Surrounded by.....

Some springs are like this. I"m not sure how it happens because I thought we'd cut them back last summer but we're surrounded by wisteria!! Just about all around the house up on our hill, we've got wisteria hanging off the trees.

It's hard to pick a view to show because there are so many of them this year.

 Maybe because we had a bit of a cold winter but not an extreme one?

 Or maybe wisteria just likes Tennessee weather and grows like crazy each year. At least it's prettier than kudzu!! I wonder if the vines would work for wreaths like kudzu vines do...

 And, my lone stand of lilacs grew a bunch this past year. The bush is at least 9 feet tall.
It had blossoms all over it too.

 Love the smell of lilacs!!

 In the studio I have to make a baby quilt this week. The shower was yesterday but I didn't get there. We'd been out of town. The mom to be is crazy about ladybugs and I found this applique set in my stash from about 15 years ago. So I figured out a little quilt design and headed to my favorite quilt shop to buy some fabric. I couldn't believe that they had a piece that had little ladybugs on it. That will back the quilt and also be part of the front as well. It's going to be simple but full of dots!! I think the baby's room is going to be mostly red and black with lady bug accents everywhere. I added the green and yellow to give it a bit of punch. The dots on the bugs are buttons so I suspect little Lillie won't be playing with it til she's a bit bigger but they will figure that out! It's going to be 36 x 45 or so.

 On the weaving front, this pale purple fabric is already washed and ready to be cut and serged again and assembled into pieces.

 The all natural is off the loom. It is a sort of boring fabric but I found several different wefts I could use to weave it with so that helped break the tedium of a solid, boring fabric. The end results will be lovely.

 I just put another warp on the loom. This is also natural but it's got bits of different tans in it as well, especially in the middle of the warp. I haven't woven on it yet. That'll happen in about 10 minutes after I finish this blog. I'd like to  get it off fairly quickly. I don't have alot of time to weave this week so will have to try to do as much as I can today and Wednesday.

The reason that the natural fabric is just sitting on a loom instead of being washed and hanging up to dry is because, yes, my washing machine is broken again. It broke yesterday. I started a load and it seemed to start and then quit, something else, another sensor, I suspect, is broken. Took forever for the machine to unlock the lid so I could get the clothes out. I ended up hand washing the load and letting the dryer dry it all. I can't quite do that with the handwovens.
Guess you know what DH and I are doing this evening. Enough of this machine. It may work ok most of the time but the internet blogs say that the model we got, 6 years ago, is a dud. Lots of things go wrong with it. I guess we were lucky to have it work as long as we did. It doesn't make sense to spend a couple of hundred bucks to fix it when we know now, that it'll just continue to break down. I like to have a machine with warm wash and warm rinse. They're getting rarer and rarer. I've come to the conclusion that we're going to get as simple a machine as possible and just deal with the warm wash and cold rinse. It's that cold rinse that can shock fabrics but with cottons it's not as serious and I'm not weaving with wools right now. When I do pull out those rubbermaids full of the wool yarns I have left, I'll just have to figure out how to wash them or find someone who still has a warm/warm cycle on their machine and go over there to wash them....not happening anytime soon.

So that's the latest from here. I'm enjoying looking out at all the spring flowers popping up and the leaves that are suddenly there. One day it's like there aren't any leaves on the trees and the next, they're full green!!
I'm heading to the studio and my new warp. Magnum PI is waiting for me. I'm almost finished watching season 4. It takes me back....
Til next week, keep weaving!
Carol

Rambling Along

Kimberly Lang, Cristina Lynn and Joyce

  Forgive me if I ramble....it's been that kind of week!  But, let me bring you up to speed......

  The big unveiling of the table runner for my niece:  Kim had a book signing in Pigeon Forge on Saturday, so I was able to deliver her runner in person.  Here she is with her Sing & Sign partner, Cristina Lynn, and her proud Mom, my sister Joyce.  She will be at the Alabama Book Festival in Montgomery this Saturday....wonder if the runner will go, too???

  It was a wonderful day watching Kim talk to fans, and Cristina sang and strummed her guitar.  Folks would wander by and stop and chat.  What a fun day!

  Then, on the home front, I've been weaving on the place mat warp and the mug rugs.  (Can we say, "Long Warps!")  Or, at least to me, they sure seem like long warps.  The end is not in sight on either one!!!
  And, I'm about to finish up making the linen heddles for the loom at the Museum of Appalachia.  My goal is to finish that tonight so that I can take them up to the Museum tomorrow.  This jig sure looks better than the one I tried to make!

"If I could talk to the animals...."

  As Maggie wrote yesterday, we met up at the Museum for lunch, then I did some cleaning in the Loom House.  (I think some critters spent the winter in that little shelter!)  While I swept the floor, Maggie stayed on the porch next door.
  We also replaced the REED (which is made out of real reeds) with one of my metal reeds.  I got to thinking that the original ones need to be used just for show...not weaving.  I beat very hard when I'm making rugs!
 The loom needs to be ready to weave for Sheep Shearing Day on April 26.

  I was also happy to introduce Maggie to the wonders of the Clinch River Yarn Shop!!!  I, too, found some goodness that needed to come home with me!  I love to stop in and talk with Sandy...and there is always some fiber that needs a new home!

  The paper whites have started their showy display.  The daffodils are gone, and they are the perfect replacement!

  And, finally, my favorite little wildflower:  Jack In the Pulpit! 

I'm always worried that it won't come back, but what a delight to see it pop up in the front bed.  When the tree service trimmed the maple in front of my house, I was worried that the extra sunlight would kill it.  But, so far, it continues to greet me each Spring.

Oh my....I did ramble a bit.  But, I seem to be in and out of house, depending on the weather.  And, I weave in spurts depending on my mood....and what has to be done.

Take some time to enjoy the newness of Spring....and, maybe a little fiber, too!
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

It's All Fiber

I played hooky from Tuesday Weavers yesterday to spend the day in my yard.  I mowed, weed whacked and pruned.  And then I got serious about planting.
  I started working part time at the Home Depot in the garden department a couple of weeks ago, and I have to tell you, it's just as dangerous as working in a yarn or fabric store for me.  I've spent $55 each week since I've started, just on plants.  I really need to go back and get some mulch and soil, but it's my day off from both my jobs, and I'd rather spend it away from either of them.
But you can see the fruits of some of my labors.  I planted a line of azaleas in the line of the old hedge on the right side of the house, and I planted this lovely little Pink Breath of Heaven on the left side of the front slope.  Isn't that a great name for a plant?  And it does smell rather heavenly, I must say.
  Today, I needed some friend therapy, so LouAnn and I went to lunch at the Museum of Appalachia.  We each had one of the specials, and they were delicious.  While we were eating and chatting, a storm blew in from the northeast, and it was a nasty one.  We braved the fat sporadic drops to go to the Loom House to clean it out.  I helped LouAnn change the reed in the loom, then sat outside on the Homestead House's porch while she swept the house out.  While I was sitting and watching the rain, one of the peacocks came to the porch to join me.  He eyed me warily the entire time, but sat out the rain with me.

Notice the yarn bomb on the parking sign!

  After we cleaned, LouAnn suggested we go check out Clinch River Yarn Company, a dangerous place for fiber addicts, but I'd never been.  We went, I saw, I purchased.  If you're ever in the neighborhood, it's conveniently close to the Center.  Check them out at www.clinchriveryarns.com.  The owner, Sandy, is very talented and very nice.  We spent a lot of time looking around while she spun our yarns into balls, which made my bill go up a little farther, but as LouAnn kept reminding me--and she says I said it to her first--it's all fiber!  And I told myself that I've been working so hard, I have a right to spend a little on myself.







  Just look at my treasures!  Some lovely worsted cotton-rayon-silk for a cardigan, the latest issue of KnitWear, and a pattern for a scarf I saw at the shop.  Lots of fiber therapy for the work-weary!  A lovely reason to sit on the couch, too, which I need.








I'll close with a photo of Leo drinking out of the sink.  No good reason, other than it cracks me up that he drinks out of the sink.  How does he do that?
  Don't spend time practicing it yourself.  Just have a happy week in pursuit of fiber-y goodness!
Maggie

Keep Calm and Weave On

 It was a smaller group today at the Center:  we have two weavers off traveling the globe.  And, a few others (including Carol) who were taking care of business. We have plenty to do to keep us busy!
  Marie was really happy to finish up the red table runner....today she cut the strips for a new batch of place mats.  Tina put a LOT of yardage on that loom, so there are lots of combinations that are  possible for that warp.
  Linda was able to weave with us until lunch time...about the time the other Linda arrived!  You can see all those heads in the back paying perfect attention to their projects in progress.
                                                                   
                                                                                                 

Cindy is really enjoying the dish towels on the Baby Wolf.  Right now, she's using a sunny yellow....but we also found some orange that she will probably use next! 
  Andy's warp still has one big ole "rat's nest" in it!  What a mean tangle!!!!
  We unraveled another rug for Carl to reweave today.  The header is woven, and next week he'll start the body of the rug.  Those rugs were woven to last, and they'll live on in their new warp.

  I've been waiting to see what Shirley was going to use with her beautiful warp....and here you go!  These colorful stripes are just perfect!

Christy was hard at work on her newest book mark....beautiful colors!!!!

And, one of our favorite times:  Show and Tell!!!
  Linda brought her very first "at home" warp of mug rugs.  All the same threading....different colors and treadling!!! 
  Cindy brought her towels that she has been working on at home.
  It's always fun to see those projects!!!
    Now, we're home.....more weaving projects to tackle????? 
Ah......just weave on!
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Road Trip

I know, I've been gone alot lately!! This past month I've been home about 8 days!! I think after this weekend, tho, I'm home for awhile! At least that's the hope!!

So, Wednesday morning I got on a bus with a bunch of other ladies, including our own Sharen, and went up to Cincinnati for a quilt show.

We had alot of rain while we were there but it didn't start until the following day so we went down to the fountain square, a couple of blocks from our hotel to look around. Someone said we had to try Graeter's ice cream. It's famous in Cincinnati and the business is 140 years old. So that was our treat for the trip!

It really is good! If you get a chance, try their black raspberry chocolate chip!

 From our hotel window, we could see the convention center where the quilt show was. Good thing it was close because the rain was pretty seriously falling at times!!
The hotel rooms we were in were nice but they were in the middle of major hotel renovations and that part was awful!! Only 2 elevators were working, hotel was full, lobby nonexistent, etc etc. Whoever planned the renovation didn't think about guests! Good thing we had a great time at the show!!

 There were a few quilts that were just fun. Like this one that I took a picture of part of. A person celebrating a milestone birthday had made it using yo-yos. Just totally fun, nothing serious about this quilt!!

 On the other hand this person made about 3600 paper pieced pieces for the wallhanging that this is just a part of. I can't imagine how long it took her to make it!! The effect was gorgeous.

 There's a quilter in Japan that has been making pieces that are separate and then joined with tabs or something, a unique play on how to make a quilt. We're so used to it all being one big piece but now there are quilters that are making separate little quilts and joining them somehow. This quilter had done a bunch of redwork pieces, completely finished, almost placemat size but then she joined them with yo-yos, lots of yo-yos! I really liked how she took a pattern and tweaked it to make it her own.

We got back Friday evening, heads full of ideas and suitcases filled with purchases from the vendors. Now to find time to make the things we have on our new to do lists!! Hmmm, if I weave like crazy this morning, maybe I can find an hour to cut out a project? or at least find all the fabrics in my stash to complete......
Until next week, I'm staying home to weave! and maybe find a couple of hours to finish a project or two so that I can start some of those new ones that I've added to my list plus find time to go out and enjoy the wisteria that's about to burst open and my lilacs that seem to have been happy with winter and will bloom as well in the next few days!!
Spring is here!! I hope it's coming where you are as well!
Carol
 

Making Hay While The Sun Shines

  I'd love to tell you that I have been weaving up a storm, but that wouldn't be true!

  After cutting off the first six place mats on this warp, I'm working on the second one.  But, to be truthful, I haven't woven on this for a few days. 

  We finally have been having some great weather, and I've been outside mowing and cutting back some of the wild growth.

  But, before I could even mow, I had to pick up sticks out of the yard.  This is the second load I collected from the front yard. 

  There is probably a third load to collect, but that had to wait.  (I was able to mow the front yard yesterday!)

  I fed the first load through the chipper and got this wonderful mulch. 
  But, before I can work on the next load, I have to work on the chipper....something is hung up in the chopper blade, and that means I get to open up the shredder.  I located my manual, and that will be my project this morning.  (Oy Vey!!!)  It's a good thing I'm good at following directions!

  As I work in the yard, it's so much fun to see the wonderful spring plants that keep coming back year after year.  I love Trillium, and these Virginia Bluebells are always welcoming sights.  And, I noticed yesterday that my lilies of the valley are starting to shoot up. 
  Storms are on their way this afternoon, so I'll get some weaving time later today.  But, for now, it's back outside to the yard and flower beds that need lots of attention.  You've got to make hay while the sun shines....or at least get some yard work done!
Happy Weaving (and gardening!)
LouAnn

Baby, It's Hot Outside!

Blueberry bushes and an artichoke

 Remember last week, when we were all lamenting the lateness of spring?  Wasn't it just two weeks ago that it snowed?  Well, when the gods want to punish you, they answer your prayers!  It's 84 outside right now, too hot to plant a garden but that's just what I did today.
  Two weeks ago, some dear friends who garden for a living brought me two beautiful blueberry bushes, and those guys needed to go in the ground today!  So, I plowed up the garden I'd made three years ago, tilled it four times, added garden soil and tilled it again.  I bought six different tomato plants and some peppers, and put them in the ground, too.
  The rest of the garden will be from seed, and won't go in until tomorrow.  I need to cool off and take a shower!  Whew!  Someone stinks around here!

Lots of tomatoes!

No weaving this week, just a lot of work and some serious knitting.  I'm about up to the elbows on the hot pink sleeves, and started a new little number.  Several years ago, a man donated his late wife's collection of Harrisville Shetland yarn, and I got six cones of lavender.  I've made a rug with some of it, but have plenty left.  I got this issue of KnitWear, a new knitting magazine that I love, and here is a pattern using that very yarn.  It's a simple cable twist all over, a pattern I can look at once a row and keep going without further reference.  Not quite t.v.-friendly, but not bad,  Great for the front porch and a frosty adult beverage in the evening!
  An update on Lee's Surrender on Bertha:  After I got everything tied on and tied up (sounds racy, doesn't it?), I found two threading errors in the tabby rows.  I was too tired to fix them, so they'll be waiting for me next Tuesday.
  Until then, Happy Spring!
  Maggie