Something New

I don't have anything new to record in the weaving department just yet, but last night I got something new.  Dear One and I were out late at night trying to see the meteor shower, (we both saw 1 shooting star each)  after awhile he told me that there was an app that would tell you what all the stars and planets are called.  All you have to do is point your phone at it and it tells you.  I thought that was pretty cool, so when we went inside, I looked it up and downloaded it.

It is called "Skywalker", I got the free one first and before I went to bed I upgraded to the paid one!  It is so cool,  it told me the names of the planets that I saw right  beside the moon, (Saturn and Mars) and then I went to find the other planets too!  I found the sun which was of course on the other side of the planet, and the planets that were keeping it company, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury.  I am terribly ignorant when it comes to planets, and stars and things, but all of a sudden, I felt like I was on a ball suspended in space!  Don't get me wrong, I knew that we really  are on a ball suspended in space, but last night I felt it!

Several times today, I have checked out where the Planets are and the Space Station, and the Hubble Telescope, and all the thousands of satellites, I had no idea!   It was comforting in a way, looking for my new Planet friends in the sky.   I am not sure about all the Satellites, I have no idea what they are doing up there,  but I am sure some of them have something to do with my phone, and allowing me to do this fun new trick!

There is one thing that shocked me though, more that all the satellites, it is all the spent rocket bodies that are out there!  Everywhere I turned there they were, I don't suppose they are a problem to anybody but me,  (or are they?)  but I think that somebody needs to take out the trash!

Until next week, look up at the stars at night, Tina

Not Built For Speed

****First of all....a little correction!  The church that Betsy grew up in was the Congregational Church!  You know...the one associated with the Pilgrims and Puritans.  Auto correct was no help on this one!

  Just in case you didn't already know, I'm an Olympic junkie.  Winter...Summer....I love them both.  Now, I don't watch every event, but, I do enjoy a lot of them.  After all, it's not like I'm going to get to see an equestrian event (the Derby does NOT count) or a rugby match.  I fenced in college (not competitive) and I grew up swimming, also not competitive.  Let's just say that it's too bad that rowing wasn't one of the sports where I went to school....I could have been a contender, I think!!!!
  So....I'm blaming the Olympics and my own nature preserve for my lack of weaving progress.  Mamma deer parked the fawns in the front yard again...this time right out the front door.  They were so much fun to watch.  And, our little herd have been coming to the back fence for their  snack of corn every day.  The buck was with the two does earlier this week....that's only the third time I have seen him.

  THIS is what is left of my okra plants.  Now, what animal eats the leaves and not the okra???  Groundhogs!!!
  Oh, yes!  They also eat the leaves on the tomato plants, and even take a giant bite out of the tomatoes when the mood strikes.  And, they destroyed the corn that the squirrels planted as well as the broccoli. 
  This afternoon, I walked up on one of them...about three feet away...and she acted like I was invisible.  No fear!!!  I'm not going to push my luck....those are sharp teeth!  Let's just say that they are very healthy groundhogs!







  I did get some yarn pulled for a scarf.  I haven't decided if it's going on the rigid heddle or one of the Pups.  I was thinking of a man's scarf, but one that would a lady might like, also.  Maybe that will be done by next week..(wink, wink!)

  Tina and I will be at the Museum on Saturday morning.  There will be some Girl Scouts visiting from Texas.  I need to finish a few more placemats on the Rocker Loom, and get those cut off the loom.  I'm just hoping the heat wave breaks before we go!!!  It's been so hot and humid here that it's not fun being outside unless you're in the water.
  And, speaking of that, it's back to Phelps in the pool!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Meet The Weavers - Part 2

  Would you believe that Betsy drives over 160 miles each Tuesday just to be with us at the Center????
  Meet our fellow weaver, Betsy...she comes to us each week from Greenville, TN.  She saw Pat weaving on the Wolf Pup at the Foothills Fall Show in 2012, and after talking to her and Carol, joined us in 2013.  Weaving was always something Betsy had wanted to try, but life kept getting in the way.
  You know....career, husband, two children and four grandchildren!!!
  Betsy is originally from Danvers, MA.  In fact, she grew up in the Congressional Church where the young girls went that initiated the Salem witch trials.  She went off to Michigan State University to study nutritional therapy.  (Did I get that right, Betsy???)  After meeting her husband, his job brought them south to lovely East Tennessee.

She has two floor looms at home, as well as a Cricket rigid heddle loom, and an Inkle loom.  Her oldest granddaughter has already received her first rigid heddle loom to weave on, as the tradition continues.
  Betsy is really enjoying weaving rugs right now, along with scarves on her Cricket.  Her favorite weaving resource is the Dixon book.  But, she's been eyeing Tom Knisely's baby blanket book for her next purchase.
  Betsy came up with the woven "walker bags" after seeing similar cloth bags at the Assisted Living Home where her mother lives. 
  Besides weaving, Betsy also knits, and she is very involved in several activities in her church.

  Jocelyn also started weaving in 2013.  She was already an accomplished artist, and this was just her next step in color and texture.  A Campbell County native, Jocelyn spear heads the Louie Bluie Music and Art Festival at Cove Lake Park every September.    (Needless to say, this is her busy time getting all the final details firmly in place!!!)
  Jocelyn lived the majority of her adult life in Jacksonville, FL, until Hurricane Floyd convinced her husband it was time to come back to East Tennessee.  She built a home on her great-grandfather's farm, and has her own cabin art studio.
  She just finished a bamboo scarf, and she has just a little left on her first tapestry project.  At home, she has an eight shaft table loom, and her "Harley Davidson" (Harrisville Design) loom.  She thinks that a Navajo loom might be in her future, too.

    

   Just think....her daughter started all this by leaving two looms with her Mom!  Jocelyn stored them in the barn, then got to thinking that maybe she should use them!   While she cleaned the big loom, she found out just how it worked, which comes in very handy from time to time!
  Right now, she doesn't have one favorite thing to weave...she says she is still learning.  But, if she could only have one book, it would have to be Davison.

  By the way, her favorite quote is:
"You will be remembered only for your passions."

  The Tuesday Weavers are sending lots of Happy Birthday wishes to Carol....we hope your day was super special!!!

  Darlene finished her black bamboo warp at home, and brought the shawls to show us.  Great work, Darlene!

 Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

New Skein

I finished last weeks hand dyed blanket fabric and cut it off of the loom so that I could get it washed and see how it looked before I proceeded with the next skein of hand dyed.  I did not get it washed and here it sits in the pile of "to do's".

However I could not wait to get the new skein of hand dyed perle cotton on the shuttle and see how it looked.  I filled 4, 6 inch bobbins full as full can be and I kept them in order so that the fabric would reflect the color order of the skein.

This time I have not done any pattern overlay, I have an idea about what I want to do with this fabric, if my sewing skills will not disappoint me.  However, I am not ready to put it out in the blog world yet.  Maybe in a couple of weeks I will be able to show you something.

My focus right now is to figure out something I can do with the warps that are already on the loom, that is different than what I have been doing, it can be a win, win situation.  I would have something new to sell at the fall shows,  I would weave up some of my overwhelming stash of yarn, and I would have empty looms!

Stay tuned and keep on Crafting, tina

Meet The Weavers

Left-Bonnie        Right-Shirley

   Basically, we have two months left to weave before Homecoming at the Museum of Appalachia.  There are no new warps going on right now that you haven't seen, SO, I thought I would let you get to know some of the wonderful folks here at our weaving studio.
  A great place to start would be our LADIES.  Yes, these are the Ladies of the Back Row.  (Just don't let their sweet, demure looks fool you!!!)  They will have you doubled over laughing in no time flat!!!!
  Bonnie (left) was born in Reading, PA, and moved to Orlando, FL, when she was 4 years old.  She came from an Pennsylvania Dutch family!!!  She moved to Tennessee after meeting her husband.  They have 2 sons and one grandson.  Bonnie was an executive secretary at TVA in several different departments
  On the right is Shirley.  She was a native of Kalamazoo, MI, before moving to our area.  She has 3 sons, 10 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren (a boy and a girl.)  Shirley worked for GM when she was in Michigan, and loved being outdoors all year round....a real snowbunny!!!  For the last 26 years, she has operated her own custom embroidery business.  And, you should also celebrate with us that she is a 16 year cancer survivor!

Left-Shirley        Right-Bonnie

At home, Shirley prefers weaving with her 20" knitters loom or her 10" cricket.  She also sews, knits and makes jewelry.  If she's not at home or at her shop, you'll probably find her on the lake on her jet ski!

  Bonnie has three looms at home, and her favorite structure right now is huck lace.  She also quilts, sews, and she's learning to knit.  When she's out and about, you might find her in an antique shop.  She collects carnival glass vases.

Left-Shirley       Right-Bonnie

 I admit that I love it when I catch them not-weaving!!!!  They have their own radar when it comes to me taking pictures!!!!  I love to take a little time each week to just touch bases with them....you never know what the subject will be.
  Just think.....I would have never met these ladies if I hadn't started weaving!!!!

And, just so you'll know that it was business as usual, look what Linda made for us today!!!!

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies!!!!!

  They didn't last very long.................
Can we say they were healthy?????

Stay tuned for next week's installment of Meet The Weavers!!!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn 

Side Trip

Each year about this time, I take a road trip north to visit my family. I loaded up on Tuesday afternoon and finished packing Wednesday morning so I left after 10am, heading west. I always stop at the Hancocks in Paducha, KY to look at the fabric there. 

This time, on Thursday morning I arrived at Hamilton, MO about 10:30am. If you don't know about Hamilton, it's where JC Penney was born but now it's also the home of Missouri Star Quilt Co. It's a magical place with 11, yes, eleven quilt shops all owned by Jenny Doan and her company. Apparently there are 300 employees now with an active online presence for sales and tutorials.

The best thing is to visit the shops.

Near the center of town they  have murals painted on the side of the building.

This section of buildings holds the majority of the shops on two levels. Wandering around the shops is more fun than you can imagine. Lots of inspiration for anyone that likes fiber. One of them used to be the JCPenney store.

This is the courtyard next to a burger joint and bakery. They've made the place look festive.

The music playing in most of the shops was Christmas. Christmas in July. It was a very hot day but they were getting the idea across.

This town was dying til this shop started and took off. I'm so glad they found a way to keep the town growing. Busses bring lots of shoppers and there's plenty of room for them.

Oh, and there's a shop called Men's Land. It's got recliners, TVs, games, etc in it for the patient men waiting for their wives to finish daydreaming as they walk among the bolts and bolts of fabric.

Then I got fairly serious and drove. Stopping Saturday near Winnipeg to visit a BFF from school and family, yesterday afternoon I headed across the prairie to Moose Jaw. The trip took well over an hour longer than it should have because of construction. For many miles traffic was down to one lane each direction. Speed limit under 40mph, in the middle of prairie with no traffic. But, you have to drive slowly anyway or risk a speeding ticket. 

I listened to the end of my 24 disc audiobook and enjoyed the scenery.

Now I can relax for a bit before we start on some projects up here.

I've got some handwovens to work on and maybe a quilt to sew.

Until next week, keep weaving!

Carol

New Pattern Color

It has been a busy week here in the studio.  I am on a mission to clear off looms  that have had projects languishing for way too long.  Last week you saw a deepest darkest skein of yarn being put to good use, and this week I have a shot of the second blanket in progress.

I saw last week as I was weaving that the pattern weft was happily placed on the contrasting color of tabby weft.  I also saw as the blanket progressed that it was not going to be the same on the second blanket, and I was going to have to choose a different pattern color.  I wanted to use red, but I have had a few projects ruined by using red 8/4 cotton, it is notorious for sharing it's lovely color with surrounding threads.

I went looking in my basket of filled bobbins from other 8/4 projects and I came across a color that I thought might work.  There were 2 full bobbins and I made sure I had enough on a partial cone to finish the job if I needed more.  It might shock you...........

Are you ready?..............

Bam!


I bet you weren't expecting that!  I think it is going to work.  Even if it spills over into the redder portions of the ground weave on the final pattern portion,  it will be in that purply part that inspired my choice.


I would have finished the blanket this week, except that I was suddenly inspired to rethread the breadcloth warp that has been in time out way too long.  The poor dear has been on 2 looms, it has been rethreaded more times than I can count, and then it was abandoned,  I was sure that I would never get back to it again.  I admit to the fact that I was just so close to cutting it off, but I didn't.    
   

I wove the first one without using a temple, and it was a mistake, the edges were not good, in fact they were really bad.  I dug out my temple to weave the next one and I was reminded of how much better these fine threads do when I take the time to do what they require.

In the end, I had to cut off the last breadcloth before it was finished, there were tension issues once again, and I had had enough!  I love these breadcloths and they do sell really well at the fall shows, but I think I am ready to move on to another project.  

I have tub after tub of some really really fine cotton threads in amazing colors,  I also have some really fine linen thread.  Right now, I am doing some research to find out what I can do with them, maybe even combine them some way.  I doubt it will be a quick project, most of these threads should be sett at 30 EPI, looks like I will be pulling out those 15 dent reeds after all!

Until next time, Keep on Crafting, Tina

Edited to add,  

The purple did not work with the red so I am alternating colors on the patterned parts.

Edited again, yes I see the stupid error, do you.  It is already unwoven and rewoven, again!