FO's and a New Loom!

I finished  the sweater I was knitting the last time I posted.  I knit the "button band" once in knit1/purl1 rib, but I did not like it!  So I ripped it out and re knit it in plain old stockinette stitch.

It fits wonderfully, and if it wash't so hot, I would try it on for a photo shoot!  It didn't take long to redo the band and I am really pleased with the results.

At the same time I was knitting the sweater, I was plugging away at a pair of socks, using some yarn I bought at the "Into the Wool Fiber Retreat".  It is a simple rib pattern with one of the ribs being a little wider so that you can throw a cable in every 7th row.  ("So Simple Silk Garden Socks")

After I took this picture, I decided that the socks weren't long enough, so I opened up the toe and ripped back to where I started the toe decreases.  I added about 4 more rows of pattern, then redid the toes.  They now are wonderful, and like the sweater, will see plenty of use this coming fall and winter.

Wednesday, I was helping Lou Ann with a project, and we were almost back to her house when I got the call that my new floor Inkle loom had arrived!  We turned right around and went to help unpack the order, and pick up my Leclerc loom "Cendrel".

This is a very interesting loom, Leclerc says you can weave up to 15 feet of band or tape.  Many that I have talked to say that it is more like 24ft!


Do you see the cute fabric bag that is holding the hardware?  Leclerc always does that!  It only took about an hour to put this loom together, oh, and when they say to put soap on the screws to make it easier, believe them!

It will be next week before I can get a warp on this loom.  I have some ideas, but nothing firmed up yet.

Last, but not least, I have made a discovery that if you actually weave on a project, it will get done!  I wove this scarf project on my new rigid heddle loom.  It has been on the loom for a couple of months, mainly because I got a little enthusiastic on the number of colors I wanted to use on this project.  It took me a couple of times to make the weft color changes not quite so frequent.

This is a herringbone pattern, 2 dark, 2 light all the way across for the warp and weft.  I had wanted to weave the colors as warped, but all that cutting and tucking in the ends was way too much for me, and for the integrity of the fabric.  I had to come up with a way to use all the colors in the warp, just not all the way down the project.  I ended up doing 6 repeats of each color grouping on both of the ends, and picked one light/dark group for the body of the scarf.  I haven't wet finished it yet, but I plan to have it ready to share next Tuesday.

That is a good bit of what I have been up to these last couple of weeks, what is keeping you busy?

Until next time, Happy Spinning, Weaving, and Knitting,  Tina

Same Old Same Ole

I thought I'd have something interesting to blog about, but it's the same old thing:  cutting strips for rugs.

  Of course, this rug is a little different....the center part of the rug will have some print mixed with the blue jean strips.  This is a thick weight decorator fabric.

  Then the process of joining the strips begins.
(I've been meaning to do a search on this sewing machine:  it has Spartan on the head, but the tag says that it was made in Great Britain by the Singer Corporation.  Oh well, that's a project for another day.)







  I've been listening to my new book while I cut and sew, and that makes the time fly by.  There was a post on Facebook today that reminded us that it's 30 days until the Outlander series premieres on Starz.  I'm ready!!!!

  The summer is flying by, and there's still so much to do.....I hope you are taking the time to just enjoy this season.

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Just Doin' What We're Supposed To Do

Yes, Carol.....we just took care of business.  That yarn donation was taken care of, and we're ready to get back to regular weaving next week.

Of course, Carl made us all look like slackers by getting right to work this morning.  He got the strips cut for his next rug.








  At lunch, we issued a new challenge for the year:  on Tuesday, 7 July 2015, we will each showcase our stewardship of the planet by using a handwoven napkin at lunch.  The design, fiber and size is completely up to each weaver.  This should be lots of fun!!!!

  We hope you're having a grand time in Nashville, and all of our other travelers are enjoying their vacations.
  See you soon.
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Oops! I Did it Again!

Can't you just see me in a skimp bare-midriff top, dancing to that song?

No, me neither.

  But I did forget to blog Wednesday.  Well, forget isn't accurate.  I was sound asleep by 6:00!  Silly job!  Too bad blogging doesn't pay the mortgage!

It's been a busy week.  I've been harvesting  loads of tomatoes, lots of cucumbers, not too many eggplant, and I have no idea what's up with the chilies, but don't they look lovely after their bath?  Does anything smell as intoxicating as freshly picked tomatoes?

No, nothing does.







I've been knitting my sweater for Knitting Daily's Knit-a-Long.  I got to the interesting part yesterday, the Celtic design that goes around the neck.  When the cables swoop back inwards, I'll separate the front from the back with the sleeve bind offs.  I've changed the pattern a bit, because I didn't really want the back to be stockinette, and the sleeves will be different.  I hope it still counts for the Knit-a-Long!    I love the yarn, a 50-50 silk-wool blend.  It smells really good, and has a nice feeling to knit.

 I had a couple friends over for a cook-out on the 4th, and had a lovely time.  What a beautiful day it was!  And don't they make a cute couple?

Yes, they do!





And a happy, happy note:  I won one of the door prizes on the East Tennessee Yarn Crawl!  So very exciting!  The pattern that came with all the yummy, fun yarn is a poncho that I will never make in a million years, but I'm thinking the yarn would make a really spiffy scarf warp!  I'm thinking black chenille as the weft, since there's so much black in the yarn.  It's all hand-dyed, except the brown chenille, which will probably be a knitted scarf.  I think it'll be fun!

 And it will be!


As the summer heats up, and the weeds slow down a little in the garden, it's a perfect time to be inside, weaving, knitting and hanging out in the AC, isn't it?

Yes, it is!

Maggie

Happy 4th!!!

   I just got back from a quick trip to the Museum to pick up my parking pass for tomorrow's big celebration.  YES...it's time again for the annual Anvil Shoot at the Museum of Appalachia!

  You can see by the list of activities that it will be a busy day full of fun things to see.  And, there is usually a cast of historical characters to bring it all to life.  I sure hope Abe and Mary can make it again this year!!!!

  I'm part of the Historical Demonstrations agenda.  The great thing about weaving is that it IS historical and also very contemporary.  I always enjoy telling folks about the unique Rocker Beater Loom which originated before the Revolutionary War.  Although I don't know the exact age of the one at the Museum, it is true to the original design.

   In preparation for the 4th, I worked on blue jean weft for the rugs.  I got five shuttles loaded, and wound the rest into two balls.  I'm using some blue jean panels that Tina donated to me, and I decided to cut these into strips before I joined them.
  I spent most of Saturday and Sunday afternoon on this project!

  This is the sewing machine I learned to sew on, and I remember that my Mom got it when I was 5 years old.  It is perfect for sewing strips since I can put it just about anywhere!  It only sews forward and back, but that's all I need for this job!  I always forget how heavy it is, but I wasn't surprised to find out that it weighs 25 pounds!  (I actually borrowed it while I was in college, and took it on the bus to Johnson City!  I was much younger then!!!  I sat with that on my lap the whole way!)

  I worked all last weekend getting ready so I could go to Atlanta with my daughter's family.  We did a quick trip to Stone Mountain to see the Laser Show.  I hadn't been in about 20 years, and there have been lots of changes to the show.  The lawn was totally filled by dark when the show started.  And, the show was so amazing.  After a great night's sleep at the Stone Mt. Inn, we joined Atlanta rush hour traffic to head downtown.

The Georgia Aquarium is well worth the traffic headache to get there.

  I LOVE beluga whales, and it was just a pure joy to sit and watch them swimming in the tank.  And, yes, they have a bench for folks like me that are mesmerized by the sight.

Sing along with me:
"Baby beluga in the deep blue sea...."

  The kids love the whale sharks, and we spent time on all 3 levels viewing them swimming in their tank. 

  Then, of course, there were the otters, penguins and touch pools that keep us moving from exhibit to exhibit. 

  We made great time on the way home and totally avoided any other rush hours in Chattanooga and Knoxville.  Great!!!!

  I returned home to a dying air conditioner, but all is well now.  Tomorrow will be lots of fun, and Saturday the family will be here!  Just too much fun!!!!
  So....Happy 4th of July to all!
Be safe!

LouAnn

Holding Down the Fort

We had a lot of folks on the road this week, but there was still a lot of activity at the Center today.

 I walked in to find a pile of rugs on the floor beside a sewing machine.  Carol was busy hemming the rugs that Linda took off her loom last week.

Linda sent me a picture to post of all the rugs laid out on her floor at home.  Her cats were giving the rugs the seal of approval.












Carl continued to work on his rug.  In fact he finished this one today.

Lanny is quickly coming to the end of his warp.  We talked about leaving enough warp so that he can tie on a new warp and continue with the same pattern.

Betsy worked on these hand towels this  morning, but by the afternoon she was using more patriotic colors to honor the 4th of July holiday coming up.

I managed to get a couple of repeats on the baby blanket.

Pat's rug is waiting for her to come back!

 You see all these looms lined up at the beginning of the day?

They came out of that corridor to the right, packed in as tight as we can get them!

Lou Ann was busy today, she is out with her family for a couple of days.  I think Carol said there were at least 8 of the regulars missing today, and I agree.

Summer time often has a fluctuating roll call, but we do love it when we can come.

Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina for all

Love to Lace

I  belong to a bobbin lace guild, East Tennessee Lace Guild. Every year or two we have a teacher come to inspire and teach us new lace patterns. For quite a few years now we've been having Louise Colgan fly in from California to teach us Milanese Lace.  She's the one in the front left of the picture. It really is a blast altho looking at the pillows, you'd think we hadn't gotten much done. Lace is slow, very meticulous but it is so neat to see the pattern develop as you flip the bobbins.

Here's the group that was there this time. Since we didn't have anyone to take the pictures, I did. Most of us have known each other for years but we're always glad when someone new comes to join us and discover the fun of making lace.

 The class was for 3 days. Mary could only stay 2 days but she got her thistle done. She's wanted to make it for several years now but we hadn't been able to get the project included in the choices until this year. She got finished in time to leave the next morning on her summer vacation with family. I thought I didn't like the thistle, but it sure is growing on me! Wouldn't it be cute in a little frame? After I took the picture, she took the middle 2 beads out and re did it. I'm not sure she put any beads in the center of the flower the second time around. Either way, it's cute.

 Melissa hasn't done alot of lace and this was her first try at Milanese. The first project one does in Milanese with Louise is the moon. I did it and got mine framed. Hers looks just as wonderful and I hope she frames it as well!

 Doesn't look like Erin did much, does it? Well, this is an advanced pattern and more complicated than she even thought it was. When you do lace, you often go straight down and then do another panel next to it, straight down. Where the lace meets, you have to do a sewing. I'm not good at sewing yet but Erin is. Look at that face. She did the hair first. Then you'd think you could just do the face quickly. Wrong. The face is done in 2 parts so you have to sew all along on both sides of the center of the face. Sewing means you take a tiny crochet hook, put it through the lace that's there in a very specific spot, then pull the thread from the bobbin that's supposed to be sewn in and pull it back up through the hole, then put the other bobbin through the loop to make the join. Sounds simple but the holes are tiny, the crochet hook not always cooperative and you see how it can go! I broke my little hook trying to make a sewing the second day of class!

 Most of us were making teapots. That's 3 days worth of hard work. I just have the top of the lid and the center to do, still many hours of work. I hope to get it done in short order though. We've asked Louise to come back next year. She's got a cup and saucer that would fit nicely with this teapot... I find myself getting more confident with each project that we do. I'm not ready for the angel. Not sure I ever will be but understand what's going on in that pattern and maybe that's good enough.

I think I'll stick to my teapot for now. Altho, she does have a very pretty tulip that she designed recently and after the cup and saucer I'll need another project if we bring her back again.....

On the home front, I'm finishing all the steps to getting my woven pieces ready to sell. There's alot left to do with them and step by step I'm getting them done.
Until next week, keep weaving! On the loom or on the lace pillow, it's all weaving!
Carol