit but you get the idea...

DH decided he needed to buy a bench for his office. He found one at Goodwood Furniture. It's unpainted, of course. He also decided that the side chair he'd taken to the office needed to be the same color as his bench. So, he got some paint that looks like mahogany. This is the primer he's painting on the pieces before he gets to the mahogany. I'm to weave a looper rug to throw over the bench. These will be in his office beside his amp and guitar. Everyone needs a hobby and he loves to play his guitar!
With the rain scheduled for this week, he's moved them into the greenhouse and will finish painting them there.

That's about all that's happened here. I will be finishing the rugs and then weaving a warp for clothing before going back to more rugs. I do need to dress more looms. They look a bit lonely right now but I think that getting more rugs woven takes priority until I empty at least one of those rubbermaids! There are more loopers out there to add to the stash....
So it's back to weaving and laundry today!!
Til next time.
Carol

Leap Blog

2011-12-03T12:12:00.001-05:00

All packed up and ready to go! Tote bags, mug rugs and one set of place mats went off to Nashville...hopefully to find new homes! I've got my fingers crossed that the booth does well!

In the meantime, it's time to get ready for the holidays, which at my house means that lots and lots of wooden nutcrackers come out of hiding!



So, why am I sitting at the computer playing Leap Blog???

Ah, you know what I mean.....don't you ever check out the blogs that are listed on the sidebar of some of your favorite blogs????
When the Tuesday Weavers started this blog, we had a core list of blogs that we had already been following, so, of course, they were listed on our sidebar. We've added some new ones along the way.   Tina, Linda and Maggie (who started their own blogs) have some of their favorites listed in their sidebars, too.
So, here are some of the blogs I leap to when I'm on the net:

One of my favorites is Boulderneigh: Boulderneigh
Michelle raises Shetland sheep, and I just adore her pictures of those fluffy ewes! She even includes little clips of them racing around the paddock. She also has a bulldog, which sometimes makes it into the blog. So, thanks to Theresa (CampRunAMuck) and Sharon (In Stitches) I have become a fan, also. And, after helping Tina clean those fleeces, I have a greater appreciation of her close-up shots of the fleece. I can almost feel the wonder of them!

And, then there's Dawn: Hey Dawn - what's happening in the studio?
She has this amazing studio....lots and lots of looms....and she does such beautiful weaving! Right now she is doing a "weave along" with a friend making some beautiful towels. She really is an inspiration.

We met Vita Marie at Townsend a few years ago....she's also responsible for getting us involved in the Maryville Foothills Fall Celebration:    Vita Marie Lovett
She lives in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, and she does such beautiful work....plus, she's just a nice person! It's a little way I can keep in touch with what is going on with her.

Last, but NOT least, is my niece, Kim:    The Writing Playground
She only blogs on Tuesdays, but I love to hop over and see what's on her mind. I can hear her voice when I'm reading her blog....I can hear it in her books, too! Her writing group reminds me of our Tuesday Weavers. We have that community of people who nurture us in our pursuits, whether it is writing or weaving. I remember her when she was a wee one, sitting in my lap when I was home on college breaks....she loved to be read to! (Her daughter did, too!!!)
So, for now, I'll end my bounce around the blogsphere and get back to the job of getting ready for the holidays. I'd like to weave a bit, too..............

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Friday is for Finishing!

2011-12-02T11:37:00.001-05:00

I was walking Scout (AKA Miss Antsy Pants!) this morning, and I was thinking about my blog post.

It seems as though I have a few things to finish up today. I have a wedding present to hem,

it is already off of the loom and checked for errors. It took me all day Wednesday to weave it, (with a break in the middle, for errands), now it just needs hemming, which won't take long, and washing.

I would love to say that I was getting ready to finish off the 2 blanket warps, but I still have several more to go. I have woven over 40 of these blankets, each one at least 45 inches long, with a dozen or so, like the one above, a whopping 70 inches. I started with 80 yards split between the 2 looms, I will do the math later. LOL!

There is quite a bit here on Lillian, and the Leclerc has a bit more. So, even though I dreamed last night,( I am not kidding), that I had cut off the last blanket, (Kings Flower in Copper! I could see the knots right up against the heddles!), it will be just a little awhile longer. I will be re-threading the Kings Flower pattern later this month, I want to do a couple of blankets in a Star pattern. These have not sold like hot cakes, ( most of them have been used as gifts), so I am not at all sure I will do another warp like this soon, hopefully, they sell this weekend in Nashville.

I have one more Christmas gift to finish up.

I believe that I can finish them up today. I plan to knit myself several pairs of socks this next year. I am not saying one pair a month, but I just might try to do that.

I have to finish all of it by 2pm, because today, Dear One and I plan to hop into town, and finish our Christmas Shopping! We may even try, now that things have dried up a bit from all the recent rains, to decorate the porch!

I have always loved reading, a lot! Now, more often than not I will listen to an audio book. Mostly because if I get a good book in my hands I will do nothing else but read it, not even sleep! With an audio book, I can weave or knit or so many other things. So today, first thing after outside chores, I will be finishing this book! I read it years ago, but happily I can't quite remember how it ends.

Maybe tonight I will get to sleep a little earlier!

Until next time, Happy weaving, Tina

Weaving as Metaphor for Life - My Life Anyway

2011-12-01T08:40:00.000-05:00

The Woollen Mill

by Jean Earle (1909-2002)

What we are hangs upon that moment -

Which will come -

When the cross is taken in the warp

And the weave is certain.

On the drying - ground

Where the wet wools are hung to blow,

Scarlet, blue,

I was first aware of the pattern

To do with light …

Look back, from evening. A widespread day

Maddened yet skilled with light …

I suppose every turn of the earth

Is loom to someone's light.

A skein untangles

Out of wind and sun,

Lies in the ordered warp, patterning

Scarlet, blue -

The cross is taken.

* Woollen is not a typo – that was the poet's spelling

A copy of this poem was given to me by my spiritual director several years ago. I had been making noises about pulling my loom out and trying to weave again. About that same time I had quit a job and was beginning my struggle with what to do next with my life. A colleague said to me, “When you begin to weave what you want to weave you will know what you are supposed to do.” Hmm... I am beginning to feel confident enough in my weaving to choose my own colors, textures, structures – I am weaving what “I want to weave.” What does that mean in the rest of my life.

I started this blog on Wednesday morning because I was procrastinating. I really needed to be doing something else. For a week or so I had been thinking about using this poem in the blog. But how was I going to weave this poem into something meaningful. So on Wednesday morning, I typed out the poem and began to write - getting to the part where I said "What does that mean in the rest of my life."

And then I realized

a) I was doing what I was supposed to be doing - not procrastinating - I was putting my busy-ness into perspective - instead of journalling - I was blogging - but it was all about getting centered in my own purpose as I move into 6 days of madness.

b) I am doing what I am supposed to be doing - back to what my colleague said - I am weaving all of the parts of my part life into one cloth. .... working (coordinating spiritual retreats), parenting, being a spouse, being a friend, being a spiritual director, being a board president, volunteering, weaving - no one part of my life is dominant, all are part of the greater pattern - the structure - my life.

Tomorrow I leave for Asheville to coordinate an Advent retreat. Advent a time of quiet waiting, anticipation, hopefulness. May I find a way to weave a bit of that for myself in this time away. May you find a way to weave it into your lives as well.

O come, O come Emmanuel be with us and in us this Advent season - help us to understand all that we are to be.

Be well,

Ann

Knowing when to throw in the towel, um, blanket.

2011-11-30T15:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning, I was up in the air about whether to go to Norris to weave, or to weave at home. I walked into the studio and found others waiting there for me. Due to the heavy accumulation of fur on both these weavings, I believe this is a favorite hang out spot when I'm not here. I gently placed Weftie on the floor, and got down to business. Remember way back, over a year ago, when I cut the first baby blanket off this loom? The one with the hand-dyed blue yarn? After I cut the first one off, the second one languished. The recipient left the farm to go make cheese elsewhere without saying goodbye, so I thought I'd make it into a shawl. Unfortunately, there are loose threads all over the place. I had about 5 weights on the back, plus a couple of spools of thread to replace broken ones. There were so many mistakes, the more I wove, and I just didn't have the patience for it! Enough already!

So I cut it off. And it felt so good! It's only long enough for a baby blanket, not a shawl, and the baby intended for it is too big, though his dad has come back to the farm. And I'm not getting any grandchildren, I've been told. So, I'm not sure what to do with it, even if I can get Weftie's fur out of it. It's so dirty! I will hem it and wash it, soaking it with some nice baby detergent, and hope for the best. Maybe someone I know will need it someday for a baby. Maybe it'll just join the box of heirloom stuff I have saved. Either way, I'm glad I tried that pattern, and I know now that I love monochromatic patterns in overshot.

Next project was to have been the group challenge of a hand-dyed shawl, and I thought this skein was 480 threads. So I spent the afternoon yesterday threading away, listening to classical music, surrounded by my furry entourage. I was almost done when it was time to meet a friend for dinner.
Imagine my surprise this morning when I ran out of threads long before I ran out of pattern. Imagine further my shock when I rechecked my math and saw that I thought 44 went into 480 20 times. And that I only had 240 threads, not 480. Sigh...
So, this warp will look lovely as scarves, won't it? And the shawl project will have to wait a little longer, because the other warp I have dyed? Yes, it's also 240 threads, not 480. And combined, they would be very ugly. That just means I'll have to have another dye day, which I love, and design a new pattern, also very fun.
Now, it's back to threading, and possibly weaving this afternoon. Stay warm! Wear fuzzy slippers while you weave! And have a nice cup of tea!

Makin' A List......

2011-11-29T15:52:00.000-05:00

As warps come off looms, another has to go on, right????
And, as we complete a project, it's time to plan another one, right???

So, while some of us worked at looms, some of us were planning the NEXT project.

I think Bonnie decided on towels for her next warp.

In the meantime.......

.....I was getting the tote bag warp ready to cut off Bonnie's loom. (Those are now in my laundry room waiting to get cut apart and washed!)

Carl is thinking he has one more rug to weave before his warp is ready to cut, and Lanny swears there is only one more scarf left on his warp!!!

Ann was excited that the custom made brown rug was picked up by the customer....it was exactly what she wanted! And, Cindy is going to weave off the warp on Ms. Bonnie's loom.

Carol took a quick visual inventory to see what was on the other looms.

Tina found a wee threading error....uh-oh!

And through it all, Allan just kept weaving!

The new roof on the Annex looks great...all new and shiny! But, we need a dry day to paint the boards... we'll just stay inside and weave!

So, as we get ready to move into high gear for the holidays, we took a little time to make our yearly holiday picture. Enjoy!
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Two years later...

2011-11-28T20:29:00.000-05:00

I always post my blog as early on Monday morning as I can so that I get it out of the way and can focus on the work of the day. Today is different. I waited until tonight because I wanted to tell you about our family.

Our daughter is adopted. She's always known she was adopted. We actually found out about her when her b'mom (birthmom) was 6 months pregnant. We were not allowed to meet her but it was a private adoption.

I knew our daughter would want to find her b'mom. She's always wanted to find that other part of her that would complete her. Because the adoption was private, we saw the birth mom's name on the papers that we had to sign. She also knew our names although she didn't know where we lived. Our daughter was born in Chattanooga so I always told her I'd take her down there to meet her mother when we found her.

Two years ago Wednesday before Thanksgiving, she was on the computer and did a random search, again, for her b'mom. We have not been able to recreate that search but after 20 minutes she said, I've found her. It turns out that she lived 10 minutes from us here in Knoxville!!! Thanksgiving Day she called her. They were driving down the interstate when our daughter called and I can just imagine the emotions that were going on in that car!!

Long story short, two years ago we met at Ruby Tuesday for the first time on the Sunday right after Thanksgiving. Talk about an emotional meeting. Her b'mom had since married a great guy and they have a son and daughter, my daughter's half siblings!

You know how you see on TV when b'moms meet their children for the first time after so many years, the tears, the hugs, the wonder of it all. Well, this could have been on television because it was all that. We were so thankful that she trusted us with raising her birth child. She only got to see her a very short time before they took her away. The tears that b'mom has shed over the years could probably fill a lake. As we raised our daughter, I would often think of her and try to telepathically reassure her that all was well, that she'd done the right thing and one day she would see her again.

The emotions that day were incredibly high. We ate lunch together and marvelled at how similar they all were, how her brother looked like her pictures at that age. How her sister liked to eat food the same way she did, how our daughter looked like her b'mom did at that age, etc.....

The past two years have been filled with adjustments. All of us have had to find our place in this new family. I'm thankful that b'mom's husband is so willing to include us in his life. Having a brother and sister has helped our daughter know that she isn't an only child any longer. We don't see them often but it's all there. The feeling of belonging to a family that shares the same genes is important to her.

So today we ate dinner together at Ruby Tuesday by the airport again. Our daughter is on the left and on the right are her b'mom and her husband.

I wanted to take some pictures to commemorate today. It's such a relaxed bunch this time!! Her brother decided to get involved with the picture taking!!

So I took another one. There is a family resemblance, wouldn't you say?

Her brother is now 10. He was so funny when they first met us. He knew she was his sister but what were DH and I to him and his sister? Well, I said, how about aunt and uncle. Good enough! We're not really but that's what we used to call people that were important to my parents that we would meet alot. I'm proud to be honorary aunt to them.

Can you tell they're sisters? They automatically moved their heads like this, opposites!! Our daughter's sister is now 14. I'm looking forward to when they will spend more time together just hanging out.

I did weave today! I've got a long warp on my Nilus and I'm weaving rugs. I hope to have some pictures next week of them. Also have placemats on my Thelma loom. It was a very rainy day today and I got a couple of rugs woven and fabric almost together for a third rug. It's exciting to know that my Nilus is sturdy enough to weave a good rug!! I do need to get that warp off pretty quickly because I have to weave a top for LaDonna!! I didn't forget about it. I just felt this need to weave a rug! With all the loopers and selvedges at the house.....I do need to use some of them up. Anyone need a rug for Christmas??? They make great gifts!!
Until next week!
Carol

Small Business Saturday

2011-11-26T09:58:00.000-05:00

I don't do Black Friday.

I know that some people enjoy the thrill of the hunt....looking for great bargains....jousting with crowds!

That really turns me OFF!

First of all, I do NOT do EARLY!

(Just ask any of the Tuesday Weavers....I'm not the first one there!) That's not to say I don't get up early...it just means I'm not out and about early. I conduct most of my business in my jammies, and I like it that way! That's one of the perks of working at home.

Needless to say, the Appalachian Arts Craft Center is one of my favorite small businesses. I drove up to Norris yesterday to take some cookies for the Open House that's going on all weekend. If you aren't familiar with the Center, here's the link: www.appalachianarts.net

And, although it was Friday, I did some shopping for Christmas while I was there. There are so many unique gift items made by local artisans....it's easy to find gifts for people on my list! And, of course, there is a mountain of woven items to tempt shoppers looking for gifts and items for their home. A mug rug with a handmade mug....instant gift!! Just add some tea bags and biscotti and you're done!

But, the most important thing is that when you shop at the Center, you are supporting local folks! And, the Center can continue operating a nurturing place for artist to gather and create.

So....there's my shameless plug for the Appalachian Arts Craft Center!!!

I'll leave you today with a shot of the bloom from the cactus....we almost missed it since it opened during the Foothills show. And, this picture doesn't really do it justice! You can get an idea of the size of the bloom (that's my sister's hand holding it for the picture.)

My daughter is coming over today to help me get the tall Christmas tree up in the living room. I didn't put it up last year because of my shoulder, and I'm excited about getting it up this year. And, we'll start the "march of the little men" as they get in position for the holidays. Who knows, we might decide to bake some cookies, too!

Happy Weaving!

LouAnn

I have to admit...

2011-11-25T10:32:00.000-05:00

I was a little disappointed that my Blankets and my "Just the Fleece" rug did not sell. (I did sell 3 rugs and the last 4 bread cloths!) I mean, they were ooohed and aaahed over, but then they just walked away! I have to say, what's not to love?

There is color and texture...

..and down right luxury, all to be had for a competitive price!

So, disappointed I was, I chatted with Lou Ann and with Carol about it, and that seemed to help. I am not looking to replace a full time salary, but I will insist on a good price for all my labor! After all, I sheared those sheep!

When I got home Sunday night, I found that I had a sale on my Etsy shop, (I thought I had put it on Vacation Mode!) and this weekend, I sold 2 blankets! True they were at the friends and family price, (75%) but there is no booth fee or shop fee to take out. I am also packing it all off to send to Nashville with Lou Ann's son, he is doing a craft fair there, and you just never know! I suppose there is encouragement around every corner after all, I just have to keep looking for it!

Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina

Turkey Day, Part 2, Coming Up!

2011-11-23T20:38:00.000-05:00

For most of the U.S., tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, but for those of us in the food service industry, we have to take it when we can. Mom and I had a lovely thanksgiving dinner yesterday, with everything that each of us wanted the most. Mom brought most of the sides: green beans with bacon and almonds, sweet potatoes withe apples, the fixings for the stuffing. We put the stuffing together, smeared the turkey with butter and herbs and spent the roasting time reminiscing, hanging Christmas lights and hanging out together.

My kitchen is tiny, and things like turkeys hang out over the edges, but here is Tom being stuffed. And then there's the pumpkin pie. I know how to pie, no doubt. It was always my favorite part of the day, when Mom and I toiled in the kitchen from morning until late afternoon, carefully placing the pies in the oven, trying not to slosh the custard. We tried to remember what we used for crust, and shamefully came to the conclusion that we bought the pie shells already in the aluminum pie plates. We used can Libby's pumpkin, which I also use at work, I'm not ashamed to say. Fresh pumpkin is stupidly difficult to use, and I refuse to waste my time on it when Libby's does it just fine, every single time.
As we waited that final half hour while the turkey rested, we munched on olives, a family tradition, this time joined by pistachios.
The turkey came out a lovely shade, minus the breast skin missing from trying a new roasting technique. The person interviewed on NPR said that since the leg meat cooks more slowly than the breast meat, start the turkey out on its chest. Unfortunately, the luscious skin stuck to the pan! But it did work in evening out the cooking temperatures.
It was a wonderful day, but now I feel funny spending tomorrow making Thanksgiving desserts for our guests! Don't they know T-Day has already come and gone?
I hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow, full of family, friends and fabulous food. We are so lucky to have so much to be thankful for, and so much to celebrate it with.
Happy weaving, cooking, baking, chatting, being together...
Maggie

What To Do?

2011-11-22T15:03:00.000-05:00

Rugs!

Place mats!

We DID sell a few rugs and a few place mats during the Foothills sale, but we also brought more than a few back to the Center. And, this has made us very aware that we need to think of another way to display them for the shop, as well as future shows. As it stands right now, even if you knew what you wanted, you'd be hard pressed to find it!!!!

So, today, we spent some time in reflection....what we liked and what we want to do differently.

And, we got to look at the final figures (thank you, Tina!!) She did a breakdown on the sales by the different weavers as well as the items that sold. Needless to say, it was very interesting. But, it seems that we all would like to do this again next year, and we have some ideas we'll be working on in the meantime.

So, for now, it's back to your "normal" weaving routine. YEAH!!!!!

Happy Weaving!

LouAnn

Show Time!

2011-11-21T08:51:00.000-05:00

My show season is now officially done for the year! Getting that last show over with is always kind of bitter sweet. I don't do alot of shows each year but enough to keep me busy. As in the last show I did, I took some pictures of my view from the booth. Taking the pictures early in the morning shows some of the booths since during the day there were alot of people walking around.

Notice the lady at the spinning wheel? Her booth was about the same distance from mine at the last show I was at in Asheville.

Having a corner booth allows me to have 2 directions to look while I have some down time!!

I took my camera along on Satuday so took a couple of pictures of weavers at our group booth! Ila and LaDonna wove alot! Because they gave us that extra 5 feet free if we'd demonstrate, I wanted to be sure that someone would be weaving all the time. They did, too!!

Carl came for part of the day to see the show. His friend that brought him likes to look at everything slowly so Carl had extra time on his hand. I think he got tired of standing and Ila needed a break, so Carl wove for awhile. That little wolf pup got a real workout all weekend!!

LouAnn printed out the picture of the group that we have at the top of the blog. This was a great idea!! As people bought things she could point to the weaver who made the item. We just need to update the picture since we have so many more weavers now.
Having the looms there sparked alot of interest too in weaving lessons. It'll be interesting to see how many people come in January to learn. We can always teach another person. In talking to some of them, they would eventually mention that their great grandmother wove or someone in their family had and it had sparked the initial interest. This area has a rich tradition of weaving and we're doing our part to keep it going!
Our booth was a success. Just about everyone that had something for sale in the booth sold something. Ideas are already being expressed on how to tweak the booth for next year. In a way, it's amazing how good it looked for us having kind of thrown this one together. My booth took years to tweak but now I have it down to a science how it's going to look and set up. Our group booth can become that way as well. Of course if we figure out something new to weave that can change it but having a core set up plan will help.
I am looking forward to Tina's report tomorrow on really what sold. There was a real variety of things that sold from what I could see.
I did spend most of my time in my booth but when I'd look around the corner they would usually be selling something to someone.
I think when any of the weavers goes to another show now, they will look at more than just what's being sold. Seeing how others display their items will help us figure out our display for next year!

I've been thinking about Hillary from Crazy as a Loom. Her show was a bit iffy this weekend. You know, you can be in the right show and still have an off show. I've done ok in my shows this year, one of the three was great and the other two were about average. However, I do know that at each of the shows there have been some people that did great and others that probably didn't even make their booth fee. Being an artist like this is really tricky. You are subject to the whims of your shoppers. You can have the greatest product in the world but if that day they didn't feel like buying it, you're going to have a bad show. You'll get tons of compliments but that doesn't pay the bills.
Laura from Prince George worries about having sold her items to everyone that wants them already and since they're well made they don't need more.
I worry about that too with my things. At this show especially, I see alot of my pieces walking around. It's neat to have a customer(wearing my vest) that bought the vest 3 years ago come by and tell me that as they were walking around the show people were saying to her, isn't that a Carol Pritcher? It is very humbling to know so many people have appreciated my work enough to buy it.
But, then it spurs me on. What new color combinations can I weave to tempt people again this year? How can I tweak it to change it enough so that maybe someone who already has a piece wants to add another to their collection?
My show season is over. I'm heading to the studio to finish packing away booth display and then working on the pieces I have left. Some will go to one of two shops and the rest will be inventoried in their rubbermaids so I can quickly access them to send to shops in early spring.
Then, I'm going to weave rugs and placemats til January, just for fun. I do have a top to weave for LaDonna and that'll go on soon as well but the rest of the time, it's going to be fun, not thinking about production for a bit. In the meantime, I'll be looking at my stash to see what I can pull out for production next year, what yarns do I need to order to complete the warps and how can I change what I've done, what did I weave several years ago that looked awesome and could be revisited.
It's going to be a relaxing month of weaving but exciting prospects for weaving production again in January.
I do hope that each of you has a good Thanksgiving and glad my Canadian friends had one in October before the snow hit!
Keep weaving!
Carol

Many Hands Make Short Work

2011-11-19T09:40:00.000-05:00

If you had been a fly on the wall Thursday morning, you would have said, "No Way!"

I'm sure we looked like a band of gypsies unloading and hauling all our stuff to our booth. But, before long, it started taking shape.

Pat and Lanny got busy taping the rug down before we started moving the tables and racks into place.

Carol started putting together the grid panels that would go in our booth and her booth. Those panels have been a life saver in so many ways!!!

Remember all those rugs from the back of Pat's car on Tuesday????

The gang started in hanging some on the racks and some of them got rolled up and put in the large basket in the corner. And, some of them were put under the table to be brought out later.

We sure had a lot of rugs!!!

And, before we knew it, things were in place, and our booth was together.

Now, that's not to say we didn't do some tweaking now and then....in fact, we are still tweaking!!!

Tina and I brainstormed the whole way home last night about the placemats......we have so many, and people don't seem to even see them. I can't wait to see what she has come up with by the time I go over this afternoon!

So, after our booth was put together, we went to town on Carol's booth. All of her coats, vest and tops had to be unpacked and hung up in her booth. But, once more, when everyone pitches in, it doesn't take very long.

Our little Pup has been a huge hit.....when I was weaving, a little boy (around 4 years old, I'd say) was totally mesmerized by the loom. I had him stepping on the treadle and beating in the weft before too long, and I think he would have stayed forever!!!! Ann took over the weaving and played around with the treadling on the overshot pattern. I didn't get a picture of Christy and her Inkle loom, but she finished off two warps yesterday!!!! As Tina was tying on a new warp on the Inkle, people were stopping and asking lots of questions!!!! How fun!
LaDonna, Ms. Ila and Tina are already over at the show this morning, and I'm headed there in a bit. We've had so many people stop and ask about where they could learn to weave......and we TOLD them where to come......just head to the Center on a Tuesday. Guess what we'll be doing?????
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Foothills Craft Guild Fall Show, Day 1

2011-11-18T20:57:00.000-05:00

Lou Ann and I were in the booth today along with Ann and Christy. Lou Ann and I got there early to make sure everything was juuust right. Here are some early morning pictures.

Then I went upstairs to get the birds eye view.

Right next door is Carol's booth, she said I could post the picture.

I was walking around later on in the afternoon, looking at all the other booths, there were lots of other crafts represented. There was Pottery, Jewelry, Woodworking and several other fiber related booths. When I returned to our booths I was struck by how warmth just radiated from them! I suppose most of the other crafts have more of a cool feel to them, but our fiber just glows!

We also had a very good day! We were very encouraged!

Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina

Stash Busting - Living a Life of Abundance

2011-11-17T17:55:00.000-05:00

Whether weaving or cooking, having a "stash" on hand allows for spur of the moment creativity. I start with the basics - a warp or a chuck roast - and then I look around for what is on hand. Do I want something safe, familiar and comforting or something new, bold, different.

My cooking stash is filled with staples and favorites condiments. My mother used to say she didn't know anyone with a better smelling spice cabinet. I also always have on hand Thai curry pastes, several cheeses, 4-5 kinds of beans, lots of pastas, ready made Indian sauces, and of course Tina's eggs. Having a variety of ingredients on hand allows for creativity when my husband comes home from the grocery with a pork roast or a roasting chicken or whatever. Lucky for me both my husband and daughter are adventurous eaters.

My weaving stash is not quite as extensive as the cooking stash - but it is growing. I have bought a few things, have been given some and have been "forced" to take some from the overflowing supplies at the center (usually by Pat when Carol is out of town). Beyond those few things I have purchased for special projects most all of my stash will go into rugs. It is fun to get a warp on and then look around to see what will work - coordinating colors and contrasting colors - nasty 70's drapery material and worn out bedspreads and baby blanket double knits.

Bedspreads and draperies

Last month, when digging in the center's storage annex for fabric for a custom order rug I found a rubber-made container filled with white chenille bedspreads and baby fabrics. The idea for nursery rugs was born. I put a pastel warp on my floor loom and started stripping bedspreads. Then I realized that I had stash perfect for use with the warp - nylon from the bulk purchase that we had made as a group last spring. I had even already skeined and washed a lot of "baby pink." Perfect.

Nasty nylon

Nylon ready for weaving

Lucky for me rug buyers come in all types - safe and comfortable - a little wild and crazy - and hopefully in the shape of some grandmothers looking for the perfect accessory for a nursery.

When I weave I live in a world of abundance. There is always a stash and the creative possibilities are endless.

Be well,

Ann

Complete and Total Randomness

2011-11-16T18:37:00.001-05:00

As I was driving home, I realized that it's my day to post, and I feel terrible every time I email everyone and say I can't post today because of work, lack of subject matter, fatigue, blahblahblah. So I tried to think of a subject, hopefully fiber-related.
Nothing. Nada.
But I was an English major, and I loved the free-association exercises our poetry professor made us do. I never got any good poetry out of it, but I liked the freedom to write down whatever pops in my head.

Why don't drivers in east Tennessee EVER use their turn signals? A guy just nudged his way in front of me to turn into Burger King. Was it so urgent that he ingest more calories than the average Belizian that he forego turning on his indicator?
I'm downloading my entire CD collection onto iTunes. I have CD's I've never even listened to! It's really fun! Especially when I download them onto my iPhone and plug it into my car stereo.
Bella and I went to Brasstown, NC on Monday. She threw up twice in the car and I asked if I could teach a class at John C. Campbell Folk School. I have to fill out a form on line. I'm going to do it. I want to teach the world to bake. I'm hoping they'll let me teach a class in exchange for taking a class. But then I'll have to decide what class.
I'm having Thanksgiving on Tuesday with Mom. I'll post photos of the deliciousness.
Gaelic Ale from Highland Brewery in Asheville is my favorite beer. I'm enjoying one now.

I hope you all have a lovely, productive, lucrative, magical weekend! Go, Tuesday Weavers! Be successful entrepeneurs! (spell check says that's spelled correctly. i have my doubts.)
xoxo,
Maggie

We're In the Final Stretch!

2011-11-15T16:05:00.000-05:00

With all the last minute details we are dealing with, we always have time to share new things!!!

Tina brought her completed WOOL rug to share with us today......and it is just too wonderful! You can see the bench pad to the left of the rug....that was her first project. This rug makes you want to take off your shoes and socks and just dig your little tootsies right in!!! I think she has something special right here!

Bonnie and Linda were busy tagging items for the sale, while LaDonna worked on the fringes of her scarf.

And, since it was a rainy day, Allan got the chance to weave on his place mats. The sewing machine was being very cranky with him, so Ann finished up his strips for today.

Just like Santa, we checked our list twice to make sure we had everything covered. Most of us have lots of little things to remember and bring on Thursday for set up for our booth. (Where-oh-where are all the extension cords????)

Ms. Ila got the thread together for the Wolf Pup...it goes, too!!!! She put an overshot pattern for mug rugs on the loom.

Beatrice, Carol and Cindy are still hard at work with weaving lessons. Beatrice got her thread wound for her next warp, and Cindy is weaving away on her new warp.

Lanny helped Carl cut the warp on the barn loom. There were five rugs!

A bunch of us dove in and knotted the fringes, and those rugs got priced and tagged for Foothills. Ann put them safely in her car to take Thursday.

Pat loaded up her car with rugs to take, too!!!!

What do you call a load of rugs?????

And, finally......Tina and her granddaughter:

"Train them in the way they should go."

We do love to share weaving .........

Happy Weaving!

LouAnn

What a Ride!!!

2011-11-14T10:41:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we were invited to Earl Klugh's Jazz Weekend. We know finger style guitar and Django Reinhardt's style of jazz, and, of course, Earl's wonderful music. We don't know what's out there as far as good jazz goes. So, when life gave us the chance to escape, we did!!!
We arrived on the coast of South Carolina late in the day Thursday. We found where the registration desk was, were given our tickets and told to go out to the shuttle immediately! Wow!
The shuttle took us to Mingo Point (kind of ironic, since our daughter loves flamingoes and I think one of her pen names is Mingo!). The sun was slowly setting over the marsh and they had an oyster bar out there, tables and benches to sit on and Spencer Day sang. He's a crooner. Very easy to listen to especially when Earl was accompanying him!!

As the moon came up through the trees, it was magic. Of course, I don't have the kind of camera that captures it fully, but you get the idea. The big silver thing on the left was a heater, one of many we'd see over the weekend. The weather wasn't awful but there was a chill in the air.

As we left, someone offered to take our picture at the sign. We were all headed back to the shuttles to take us back to The Sanctuary, the big hotel on the island, where we had what they call a lowcountry feast. Big buffet with chicken, mahi mahi, ribs and bbq with sauces to choose from and deserts, peach cobbler, tiny key lime pies and tiny pecan pies. Made me think of you, Maggie!

We haven't been to Charleston in quite a few years and we were anxious to go back, to the market and to just walk around. We walked but there are several forms of transportation available!

Lunch was at Barbara Jean's restaurant. The She Crab soup was awesome!
Then back to the island and put on warmer clothes because the concert was outside. Gates opened at 6 and the show started at 7. There were about 60 heaters all going full blast.
Here's Earl introducing the evening. The place filled up quite quickly. We were in row AA. It went from A - V and then started at AA again. As the evening continued, it got colder with the low according to our phones, as we left, at 39 degrees. Not a problem really. We were up and moving around as the evening progressed, awesome music, alot of dancing!!

First up was Mindi Abair who is an incredible sax player. Here she was in the middle of the crowd, having come down off stage, without missing a beat and ended up standing on a chair not too far from us, just playing her heart out.

Never missed a beat!! Talk about energy. I was impressed!

The second performer was Brian Culbertson. Never heard of him either but by the end of the weekend we sure knew who he was! He plays keyboard and trombone, oh yeah, and drums like a pro! During the show as he introduced his players, he told us that on trumpet (just above the guy playing guitar below), was his Dad, Mr C. He had just retired from 39 years teaching high school band!! How cool would that be, going on tour with your son, doing what you always wanted to do and just having a good time doing it!!

During his show Earl and Ray Parker Jr came out to join him. Our convention has alot of that too. Where several guys are asked to join the performer. Magic happens then!!

So, afterwards we went into the hotel. I was ok while we were outside but once inside, I just felt cold. Took awhile to warm up too!!
Saturday morning we figured we'd better find the ocean. Our villa was inland, not far from the hotel so we took our handy little map and found the ocean. This is off season and still a bit cold but the ocean was so peaceful. Once we were there, it warmed up. Amazing. Kept taking off our layers!! People were out there in shorts and tshirt, barefoot, walking the beach with their kids.

We didn't have alot of time to explore because by early afternoon we were back at the hotel to watch a question and answer period with some of the guys and to see that, yes, we actually had been right by the water!!! Here's where the music was. When we came in the night before, it had been dark by 6 when they opened the doors, so we had no idea where we were in relation to the water. This time gates opened at 3 and the music started at 4. This time we were in row EE. Didn't matter where you sat, the sound was good! As the music was going, we could watch boats out in the water. Very peaceful. I suspect they have tons of weddings out here. Oh yeah, the grass. We couldn't decide if it was fake or what. It's real. Apparently it's like a putting green or something. The grass is incredibly short and there's water underneath it somehow to keep it going, all above the sand that's below everything. That would make for an awesome walk if one was getting married... (can you tell we don't golf or know anything about that?)

The first set was Earl Klugh's. He had his band with him and played alot of his music. Some of the best, tho, was when he was playing solo, weaving intricate notes around a melody.
Then out came Ray Parker Jr. Apparently they played as kids, meeting when they were about 13 and keeping up with each other over the years.
Here Earl's laughing as Ray introduced the song that put his kids through college. Just 3 chords........Ghostbusters. Talk about everyone standing and rocking to that tune!! Oh yeah, this hotel has 2 wings, one on each side of the main lawn. During this show, alot of the people staying there were out on their decks watching. At least one guy had his Ipad up, recording Ghostbusters. There were even a couple of workers up on the roof. I don't think they were security, just 2 guys up there because they disappeared immediately after that!!

Involved in this song and a few more then, were also Brian Culbertson and Eric Darius (on left with the sax) I tried to capture the moment. I hope you can see the fun and excitement as they were enjoying themselves as well!!

They could have played all night. It wasn't as cold Saturday evening which was much appreciated!!! However, too soon they were done and there was an intermission before Chaka Khan came on stage. It was really hard to get a good picture of her. She has a very distinct voice.

We stayed afterwards til almost midnight. They had a ball room open for Eric Darius to play with his band. Of course, most of the other players came out to play with him. You couldn't leave. It was just awesome, an event one would hate to miss now that one's discovered it........problem is, next year it's the same date at the Foothills Craft Guild show. Hm......

So Sunday morning I snapped this from our living room window looking out across the water. I think all the villas here had views like this, nice and private. Too bad the weather wasn't warmer and we didn't have more down time. I took alot of things I wanted to do but, of course, never got to it. Next time, if there is one, I want to stay an extra 2 or 3 days just for that down time.

Yesterday we drove back to Knoxville and reality.

Today I've got tons of things to do, handwovens to finish for our show that starts on Thursday.

We bought some CDs from the guys we really liked and listened to them all the way home. Some of the melodies continue to go through my mind.

This was the perfect break for both of us. It's been a very long time coming. Hopefully we can do something like that soon again.

Until then, I'd better get down to the studio!!

Carol

Short & Sweet

2011-11-12T11:58:00.000-05:00

Sad.....
.....so sad....nekid looms are just down right SAD!

But, it's good, too...since this means that all my totes are downstairs in different stages of completion. And, I have warps on two other looms that I can weave on if I get the notion.

I have some ideas for the 8 shaft loom that I'd like to try....I'm going to put some wool on her! (I haven't woven with wool yet, so I have some reading to do first!) And, I'll tie the warp back on John and do some rugs after the excitement of Foothills has passed. They won't be nekid for long!!!!

Marta's husband, David, left this at the door for me this week!
Hatch Green Chile....yum-yum!!!!
And, some yoga mat straps for our booth at Foothills that she wove on her Inkle loom. Marta told me in an email that she's putting together a proposal to teach Inkle loom weaving at the community college near her in Santa Fe. She should...don't you think????

Ohhhhh.....what is it?????
I am really looking forward to this bloom....it had a little nubbin on it when I brought it in before the freeze. Last week it was slightly larger. This is today's photo.
And yes, that's a tub of cherry tomato plants. It was full of little green tomatoes when the freeze warning came, so I just pulled the whole tub inside so they could ripen on the vine. I keep it right next to the sliding glass doors, and I've had a couple ripen so far. What a wonderful little reminder of summer!

That's it for today....the long range weather reports show sunny days for our Foothills show. That's great news!!!
Now, for those finishing touches on my totes.........

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Just the Fleece Rug

2011-11-11T08:57:00.000-05:00

I posted on Wednesday over on my own blog about the experiments I am doing with fleece and the rug warp I have on the Newcome rug loom.

I had some fun mixing up the natural colors of roving on the bench pad, and I thought that I might try a solid color, for the first rug. I have had a box of 2 white shetland fleeces from the sheep I used to own. It is in fact their very first fleeces, so the finest and the best of wools.

Here is what it looks like in a rug, on the loom.

It is just as soft as you might imagine. I almost hate to felt it! I may see if I can soak it in the tub and not agitate, and see what happens.

I have several natural colors to choose from. Some of them are already in roving which seems to be the easiest form to use. If it isn't already in roving, I run it thru the drum carder, and then using a "diz" (a little gadget with a hole in it) I start just a small edge of the batt on the carder, and pull it all thru the diz a little at a time. I know many of you will not have a clue what I am talking about, but it is kind of like cutting strips of cloth for rugs, when you have made a tube of the fabric. You can keep going around and around until the carder is clean.

Here is what I have to work with:

Black roving from an unknown sheep. (Not the one that Lou Ann wants me to spin up!)

Grey roving, fairly short stapled, again from an unknown sheep.

And finally, some Moorit Shetland from my own sheep.

All the other fleeces are not in roving form, so I will have to do some work to get them that way. I have to laugh to think that some months ago I was mortified that I had 15 fleeces, now I am thinking that it won't be nearly enough if this project is a go.

Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina

Daily Dose of Fiber

2011-11-09T09:46:00.000-05:00

Crazy busy days at work this week, with the most guests we've ever had at once. And the sadness of having to let someone go piled on top of that made this weekend--Monday and Tuesday--so welcome. I started by washing and ironing all the fabric I've gotten lately, and Weftie helped, by making sure I didn't iron the white shirting fabric too quickly.

I cut out a pair of pajama bottoms from some fabric I bought in 2000 to make pj's for Matt. If they would have been a bit young for him then, they would be ridiculously so now. I made them for me, then, to wear with a t-shirt. They're giant robots, in case you can't see them clearly enough.

I also cut out a black flowered skirt, the kind of fabric that's been popping up everywhere lately, with fabric tape swirls sewn on top of it. The pattern has two skirts, one on top of the other, and the swirly bits seemed to be too much bulk, so I've altered it to just have black silk underneath, except where the underskirt shows.

Then, there's the beautiful dove grey linen I bought at Textiles in Nashville. I had in mind a beautiful peasant blouse I'd just gotten the pattern for from Vogue. There are about 5 billion pattern pieces, lots of tucks and loops and gathers. It's one of those projects I have to schedule a day or two just to make it, so I don't lose my place or my interest.
And just to show I'm a well-rounded fiber person--not just from sitting too much!--I finished the alpaca wool scarf I've restarted about five times this summer. I settled on a tv-watching friendly 1x1 rib, and used all but about 3 inches of the yarn. It's drying over a heater vent today, and I hope to wrap up in it tomorrow.
No weaving, and Bella didn't get to join the weavers this week, but we're hoping this week will be easier and we'll meet our friends in Norris next Tuesday. Until then, get your daily dose of fiber!
Maggie

It's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

2011-11-08T15:29:00.001-05:00

That would be the weaving neighborhood!!!!

Lots of chatter....

Lots of laughing....

Lots of weaving!!!!

For instance:

we had a box of donated thread.....Carol sorted through it, and some of it can be used for future warps, and some of it went home with weavers. Carol also tagged more items for the Foothills Show.

Christy was working on her Inkle Loom, while Cindy is still putting her new warp on her loom.

Bonnie has a new title: The Stripper! Ah shucks, you know what I mean....she is cutting strips of fabric for rugs! What did you think I meant?????

We have completely sold out of blue jean rugs upstairs in the shop, so we need to get more woven. These fabrics will look great with the denim strips in the rugs.

Look at the great progress that Allan is making! We are so excited about having more storage room for our stash of fabric and weaving supplies! We are planning on a paint day the Tuesday after Foothills!!!!

Lanny took time out to supervise after lunch.

Yes, siree....Tina warps front to back! She's very talented that way!

These are dish towels with a beautiful stripe....they will be very popular!

Ms. Ila is weaving overshot mug rugs...she's using the honeysuckle threading!

And, Pat completed another table runner on her warp. Since it's banging on her knees, it's time to cut off the cloth that has built up on the beam.

And, here's the Roll Out.............

.........no wonder it was hitting her knees!!!!

Carl spent the morning back on the barn loom weaving away on those rugs. We are all so glad he's back with us.

Yes, indeed........

..........it was a beautiful day in our neighborhood!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Transition

2011-11-07T08:51:00.000-05:00

Last week after I wrote the blog and took the camera chip out of the computer, I looked up out of our kitchen window and saw this tree. It was a very cloudy day but the colors were so pretty I took a picture of it to remember in winter. Looking out now, most of the leaves are still there and it's going to be weeks before the leaves are all gone but I think it was peak last Monday.

I wove off the last clothing warp I am doing before January. Not making it as long as I usually do, meant weaving it was alot quicker. It's already cut, serged, washed and dry ready to finish before the show next week. I do hope to have them all ready to go by then.

So for the next couple of months I'm going to weave placemats and rugs. I've been collecting fabrics for several years now, just waiting for the right time to cut them to weave into rugs. Awhile ago when Walmart was getting rid of their fabric, they had things like flannel 60 " wide for $2 a yard. I got about 5 bolts. This fabric is cotton, not really good for clothing but great colors for rugs. So I've got a primitive station set up in the living room to cut strips. The TV tray is way to unsteady for it and I have to hang onto it just right with my feet but I'm cranking out strips getting ready for the bright warp that'll be on the loom in the next day or so ready to weave on.
I've got loopers in alot of cheerful colors. Later I'll be dyeing those loopers that we got on Friday. I'm still sorry I couldn't go along on that road trip!!

This morning the sky is clear and it's sunny. I looked out another window in our kitchen, the other side of the table and took a picture of this really tall tree. It's peak today! This really is the prettiest time of year here.

In spring every year I get some plants to plant in window boxes outside our bedroom on our deck. Each year it's a battle with the squirrels. Will they eat them before July or wait til August? Doesn't seem to matter what I buy, they will tackle the plants and enjoy them. Last year they kind of let the petunias alone, so I got them again this year. However, this year they liked them and by the time I got back from Canada in August they were gone. In the last month or so this brave guy has shot up from what was left. Because it's right by the window and on the sunny side, I guess it's still alive and blooming. Here's hoping it'll keep on blooming for awhile yet before the frost will get it.

I talked to my sister and Mom yesterday in Moose Jaw. It had been snowing all day and was to continue most of the evening..........the first snow, warm underneath meaning what hit the road would melt and it would be icy there. A cousin in Saskatoon posted on facebook that she just hated when it snowed. A friend pointed out to her that she'd lived there all her life and should be used to it already. Well, I sure am not any longer. I've actually lived in the US longer now than in Canada. I would have a hard time if I had to be up there all winter. Going up for a couple of weeks in January is quite different (and still plenty enough) than living there through all the cold and snow. Even when it's sunny and bright outside, it can be -20 and you know that's cold! I guess I'm spoilt by now.
So I'll enjoy my fall colors and my petunia as long as it's able to keep going. I'll head down to the studio to finish the black and grey pieces I wove and get that rug warp going. Using up my stash is a good thing. There's always more where that came from!!
Stay warm, Mom!
Carol

It's the Little Things.....

2011-11-05T13:06:00.000-04:00

I never know if my cactus will be an "Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas" each year. They like to surprise me! This year, they started putting on buds as soon as I brought them in when we got the freeze warning. Some years they even bloom twice!

I have four in bloom right now.

The cactus in the bedroom greeted me with this bright red bloom and the BRIGHT fuchsia tip!

Total surprise!

Although the poinsettias were left outside longer, they, too, have started getting their trademark colored leaves. These plants are about five years old, and they just refuse to die! In the old days, the yearly poinsettia would last almost through the Christmas holidays, and then DIE. These guys get dragged outside as soon as it starts to get warm in the spring, and they stay outside until I have to bring them in when the weather gets cold. We have a relationship now, and I'll just keep taking them in and out.

Then, there's road trips with special weaving friends to secure future fiber for our endeavors. That's a lot of loopers, my friends! I'm thinking I need some bath mats......ummmmm. My tootsies will be delighted! But, the first rug will be a "payment" to our friend at the mill.

I can already tell that I need to spend some time outside to get the strings and lint off of these loopers....next week is supposed to have some warm afternoons.

It's one thing to weave the totes....and another to get them finished! But, I'm making sure progress in that direction. I just tag them and hang them up on the peg when they're finished.

So, today, I'm back at the sewing machine...I really want to get them all finished this weekend!!!

And, in the meantime, I can enjoy the blooms provided by the cactus. Maybe they are Foothills Cactus????

Happy Weaving!

LouAnn

The Mad Looper Caper!

2011-11-04T19:02:00.000-04:00

A small group of the Tuesday Weavers went on a fiber mission. Lou Ann, Andy and Gary, Linda, Bonnie and I, piled into Gary's truck and hit the interstate. We were on a mission to save fiber that was destined for who knows what end.

We drove several hours and made it to our destination in plenty of time. We piled out and took a look around. Our contact came out and showed Gary where to back up the Truck.

There they are! Boxes and boxes of sock loopers!

We had lots of help!

Helpful peanut gallery, Linda is holding up the loopers.

There is a black one, there are also natural colored ones as well, we will have to dye up the naturals to have the bright colors we love.

All loaded up, and then it was time for lunch!

After we were full and happy, we took a side trip to R & M yarns to pick up some weaving and knitting supplies. Then, the long road home, we dropped off 2 boxes with Linda and Bonnie, 3 boxes in Lou Ann's garage, (1 for Carol, 1 for the center, and 1 for Lou Ann and I to share), and 1 box went home with Andy and Gary.

I got home in time to feed the animals and make some dinner for us humans. Tired and hungry, but full of ideas! Just like we like it!

Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina

Still Juggling

2011-11-03T15:46:00.001-04:00

Just a quick note to say I am still juggling. I started to pull out my camera and upload photos but I put it away.

Anyone who does this, blogging I mean, knows that once you start messing with pictures you are not talking about a quick - 5 minutes post. And I can't do any more than that today.

Last week I talked about juggling balls, juggling tasks, juggling roles. If anything it seems that I am juggling faster this week. Blogging is the one I am just not going to be able to attend to today.

I have gotten some weaving done this week. Three rugs woven and three scarves finished and ready for the craft show. I will take pictures next week. If I have any spare time this evening after a school chorus concert I hope to get to the rug loom again.

Be well,

Ann

A Dog's View of Tuesday Weavers

2011-11-02T14:11:00.000-04:00

Hello! My name is Bella, and I'm here to tell you about my day yesterday. Mom said we were going to go for a ride, so I was ready to go! I love to ride in the new car. I get the backseat all to myself. I got comfy on my girlie-pink serape and watched stuff go by the windows. I used to get car sick all the time, but now I really like riding in the car. Most of the time we go to Grandma's, or to the vet's. I don't mind the vet's too much. Everyone there likes me. They always tell me how pretty I am, but they do call me Crazy Woman sometimes. I get kind of excited, especially when I see Mom coming to pick me up.

We were in the car for kind of a long time before Mom stopped. We got out, and I ran around, sniffing everything new. She opened a door and I ran in and saw a few people, and a lot of looms.

Mom has looms, and when she sits at the looms, she doesn't pay any attention to me. I'll bring her all kinds of stuff to play with, and she might tug at Monkey a little, or throw the ball once or twice, but mostly she just sits at those looms.

Well, here was a whole room of them! And lots more people showed up, some I knew and some I didn't. Some have been to the house where I live with Mom and those pesky cats, and I've been to Ms. LouAnn's house, so she got a special hello.

Mom sat down at one of the looms and I sat down on my blanket. Sometimes people walked by and I sniffed them, but mostly, I laid on my blanket. Mom and LouAnn worked on the loom; Mom wove something kind of ugly after she and LouAnn cut off a bunch of stuff from her loom. Then everybody started working on their looms and I got bored. I didn't even have any toys to play with. I fell asleep for a while.

And when everyone sat together to eat, I didn't get anything! Mom forgot to bring my lunch! I did get a lot of treats, though, and everyone was really nice, even if they were kind of boring while they worked.

When we were leaving, Carol said I could come back. I'd like that, but I'm going to bring toys and lunch next time.

See you next week, then!
Arabella Louise Marie Elaine Davidson