Here We Are Again

  Maggie and I went out for lunch?

It's a gray day in East Tennessee?

OH.....it's the end of the year!!!!

  I've been thinking about the last 364 days....what was great...what wasn't as great.  Thank goodness there were a lot of great days! 
  I've also started putting dates into my 2016 calendar.  We have a lot of events to keep in mind, you know.   That requires a wee bit of planning in order to be ready for those.

  But, for tonight, I think I'll enjoy a little bit of a mulled concoction and read through my new book, and make a list of what I'd like to do in the new year.
1.  new overshot pattern for mug rugs.
2.  woven napkins:  one set in red, one in blue.
3.  spin
4.  sew
5.  finish organizing yarn

I'm sure there's more....I'll work on that list.

  I'm not sure I'll make it until midnight......

Yes.....here we go again!
Happy New Year!
LouAnn

2015 Is In The Books

OK....so what IS going on over there????

Yes....that's Sharen holding the ski shuttle up in the air.....and Carol is winding thread onto a bobbin.

OH......five strands of 8/2 got wound on a shuttle instead of using 8/4!!!!  We don't want to waste all that thread, so let's wind it onto bobbins to use later as weft.

  The Tuesday Weavers stepped in to help.....we have several projects going that are using 8/2.  It will get used.







  Since this is the last get together in 2015, I thought you might like to see some of the projects on the looms today.  Take a look:

  Scarves, shawls, towels, rugs and walker bags.....you'll find all of them on our looms!!!

We went over to the Museum of Appalachia for lunch...this has become a lovely end of the year tradition for the Tuesday Weavers.

We'll see you
"next year!"

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Merry & Bright

  After a stormy night, the sun has come out!  In fact, the temps are in the low 70's!  We're in the path for more rain later; I just hope I'm back home from church when it hits!

  The presents are wrapped........
      Stockings are hung............
  We're ready for Santa to visit.

  The Bishop's Wife is showing on TCM tonight....that's where I'll be......


Merry Christmas to ALL!
LouAnn

Greetings!

Joy and Good Cheer

To All Who Visit Here!

Merry Christmas!

Season's Greetings!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Winter Solstice!

All our best to you....

The Tuesday Weavers

P.S.

Tina treated us with "Birthday" cinnamon-apple bread!  Harriet brought her homemade Christmas stollen!  Aren't we the lucky ones!!!!

Looking White Here!

It's not snow. It's the warps on my looms right now. Months ago I wound an Ellen's pattern warp on Thelma. Poor thing just sat there til the fall rush was done and I'm trying to weave her off. I cut off 6 placemats the other day. A set of 4 for a wedding gift from November and a couple for a Christmas gift. So, she's tied up again now and I plan to weave her off in the next week or so. There are probably 18 more placemats on there. I like to be ahead on wedding gifts. They're perfect for any china!

My Nilus just had a warp wound on this morning. It's bamboo. I got to thinking that instead of selling just painted vests in bamboo, it might be fun to have some neutral as well. Plus, these would be cheaper since I won't be dyeing them. We'll see how they do.

The struggle in the living room continues. I thought I had all the notions taken care of but then I found 2 more boxes....more needles, pins, measuring tapes, color wheels, but also some new interesting things. 

I don't know where the time goes! I have these long lists of things I want to finish but then I get interrupted by distractions, many of my own making! The boxes get a bit discouraging in their quantity and contents. Remember, I just brought the good stuff home! This week promises to be more of the same.

Hopefully by next Monday, I'll have at least the bamboo warp off and the living room looking like more of a room and not a storage unit! The weather is cooperating as far as keeping me inside. It's raining again this morning. Another dreary day with promises of rain all week.

Could be worse. Could be snow! Glad it's not!!

Til next week, find some time to throw a shuttle or two!

Merry Christmas!!

Carol 

Just A Fly By

I came...
I used the lathe...
No....I'm not going down that rabbit hole!!!

  I had a great time at Arrowmont on Saturday in the holiday woodworking class.  I am amazed that you can turn a rectangle of wood into a cylinder or a bowl.  I have a greater respect for folks that are woodworkers, believe me!

  Can I also say that I got a little scared using those tools on the lathe???

  I came home with two candle sticks, which I will show you next Thursday.  I'm going to use them on the table for our family gathering.  I just need to locate my red candles in the Christmas decorations.  The bowl that is shown above did not get finished.....interesting technique....I was just over it at this point.  I'm a "process" person versus a "product" person. 

  I'm out the door with my to-do list.  I hope your list is getting shorter!!!
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Staying Busy

  For those of you who follow this blog, you know that the Studio can be a busy place on Tuesdays.  Here's the broad view.......

Carol stayed pretty busy with her students this morning.  Irene, Polly and Casey were on one side of the table....Connie was on the opposite side of the table.



 
The Ladies were at work at their looms and greeting folks as they came in this morning.

Of course, there was a tangle that had to be dealt with later....




  Frieda, Roz and Sharon kept up the pace on their row.






  Lanny found just the right spot to anchor his scarf so he could twist the fringes.











  Marie and Linda cleared a spot on the counter to deal with the ton of miscellaneous pieces that had accumulated in the shelves. (This picture was taken right before Marie started her project!)

  After LaDonna finished the dishtowel she had started, Carol took over for the next towel.

Harriet is all ready to start work on the Ellen's Pattern placemats.  The trick is to make sure they are all the same size!!!

  Carl has declared that this rug is a long one!  The next one will probably not be this long.  The plaid fabric on the shelf went home with Carl to be sewed together.  That means that we'll be cutting strips next week!

  Pat had plenty of helpers chaining the loopers for her rug.  Thank you, Ladies!


That's it for today.....we'll do it again next week!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Another Blustery Day

It's another blustery, rainy day here. A front is coming through and by the end of the week, it'll be freezing here again, at least at night!

A perfect day to weave, I've got about 30 inches left on the chocolate brown warp. It's not gray at all, just shades of brown. There are 7 pieces on this warp. One is an order. So, I'm starting production for next year. Each piece will end up a bit different.

I think I mentioned that we spent last winter emptying my in laws home. Many boxes ended up here, just waiting for me to find the time to go through them and decide what to keep and what to find homes for. I have organized part of it in sections in the living room. It's a bunch of things my mother in law collected for her sewing studio.

Here's an example. 

Notice the top left box is just contains needles for her sewing machine. Who needs every possible twin needle or wing needle? She had plans for all of them, I'm sure but never got to it. I won't have to buy a regular needle for my machines either. There are plenty.  Bottom box has measuring tapes and tons on pins. I'm keeping a few but most will be passed on to friends for Christmas. This is just a couple of boxes from the pile that's here.

My goal is to go through these boxes at least by Christmas. What do I want to keep? What can Tuesday Weavers use and who can use what's left? There are buttons, ribbons, trims, lace...every piece was carefully chosen for a project that never happened.

I guess a lot of people will eventually get to use the things she liked. Deciding and keeping just what I want is difficult because I have plans, too. My sister and I have been collecting fabrics and trims for a crazy quilt. I think there's enough for several. How does one choose between all the options? Maybe that's what my mother in law's problem was. Too many choices. I have narrowed my focus already, tho. I choose not to knit or spin. That clears a lot of things off the table. I quilt, crochet, embroider and weave. I put projects together in containers. That's helping me as I go through these boxes.

Wish me luck!

Until next week, keep weaving as you can!

Carol

Brights and Dark

 The long bright color repeats of the Finn singles on the left would have been muddied had I plied it onto itself.  To keep the colors clear and to  get a good amount of yarn, I decided to ply it with some grey Corriedale that I had on hand.

I plan to spin a another skein of solid grey to use with this marled skein.  I think it will make a breathtaking shawl for next years shows.   I plan to mix the two skeins in the warp and weave with the solid grey.

I will be planning next how I want to blend them in the warp to show off the long color repeats of the bright colors  that I have worked so hard to preserve.

Until next time, Happy Crafting, Tina 

Chuggin' Merrily Along

  Greetings from the Ridge....it's a foggy morning, but, not too cold.  The replacement mats are coming along very nicely...I got a lot of weaving done this week while I watched reruns of Foyle's War on Ovation.  I only have one more ball of weft to press, and that will be finished, too.
  My poinsettias are really coming into their own...just in time for the holiday season.  People always ask me what my secret is:  I whisper to them when I cut them back in the Spring,  "Grow or Die!"

   In the meantime, the "little men" have marched up the stairs and jumped up to the divider.

  Even Helga, the groundhog, joined in the fun this year.  I don't know where she found a crown!

The dining room side of the divider is full of the merry men, too.

  The lights on the pencil cactus brighten the foyer while more little men guard the door.  (Thank you, Pat, for this lovely cactus...can you believe how much it has grown???)
















  You would think that I have enough Nutcrackers....why would I want even one more????
  This little man caught my eye Monday morning....he reminds me of my late husband, Bruce.  How could I not add him to the group?

  I still need to get the tree up (I thought about using just the small trees, but I think I want the large one!)  Maybe that will happen tomorrow!  On Saturday, I'll be going up to Arrowmont to take one of the Christmas craft classes.  I'm going to be doing woodworking!!!!  We'll be making a bread board and a set of candle holders!!!!  I've always wanted to use a lathe.  It will be a fun family day:  my son is teaching his basket class; my sister, my daughter and my daughter-in-law are also taking classes!
  I hope your holiday plans are coming along, too.  Christmas will be here before you know it!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Celebration!

  The Tuesday Weavers joined in today to help Carl celebrate his birthday.  On Sunday, our favorite weaver turned 90 years old!!!!

  After a weekend of celebrating with his family, he came to weaving today and wove a rug!  Now, that's the way to PARTY!

  Carl sets such a great example to our new weavers.  There's always something new to learn.














  There are always folks around to help you out and answer your questions.

   Sometimes, you just put your thinking cap on and get the job done.  It's all a process.














  Then you get to weave.........





  Of course, there's always time to catch up with friends.











    Or, consult with another weaver about donated equipment.



    Then, there's those times when you need help deciding on just the right weft to go with a painted warp.















There's always warps to finish up and warps that need to go on a loom.



Some warps are easier than others.....right, Tina????










  There's always something to do.







And, there's always something to share.  (Someone took a basket class!!!)









  There's always time to admire a friend's unique weaving creation and learn something new.





  There's always time to celebrate a friend's special day!
Happy Birthday, Carl!

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn