It's working!

I've been weaving for a long time and over the years I've gone to quite a few fiber conferences. Back in the 80s when Midwest Weavers Conference was every year, we'd go. We didn't go to the pre conference but we'd usually have a couple of cars full of our local weavers heading to wherever the conference would be. It was a highlight of our year. We learnt alot, met weavers from everywhere and always looked forward to it. Then the dates changed and it wasn't as easy to go so for quite a few years none of us went.

I discovered the pre conference the year it was up in Wisconsin and I had to fly up there. Didn't think I could drive. A friend who'd moved to Washington State met me there and we both took the whole week worth of classes. That's when I learnt how to remove dye from the handwovens and have done that for years on the clothes that I sell.

This year I'm heading up to Hancock, MI on Friday. I'm taking Linda with me and dropping her off just north of Green Bay at Karen in the Wood's. I think they've got a huge week planned!!

I signed up for the pre conference class with Sheila O'Hara. My 8 shaft baby wolf wouldn't work for the project so I just "had" to order an ashford table loom. That's another thing. Going to these conferences you see lots of people's looms and find ones that you really like. No one down here had one but I wove on a couple last time at Midwest when I took Robyn Spady's pre conference class. I absolutely loved how it wove, great shed and that beater!! To die for!! So I ordered one. Finally got it together recently and put on a very short warp just to be sure I'd put it all together correctly and wove a set of mug rugs using all 8 shafts.

 It's time to get my project on the loom. This project has given me nightmares! You wind 2 warps. Both the same width and 24 epi using 10/2 cotton. Then you put them both on the loom using 2 sets of lease sticks. I have the ashford raddle as well which has nails every half inch so  I just skipped a slot and divided the reds and then attached the blue warp using the alternating slots and wound it on. Had to use 2 sticks to lash onto the warp beam. So it looks stripped but it isn't.

 I've got it 1/3 threaded. You take one thread from one warp, thread it and then a thread from the other warp. So you're alternating following the pattern we're using. We were to use 2 different colors in our warps and make them interesting. I went from burgundy to gold and back on one and the ohter goes from blue to green. We're going to experiment and then have enough on there for a scarf. One side will be one color and the other side will be the other color. I have wanted to do something like this for awhile. Oh yeah, threading the reed. You're threading 48 epi!!! You're actually weaving 2 layers so it's not as bad as it sounds.

 Going to a class like this forces you to do things you haven't done before and I love it! Last Midwest we wove velvet and it was beyond fun!!

These pictures are for my Mom. Mom lives in Canada and can't get down here like she used to and I know she loves to see our plants.
We hadn't taken out plants out of the greenhouse yet because DH was in the middle of pressure washing and then staining the deck. We're kind of busy so it got postponed a bit longer than it should have. Early spring was cold and then it went hot but he did it! Yesterday we pulled out the plants that come out. Things like the Christmas cactus and the hibiscus stay in the greenhouse because the squirrels chew on them and destroy them otherwise.

 I think the deck looks great! He wants to stan the railing yet too. He did that upstairs but hasn't down here yet. The plant above was given to us in fall a couple of years ago. Our friend Sherrie'd been given it and they didn't want to fool with it when fall came so we put it in our greenhouse. They didn't want it back so it's on our deck. It's pretty big and maybe I should trim it a bit but it is pretty.

We don't have as many ferns as we often have this year. I decided not to winter over as many this time. All of these look good so they'll probably go back in again. I have ferns, geraniums and coleus by my studio door as well. They are always new plants. I winter those and then they come back out here the next spring. I like my little greenhouse. I don't start plants in there like I probably should, just keep them going.
This week I"ll just keep working in the studio as I can. It is going to be a busy one with distractions again but one gets done as much as one can!! Then Friday afternoon we'll be heading north. I'm not looking forward to going via Chicago which is why we're leaving Friday instead of Saturday. I want to give us plenty of time to get through there!!!
I'll take my laptop along and they say there's wifi in the common areas of the dorm so I hope to be able to send an update next week on the trip north. I think it's going to be cooler up there too! Might have to dig out socks if it's as cool as it has been!!!
Carol