Sheep Shearing Days

Over the last 3 Fridays Karin and I were at the Museum of Appalachia for Sheep Shearing Days. We were joined by our friend Darlene and also Mark and Judith were able to join us for one of the days. One of the pieces of equipment that Karin and I like to have on hand is an ancient drumcarder that lives either at one of our homes or at the Center in our weaving supply anexx. We had a problem with it the first Friday (loose screws) and Karin took it home for her Hubby to take a look at and fix if it could be done.

More on the drum carder later. The first Friday was really rainy and that meant that some of the school busses didn't make the trip and we got a little bit cold and wet. The second Friday they gave us some inside space and some outside space so we could dodge the rain if it got too wet. The last Friday was lovely weather and we were able to explain the process from shearing sheep to finished object. I demonstrated how I wash wool, and some fiber combing and carding as well as spindle spinning. Karin brought her spinning wheel so we were able to show the kids a bit of the progression in the world of yarn making. Mark and Judith demonstrated the craft of weaving for us, it was so nice to have someone do that since that was a job that LouAnn usually did for us.

Now back to the drumcarder. It looked good when Karin put it on the table and we couldn't wait to start adding fiber to it however, something wasn't quite right and it took me a minute to figure out what was going on. Turns out the licker in drum was turned around the wrong way and it wouldn't feed the wool onto the large drum! Karin had a tool kit in her bag, but it didn't have quite the pieces we needed to fix the problem. We finally decided to use our handcards and take the drum carder back to the shop.

We had a wonderfull 3 days teaching and demonstrating the crafts that we love so well to hundreds of students and the adults that came with them. Until Tuesday, this it Tina for the Museum crew

We are Back!

Well, techically I am back, the others never missed a beat! Here is a couple of pictures of the room as I walked in.

I saw that our order of Bamboo yarn had come in and that Kris had cut off her warp before I arrived,and Carol was already at the serger cutting the pieces apart. (Thanks Mark for the Pic!)

Karin was hard at work finishing a narrow band for Barbara to use as button loops, and I happened to catch Liz under a loom!

There was a warp to be put on one of the looms. Marie and Kris took the job in hand and found that there were a couple of warp winding errors. (Dana and Susan got pulled in on the job then) Then they found out that the brake on the loom that we thought we had fixed was not fixed after all! Next week they will be winding this warp from one loom to the another loom. Should be fun!

Speaking of Susan, she is warping her loom with wool for a scarf. She also brought in some hatching eggs. They needed to not be left in the car where they would have gotten too warm.

Patty's pretty shawl warp is almost ready to weave, Shirley is weaving yet another towel and Susan (another Susan, who I called Kris last week!) and Jenny are immersed in the job of dressing the loom.

Joycelyn is weaving her shawl warp and Alice is weaving placemats in Ellen's Pattern.

It is time for Show and Tell! Susan brought in her first towel project, and Shannon brought in a set of bowl cozies she had woven and made for some new friends.

Patty has some towels she wove with a new to her twill pattern and I brought in some rugs that I have woven for LouAnn's family out of one of her dresses and some of the fabric from her stash.

John Paul has made some new stick shuttles for the weaving studio, and Mark brought in a scarf he wove at the Museum of Appalachia during the second of 3 Sheep Shearing Fridays.

Speaking of Sheep Shearing days, watch out on Saturday for a few pictures of our adventures at the Museum over the last 3 Fridays. That is it for today, see you on Saturday! Tina, for all

What Happens Next!

The fabric is finally off of the loom, what is the next step? Sometimes there is fringe to twist and knot, sometimes there are hems to sew and sometimes there are alterations to make. The first thing I saw when I walked in this morning (on time for once!) was Kris taking her project off of the loom! What followed was a joint effort, as Kris cut the towels apart Carol ran the raw edges throught the serger and then later I found Kris hemming the towels by hand.

Next, I saw Pat and Liz with their heads together. Pat had brought a paper pattern for soup cozies and Liz had brought some fabric. Over the course of the day they had cut out, Carol serged and Liz marked the fabric and sewn a cozie!

Last Fall, I threaded and wove the shawl warp that was on the loom that LouAnn had given me before she passed away. I chose a pattern that she was fond of. The yarn was bamboo and heavy so that when I tried to wear the shawl, which was also a bit too wide, it would slip right off of my shoulders. Last week Carol told me to bring it in and we would see what had to be done. I did just that and what followed was amazing!!!! Patty said that I should do a ruana out of it and that was what I had wanted to do but I was not experienced enough to attempt it. I looked at Carol and she looked at me and asked if I wanted her to do it. Well, of course I said yes! Almost everbody gathered round to watch the cutting of the cloth, those that didn't said they were too afraid to watch! Carol marked the spot for the neck and the split front with pins and then the whole room was silent as she took the good scissors and began to cut. (GASP!) Then it was to the serger we go! All I have to do now is a crochet edging around the serged edges to further strenghten the edges and make them pretty! Now I will be able to wear it because it stays on my shoulders!

Linda's shawl project came off today, and so did Shelley's!

Liz is working on a beautiful huck lace sampler and Patty finished a new warp that I can't wait to see on the loom!

Now it is time for Show and Tell! Dana brought in some towels she had woven and she made true design elements by using up partially filled bobbins left over from other projects. Laura brought a quilt she had made for her great neice, it is so thick and soft!

Barbara found some antique buttons to use for the wrap shawl she showed us last week. There were also a couple of narrow scarves woven with yarn from LouAnn and Sharons stashes.(I didn't see who brought them in) I brought a rug I had rewoven for a client this week and Linda has some towels that are fresh off the loom.

Well folks, that is all for today! Until next time this is Tina, for all.