Thursday, October 29, 2015

Uh-Oh!

  Where did my Thursday go???

  It just hit me that I hadn't blogged yet, and I almost decided to just let it go.  Instead, I'm posting this picture I took Monday morning at the Museum of Appalachia.  You can see the smoke coming from the chimney of the Peter's Homestead cabin--too bad I wouldn't get to enjoy it! 
  I was in the Loom House all morning (you can barely see it at the far right under the cedar tree.)  But, I was able to re-tie the warp and weave one and a half placemats while the students popped in and out.  I finished weaving the rest of the foursome on Wednesday!  That means I will get to sit by the fire when I go next week!  I'll take my Inkle loom and work on that.
  Around the house I'm finishing up projects to take to Foothills....more on that next week.

Happy Weaving!  (and finishing!)
LouAnn
 

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Rainy Outside....Cheerful Inside!!!



  Although it was a gray, rainy, chilly day, you would have never known it in the Studio today.  In our world, it was bright and cheerful!
  Carl got busy weaving the rug from the strips cut last week.  Meanwhile, Pat was busy cutting more strips for another rug for Carl's loom.  She also worked on a stack of blue jeans that had been donated.



 Pat will be weaving towels on the little Macomber after we get the warp wound on the back.  Tina got the spool rack set up, and the threads through the warping box...then it was time to just wind a LONG warp on the one inch sections.  We'll finish that next week.



  Carol got her towel warp tied on to the front bar, and she's ready to start weaving, too.











Betsy, Sharon and Harriet were having a lively discussion on their side of the Studio.  Must be weaving talk, I'm sure!



  And, here are the LADIES....all in a row!  The goal is to get the shawls and scarves woven off before the Foothills show.









  And, the second row of our LADIES.....just getting it done.   Note that Roz (on the right) is really hard at work.  That's because Ms. Ila "cracked the whip" and told Roz to get it finished!






  And, she did just that!!!!  The placemat warp was finished before the end of the day!   We need to get Ms. Ila to do that more often!!!
  This is the Pup that will go to the Foothills show, so we'll be putting a mug rug warp on it next week.  We always demonstrate weaving at our booth, and mug rugs are always a good bet.



  And, before you know it, it's time to fold those Pups and the baby up, and slide them in the aisles.









  And, just to keep it all REAL, the sign up sheets are started for the Foothills show.  We have three days at the show, and the booth needs three folks per shift.  Now....what will we be bringing to the show?????



  Sharon and I saw this recipe on Facebook, and we thought it would be fun to try.  These are the only ingredients you need!
Apple Spice Cobbler
2 cans apple pie filling
1 box Spice Cake mix
2 sticks butter (8 oz.)
  Dump the apples into the crock pot.  Sprinkle the cake mix on top of the apples.  Cut the butter sticks in half, and lay on top of the cake mix.  Cook on high for 2 hours.
  The recipe calls for putting the lid on the crock pot, but we found that it keeps the cake part from cooking.  The next time I do this recipe, I will lay a wooden spoon across the top of the crock pot and place the lid on top.  That will keep the heat in while allowing some of the steam to escape.
  Regardless, it was yummy!!!  
  Tuesday Weavers work very hard and need to keep up their energy!!!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn
 

Monday, October 26, 2015

Back At It!

After unpacking Monday from the show, it became apparent that I needed to paint some more warps and skeins. So, when I had time, I wound several warps.
There's a lot more space at the craft center than my studio. However, we have to schedule time there because our weaving space is only classroom space for the whole center. Luckily, it was free. So I loaded my car Saturday afternoon and yesterday afternoon I drove there.
It takes quite a bit of equipment to dye yarns!
The best part are the risers for the tables. You absolutely need than to save your back!
That warp looks all black but once rinsed out, it'll be shades of 4 different blacks.
I'm heading back there this morning to finish the rest of my painting. There's a good possibility that another Tuesday Weaver will join me.
So the rest of the week will involve a lot of rinsing and rinsing. I've wound another warp to go on my loom while these dry. The Foothills Craft Show is less than a month away. All the Tuesday Weavers are busy getting ready for that.
So, weave on!
Carol

Friday, October 23, 2015

Warp One

It became apparent at the last show that we did not have enough placemats.  Of special note was the absence of neutral colors.  This week after my day at the center on Tuesday, I came home and wound a 17 yard placemat warp in white, and I had it wound on the back beam, threaded and 2 placemats woven by the following evening.  This warp is enough to do 24 placemats, and I hope to have them all done by the next show, just before Thanksgiving.

I was able to get the warp on rather painlessly because I used for the first time the trapeze system I had set in place last winter.  I had tried to use it in a warp weighted fashion, but that simply did not work for me.

The 17 yard warp, 12 bouts of 16 ends took 4 cones of 8/4 cotton almost entirely.  This is for future reference, in case I forget!
I am using 5 strands of natural to fill my ski shuttle, or at least I thought I was.  One of the "weft only" cones of natural I got from the center is a double strand, so I am really using 6 strands!  I only noticed it because that cone was emptying much faster than the other 5.  I can get 2 plus placemats worth of weft on one shuttle full.

I wove a little bit in stolen moments yesterday and got a total of 3 and 1/2 placemats done, but today I was able to finish the 6th placemat and cut that batch off of the loom.

With this particular pattern (Ellen's Pattern, or Tutti Frutti) we use a warp spacing in the reed that tends  distort the tension of the warp, in my opinion after 6 are woven.  So I decided to cut off once each set of 6 are done and tie back on.

I am not going to wait until I have all 24 done to start finishing them.  I try to vary my activity during my Studio time, so that I don't get too stiff and sore.  Using the Serger and then hemming this set will be a welcome break from weaving the next batch.
I will also take a few breaks to get this bread cloth warp back on the loom.  If I am lucky I may be able to get a couple of those done for the show as well.  I still have a lot of bobbins that are already wound to do the weaving.  (I had to take this warp off the loom when I needed to take the warp beam in for repairs.)

You can see here the trapeze in place.  I think I need to lighten the weight that I have on the warp.  I noticed that it didn't really need to be as heavy as I thought it had to be when I  worked on the white warp.

I have some plans for other things for the shows which will be using some handwoven remnants that I have laying around.  More on that maybe next week if I can get some of it done.

Until next time Happy Crafting, Tina

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Remember These???

 
  I wove these towels awhile back at the Center, and had a big threading error on the green towel:  an extra repeat of the "B" block.  The red towels had a tension issue on the right selvedge.  The towels worked their way to the bottom of my to-do pile, but it's time to do some fixing.














  I've come to the conclusion that towels are the size that YOU want them to be!
  I pulled three towels from the drawer, and they are all different:  18"X 22", 16"X 25", 14"X 22".  So, there's hope for the green towel!!!    That extra large block can be trimmed off and hemmed on that side...problem solved!  As for the red towels, they are going to get side hems, also.  A simple turn over twice will fix that!



  Yes.....more straw loom kits!  Did I tell you we sold 33 of the 38 we took to Homecoming???
  The Weavers have started bringing me their yarn to wind, and I picked up straws at the $$ store.  I want to get ahead of the rush and be ready for the Foothills show.










  The poinsettia plants have returned to the living room!  We had a frost/freeze warning last weekend, and I rushed around and brought the plants in.  You might remember that I pruned these back to stubs last Spring when they went outside, and just look at them now!!!!
  Next comes the top leaves turning red....hopefully just in time for Christmas!



  And, speaking of Christmas, some of my cacti are rushing the season!  Either that, or they think they are Halloween cacti!!!! 
  Several of them had already started setting buds before I brought them inside, and they are going full tilt now!    It should be interesting to see who all blooms early.

  We have four weeks until the Foothills show, and I know we'll all be in a tizzy getting things finished.  It is that time of year.

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Around The Studio



   As you come in the downstairs door to the Studio on any given Tuesday, the first thing you'll see are the Ladies.   Shirley, Bonnie and Ms. Ila anchor the back row.

  Since we have so many weavers now, there is another row of weavers facing the Ladies.
  You can see the back of Roz's head in the picture above, then you will see Sharon and Frieda.
  The great thing about this arrangement is that they can talk to each other as they weave.







  What is really amazing is seeing a line up of all these beautiful warps!  All those colors just make you SMILE!










  At the tables, Christy was helping Margi get her Inkle loom threaded.  Christy is our go-to person on the Inkle loom.


 
  Charlotte helped Carl this morning as he cut more strips for a new rug.  He finished up the blue jean rug he was working on after lunch, and next week he'll start on this one.  I can't wait to see how it looks under that dark blue warp!





  Come to find out, the Leclerc loom that came to us from a local church actually belongs to US!!!  Interesting!!!!

  Harriet and Tina wound off the warp to get a sense of how much was on the back beam.  By this afternoon, Harriet was weaving in a header for a rug!!!


Betsy is having way too much fun with her rug warp....and using up lots of leftover wool yarn in the process!
  Sharon is back to weaving more neutral placemats on the little Leclerc.  We only have a few weeks to add to our stock!
  Lanny's placemats are filling up the cloth beam....wonder how many are wound up on the beam????

  Hey, look!  Marie isn't doing any bookkeeping this week!  Instead, we have her busy on a repair job!  She has so many talents!!!!  Let's face it, we can't use that bench until the leg is fixed....and Marie is great at that kind of thing!




  Carol got a nice surprise....her friend Missy has moved into our neck of the woods....and she weaves, also!!!!  Maybe we'll be seeing more of her in the future!
  We had several visitors in the Studio today...they love walking around and seeing what's on the looms. 
  I understand!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Monday, October 19, 2015

Guild Fair

This weekend was my big fall show in Asheville. Set up was Wednesday and the show ended yesterday at 5. Packing, loading, driving and unloading at home meant I was in my chair relaxing by 10:15pm! That, with a huge sigh of relief. Another show done! I became a member a long time ago. It was 1985. I still wonder sometimes if they really meant for me to be in. It's such a prestigious group of craft people. I'm proud to be a member.
I forgot to take pictures before the show started so took a few snapshots during the show Saturday. Some of these pieces have new homes this morning. The little purse above is being shipped to The Netherlands for a sister to use as she bikes around town. 
The painted vests went over well with several selling early on. I had made a couple of long sleeve pullovers using bamboo that I'd painted. One even had pockets.....that one sold within half an hour of the show opening. I didn't get pictures of them.

I like making jackets where I blend colors in the warp. This one's navy with natural and a cranberry color. Woven with navy.
Fun vests with bits of color cascading down.
And another jacket with color progressions.
It's interesting to talk to people at these shows. They inspire you to keep going. You get ideas for new warps to try, colors, styles, etc. Plus if you've done it for as long as I have, you have repeat customers who force you to keep evolving and creating new things to add to the repertoire. New color combinations are what I'm always trying for. You can't keep doing just what you've always done. You need to push yourself out of your comfort zone, put something new out there and see if you're still on the right track. For me this time, it was pockets. I'm always asked about pockets and I very seldom do them but with bamboo, it works. Big, sloppy patch pockets work. 
Next up, winding more warps and scheduling another couple of dye days at the center. Got to keep working. The Foothills Craft Guild show is in a month. This time Tuesday Weavers has a booth, too! So we're all working on production! 
Until next week, keep weaving!
Carol

Saturday, October 17, 2015

From Colorado

I am in Colorado this week, visiting my Son and his family.  We have kept very busy, with yesterday being probably the busiest day so far.  They took us up to hike to Bear Lake in the Rocky Mountain National Park.
We drove up thru a beautiful rocky gorge, then thru Estes Park,  a touristy kind of town that reminded me a bit of Gatlinburg back home, taffy, fudge and all!  We were soon in the park and we followed the Park Rangers directions to get to the hike we wanted to do.  As soon as we made the the first turn however, we saw Elk!  Lots of them!

 On the right side of the road we saw this group.  There were an additional 4 or 5 in this group that didn't make it in this picture.


Then on the other side of the road we could see this group in motion.  They couldn't decided if they wanted to cross the road through the tourists that had pulled over to watch them or not.


After a good long look, we set off to do our hike.  The scenery was beautiful along the road!  You could see where the evergreens had been struck by insects here, just like in Tennessee.  My Daughter in law said that one of the interesting things that has happened, is that the Aspen trees are coming up where the evergreens have been destroyed.




along the road, from the car

We missed the peak Aspen display, but I could see little pockets of shimmering gold.  I tried to get a couple of pictures, but I doubt I have done any of those trees justice.


This one from the car too



The aspens on our hike were already bare of all those beautiful leaves, but the bark was still beautiful.

















This, of course is why we came all the way to Colorado.  We have 3 grandchildren that we don't get to see very often.  Hiking in the woods is one of the best ways to get to know each other.



On this hike we saw chipmunks, gray and stellar jays, and a beautiful little lake......





and a view that we will not quickly forget.
















On our way back through the town of Estes park we again saw elk.  A group of about 20 were hanging around a building in the outskirts of town.  They were just lounging around, watching the tourists, who were in turn watching them.  A little further on there were a couple in the middle of a shallow lake.  It was quite picturesque.

We came back home through Boulder, mainly because there is a wonderful restaurant there called "Pizzeria Locale".  We were seated with the kiddos right in front of the pizza makers.  It was fascinating!  Plus the Pizza was fantastic!  We had enough left over for lunch today, and it was just as good.

We were a tired bunch of hikers by the time we got home last night.  The kiddos were soon in bed and I managed a few rows on my travel knitting project, but then I couldn't keep my eyes open!  We all were in bed before long.  Anticipating another fun filled day today.


Until next time, Happy Crafting, Tina

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Reflections

  There were many great moments during the four days of Homecoming at the Museum of Appalachia, but this one was the BEST!
  Last year at Homecoming, I met Jeff....he's from New York, and he plays the bag pipes.  He didn't have them with him last year, but, he remembered our conversation, and brought his wee pipes to play for me this year.
  YES....I was serenaded in the Loom House!!!!  He played the "Piper's Waltz" and "Scotland the Brave" just for me!  He promises to come back next year and play some more for me.  I have requested "The Skye Boat Song" and Loch Lomond. 

  Another first occurred at Homecoming:  I was asked to autograph the tags on my mug rugs!  I do enjoy using overshot patterns to make mug rugs, and a lady wanted me to sign the tag and write the name of the pattern I used on the ones she bought. 


We had such a great selection of placemats to sell....but we didn't sell very many.  This also means that we'll have a good variety to take to the Foothills show in November. 
  Although the set-up was very simple, I think it was very effective.  We get new ideas every year, and each show just gets better and better.
  By the way:  we took 38 straw loom kits for the weekend.  We brought back 5!!!!!
  Did I mention that it rained Saturday morning?  It was supposed to be one of those days that the clouds would move out, and the sun would come out and turn into a glorious day.  It did stop raining early, but the clouds just didn't move along like they should have!!!!  It wasn't cold....just a little chilly.....and I wish I had taken a sweater or a shawl with me. 
  I think these yarns might make a delicious shawl for chilly days....what do you think????

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn