Lookin' for Wolves

I am so tickled to introduce our newest Tuesday Weaver to the fold (or pack, as he insisted on!)  Please give a warm howdy to Trompaz Writt.  He has come to us from far away looking for wolves....especially Wolf Pups!

He had heard that once upon a time the Tuesday Weavers were going to be demonstrating at a fiber festival, and they were going to take their Wolf Pups.  The nice lady at the festival told them there wasn't a place to kennel their Wolf Pups.  But, the wonderous weavers took their Pups anyway.  Trompaz has come to join their pack.  He came to my house huffin' and puffin' and looking for those Pups!

It just so happens that I have a few Wolves around my house, so we set off looking at them.  Trompaz found the Baby Wolf with the overshot mug rugs in progress.  He offered to throw the stick shuttle with the red thread....he said something about a girl he knew that wore red.  It's one of his favorite colors!

Then he found my Mighty Wolf.  He couldn't stand it....he put on his sheep cape and sat down to weave on that panel.  He reminded me that good tension on a warp is important...just like building a house with the right materials!  He wove and wove and wove.  He's working on the second color panel now!

Trompaz got side-tracked by the tubs of wool cones and stopped to take a nap.  He said all that wool made him just *grin* like a little puppy!  He kept sniffing the wool muttering, "merino, highland, harrisville, shetland, corriedale, jacob...."
Silly wolf.........

Tina stopped by to say hello, and they got to be really good friends.  He asked her if she had a red cape.  Tina showed Trompaz the warp we had put on the rug loom, which has red in it.  She invited him to come to her house next week and meet Wally and Scout....they're pups, ya know!!!

After Tina left, Trompaz started huffin' and puffin' again about that Wolf Pup he had heard about....where was I hiding that Wolf Pup?????'

Mystery solved.....it was downstairs!!!  Trompaz thought that the placemats would actually make a very nice yoga mat for him.  It would be just the right size, and not too heavy!  He could also use it for naps.........

So.....stay tuned.  I think we'll be hearing more from Trompaz in future posts.  And, I heard a rumor that a little lamb from Oregon is going to be visiting us really soon!  That should be a lot of fun for all of us!  Maybe we'll play a game of "ring around the kudzu"!!!

Happy Weaving.......
LouAnn

The end of a project, falling a little short!

This sometimes it happens when you warp sectionally.  It is easy to shortchange one or more sections by a rotation or two.  I was actually pleased that it only happened to one section, I have done worse!

So here we are at the very end of things.  I can go no further.  I wove off the last of my bobbin, which remarkable enough coincided with the very last possible shed.

Here it is on the front beam.  Isn't that a beautiful shot!  It just makes me smile!

Here we are all piled in a heap.  It had been so long since I started weaving these cloths that I had forgotten how much trouble I had at the very beginning.  I had to use a temple to keep from snapping the warp threads.

I got 6 breadcloths, and yards and yards of fabric.

Things I learned:

I don't like using a temple if I can help it.  It really slows me down even slower than I normally am!

I can't do finger manipulated lace for very long, it really aggravates my carpal tunnell.

I like how the warp groupings show up in the fabric.  (You can see it best in the blue cloth above.)

I will never use cotton flake in a warp again.  ( and I just had the blue stripes in cotton flake)!

For my next project Lou Ann had a great idea.  She wants me to try some couch sized coverlets, using 8/4 carpet warp.  I am anxious to get going, in fact I may go upstairs and get set up to wind on a new warp as soon as I finish here.

I got a new book this week, "Respect the Spindle" by Abby Franquemont,  It is by far the best book I have read on spinning with a spindle.  In response, I spent 20 minutes today spinning on a drop spindle, and 20 minutes spinning on my pedal driven spindle wheel.  I hope to do that 3 to 4 times a week to increase my skill in this lost art. 

Until next week, Happy Weaving and Spinning, Tina

9.2 miles logged this week.

NO TIME

I guess the title explanes it all. I have gotten the white warp ready to go into the reed. I started checking the harness threading and found a problem. So, I tied it up and had to leave it. Haven't had time to go back to it yet .

I am back working for DH. He has loads for me to do. Even though I want to be weaving. I kinda pays the bills.

I have also had some comupter problems. Somehow we had 2 charges on to our bank account amounting to around $100. You know how sometimes there is a little tiny box on some sites that are checked and when you buy something from this site, it signs you up for something else. We called and had it taken off and removed from their site. Or somebody hacked my infor on my computer. So my DH put another spyware on my computer. A better one.

My little Maggie (dog) fell down the stairs this morning. She got up and walked away as if nothing happen. Then outside, with our other dog which was running after a something, she started to chase and stopped and had her right hind leg pulled up tight to her body. I went running up to her, had her lay down and messaged her leg. It had a big, big knot in the upper leg. After a bit she was able to straighten it up. I have given her some doggie asprin and she seems to be relaxing and feeling some better. If only she could talk.

Well, my break is over. I better get back to my work before the boss comes looking for me.

Everybody have a great week.

Till next time.

Bonnie

Trip North, part 1

Each year I take a few weeks and visit my family. It's a bit of a drive, 2000 miles one way. I get a bunch of books on CD, put the car into gear, hit the cruise button and drive!

Last Wednesday I left Knoxville and headed north west. I drove for 2 days before I crossed the border into Manitoba. My parents used to live 6 miles from the border and my Dad's grave is just 5 miles north. My first stop is always at his grave. My brother's marker is there as well and it's just part of  "going home" to swing by there.  I didn't take  a picture of Altona where they used to live. It's just a small community. It does have 4 way stops but no traffic lights. So in a way, it's a big town. At least it's bigger than the town I grew up in!! There I always buy some Pioneer Farmer Sausage and New Bothwell Cheese to take to Mom. It's what we grew up with and it's not easily available where they live. Can't bring the sausage south so have to eat some when I"m there!It's a good 7 hour drive from the border to Moose Jaw. I stopped inbetween to take a picture of how flat the land is and how pretty the canola is when it blooms. The fields are full of grain. Just a few were blooming right now. The clouds are just pretty. Big, fluffy, and seemily close to the ground. Sometimes they seem so low that you could almost reach up and touch them. We call them Canada clouds when they're the fluffiest down our way!I got to my family's on Friday evening. I had timed it right again this  year. Sunday there was a big quilt exhibit in the park. They string up ropes and attach quilts to them in a big show and tell. It's not a competition. It's just the one day. They have a few vendors as well but the big deal is seeing all the quilts. So we made a morning of it. There's a restaurant in town called Nick's Place that has a great buffet Sunday morning and every  year or two we try to go there. I thought the sign to the restrooms was so Canadian.  It's what I grew up with!Then on to the show. I thought these 3 examples of the French Braid were just cool. The rest of the pictures are just some that I took. It was a hot day but we got there before noon and it wasn't too warm yet. By late afternoon I know they were hurting. It wasn't as bad as Knoxville, not as humid, but it was over 30 celsius, whatever that means!!!My sister gave me my birthday present early this year. It was a gorgeous pot with a lid and decorated with poppies. She'd bought it at a show here in town a few weeks earlier. So we went online to look for the artist and emailed her to find out where her studio was. Turns out it was less than an hour west of here in Chaplin, Saskatchewan. Yesterday morning we went on a road trip!! We arranged to meet her at her studio and I bought a few things. I absolutely love her pottery. She's originally from South Africa but has lived in Canada for many years. She moved here from Ontario and is making a name for herself in Saskatchewan.  She is someone that would be fun to get to know. Her pottery is called Monicats and she has a website online. Once we got home I took a picture of some of the pieces I bought. Her prices were really good and I bought a few gifts that family will get for Christmas. Can't say more than that incase they see this. OK, so in writing this somehow the picture moved, by itself, to the bottom of this blog. Sorry about that. Just scroll down to see if because I can't figure out how to move it back up here!

We met a lady there as well that owned a gallery in Mortlach but it was closed on Tuesday. She said she'd open it for us at 1pm anyway, so we had some time to kill. We decided to drive over to Herbert, a good half hour away. It's another little town. Don't think there was a 4 way stop there. Anyway, they have a railroad museum with a restaurant where we ate lunch. It was Faspa. Traditionally faspa is a meal that Mennonites have on Sunday afternoon. It's buns, cheese, sliced meat, jam, pickles and some sweets for dessert. This picture of my Mom and sister show what it used to be like. Grandma would have a lace table cloth but covered with plastic to protect that lace! The food was like we grew up with as well. Could have been in Grandma's dining room!! It was only $6 each as well. Faspa was always served when you got company. It was the traditional way of showing hospitality. I'm sure it's still served in alot of homes when folks drop by.   We had to hurry to get to Mortlach about 1pm and to the Crocus Ridge Gallery. It's an old Anglican church and she had alot of good crafts. Pottery, jewelry, fine art and antiques. I'm glad she opened it for us. We had planned to come back another day but this saved us a trip by her being so kind. She is going to start having Monicat's pottery in her shop as well. It'll benefit them both. Mortlach is a small community just half an hour from Moose Jaw. It's a bit of a craft haven. We went to a rock shop as well before we went to a Welsh Tea House.They said we couldn't miss the Welsh Tea House. The owner and her husband came from Wales about 20 years ago and lived in Calgary awhile before coming to Mortlach about 3 years ago to open the restaurant. It has grown into a real restaurant. They say that ribs night Friday is something to behold! It's small but so is the town! I think they get alot of people passing through on their way east or west to have tea. We had Welsh scones and a Welsh triffle. We split them all. That triffle was interesting. It had small pieces of cake in it plus fruit cocktail, pudding, jello and whipped topping with sprinkles. Hit the spot for a  mid afternoon tea!!Here's that pottery I mentioned earlier. My sister's quilt is behind it. She's working on that quilt. When I come here we get sewing. I brought 2 sewing machines and stopped at Hancocks in Paducah for fabric to make Mom a winter quilt. She's in a twin bed now and her blankets are too big for her. Later this week we're going to start on her quilt. Right now we're working on our own projects. I have to finish my nephew's wallhanging which probably will just be a throw and I don't think I'll  bother with putting loops on the back to hang it.

The weather here is warm but not humid. The evenings cool off nicely. The topography here is flat with some rolling hills. You can see for miles and miles. When we were driving yesterday we passed a sign that said Mortlach was 15 km away. We could see the elevator there already at a distance.
I'll write again next Wednesday. Not sure what we'll be up to between now and then. No weaving but sewing some!

Carol

Busy Tuesday

This could be a tale of before and after.  Please note that the table is rather clean.....just some nondescript black plastic bags to make you curious.  This was just the beginning!

Out of those bags came a ka-zillion bobbins left over from the KMA!!!  A lot of the bobbins were over-wound or very tangled.  But, Pat soon had a system in play, and the bobbins were sorted by color and bagged and boxed.  It was decided that these yarns can be used for our Christmas scarf project/challenge.  I believe you could find the color you're looking for here!!!



Since Bonnie finished the caterpillar rug last week, she had to clean up under her loom.  It was ankle deep with bits and pieces of thread and ribbon and lint.  She started fresh this morning with a clean floor, and bags of colored loopers for more rugs on the warp.  It didn't take too long before the tiny bits of the loopers were falling on the floor under the loom! 

Vacuum cleaners get a good work-out with weavers!!!

This picture is for Carol....just so she'll know we really did weave today.  Even Allan was back to weave with us today!!!  He disappears behind the loom in the corner!

  Marta brought us some yummy candy from Santa Fe, and told us about her Convergence experience.  WOW!!!!

Tina wound two warps for mug rugs, and started putting them on the table looms.  She's threading an overshot pattern....then there's always  the option to just do some plain weave ones, too!


Yep....another BUSY Tuesday!!!!

LouAnn

Need

  I was all set to tell you about my views on "need" and "want" as they apply to a new loom.  I found an 8-shaft Tools of the Trade loom for sale last week for only $750.  I am getting my quarterly bonus on Wednesday, and I was going to buy that loom.  I made space for it in my front loom room, and I'd convinced myself I "needed" another loom, especially an 8-shaft.  My Colonial is almost impossible to dress by myself, and since I live by myself, albeit with 4 pets without prehensile thumbs, dressing a loom alone is how I usually do it.
  I was excited about driving to Durham, NC to get the loom.  I've had a long, tiring, trying week at work, and really need the vacation that starts on Friday.  Lots of great things are happening while I'm off, but the trip to Durham would have been great, too.
  You know there's a BUT coming up, right?  On my way out of the farm this afternoon, barely out of the gate, I heard a weird, revving noise.  Then a knocking started. It stopped when I turned off the air conditioner to hear it better.  When I turned the a.c. back on, the noise got louder, then clunked a few times and the air conditioner stopped blowing cool air.
  So, that's where my bonus will be going, not to the loom.  When I'm done writing this, I'll write an email to the woman I was supposed to buy the loom from and give her the bad news.  If you're interested in the loom, she had it advertised on Homestead Weaver, http://www.homesteadweaver.com/usedequipment.htm
It's beautiful and affordable!
  I'll miss tomorrow at the center, not because of the air conditioner, but simply because I need some time in the sewing room, decompressing from the week at work.  I'll miss everyone, but I promise to weave a little, too, and tip my ice tea in the direction of Norris at noon.
Happy Weaving!
Maggie

Leg shot

Work is progressing again at the studio! Things had pretty much come to a stand still during my surgery and recovery time but now things are happening again. I am so happy!

This picture is of the floor that is being put down in the hall and living room. Isn't it pretty? The leg belongs to my wonderful husband who is putting down the floor. :-)

Linda

Heat Wave

Please notice that I am NOT floating around in that chair in the pool!!!  I should be!!!!  It's hot!  ***How hot is it?***  The high for today is 98 degrees, and the humidity was 89% at 8 a.m. this morning!  

  I was in the pool last night!   My sister is in for a visit, and the moon was big and bright in the sky, and it was a magical time to be in the pool swimming.  

  I'm expecting company in a little bit....I'm making homemade pimento cheese and sweet tea.  That's about all I can manage in this heat.  I may make some lemon bars....that would be a great dessert.  I think we'll  be spending most of our time in the pool.

On the warp front, I ended up pulling the warp back to the front, chaining as I went.  My daughter and her fiance came over and helped me wind it tightly on the warp beam.  YES, it took all three of us!!!  And, it took a lot longer than I thought it would.  Just pulling the warp back through and chaining took most of the day.  There were so many loose threads that caused it to be uneven.  No wonder I was having such a problem with tension!  Oh well....lesson learned.

I continue to inkle weave at odd moments....it can be carried from one room to the next, after all!  I finished the belt I was working on last week, and I've started a Jedi belt for my niece's husband.  (Long story....I won't tell it now!)  I'm already half way through!!!

  

So....may the FORCE be with you....and just WEAVE!

Stay COOL.......

LouAnn

Putting on the brakes!

I had a post all set to share with you about this adaptation of an Inkle loom pattern to the floor loom.  I had pictures of the whole process.  I got distracted and posted about something else and forgot all about that post, and forgot that I hadn't indeed used those pictures.  I erased them........

So I decided to tell you about the strange brake on the loom that I used for the project.  It was a perfect brake for this project.  You see it doesn't really hold very well and loosens as I weave, which for rep weave that requires a hard beat really isn't bad.  It is like I have a self advancing warp.  I just have to tighten the front beam often.  I can weave for hours like that, without getting up!  Another oddity is that to release the back beam I have to lift the brake, it took me a little while to figure it all out.

To use the loom without the advancing feature I have incorporated something my son left behind!  I just knew it would come in handy somehow!

That is how I have solved the problem of this crazy loom.  What have you overcome to weave on a problematic loom,  I can't wait to hear.

Until next week, happy weaving, Tina

9 miles

"O V E R W H E L M E D"

 I got up at 6:30 this morning. It was hazy, humid and hot from the rain during the night. I have been putting a warp on the Macomber loom. I started yesterday. I wanted to get up early to work on it. Let me tell you what a mess I have. I was going to try the leash sticks and warp from back to front. Not going to happen. I am in the process of pulling the yarn through and going from front to back, no leash stick. The yarn on the left has been turned.

The yarn in front has been pulled through going from the front to the back. I rolled it into a ball so I could have control. It still has the tie strings on it, so it is not as bad as it looks. The strings in the back are yet to be reversed.

I have done everything but work on it. It is 11:30 now
Here is the scarf Christmas project yarn. I have been deciding on what to do with it. I think I know, but can't show you. It is different shades of green, blue and beige. Will be nice.

Now lunch. Then I will get started. I promise. Unless it is dry enough to mow the lawn. I might need to do that before the predicted thunder storms this afternoon.  Does this sound familiar??

I just need to get ur done!

Until next week.

Bonnie

***PSS--I got it on the loom. Ready to wind. That will be tomorrow.

Tuesdays blog on Wednesday! Oops!

OK, I have a ton of reasons why I didn't post yesterday, but the main reason is because I just plum forgot til about 11:30 last night!  I knew that Carol was going to post early, so I just let it go till this morning.  Be sure to read her post from yesterday!

What you see here is the Chenille rug that Bonnie is finishing up for a client that donated a whole lot of supplies to the center.


Action shot!

Here it is in all it's glory!

Bonnie thought it was really soft!

Since we are talking about rugs, here is the one Alan works on when he comes.

Here Lanny is progressing nicely and he finished this rug today, err yesterday.  He took home strips to sew together for his next rug.








Carl brought in some of his finished rugs for us to admire.

As well as his picture albums.

Joyce is showing off her latest Inkle loom project.  I forgot to take pictures of the newest Inkle loom projects that Carl and Bonnie are warping up!  I'll be sure to get a pic next time, you will love them.

I didn't get a picture of our new student, Karen, I will do that next week.

And last but not least, everyone was thrilled to see Linda up and about.  I picked her up in plenty of time to come and spend the day with us.  Doesn't she look great!

Thanks for stopping by,  Happy Weaving,  Tina for all