Rosalee

A city friend of mine called last night, she wanted to know if a chicken could find her way home all by herself.  It seems that there was a hen roaming her neighborhood.  She had even layed an egg in the neighbors yard!  Now, there is currently a feud going on in the town between those wanting to keep a few hens about the place and those that do not want that sort of thing anywhere near them.  We knew that whoever had lost this little girl would not be able to advertise the fact!  I told her to call me in the morning if the hen was still there.

Her daughter and granddaughter were spending the night last night, and the hen was named Rosalee.  The child was delighted that the Rosalee was still there this morning.  The call was made, and after my morning chores I made my way there with a nice cage, and nicer grain to make friends.

I found her among the Vinca and  monkey grass.  I tossed her some grain, but after bread, grapes and grits, who wants grain and layer pellets!  It took about an hour but in the end I caughter her when she settled in to lay her days egg.  She burrowed deep within a border of monkey grass and got really still.  I walked up to her and put my hand on her back, and scooped her up!  My friend was impressed.  I packed her into the cage and headed off home.  She stayed in the car while I ran into the store to pick up a few things, then home.



She must have layed the egg while I was in the store, cause when I unpacked her into the no-fly zone, there is was just as pretty as you please!  I believe she is a Barred Rock, and she seems to be young too!  I will have to take some eggs to my city friend to thank her!

This afternoon I will be weaving baby blankets.  Light blue this time, I will edit and  post a picture of one of them this evening.  I would like to finish one today, and another tomorrow.  We will see, you know the best layed plans sometimes don't happen.

Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina (the chicken whisperer in some circles)

Putting My Feet Up

 I am writing this while sitting at my computer in my pajamas.  That is probably not shocking to those who don't know me, but to those who do, it is incredible.  I am finishing up my first two days off together in a month and a half, soaking up every last minute of rest, especially for my feet.  They have warned me about this 70-hour week nonsense continuing, and I don't see an end in sight until January!
  Here is Katie, assistant bread baker, multi-tasking, because she was running out of time to get the lunch desserts finished on Saturday.  At least she's still smiling!  We have two new people starting this week, and one more next week, but still need one more pastry cook.  I never thought, with unemployment still so high, it would be this difficult to find experienced pastry cooks, but it has been next to impossible.  All the people I've hired have no experience outside of culinary school, but they have good attitudes, something I can't teach.   I can only hope they like it on the farm and stay for a good, long while!
 


  I enjoyed my two days off immensely!  Mom and I had a rainy Labor Day breakfast together, then I napped and cut out pattern pieces.  Yesterday I had every intention of digging into my new fabric from last week's shopping spree at Textile Fabrics.  But when I went to my sewing table, I had three projects cut out from last year.  I sent one to the Salvation Army (red baggy shorts?  really?  what was I thinking?), one to do for later (jeans shorts that are suddenly too short for the lovely chilly weather) and made a pair of linen trousers.  They're from a pattern from the early '90's, one I made three pairs of shorts from and set aside.  I was pleasantly surprised that the pattern still fit, and I love the drapey linen.  I wore them last night and felt comfortable and cool.
  And now it's back to the grindstone!  Have a lovely week, full of weaving with the windows open!
Maggie

A Good Day To Be Together!

  We were working with a small group today, but we took some time to do some problem solving and admire work done over the last week. 

  Pat brought one of her rugs woven with the nylon as the warp.  She had woven in the fringe at the edge of the rug rather than knotting the fringes.  She used fabric, as well as the nylon, for the weft.  It did give the rug a nice, clean edge.

  Ann brought her scarf with the knitting ribbon insert.  There were lots of suggestions for different ways to use the ribbon.  With all the creativity in our group, Ann will have lots of options with the scarf.

  Ms. Ila knitted LONG before she started weaving, so she had a lot of great suggestions.

  We also looked at Ann's experiment in using tea to dye bamboo.  From left to right:  Raspberry Zinger, Earl Grey and Chamomile.    Which do you like best?????

  Tina brought her mug rugs and got them tagged and ready to join the stash for the Foothills show.  We've got 73 days to get ready!!!!

  She is almost to the end of her placemat warp at the Center, also!!!  More items for the stash!!!!

  Carol was busy cutting more strips for Ann's rug on the barn loom.  They even went out to the Annex looking for more fabric to use on that warp. 
  Carl got weaving time in today, also.  Those rugs are looking great! 

  Allan's placemats are looking fantastic with the fabric strips he prepared.  And, this man can hemstitch!!!!

  A big thank you to his wife, Sharon, for making us bread to nibble on this morning....it was yummy!

  And, speaking of yummy......thank you, also, to LaDonna for sharing her crockpot of Taco Soup!  The recipe she was using was for one pot, but it made two!!!!  So, guess what we had for lunch????  On this cool, rainy day, it was perfect!
  I finished off my last scarf, and had some warp leftover (but not enough for another scarf.)  I found a ball of cut, small gingham, and I'm finishing off that warp with mug rugs.  You can never have too many!!!!
 
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Rainy Days!!

Good thing it wasn't raining last Tuesday when the guys came to replace our roof!! As I left to head for the center, the guys had just gotten onto the roof and were about to take the shingles off. I always am amazed that there are people who don't mind getting up on high buildings to replace shingles!!

 I got home about 3pm and by then they'd removed most of  the old shingles and were beginning the process of putting new ones on.  I didn't take any other pictures but they did a good job, far as I can tell. So far no rain in the sun room!! They cleaned up well after themselves as well. The driveway was swept clean!! The boss did warn me to be on the lookout for nails. Some could come off the roof as it rains. I was talking to a neighbor in her driveway last week and she looked down and saw a nail. Their roof was done a couple of months ago...and I saw in the paper that locally they're seeing triple the number of flat tires. So many people had hail damage. A friend in west Knoxville is still fighting their insurance to get their roof replaced. I hope they have a tarp on their roof because they had rain coming in.

 We have another neighbor, just 3 houses down that had the process begun Thursday to replace their shingles. They are all off and it's just tar paper up there now. We started having rain yesterday afternoon and by this morning, it's a steady rain. We're getting some of the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee. We can use it! Too bad Texas isn't in the path. But, I'll bet that next year they'll get alot of rain and we'll be dry.

So it's a rainy day here and I've decided to make some rolls. I did bring more flour from Canada so a day like this is a good excuse to make something with it.
I'm also making a baby blanket. We go to a Mexican restaurant at least once a week. The owners are good people and friends. Their daughter was married over a year ago and we went to the wedding. Now she's having a baby this fall and Sunday is a shower for her. Yeah, I'm going to make a blanket for their new boy. She loves monkeys and I knew I had a pattern somewhere in my stash I'd gotten from Clotilde. Thursday I went to Mamaw's Thimble and got fabric for it. I've got the background done. It's all 6 1/2 inch squares sewn together, 7 across and 10 down. That was the easy part. Now I have to do the rest. Here are the patterns traced on heat n bond light. Next I have to fuse it onto the correct color of fabric, cut them out and fuse it onto the blanket correctly so I can machine stitch it down.
I've gotten the center vine and all but one leaf done. I'll work on the monkeys next. Each monkey has about 20 pieces to fuse and sew around.

 Just looking at the pattern, it looked so easy...

 I will get it done and quilted by the time of the party on Sunday even if it kills me!

I haven't gotten my yarn order yet so I've woven off the placemats on Thelma. I had woven 8 earlier and given as gifts. Now I got 18 on the rest of the warp. The top 8 are claimed as gifts and there are 10 left to have on hand. I won't be selling these. They wait for another wedding down the road!

I did check and I do have some placemats that can go for sale at the show in November. That'll help the count of placemats. I've got at least 10 ready to go to the stash for the show.
Today we're moving Thelma back next to the Nilus. I think she'll be happier there and if we need to we can place some boards there to keep her from walking. With the nice carpet we have put in the studio a couple of years ago, I don't want any bubbling to mess it up and this loom seems to like to walk. She's still heavy and I wouldn't want to be a fly on the wall when we move her later today!! We do have a rolling dolly but I think it'll take all 3 of us to get her in place!! I already have another warp ready to go on her for placemats.
Between the monkeys, moving looms, making rolls and maybe a couple of other things around the house, today is shaping up to be a fun, interesting day with an indoor picnic tonight!
Rain's ok and it'll probably continue tomorrow but then here's hoping we'll have nice weather and cooler, too, as fall approaches!
Carol

Taking a Break

  That's right....I'm taking a short break from tote bags this weekend!

  Carol and Tina put out the call for more mug rugs for our booth at the Foothills Craft Guild show in November.  They do make lovely gift items for people....just add a mug and some goodies, and you've got a delightful gift to give.

  And, in honor of the first football game for the University of Tennessee, I'm working on the Cross of Tennessee overshot pattern.   This was the first pattern I worked out for mug rugs when I started weaving.  I wound a quick five yard warp, and it went right on Ms. Candee....five mug rugs are complete at the moment!!!!

  These are the four large totes I cut off of John this week.  The handles were building up on the cloth beam, so it was a good time to get these off.  They are in the laundry room right now waiting to get their edges serged before they go in the washer. 

   I lashed the warp back on the rod, and I'm ready to start another tote when the spirit moves me!  I want to go stash diving for more prints to make some more rag bags.  It's just a different look.

  The small totes are coming along, too. 

  Although I'm in stash bustin' mode these days, I stopped at Clinch River Yarns in Clinton on the way to the Center on Tuesday.  I went in to look for knitting ribbon for Ann's scarves.

  NEVER send a fiber addict into a yarn store!!!!

  I didn't spend a lot of $$, but I could have!   I fell in love with a wool/mohair novelty yarn that would pair with some chenille yarn in my stash for scarves.    Or, it feels so yummy, I could just carry it around and fondle it.  The good news is that the shop is on the way to the Center....the bad news is that it's on the way to the Center!!!!
  I hope you have plans for this Labor Day weekend....today is going to be mighty hot....they are calling for 97 degrees.  But, we are finally going to get some rain tomorrow and Monday...that's a good thing!!!!  It's been really dry around here lately.
  So, take a break and enjoy your family and friends!
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Party?

Iced Tea and cookies!  You might think that there is a party going on at my house, and you would be right.  Except it isn't a normal party at all!

It is a Potato digging party!  I had planned a grand potato dig party for the Fall, and quite frankly we are so ready to be done with the garden this year, I just called one of my friends over to help dig.



I had dug up the Yukon Gold potatoes yesterday and got a huge bucket full, that I will split with  my daughter that lives nearby, and her crew.

 While I was waiting for her to come I harvested the cayenne peppers, and they will go into the dehydrator once the latest batch of herbs are done.  Then I went inside to wash my hands before I did anything else.  I just knew that I would be sure to rub my eyes or something at some point, and suffer the consequences if I didn't.  That stuff really burns!

We dug up the row of potatoes, pulling in one direction, and then took our tea and cookie break in the front porch rockers.  We tried to catch a glimpes of the calf born yesterday, but momma cow had that calf tucked away someplace.

Then we went back to work, pulling in the other direction this time, and we managed to find a couple more potatoes that had hidden from us the first time.

We got one and a half of those big orange tubs full of the Russets.  I will leave mine out to dry for part of the day then I will clean them up and split them with my daughter.

We really had a good time digging in the dirt, and catching up.

Potato patch done, 2011

  I am going to plant a much smaller garden next year.  (In fact we are hurrying the clearing of this one so that we can plant grass for a small soccer field for the kids!)  I think 5 is a good number, don't you?  As in 5 tomato plants, 5 basil plants, etc. 

Remind me next year, when planting mania hits, won't you!

Until next time, Happy Weaving, Tina

Bamboo challenge is challenging

The bamboo challenge is challenging. Actually, it isn't just the challenge that is challenging - I have three bamboo projects going and they are all challenging.


Challenge Number 1 -

In the spring, I put a black bamboo warp on my table loom because my daughter wanted a black scarf. I put on enough for two scarves. I decided to use a dark olive bamboo for the weft.  I am pretty sure that the first scarf is going to be way to stiff as I am pretty sure I beat it a bit to hard. The second one will be looser - I just need to get back to it. I really like how it looks. 


Summer has been very busy. The weaving I have done has been on the floor loom for baby gifts or on a rigid heddle while on vacation. This week starts football season in Tennessee so it will be a good time to pull that little loom up in front of the TV and get weaving. So the challenge here is to pick up where I left off and finish the scarf.


Challenge Number 2 -
Last week I wrote about another bamboo scarf that I was planning to embellish. I tried several things to soften it up. I steamed it - not much success. I soaked it in fabric softener for a day, rinsed it, threw it in the tumble cycle, and then steamed it again. That combination worked and it is much more pliable and has better drape. 

The front

The back

So now the embellishment - I don't like it. I was so disgusted with it Monday night I didn't even take to the Tuesday Weavers on Tuesday for advice - maybe next week. The issue is that I used cording to give myself a space to put in the  ribbon. The front where you can see the ribbon looks okay - not fabulous - but okay. The back looks like a ladder and is ugly. I think the structure is too loose. The issue is probably that the cord that I used for the spacers was too big. Here are front and back shots. Any advice from blogger land? I will report back on progress after I see what the TW collective wisdom says.


Challenge # 3
The Tuesday Weavers have a challenge project every year that comes due around Christmas time. This year the challenge is weave two bamboo shawls - one to gift and one to keep. In June, I put on a warp long enough to weave three shawls because I needed one for a gift in late July. 


Being a fairly new weaver - I decided that simple was good. I did not want to try lace or overshot for this big project. So I looked through my Davidson pattern book and selected a "textured weave" called linen weave - simple yet elegant. After listening to the conversation at the center I decided sett of 17.5 epi. It took 460 threads (Yikes if I ever contemplate that again shoot me).

Ready to go????

I did natural on natural. It wove up beautifully - nice and airy - perfect, I thought, for a summer nursing shawl. Then I wet finished it and it contracted into a very dense weave. It is still very pretty but it is no longer airy and light - more like a heavy late fall/winter shawl. (Oops I gave it away before I took pictures of it).


Hummmm,  so do I remove 100 threads and re-thread my reed to 13 epi or am I okay with a dense weave? Yesterday, I had convinced myself to re-thread and now writing this I am leaning the other way. If I choose not to re-thread I can jump back on the loom and whip them off in the matter of a few days. Then I could start weaving rugs for the fall show.


Yes, I am finding plenty of challenges weaving with bamboo.


Until next time - be well,
Ann