Not So Deep Thoughts

I have been weaving on my place mat warp when I have a few minutes here and there.  The first one was finished this weekend....I just needed to do the hemstitching.  On Monday, I was reading Laura Fry's blog, and she was talking about all the reasons we should sample.  The S word.

  OK.....that would tell me exactly how much shrinkage these would have.

  So, I wove in two sticks and cut this mat off of the loom.  After washing and drying, it measured two inches less in length, but just 1/2 inch in width.  I was really disgusted with the fringes....and that was my big surprise.

  I would always want anyone who had my placemats to enjoy them, and not worry about putting them in the washer and dryer.  I would want them to be used and used and used.  The fringes looked fried when they came out of the dryer.
  So, I am weaving in headers that will be folded for hems.  I also went with a lighter shade of green.

  Thank goodness for blogs....and folks like Laura sharing her wisdom with us.

  And now....a little glimpse of Spring.
  I know we have had it easy here in East TN, but, I'll admit I'm really tired of cold weather.  These paper whites remind me that Spring isn't too far away.
  Out in the yard, the Lenten Roses are starting to bloom, and I see that the crocus and daffodils are popping up, too.
  The little chickadees are gathering the cat fur I put on the back door mat.....that means they are starting to fluff up their nests.  (They only want Biscuit's soft, soft fur...none from the other two!)

  I need to get back to the place mat warp:  it sure would be nice to get these done and ready to go!  I can admire the flowers while I weave.

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Totally Terriffic Tuesday

 
  We have needed this for such a L O N G time!  New shelves.....just for us!!!!

  Usually you just see the chairs leaned against the wall under the window, but it looks like we finally have new shelves for our growing library.

  Jerry, Karin's husband, is our miracle worker, and he'll be making a new "tall" shelf to replace the old one on the left.

 I LOVE this picture of him with the ladies of the looms!

  Of course this means that we will have to get our library all organized.....right, Karin?

  The first order of today's business was getting the rugs off of the barn loom.  Carl made short work of that job.






Then came the grand roll-out:  six beautiful blue jean rugs!












  Many hands make short work!  Tina, Jocelyn, Ann and I jumped in to help Carl get the fringes tied....it was all finished in short order.

Two of the rugs sold before the end of the day!

Harriet and Carol are back to work on their first warps.  There was a lot going on in the Studio, but I think they were on task!

Lanny, Molly and Darlene stayed busy on the back row.






Andy finished one towel and started on another one.




Karin and Christy worked on the Cambridge to solve the tension problem on that rug warp.







Betsy started winding her warp for the placemat challenge.  I think she might be planning on more than a dozen!

Show & Tell Time

  I would never say (out loud) that Marie is an over achiever, but she has already finished her set of a dozen place mats for the Fall sales!!!!  Way to go, Marie!!!
BTW, Marie has started her own blog:
 Weaving and Lovin' It
Drop by and say hello.
 
  And, we found out that Carol has also finished her set of placemats!  Wow!!!




Sharen has been making purses, and brought some in for us to admire.













  Linda made some place mats using flannel as the weft. 







  Barb took a rag rug class at John C. Campbell, and brought her rug for us to see.




And, Liz came by with some rugs that she wove at home.  "Now what do I do?"  We got them cut apart, and Tina talked to her about
tying the fringes, and twisting them so they do get damaged.












Thank you, Darlene for the de-lish cake!  This picture was made first thing this morning....there wasn't much left by lunch time!!!!!



  As you can see, it was a busy, productive day at the Center.
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

One More Panel!

What a blustery day we have today!! The wind is blowing loudly and there are some snowflurries in the air!! Feels like winter to me. It reminds me so much of blizzards when I was growing up. The sound of the wind howling across the prairies and the snow thick as it came down. A white out for sure! That's the sound. The reality is that it's windy here with a few flurries coming down. I don't think they predicted snow for us but we'll take it anyway! The flakes are large and bands of snow are shooting across the yard but I don't think it'll stick.
Last Tuesday we had to miss weaving because schools up there were closed. I think we'll be fine tomorrow! It's just the sounds that get to me.

Inside, I've been weaving (and organizing stuff we brought up from Atlanta the last few weeks). I am down to the last panel to be woven for this year. Last year I wove curtains for 5 cabins. This year I"m doing 5 more. I think there are only 10 cabins up at the Lodge. Five cabins mean ten windows, meaning 20 panels to weave each order.

What I'm weaving is the same as last year. Natural carpet warp with red accents.

 Once you get the rhythm going, it's easy!

 That's the accent that goes across near the bottom of the curtain.
Near the top there's a narrow row as well.

 You just have to remember which pattern you're weaving where.........and keep an eye on the measurements as you go.

I've been watching last year's NCIS LA DVDs while I weave and I must admit I got sidetracked a time or two. Had to do some un weaving!! Sound familiar? We all do it.
Once the panels are done, I'll serge the raw edges, repair anything that needs to be repaired and then wash them. They will hang to dry before I iron them.  I think I'll take them up to the center to pin the hem and casings. The tables up there are nice and big. I can lift the table with the risers and get all the pinning done, bring them home to sew, give them another quick press and they'll be ready to go on their helicopter ride up to the top of Mount LeConte in about a month!

I'm already planning the next warp on Nilus. It's going to be for rugs. First, I have to move some of the boxes that we brought home. I've been working on ones in the living room. They're about gone so we can carry boxes up so I have room down there to bring out the bags of selvedges that I have on hand to weave into rugs. I'm thinking I'll do several warps of rugs, just to get some of the stash used up. I think I'll probably plan 6 rugs per warp. That should take care of some of the bags of stash that are waiting to be used. DD got a new set of sheets last week. I brought home the old ones. I think they'll be awesome in a rug with some coordinating fabrics.....
Until next week, keep weaving....and stay warm!
Carol

Batts and Nests

I have not had a minute in the weaving studio this week, and very few in the spinning studio!  What I have gotten done has nothing to do with the reorganization that remains in process.  What I have done however is still on the to do list for January and February, washing fleeces and getting clean fleeces ready to spin.

Late last week I rewashed a Jacobs fleece that I had, that was still a bit sticky.  I had picked up 3 sweater drying racks that were stackable on Saturday and it was the perfect amount of space to put the fleece out to dry.  I spread it out and left it for several days to dry.

While that was drying, I started working on another dark brown Shetland fleece that I found while I was carrying the boxes across the hall.  This one is a nice toothy medium fleece that will be perfect for a sweater to wear out to the barn.  I must have washed it before I had my wool combs, because I was not careful to keep the lock structure.

I first combed this fleece on my combs to get rid of the short bits and trash, then I loaded  it onto the drum carder.  I stacked up the batts after the first pass, as I normally do when I want to blend a large amount of fleece.  Then I took each batt and split into 3 pieces and made 3 new batts mixing up the strips.  I must have had a dozen batts on the table when I started this afternoon.

  I wasn't able to finish this fleece today, but I will be able to make short work of the last 3 batts when I get back to it, which will probably be next Monday.

 Earlier today I was able to get to the Jacobs fleece that was finally dry.  In this fleece there is a lot of bits and pieces of hay and brush.  There is also something called kemp, which is small wiry hairs that you do not want in your yarn.  I thought that the wool combs might not be able to help me get them out and that the best approach would be to open up the locks using my hand carders.

 I take a lock and hold tightly to one side, sometimes putting a twist in the middle of the lock to hold it steady.  Then I carefully brush out the tip end until you can see through it.  All the yucky stuff is gone!

 I then do the other end of the lock.  This fleece is much softer than I anticipated, I am really pleased with it.

 I keep at it until I have a box full of fluff.  Then I took it over to the drum carder and made a couple of batts.  I ran the batts thru a second time, splitting them up first to blend this fleece well.

(I had to stop brushing the locks after a couple of hours, this part of the process is really hard on my hands.  That is when I turned to the shetland fleece posted above.  All very confusing I know, a bit like time travel.)

I have just recently taken to using the drum carder that I have had on hand for quite some time.  It is wonderful for some of these fleeces and I love the huge nests of fiber I am able to pull off of the carder.

I suppose if I had a big hackle for my combs I could use that instead for the same results.  I may look into that, but for now, I will use what I have.  This Jacobs fleece has 3 distinct colors, white, gray, and brown.  I will keep the colors seperate as I get it ready to spin.  What a fabulous fair isle project this would make!

Until next time, Happy Spinning, Knitting and Weaving, Tina

Place Mat Challenge

  As we set up for our Fall shows, I was struck again by the lack of sets of place mats we had on the shelves.  So many times, folks want matching sets of 6 or 8.  We had a great selection....but not many that were all the same.  So, I issued a challenge to my fellow weavers to weave a set of 12 place mats by 29 September!  (I could envision the shelves stocked with a variety of wonderful place mats!)
  That means ME, too!!! 
  This is a great opportunity for me to do some stash reduction, so I took a good look at what needed to be used up and what threads I could use to get the job done.  I had two of these rolls of fabric that weigh 15 pounds....this would be a great place to start.
  I use a rolling laundry cart with a thick dowel through the cone to make my rolling station.

  My challenge with this fabric was the large white areas.  The pretty color print is near the selvedge edge, which also has a little fringe.  With my rag cutter clamped to the kitchen table, I cut two inch sections.  The last piece, which was close to the edge where the pattern was, got cut into one inch pieces for the mats.  I saved the fringe area for another project for other day!

  On Tuesday, Josie asked what I was using to cut the strips:  I have a Fraser Rag Cutter that I bought when I first started weaving.  I love rag weaving, and I soon tired of using my rotary cutter....and tearing the strips leaves a wee fringe.  Now, that's OK sometimes....but, not always!
You can read about the Fraser here:  Fraser Rugs
  You can sometimes find them on eBay, too.  And, there are other rag cutters out there....this is just what I use.

  While I was cutting my strips, I thought about the colors I wanted to use for my warp.  I tried out several combinations, but finally settled on two shades of green, two shades of blue and two shades of pink.

  I wound a 13 yard warp on the mill, and starting winding it on the loom Tuesday night.  The last couple of yards look like a tangled mess, but it went on like a charm!
 I use the "yank and crank" method.

  Threading started last night....and I just now realized that I have to rethread it today!!!!  No big deal....I meant to thread it using my plain weave-basket weave pattern!!  I can fix that.
  ***By the way....I'm still loving the stool for threading and sleying.  It goes down for threading and up for sleying!!!!

***Full disclosure:  this isn't my picture!  I borrowed it from the local TV station....but this is identical to what I saw this morning.
  Wouldn't that make a great warp!!!

  After this glorious sunrise this morning, and some lovely sunshine, the showers have moved in.  They should move out this afternoon....just in time for my daily run to the post office.  Isn't it great when a plan comes together!
Happy Weaving (and threading and sleying!)
LouAnn

Snow Day

  The Tuesday Weavers got a snow day!!!
  Now....it doesn't hold a candle to what Juno did in the Northeast, but we got enough to close Anderson County schools (the Center is in Anderson County) and a lot of the schools in the northeast part of Tennessee.  Carol sent out an email this morning, and told us to enjoy our day off and stay off of slick roads!

  We know what Carol is doing:  working on those curtains for the cabins on LeConte.

  I have been cutting fabric strips for my challenge placemats.  I hope to wind the warp this afternoon!!!

Tina spend the morning with Dear One's Mom, and I understand she's in her studio this afternoon.

  Betsy is with a granddaughter that is under the weather.  I hope she feels better soon!

  Carl told me that he has some weaving to work on at home.  He'll cut off those rugs at the Center next week.

  Sharen (who lives by Norris Lake) said that they had ice and snow, but she was cozy inside.

  Sharon, who lives in my neck of the woods, said that she walked her dogs this morning.....it was COLD!

 

  Marie has tied on her warp, and it looks like she's ready to weave!  

The report from "Good, Ole Rocky Top" came from Shirley, who is celebrating the birth of her new GREAT grandson.  Kellin was born yesterday:  Congratulations to the happy family!

  And, Karin assures us that she, too, is safe and warm on Rocky Top weaving on her Bound Weave project.

  It would seem that the Tuesday Weavers are using their time wisely!
Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Done!!

Well, half done really!!

So, the last couple of months my blogging has shown that I haven't gotten much done. That's because DH's siblings decided we had to sell their parents house......now. We won't talk about how much of  a disaster that all is but since just before thanksgiving, every weekend except one we have spent 2 - 3 days down there going through the stuff. We worked Thanksgiving day, Christmas day and New Years day. DH and I were the main ones working on it. My poor husband had to haul everything down from the attic on those pull down steps, filling several rooms with stuff. Then the massive job of going through each box. My mother in law was a great organizer. I've given away about 300 clear shoe box size containers from The Container Store....still have a few.... to give you just an idea of what was up there. That's only a small part of what was up there!

I went through it all, keeping the good stuff that we craft people could use and sending some to Goodwill for others to enjoy.

Here's a good example of what I brought home a week ago.

There are 4 white bags. They contain towels. The black bags are full of sheets. I washed all the towels and divided them by wash cloth, handtowel and towel piles. The towels will go to my good friend's daughter who is a vet and needs towels to work with the dogs she helps. The rest I divided into 2 stacks. One stack will go to a friend who's a potter and the other I'll take to the center for the potters there to use. Apparently, potters like old towels for working with clay, etc.
That's just a small part of a van load. Each week when we came back, the van was full. Saturday evening when we came home, we had both vehicles full. My house is now, too.
So, we're half done. The place down there is empty. I won't have to go down there again for a long time!!
Now I have to find the time to go through all those boxes I collected and put the things into the correct ones again. We were in such a rush, it was just like, fill the box, move on. I already have almost a full office depot box of buttons, one of laces, notions.... I will never have to buy another straight pin, hand sewing needle or measuring tape again. Did I mention my mother in law was a hoarder of the coolest kind? My job is to figure out what I can use and then find homes for the rest.
Of course, in all of this, too, are pictures. There are several office depot size boxes full of pictures and negatives. DH and his sister were amazed when they found pictures they had never seen, of themselves as children and some of relatives. Now that we're done down there, he'll have time to go through them again, scan some to send to family and figure out where we can store the originals.
Hm, I think a scrapbook might be a good project to do. I do have a few things in my studio that would be helpful in creating one.
There's supposed to be a blizzard up north. I wouldn't mind having one down here, too. That way I'd have the time to go through a few boxes and see how many I could empty.....into the right bins!!

Do you know what kind of relief it is, knowing you don't have to go down to keep finding more stuff that you had no idea was there? Even though I've found some awesome quilting tools that I'd never have bought for myself, still in the original bag she purchased them in, that I'll really enjoy using when I work on another quilt, it's just overwhelming and sad to see.
Each week when we went down we'd go eat at The Original Pancake House, best place in Atlanta, and The Landmark Jr restaurant, also a wonderful place with amazing cakes. We've gone to both many times over the years. This time we said goodbye, we won't be back for quite awhile. Hugs. The lady who's almost always at the desk at the Executive Park Courtyard by Marriott was sad when I told her that this was it. She'll remember us because the other weekend, DH stuck his room key in his shirt pocket, next to his phone....and the 2 magnets he'd found that he thought our friend Pierre would like. That took 2 trips back down to the desk to get the room key re done before he realized what he was doing. I guess you make memories wherever you are. (Did you know that your phone can mess up the key, too?!)

What's on the loom? I am weaving the panels for the curtains I need to have done soon. I've got 7 done and hopefully 3 more on this warp. Then I'll wind another warp for the other 10. I'd like to get them done by early next week so I can wash and sew them. Then it'll be on to rugs.

So Saturday, would love to sleep in, but there'll be a box or 3 that needs emptying. I need more than just a path to my chair in the living room!!

I'm sure there's a lesson in here somewhere about having too much stuff, but really, we craft people need things to use to make things. Our daughter worries about what to do when we're gone. I just keep telling her to call Tuesday Weavers. They'll know what to do with everything. Could make some nice money for our bank account, right, Marie?! Only if you're sure you're never going to use something, should you give things away. Like all of us, I just need time to do everything on my list. I'm ready for the blizzard when we're stuck at home for a week but still have power, cable and plenty of food. We need inspiration and sometimes it's right there on the shelves of our studio. Sure, stash busting by weaving what you've got is great. That's what I do. I figure out a project, find my yarns that work and just order what I need to complete it, usually the weft. There's a continual rotation of yarn being used. Donations are always appreciated because they add to what we already have to make a project work plus they give us inspiration for more projects.

Until next week, keep weaving and stay warm!
Hope you're not affected by the storm that seems to be building up for tomorrow!
Carol