NEXT

Ah....what is it???
That, folks, is a roll of EIGHT placemats that were cut off the loom last weekend at the Museum of Appalachia!!!!!
   ***Applause***

  People always ask me how long it takes to weave a placemat, and I always tell them that I have no idea!  I stop and talk to people as they come into the Loom House, so I do not just weave one without stopping.  Even at home...I hop up and answer the phone, or go check on what the cats are into.

  But, Sunday at the Museum, it was raining, and no one was coming into the Loom House.   And,  I was weaving like I knew what I was doing!!!!   (I kinda had an inkling that we might get to pack up early!!!)  So, the loom is empty except for the thrums, and I'll visit her again in the spring.
  This makes 14 placemats from that warp.  That's not a biggy for lots of folks, but it's a nice little haul for me.  I should have taken them straight to the serger and separated them, but here they are.  That's OK....I have some time before our Foothills show.

   While I was weaving, I was thinking about the unfinished projects I had waiting for me.  Besides the hot pads, oven mitts and another dozen placemats to be hemmed, I have this shawlette that needs some attention.  It was the first thing I wove on my 15 inch rigid heddle loom.
  I should have hemmed stitched the ends....lesson learned.  Also, I should have had a longer warp.  But, this might work after all.

  I'm thinking I will just curve it around and attach it to the side of the cloth.  I just need to get a clean finish on that edge!  Also, I'll need to decide if it would wear better if I gave a twist to the length.  This piece is 13.5 inches by 56 inches.
  I'll baste it in place and see which way works best.

  I have about five weeks to get ready for the next show...I guess I'll just take it one project at a time.

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Business As Usual

                                                                                    Another show in the books!
  Friday and Saturday sales were fantastic!  The rain bands from Hurricane Nate hit on Sunday, and that was pretty much the end for Homecoming this year!  But, we did over $2,000 in sales, which was nice!
  Marie, Tina and I packed it up, loaded it in the cars, and waved good bye until today.
  As we arrived this morning, we unloaded our cars here at the Center and returned unsold items to the weavers.  Items from the shop were checked off the list and placed back on display upstairs.
  Marie brought her steamer to refresh the scarves on the display rack.  They were a little rumpled from being in the car all day yesterday!!!!
  We took a little time to talk about things we'd like to change next year...it's always good to reflect after big events are over.  We have about 5 weeks to get ready for the Foothills show in November!

 

   Now it's back to business.
Christy is joining blue jean legs to make into weft for Carl's rugs.  



       



 



  Carl was hard at work at his loom making more blue jean rugs.  It won't be much longer before he'll need another warp!



                                           
  Of course new warps need to be wound at the Center already.  Helen got some expert advice from Carol for her warp.  (Love that shade of green!!!)
  That's Alyce over by the door winding her warp.









  Thanks to Sharon, we were able to keep up our strength.  She wanted to try the new pumpkin spice morsels.  Yum!
  I didn't get a picture of the cake that Pat baked for us.  Chocolate Spice.........homemade icing, too!!!!    Oh, my!!!!
  Thank you, ladies!!!!

  We'll get busy and keep those looms going.  It's just business as usual.

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Crunch Time

So it's getting to be crunch time for me. I've less than 2 weeks before my next show and I am paying for having enjoyed the summer! 

This warp is woven, serged, washed and I'm in the process of assembling the pieces. Almost ready for buttons!

It's jade beige and chocolate brown. Jade is is an interesting green. I like it and have combined it with different colors. I think this is my favorite.

Right now on the loom is a red, light grey and royal blue warp. I just started weaving on it today.

I am liking how it's turning out. This is a totally new combination for me. It will certainly cheer up the booth!!

I'm not sure if I'll have time for one more warp but I am hopeful. Stuff keeps getting in the way like the fact that I'm about to go to the dentist. I think he wants to replace a crown. It's been there a long time and apparently they don't last forever. I wish they did!! I'd much rather be weaving!!

Until next week, keep weaving!

Carol

A Few Pics from this Weekend

Saturday mornings booth crew! Karin, Bonnie, Betsy and Irene.   I missed getting a picture of the afternoon crew though Karin and Bonnie were there all day and Alice, Ray and Marie came to give us a hand.








Saturday morning crew, Karin, Linda and Sharon.  Karin stayed for the afternoon, and Anna and Joan came in to complete the shop crew.

Ray and LouAnn taking a break.

My porch at the "Peter's Homestead" cabin

Here is the porch railing covered in our rugs!

Add to these pictures a lot of good food and music and you can get an idea of how our weekend is going.  That's all I have energy to post!!!!!  

Until next week, Happy Spinning, Tina

It All Comes Together

It started out very foggy!

We met early, loaded the cars, and headed over to the Museum of Appalachia.

 It didn't seem like we had as much inventory as we have in the past, but, we'll make do with what we have.

 

  The plan went well.  We took all the display pieces into the Peter's Cabin, and put all the tubs of inventory on the porch.

  We played around with a couple of the pieces to see how they worked best, and then started pulling out all the wonderful handwoven articles that our weavers produced.

***Let me just say that Anna, Betsy and Linda surprised me with all the items they sent!  They have been busy!!!!

We have placemats and rugs on the right side of the cabin

  The rug stand is perfect for the corner, and beside it on the left is the large shelf for towels and table runners.

  This year we have lots and lots of scarves!

  More scarves and our shawls are placed as folks come in the door.

We have a coat rack that hooks over the door to display more scarves and some of our purses. 

  I'm sure that after the workers come tomorrow, they will move things around to suit them....that's how it works.  We call it "fluffing."

Also, we will be hanging some of the rugs on the porch railing to bring some folks into the cabin.
  A big thanks to Tina, Marie, Ray, Christie and Liz for all your hard work!!!!

I think we're ready!
LouAnn

A Wee Bit of Mayhem

  This was the start of the day....and maybe the only "normal" time of the day.  Yes....that's Pat and Carl--cutting more blue jean strips for his rugs.  This is a normal activity here in the studio.

  But, look at the table in the background!  That's a clue!  And, this was just the beginning!

  The weavers started bringing in their woven items.  Tags had to be attached, and inventory sheets had to be written.

Thursday is set up day for the Fall Homecoming at the Museum of Appalachia.  We have a LOT to do before Thursday morning!!!

  Woven items were brought downstairs from the shop and inventoried before they were packed in tubs. 
  We also moved the shelving units into the weaving annex so we could get to them Thursday morning.

  By the end of the day, we had it all packed and ready to go.

  Boy....do we have our work cut out for us!!!!!!

  Oh, yes!
  One more normal thing:  cutting off a warp!  Molly's towel warp is now history.  She's got five towels and two sections of oops that will make a lovely purse (or a cuzy or a hot pad.)

  Having "normal" can be a good thing.


Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Focus

I keep telling myself to focus. There are just a couple of more weeks til my next show and I've taken off most of the summer to visit family. I also got a new shop to carry my things so I am a tad low on stock for the show. So, focus!!  I keep getting distracted. The latest is that I got the series Downton Abbey for Christmas. I am finally getting around to watching it in the studio where my sewing machines and cutting table are. I keep finding excuses to work in there. So today I keep telling myself to weave very quickly so that I can cut, serge and assemble these pieces. Oh, and sew buttons on the two black pieces I wove. I didn't bother with pictures. Black is black! 

I did like weaving this warp. It's sea blue plus light gray and a blue gray. I only had 3 cones for weft so just wove a couple of vests and tops. I will put this on a list to weave again but next time add a jacket.

The color is gray, not brown. And, it's not tan, it's gray.  The blue changes the other colors. 

A week ago I didn't get any weaving done. I took DD to Florida to meet a friend and just got back Thursday evening in time to turn around and go with DH to Kentucky. He was helping judge a guitar contest. When we were in Nashville in July for our music convention, I sent a vintage suitcase up to Kentucky with a friend for his wife to paint for me. I just asked for a Christmas theme. I love what she did! Since I keep my tree up all the time, I can place this nearby and it will be good for storage as well as fit right in.

Ok, focus! I'm heading downstairs to keep weaving. The newest warp is a combination of jade green and browns. Should be fun to weave! It's on, threaded and ready to go. Bobbins are wound, too. After all, Downton Abbey is waiting for this afternoon....

Until next week, keep weaving!

Carol