Is it Wednesday Already???

Another busy week, with just one day off since I last wrote, and I spent that at the Center, cleaning a loom and finishing one more huck lace dinner napkin!  Whew!
  The cookbook release party was Monday night, and here's a photo of the dessert, Banana Pudding with Peanut Butter Cookies.  I always capitalize dessert names, as though they're going on a menu.  Habit.
  Anyway, tomorrow I'm starting a three day class on beginning tapestry with Tommye McClure Scanlon, and I'm super excited!  But I just got home from work, am hungry and must eat before I get rest!
  Please go to our new Tuesday Weavers's facebook page and "like" us, so you can keep up with all our goings-on and shenanigans.  We promise to keep you entertained!  Have a great week, keep weaving and stay tuned for my news from the class.
Maggie

A Blustry Day

    Our thoughts go out to the folks that have endured Sandy...what a system!
  There is snow to the north and east of us, but we are just having gray skies and wind gust.  The temperature difference is easy to see in our wardrobes this week....we do have a chill in the air.

  Allan and Pat seem to be doing supervisor duty today!  Actually, we were busy getting weft ready for Allan's warp, and trying to figure out how the new winder for the Macomber works!!!!

   Tina finished up the bookkeeping from the Museum of Appalachia, while folks started tagging their items for Foothills.  Ms. Ila and LaDonna brought in some of their scarves and shawls for us to ooh & ahh over!  Lovely!
  Ms. Linda got to the Center early to wind her second warp.  You can just barely see it on the board by the back door.

  Judy took over the job of cleaning up the smaller Macomber loom....thank you, Judy!   We use a lot of Howard's Feed & Wax on our looms!

  I didn't get a picture of Maggie cleaning the big Macomber....thank you, Maggie!!!!

  LaDonna was working hard on her scarf warp on her rigid heddle loom.

  And, in the middle of all of this, Lanny started dressing his loom for towels!  

   And, Carl stayed busy weaving a blue jean rug.  We're a little low on those upstairs in the shop!  People love rag rugs using denim
. 

  Andy was really close to the end of her shawl.  She was busy weaving back in the last few inches from the other end.

  Then, it was time to cut the warp from the loom!

When she finished cleaning the new loom, Maggie got to work on her napkins.  I think I heard her say that she can see the end of the warp on the back beam!  Wow!

  Ms. Ila is holding her warp of three scarves that will get washed and ready for the Foothills show.

  We'll be doing a mock up of our booth next week...which means that this week, we'll all be busy at home!

Stay safe & warm!
Happy Weaving,
LouAnn

Those.....loopers!

I had promised myself that after my show last week, I'd be able to spend some time weaving rugs. Also, when we got the huge donation last week for the Tuesday Weavers, in organizing the annex they found several large bags of loopers that had been stored there. I knew they were there and had planned to bring them home to use but don't have alot of storage room in my studio either so had left them there til I needed them.

Well, this was a good time to bring them home so I spent several hours out in the yard cleaning loopers. Kind of a messy job but the stuff is biodegradable and we live on the edge of a hill so cleaning up was pretty easy. This is the kind of job that can't be done inside. The lint flies!

 The cleaned loopers look so nice. They're all nice and round and ready to go. Not alot of lint, although there will be some that shake out beneath the loom as I work.


 Here's what it looked like before I shook them. Tons of lint and lots of strings. All of that needed to be removed. That's why there's that huge pile of white stuff on the ground next to my chair.

 

 I got into the rhythm of grabbing at least a dozen of them between my thumb and middle finger, then reaching out and shaking them like crazy a few times. Stop, pull out the strings and shake a couple of extra times for good measure.

DH came home as I was finishing up and thought it was funny watching me sit on the driveway, shaking loopers.
I have one more big rubbermaid full of uncleaned loopers but have 3 already done, ready to go. I have half a vest left to weave on the loom. Then I"m putting on a long black warp to weave rugs. They won't all be these loopers, but several of them will be.
Some of the loopers will also be dyed with Rit for weaving later this winter.
What happens when I run out of these? I know a garage where there are hundreds of pounds more of this..... now just need another few nice days to sit out there and shake some more! We've had a few days of the cold rainy weather. I think it might be the very outer bands of Sandy?  We should have better weather later this week.
So that's what I'm doing this week. I hope you're able to get some weaving done as well!
Until next week
Carol

Busy

Is there another word for busy?  Dear One and I left for Colorado for a conference the day after the Museum of Appalachia Homecoming.  We left very early in the morning, but I was able to do the paperwork for the Tuesday Weavers before I left!  Whew!

We got back just in time to bury a 3 week old grandbaby of one of our church Members.  (Talk about from the heights to the depths!)  Then the very next day my Son and his family came into town to visit for the week.  So this week we have been doing a bunch of visiting!  We went yesterday to Frozen Head State Park, and hiked a bit and had a little picnic too!

Here are kids, grandkids, cousins and second cousins.  After the picnic we went and found the playground and we stayed there until the yellow jackets ran us off!







No weaving has been going on these last 2 weeks, in fact I was so run over that I forgot to post last week!  The only crafty thing I have been able to do is to knit up that beautiful handspun that I have been posting about.

 Here it is again in all it's smooshy goodness!  I am not sure that I like it yet, I may have to re knit it to make it shorter and wider.  But before I do that I am going to wear it a little while and make sure.

That my friends is about it, this batch of kids leaves Sunday and another one comes in on Wednesday, I hope to get a little weaving done to share with you for next week, but that remains to be seen.

Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina

Dear John,

  Remember that hot August day back in 2009 when you moved here from Ohio?  I wasn't sure exactly where you would sit...but decided that the living room was not being used that much.  It has lots of light during the day, and I can watch the birds in the birdbath while I weave....or the fire if it's a cold winter's day.

  You had that funky warp still on your back beam:  purple, lavender, yellow and pink.  At first, I had such a difficult time deciding on weft to use.

  And, remember how surprised I was to discover that this wonderful warp was the Hollywood Rug pattern?

  What an inspiration!

  The next warp that Tina helped me wind on your back beam yielded a bunch of rugs and tote bags.  I can't believe I didn't keep track of how many!!!!  I promise to do better on the new warp.
  In fact, I'm putting a little notebook in your loom bench to keep track of everything we weave on this warp!

   In June, Tina and I wound the new warp on your back beam.....who knew it would take so long to get it threaded and tied on?

  I got busy with some other projects and just left you on the back burner.

  You never complained...you just waited.

  You watched silently as I explored new projects on the other looms.  Scarves went on the Pups and were woven off in quick order.
  Art yarn was spun.
 
  Mad dashes were made to the fabric stash to find new color combinations for the hot pads.

And, guess what????

 I also found some great decorator fabric to use for your first project!!!

  Absence does make the heart grow fonder!

 I haven't forgotten you....I just got side tracked by a few other things!

We'll have some quality time coming up as the days grow shorter and colder.  Weaving with you is one of my favorite things to do!

Looking forward to good times,
LouAnn

Conclusions

 This week, I worked six days in a row to be able to have Tuesday off with my weaving buddies.  But I confess that when I received Carol's email about cleaning the Annex, I agreed with my autumn-ravaged lungs suffering from leaf mold, that it would not be that much fun to spend the day with fibers floating in the air.  Instead, I spent the day with my own fibers and leaf mold!
  First order of the day was to give the pet dander-covered dog in my life a bath.  She hates baths, but she sure loves to be covered in her favorite towel.  Here she is,  about to lay on her bed next to the heater vent.  It was a chilly day for a bath, but after rolling in wet leaves in the park, she had no choice.

Treadling pattern ready to go!

   Then, I decided which treadling pattern was next for the huck lace curtains.  The open-weave squares that Ila has been using for scarves will be perfect for curtains, I think.  The weaving will have to wait, however, while I finish the rug for Mom's housewarming gift.  Her birthday is next weekend, and I'd like to send two gifts at once.  She reads the blog, so we'll have to wait, though most of you know what'll be in the box!
 




The rug is done, minus the hem and hemming.  The length was dictated by the supply of red and brown.  I ran out, so the rug did, too.  The next rug will use up the rest of the tan, along with the teal and sea green left from Matt's and Dana's anchor rug.  I think it'll work in front of the kitchen sink just fine.
  After weaving, it was time to rake the leaves and mow the grass, sending me into a sneezing fit and running for the tissues and inhaler!

  And today, it's back to grindstone, making people happy at the end of their meals.  Here's a pre-dessert from last week, butternut squash "lasagna," made with cider-poached butternut squash and creme fraiche.  It looks so cheerful!
  Have a cheerful week weaving!
Maggie

Back To The Annex

  Yes....here we go again!
 While Allan, Ann, Carol, Lanny, Linda and Pat were in South Knoxville loading up trucks and vans, some of us were at the Center working out in the Annex.
  Our project for the morning was to organize the shelves and make room for MORE!

  We looked in bags that had thread and fabric, packed it with like items in tubs and labeled the tubs.

  This also gave us a chance to take at look at stash that can be used up in future projects.

   Here are the organizers:  Eiko, Sharen, Tina and Cindy!  Great job, ladies!
                                                                                     
       

 Lunch time had us also planning for the Foothills Show coming up in November.  The countdown begins...............


And, after lunch, we unloaded the vans and and started to find places for the looms that have been donated to our Studio.

  We have added two Macomber 8 harness looms with double back beams as well as another table loom that can be used for our beginning weavers.

  We put the 700 pounds of thread in the Annex, along with the shuttles and books that came with this donation.  That will all be sorted through as time allows.

  We really appreciate this donation from the estate of well know Knoxville fiber artist, Betsy Worden.  These looms will be well used.   And, the beautiful threads will be put to use in many new projects.

  Since she knew so much would be going on at the Center today, Cindy brought us some Harvest Bread from the Gourmet Market to help us keep up our energy level.  Thank you, Cindy!!!!


Another BUSY day.........
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Over the Mountain

This weekend was the Guild Fair of the Southern Highlands in Asheville, NC. So Wednesday we drove over the mountain to set up for the show.

My booth looks about the same. In looking at the picture, I'm seeing so many pieces that found new homes. I don't take pictures of what I sell anymore, but it's nice to see some of them again.

 Like before, I took pictures of what I looked at during the show. They tended to bunch the fiber people together in sections this time, so there were 3 of us near each other. There's a differing in opinions as to whether that's good or not because if someone buys from both of you, they might feel weird about going in another fiber booth and buying from them.
It all worked out well anyway. Our price points are quite different. I'm not into the detailed tailoring that she has done with her pieces.

 I also don't felt or spin. It is interesting how we all weave, but our styles are so different. I guess you'd say that my pieces are more relaxed, fun to wear. These pieces are also awesome. You can always tell when someone is wearing a piece of ours. They'll walk down the aisle and in a minute I'll know that that's a Liz Spear's piece or one of mine.

 The other booth that was in my view was Cannon's Caning booth. They seem to always be near my booth. They buy antique chairs and recane them. They sit right there near me, tempting me!  Ok, I almost always buy one. This time a small rocker came to live at our house! It's a little Shaker Rocker. It'll look awesome in our living room. I bet the  cat'll discover it's a good place to sleep on. That's what I'm going to put it there for, at least before I decide what to display on it. It's very functional, just lower than a normal rocker. The seat is full size. They hope to be back next October so we'll see what they have to sell then!

 Where my booth is located is down on the convention floor. It's a large, dark dungeon. They dim the lights to make it galleryish but there isn't any hint of what the outside is like. In Asheville in fall it's gorgeous.
There are also booths up around the concourse. Those booths have windows behind them and they can see the outside light. We always go up there before the show one morning to check out what is for sale up there. One of my favorite jewelers is up there.....
Outside is a beautiful church that I've always admired. I went outside, early, to take a picture of it. I don't have time to go out during the day when the light is better but I wanted to show a bit of the grandeur of it.

 There are a bunch of booths that have the view of part of the church through their windows.

 Wouldn't that be a great view to see each day out of the top of one's booth??

I shall continue to have my booth down in the dungeon but really, it's not bad. We talk to customers and if it's quiet, we have bonding time with our neighbors. I didn't have my camera along yesterday or I'd have taken a picture of Elmo. There's a new tradition in the show. Someone brought an Elmo doll to the show. He's about 14 inches tall, stands great and can be found just about anywhere. The deal is that if it's found in your booth you have to take responsibility to sneak it into someone else's booth while they're not looking. Apparently it was in the front of my booth for quite awhile yesterday. I was probably turned around when it appeared and was placed where I couldn't see it from my chair. Lots of laughter involved in that one! So I had to find another booth to sneak it to while their back was turned.  The best thing to do is place him like he's part of the display in the booth.
He's got a home now at a jeweler's place til July when he'll make another appearance.  I can proudly say I've been Elmo'd. Not everyone can say that.......yet!!

So the show is over, everything is in my studio waiting for me to go through and organize til the show next month. Got all that paperwork to do as well.
Guess I'll get that done and then start putting warps on my looms. I can't wait to start weaving some things other than production for awhile!
Til next week
Carol

Back to Real Life

   Yesterday was one of those Fall days that you glory in.....warm sunshine, colorful leaves and just a hint of a breeze with a little woodsmoke mixed in to tantalize you.  Early voting started yesterday, and I went to the Polls to exercise my rights as a citizen of our country.
  This morning, I awoke to temps in the middle 50's and little showers that wander by every once in awhile.  The view from my front porch shows a hint of the color to come in the next week or so.  The showers are supposed to be out of the area by the afternoon and temps in the upper 60's.  Another beautiful Fall day!

   I basically took Monday off after our weekend at the Museum of Appalachia.  I had a non-weaving list of things I needed to get done.  Now I need to take a long look at what I can have ready for the Foothills show in November.  I looked at poor John....he's been ignored while I played with some other weaving, and I decided it was time he was up and running.  I've seen Carl sit inside the old barn loom at the Center to thread that loom, so I decided that I would try that trick with John.  WOW!  Sitting on that cloth beam sure beats leaning over and reaching to thread!!!!  I've made great headway on this warp in a short amount of time!

  
  The Hollywood Hot Pads were a hit at the Museum, and I sold the only double binding one I had ready.  This is a good warp to weave on for short amounts of time.  You can always tell where you are in the sequence!!!!  I need to prep some additional fabric strips for the remaining pads....another dive into the fabric stash!

  And, in the meantime, I'm working on a design using Davison's Kirschbaum's Design #3 for a table runner.  My niece is an author, and goes to a lot of book signings.  She wanted a table runner to mark her space.  I thought I would do this one in white carpet warp so she could just wash it without worrying.  The great thing about Swedish Lace is that you can play with the blocks and make them larger.
  See that empty square in the upper left corner?  I have graphed it out to make it large enough to have her name embroidered in it.  That block will be the center of the design.  (Thank goodness we now have Shirley at the Center!!!  That's her business!)  But, we all know that planning a project does not equal WEAVING the project.   Could this be done in time for Christmas????? 
  OK....I've got some things I HAVE to get done this morning....and my day is ticking away.  There are other deadlines besides weaving.....sad, but true.  It just makes me appreciate my weaving time more.

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

If it's October, I'm at Work

 October is a beautiful month here in east Tennessee.  The leaves turn every color that poems list.  They fall in whirlwinds and bursts, covering the ground in a lovely crunchiness.  The weather cools just enough to make being outside a pleasure, and it's time to plant lots of things.  There are fall festivals and fairs and celebrations every weekend.
  Which only means to me that I'll be working.  The farm is even more beautiful than the ordinary parts of the state, and it's full of guests, who need to be fed and nurtured and cared for.
  I've missed the past two Tuesdays at the Center, but it wasn't the guests' fault!  Some idiot stole my license plate off my car while it was parked in my --doorless-- garage last Tuesday.  Who does that?  So I spent that day getting that attended to.
  This Tuesday, the new Blackberry Farm cookbook came in, hot off the presses, and all the chefs and artisans had to sign the first 500 copies.  Of course, they schedule things like that on Tuesdays!  The official release is October 29th, but you can pre-order your copy now!  http://www.blackberryfarm.com/events-manager/cookbook-release-party
  But I did get some weaving done.  Here's the border for the second curtain.  It took weeks, maybe months, to get the first curtain done, but the second one was done in a day this past Monday.  I was inspired!  And the pattern just flew.  I love the border pattern, but want to try a different center for the other pair.  They'll hang on opposite sides of the door from each other, so if they look similar at first glance, I think it'll make them more interesting to be slightly different close up.  Picking the new huck lace pattern will be half the fun!
  Tootsie has not been ignored this week, simply postponed.  I pulled the threads out of the reed and heddles Monday while I was talking to Mom on the phone.  (She's fine and sends her love, but she's anxious to get into the new house.  They closed last Thursday and she's been scrubbing walls.)  I gave Tootsie a rub down with some Howard's Feed and Wax, but am not ready to jump into threading just yet.  There's Mom's new bathroom rug to finish, the double weave sampler to get done and the curtains are just too much fun right now.
  I was happy to find that Tootsie's heddles are the same size as Jenny's and Nancy's, so I have plenty to fill her up with to start a new project.  Maybe I can cut off these hand made ones, too!



I had to laugh when I turned around from taking these pictures to find my loom room full of creatures who'd followed me in.  I've been working nights the last few weeks, and I think I've been missed.  They don't let me out of their sight much.
  But one benefit of working nights is that I'm sitting at my computer writing to you right now, when I'd normally be almost at work, and coming home too tired to do this!  And now I have three hours to weave before work!  I'll have some happy weaving.  You should, too!
  Maggie