Between snows!

Like everyone else that will be posting in the next week, I was hoping to be able to post pictures of the mug rug and the scarf that I wove for our challenges this year. However, the snow messed that up!! Many of us live back in the woods where the streets don't get treated until about the third day. Unless we really have to get out, we don't. We have jeeps in our family so that when necessary we can get down to the main road. We  postponed our party that was to be yesterday until January. LaDonna is our host this year and she is only able to weave with us every other Tuesday. The next available Tuesday for her is January 11 so after our party then, you'll see a bunch of scarves and mug rugs on posts! I can't wait to be able to post mine. I've enjoyed making them.

Yesterday afternoon, after the sun had hit part of the street but before the county had treated our road, DD and I headed out for an appointment she had to get to. This picture is our driveway this morning. It's a ton better than yesterday! There are some clear spots pretty much all the way up! The driveway then goes around a curve and down a long steep hill that the sun doesn't get to. From there we turned left onto the street and down another much longer hill. We were in the jeep but even so, we went about 5mph all the way down ice to a more traveled on road and then onto the main highway. It's always like that. People complain about them canceling school up here for an inch of snow and ice. The main roads are clear and if you live in a city area you're ok. Those of us in the county have a tough time getting around. I know some of our Tuesday members are still snowed in and schools around us are closed again today. They promise more stuff tonight so that's why I called this between snows!

 So what am I doing today? Well, Christmas is just what, about 9 days away. So I'm in a mad rush sending out Christmas cards. I thought I'd bought enough. I have to go buy about 4 more boxes. I counted last night. I have to send over 190 cards out this year. DH and I host the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society convention in Nashville each summer and I try to send a thank you Christmas card to all the people that help us make it happen, my crew that helps me at the registration desk, the ones that help keep different areas of the show going and of course, the talent. We have about 80 performers and workshop leaders. They don't get paid for their services. I think the least I can do is thank them. However, somehow it always ends up that I have to do this last minute and there will be some that DH is going to have to help me with finding addresses. I have the mailing list (that's why the cards are around the computer) but some aren't in it. You know how musicians are...

Our weaving guild, the Clinch Valley Handweavers Guild, has had a challenge going for well over a year. It's a good thing we never set a deadline for when it was to be done. Everyone's schedule is so varied it would be hard to set a time for this. There are 8 of us. We are weaving a friendship throw. Each person decided on what color they wanted their to be plus picked a different pattern and is weaving 2 panels for each person. I think they're 15 by 18 on the loom. The warp is all white. The pattern is to be a twill. I decided to do something simple but that would show off the colors and be different on both sides. So I'm doing a Bird's Eye, 1/3 twill. I will be weaving 2 panels for each person in their colors. I waited to do my project til I had all the colors here. I can't hold up a loom for a month waiting for a cone of yarn so now that I have all the yarn, I will try to get the warp on in the next day or so and then weave it off quite quickly. I'm going to just serge the raw edges. We will give everyone their panels unwashed. That way everyone can finish them the way they want. Each person will decide what to do with them as well, how to join them. Options include crocheting around them, weaving fabric to sew sashing between them, just sew them together, line them to make a warmer throw or make cushions, a wall hanging, etc. I'm not the last one to weave. There are 2 more after me. I guess maybe fall will be a good time to see if we get them done by then. 
Each person will end up with 16 panels. They will have white warp and their color for weft. There will be 8 different patterns but the panels will all be about the same size.

Today I have to go out again for appointments but only about noon so the roads should be fine back here. Have to get more cards and probably more milk and bread since they're predicting more stuff tonight!!! It's early for us to have this weather but it happened back in the early 1980s when we first moved out here so it's just part of that cycle again. I've got enough work here to keep me busy if we do have a bad winter! Don't we all?
Carol