Black, White and Grey

The rugs are done! At least for now, I've got them done. More flannel needs to be cut before I put another rug was on the loom. There were 14 rugs altogether and it took awhile to serge and then hem all of them. I tried to make them all different but in a few cases repeating the pattern was good. That way if someone wants to get 2 of them for a bedroom, I've got them!

Or, opposites. 

I had woven all the rugs with the loopers that I thought I would. Then LouAnn decided to reclaim her garage and brought a bunch of loopers to the center and said they were not coming back home. After everyone had a chance to grab bags, I just took the rest. They're all gone now!!!

I've woven rugs before with these loopers so know how to handle them. This batch had a lot more of the black ones. In chaining the loopers, I treated the white and gray ones the same. There's a bit of depth to the rug with the change in colors between white and gray.

First of all I wanted to use a lot of the black so just added stripes of white.

Then stripes of black.

I ended up liking this black and white stripe combo so did two of them.

When was chaining the loopers, I counted 30 to a set. When I finished the striped rugs, I had 3 left so put them into this rug.

How about a solid white and gray rug? The gray is very light so you don't really notice it. It blends nicely.

There's a combination of all 3 colors that makes you think of birch trees. I had planned to just use the rest of the loopers all mixed up but there were so many black loopers, I put a stripe of black on each end. In taking  the picture, I could not get the cats off. Meg came first and Belle joined her. 

There were 4 of these. Done! They're the same but different because they were randomly chained.

There were 2 rugs left on this warp so I pulled out a bolt of flannel. Back in the day when Walmart decided to get rid of their fabric, they had 60 inch flannel for $2 a yard. I bought about 6 bolts. The turquoise and black plaid had been cut a year or two ago, but I finally cut the purple and black plaid.

The plaid is the same in this rug. The color is closer to the rug above than this one but sort of inbetween.

There's more plaid left, enough for 2 more rugs to be wove later! I've got 4 more bolts to cut. Once that's done, I'll put on another black warp.

It's really hard to take pictures of our cats. They're all grown up now and are about 2 1/2 years old. They have settled in so completely that we probably can read each other's minds. These little stinkers like to bring things up from the studio. I try to keep everything in tubs or under things but they must really have fun when I'm not down there because they find things in the most unlikely places and bring them up. Anyway, we've gotten into the habit of giving them each 5 little treats late in the evening. DH walked into the living room and was greeted by them waiting for me on my chair. After we laughed, he took this picture. Meg's on the left and Belle on the right. It's not the biggest recliner in the world but perfect for me. This is where I sit to do my handwork on the handwovens in the evenings.

It's great to be able to check something off the list of things to do. Now I'm going to keep weaving my regular production items plus work on the project for April. 

Heading down to wind a warp now.

Until next week, keep weaving!

Carol

In praise of a truck.

What a beautiful day today was, spring like sunshine and warmth!  It was a perfect day to pick up a couple of bales of hay for the goats, and a loom that was coming back home.




I love having a truck, it is sooooo handy!  I did use my little CRV to pick up the loom, but I had to switch vehicles with my Hubby half way home.  It was easy to do, open up the doors and all hands moved the parts and pieces from one vehicle to the other.












I had planned to take the loom pieces up to the studio and leave them unassembled until I got all of the fleeces washed and out of the way.  I found however, that this loom in pieces was more in the way than this loom put together.


















I still had to go get hay, but I thought that  I could get a fleece washed while I was taking the loom upstairs and put together. ( This is Jacobs fleece #01-13, it is mostly white with splashes of grey, and so very soft!)  I grabbed a quick lunch and then set to work.


I finished all the fleece washing and loom putting together by 4pm, just enough time left to hop into the handy truck and get to the co-op for some much needed hay.  Back home, I got the hay unloaded while the goats ate their rations.






I only have 2 more large fleeces, (I used that little truck to pick up all those fleeces too!  There would never have been enough room in the CRV!)  unless there is a big one hiding among the 18 lamb fleeces.  I feel like when I get these last two big ones done, I will have hit a milestone.   I continue to vacuum pack the dry fleeces as small as I can get them, and  I have found that even if the vacuum doesn't hold it is still a much smaller package than before.

I don't know what I would do without my truck!

Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina

Laughter

  I've heard that laughter is the best medicine....and if that is true, we must be the healthiest folks around!!!!   This was the norm ALL DAY!

Ms. Ila kept Bonnie in stitches all afternoon!
  This was probably a good thing since we can't seem to locate the pattern that Bonnie wants to weave on her new warp.
  No pattern.....no threading on the loom!!!!
(I have a feeling a bunch of us are looking for that pattern in our home libraries!)




  
  Ms. Ila has been threading her shawl warp.  You can see the bright colors that will make this shawl exciting.












  No snow or ice to keep Jocelyn from joining us this Tuesday!   So, it's back to work on her shawl warp.









  
  This is Alyce's first try at overshot.  I think she's getting the hang of it!








  Pat is always ready to lend a hand....this time it was helping Frieda as the weft came off the swift.  Frieda is starting her new scarf warp.





  Linda is inching closer to the end of the black warp.  That also means that we find some loose threads in the warp!  She's getting quite a collection of weights under the warp beam!









  Carl is working on the last rug on this warp.  That means we'll have to decide on the new warp...how about some stripes????
  Sharon is still hard at work in our library.  She had the label maker working overtime to label the shelves. 








 
  Anna is threading her wee Structo 8 harness loom.  Did you know Anna has a sister in Australia????   Here's a big shout out to Anna's sister!!!!!







    Take a look at Ms. Ila's Dogwood Quilt!!!    All of the quilting is hand stitched.  This quilt is for her daughter.









   Remember I said there was a lot of laughter today???
Well.....Betsy was NOT laughing when she changed the tie-up on the Macomber.  (This was her first time on this loom.)  She said she was bringing her knee pads if she has to change the tie-ups again.

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Number 6

I finished the 6th Berenstain bear quilt last night. With the binding finished, it's ready to be stored for when I hear of a baby girl needing a quilt.  It's a busy quilt but that's good for a baby to look at all the colors and butterflies, polka dots and children playing!

This one is so cheerful. I did more quilting on it than some of the others because I like to stitch along seam lines when I use my regular sewing machine.  It looks so cheerful and  bright. Who wouldn't want a quilt like that to bundle up in?

The backing is pure girl. Lots of pink while the games are just as much her as anyone.

Much as I like quilting and I do need to start the blue quilts, I need to take a short break. 

The rugs are off the loom and serged.  There are 14 of them. But, they haven't been hemmed yet so they're stacked on my ironing board. Yesterday I wound a short warp for a few tops and vests. It goes on the loom today. I should have time to hem the rugs this week and hopefully get the warp woven. I've got a few bolts of flannel to cut apart for weft and a box of socklady pieces to cut and loop for weft...you get the picture. Lots to do.

Also, I am starting a new project. I am a featured artist at the Art Market Gallery in Knoxville in April. So I am working on some new things for that which won't be revealed until then. It's a bit of a different look for me and should be fun once the learning curve is done. 

But, baby quilts need to be done as well. There are 2 baby boys due in June and their parents need quilts for them! 

Lots to do and time to enjoy the process.

So, until next week, keep weaving!

Carol

This from That

I have spent some time over the last couple of years spinning wool at the Museum of Appalachia, in Norris TN.  During the Spring and Fall there were usually school children touring the museum, and in the Summer there were several activities that included adults as well as children.  Many times I would be asked how much yarn I needed to make for a sweater for example. (and how long it would take me!) I really did not know since I have not knit a sweater out of my hand spun yarn, yet.

I kept on spinning, thinking that I was going to use this yarn to knit socks.  As it turns out the 6 bobbin fulls which turned into 2, 3ply skeins of yarn were not fine enough to make the kind of socks I like to knit and wear.  The yarn was too thick for that, but it would make a wonderful set of hats, and dare I say it would be suitable for a sweater.  However, I still did not know exactly how far these 2 skeins of yarn would go.  I did need a new winter hat though, so I began to knit one, then another and then finally a third.  (truthfully I knit the second hat twice!)

Here are the three hats, the one on the right is my hat and you can see that I have already worn it almost nonstop since I made it.  The middle hat is for my youngest daughter, and that is the one I knit twice.  I will be giving it to her on Saturday when her family is here for dinner.  The hat on the left is going to go to the shepherd that gave me the fleeces and then you can see the bit of sample I did and a small skein of yarn remaining.  (I could have sworn that there is another bit of yarn somewhere, but I can't seem to find it.)

I really have enjoyed knitting these hats, a hat can be finished in just a couple of days of knitting,  if I keep it close at hand and pick it up every time I get the chance.  I have enjoyed it so much that I have started knitting some hats for some of the grandchildren.  Simple ribbed hats like the one on the left, but they kids have chosen some colors from the commercial yarn I have on hand.  I have finished one and am half way thru the second.  I plan on giving them to the kids when I have done with all three.  Then I need to see if I can knit some for the other grands that I have spread across the country.

Anyway, this week I finally figured out that from 6 bobbins, I can make 2 skeins, and from those skeins I can knit 3 hats, that is good to know.

Until next time, Happy Crafting, Tina

Memory Lane

  Last week I went looking for a picture from my files (which I didn't find) and ran into lots of pictures that brought back great memories.  This one is from 2009. 
  It came up this Tuesday that there are no completed evaluation forms for Carol's weaving class on file here at the Center.  We all laughed:   we're still here!!!!  We're still learning!
  This is a little walk down memory lane with some of our Tuesday Weavers that we don't get to see very often.  I hope you enjoy the stroll.

2010:  Ann, Carol and Marta

2011:  Lanny, Carol, Cindy and Ann







2011:  Lanny in his kilt.







2011:  Linda with Max







2011:  Maggie and Bella







2011:  Admiring Carl's rug.
Cindy, Ms. Ila, Carl and Tina







2011:  Admiring Tina's rugs.
Cindy, Andy, Carol, M, Tina and Linda

2011:  Trudy, Carol and Bonnie.

Cathy and Paula

2009:  Joyce

Dye Day on the Ridge.....love the attire!!!
  You can really get lost when you are looking at pictures of old friends....and it sure brings back loads of great memories.
  
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

SOUPer Tuesday!!!

 

  While some folks are getting ready for some event on Sunday, the Tuesday Weavers warmed up with Souper Tuesday today!!!!
  Yes....soup and sandwiches and dessert....could life be any better???


  I was too late to get a picture of Sharon's Chicken Pot Pie soup!  It went in a flash!

  We had a great variety of sandwiches.


The desserts were out of this world.









More desserts!









Still plenty left at the end of the day.  We were making bags of leftovers to take home....I don't think we'll have to make supper tonight!!!!

 

   Linda brought her new herd dog, Beau, by to meet the weavers.  Can you believe he is only 8 weeks old????  He's such a sweetie!












  It's all folded up, but this is our new 8 harness Ashford loom.  We got a great deal on this loom, and we thought that it might fit the bill for a weaver who doesn't have room, yet, for a floor loom.  The fact that it folds up and is lightweight is a big plus.

  Also, today was discussion day for Chapter 1 of Mary Black's, The New Key To Weaving.  Lots of great comments, especially about the terminology used in her book.  
  It's interesting to note her use of the term "primative" in referring to techniques and looms. 
  Polly noted that we had spent 40 minutes talking about a chapter that was 12 pages long.  Next month might get very interesting!!!!!

 Yes, we had some weaving and threading going on in the studio.  And, the discussions lasted long after we went back to our looms.











  Then, the BOSS said it was time to go!
It truly was a SUPER Tuesday!
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn