“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha
Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.
Not really, but super excited with this new roving that I bought from Greenwood Fiberworks.
Colorway is Emily, the fiber is BFL
It's still pretty bulky, but at least I am getting more consistent! My friend Jamie is busy learning a new knitting pattern so that she can knit me a scarf with it!! :) Thanks Jamie!
In other news...
The buffalo are getting bored with winter. They keep venturing out to the gate between their winter pasture and their summer pasture and looking wistfully out (yes, buffalo can be wistful...)
You may have to click to enlarge this to actually see them, but they are there between the big tree and my snow shoe path!
Bruno (the bull) has pushed all three of his "play stumps" to the fence line. Brian will have to go out with the sled and move them back to the trees. Then Bruno can start his game over again. They really are a riot. I love to watch them do their work out, wherein they run laps and laps until their little tongues are hanging out. Totally entertaining.
I am getting pretty bored with winter myself. March is a tough time of year. There are little spring teases, like a bright and warm day, robins, juncos and flickers darting about, but then alas it clouds over, gets windy and then storms (rain into snow). Ho hum. I keep seeing photos of people's first spring crocuses coming up... I have to keep telling myself: "soon, soon."
In the meantime, spring snow does reveal some interesting and beautiful things.
Sumi ink style snow sculpture.
Less impressive, but still interesting
Snow, grass stalks and sun. Natural beauty.
And I did have a perfect little snowflake land on my coat sleeve yesterday... (ok, I am reaching here- it is getting more and more difficult to appreciate the snow!)
One last question- (and a confession)- I am a stats junkie. I look at the number of views of my blog daily. And I don't get tons of traffic, but some people are looking. My question is this: Why won't anyone comment? A comment is like getting a surprise piece of chocolate (without the caloric guilt!) So, if you know the answer, feel free to comment! (see how sneaky I am?)
No longer so clean, as Smokey has been playing with it!
Actually it really all started with a newsletter from Joybilee Farms with a pattern for a crocheted rabbit. It was soooo cute, but, alas, I did not know (or remember) how to crochet! Well I shared my lament with Chris (owner of Joybilee Farm) and she promptly posted a link to a "learn how to crochet" video. If you "Facebook" (hmm... a new verb) you can see Joybilee's page HERE.
As it turns out, you can learn almost anything on You Tube... I followed through a 7 or 8 part "crochet a giraffe" series, learned the basic crochet stitches necessary for amigurumi (a fancy word for: crocheted toys), and started my new obsession craft endeavor. Mouse was the first product. Stuffed with Greta wool and organic catnip from our garden, this mouse is one of Smokey's new favorites!
(on a side note: never, ever, ever plant catnip somewhere that you don't want it to take over. and if you let it flower, you can just forget about ever not having it. Just sayin')
Encouraged by my success, I quickly made mouse 2:(he even got facial features...)
Pretty cute, No?
The mouse pattern, BTW, is available (for free!!) from the Lion Brands Yarn website. You have to register, but it doesn't cost anything and, so far, they haven't clogged my inbox with email messages.
Of course their pattern calls for using their yarn, but I actually used my very own hand-spun (it is okay to be super impressed). and I left off the bell from the end of the tail (Smokey just eats them anyway).
Now that I had successfully crocheted up some rodents, I was looking for a different little creature. Enter "The Birds", not the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock release, but a blog with another free pattern: Birds of a Feather
Santa Bird (the hat was my idea!)
This one was crocheted with mill ends- wool singles. A little easier to work with than my handspun. I learned something here: if you are planning on putting plastic safety eyes on your crochet toys, you need to do that before you stuff and close them. Yeah, I know, sounds pretty basic, but I am speaking from experience here. So Santa Bird got button eyes. Still too cute.
Onward to... Bird #2:
Can you stand it?
This little one was made with some handspun that I had in my stash. It was not spun by me, so it is a little more balanced and easier to work with. He got a jaunty comb instead of a hat!
Then, since these last 3 were all going to sunny So Cal to live with my sister, niece and their 2 cats- I had to make mouse 3 (2 cats, 1 mouse, no good). Alas, no photo of him (that's what happens when you have to do a rush job and get it mailed out!)
Bird Friends
Are you really going to need that hat in California?
Look this thing has his wings on his head!
Away we go!
Hey!!!! Wait for me!
The End.
So there they are ~ Crochet Critters. I have another bird done and am working on a sheep! The rabbit I originally was interested in is a little more complicated, so I need to get some skills mastered first. Apparently, winter is kinda slow around here LOL!
Hope you all have a wonderful New Year. Personally, my 2012 is gonna rock! I am going to 5 day horse camp!!!!! I'll tell you how we managed it next time!
Yes, it's true. My sister had a birthday last month and I have been dying to write about the placemats I wove for her! But, I didn't want to spoil the surprise- now she has them and I can show you all photos!!
It all started a year ago, when she asked me to weave her new placemats for her birthday this year. I tormented her with photos, questions- What colors, what pattern, what size?? And she dutifully answered everything, picked a pattern, suggested colors... so I went ahead and did something totally different!! I know, I know, I'm like that.
Four Placemats
I wanted to use the warp that I painted in the class I took with Kristie at Blue Flag Handweaving Studio. It was originally supposed to be for scarves, but my sister didn't want scarves... She wanted placemats! The painted warp is perle cotton and the colors don't show up very well in this photo, but they are the lighter stripes. Then I had to buy some blue perle cotton for accent stripes and weft. I did use some of my stash for the green and yellow (can't really see the yellow...) stripes. This is also cotton, but it is cotton rug warp.
And then, I suddenly got tired of the blue perle cotton and was forced to buy some beautiful dark green- thus 2 blue napkins and 2 green napkins.
2 blue, 2 green
Things I learned:
a plain weave border looks nice, but takes up differently than a twill body. Next time, use basket weave for the border (thanks Kathy!)
Perle cotton and rug warp cotton are not the same, they have different stretch and shrinkiness (yes, I made that word up!)
I hate sewing. Well, not exactly true, I don't hate it, I am just not good at it- even seams, I couldn't sew a straight line if my life depended on it!
Napkins and placemats don't HAVE to be square...
6 yds of warp is A LOT of warp.
I love packaging things! One of the most fun parts was folding these up and tying them with pretty twine and a label.
Pretty twine and label (complete with pink kitty button accent!)
Beautiful placemat!!
Napkins and Placemats
So there they are- Birthday placemats! (plus bonus napkins)
Even though it has been "hot, hot, sunny, bright, I can only stand to be inside after dark, summertime wonderfulness"... I still have a couple of fiber fun things to share!
This was a super way to spend a summer day. We started at Kristie Sherrodd 's Studio, Blue Flag Handweaving Studio in Sandpoint, ID, where we talked about design, color wheels and looked at a bunch of painted warps. It is simply amazing how beautiful a scarf (or any fabric) can be with a painted warp. Even simple plain weave can be transformed into a rhapsody of subtle color changes and depth. After some book work and planning, we measured off our own warp to paint and had lunch (as usual a highlight of my day!!)
After noontime sustenance, we reconvened in Kristie's carport to paint away. Now, I always imagined that a painted warp entailed warping your loom and then painting the threads while they are on the loom. Seems messy. And, since a lot of dyes have to cure for 24 hours, time consuming. There is, of course, another way: lay your warp chain out on a table to paint it. Which is what we did. So incredibly fun!!! I highly encourage you to take a class with Kristie- she is a super teacher, uncommonly patient and exceedingly talented.
At the end of the day, we took our dyed warps home to cure and then wash. Here is what mine looks like: (ok, I never took a photo of them, but Sharon's friend Al did at the Weaver's potluck and here is a link. Photo of my painted warp chain)
Which brings me to the next thing! The Third Annual Weaving Study Group Potluck - wahoo! We had soo much fun- We ate, we talked, we toured, we drank, we spun. Once again, I took zero photos, but here is a link (with permission) to Sharon's Flickr's photostream. Weave Study Group Potluck She and Al took a bunch of fantastic photos- they make our ranch look so beautiful.
ok, so lots of photos to look at, but none here... so here is one in parting!
Soo.. I have been working on a project for my good friend who was married in December.I promised her 4 hand woven placemats.The yarn was chosen, the pattern was decided and I gleefully began my calculations. I carefully measured the 227 ends for my warp, I thoughtfully sleyed my reed at 15 ends per inch, first light green, then dark green. I painstakingly threaded my heddles, often referring to my pattern, so that everything was exactly right.I tied onto the back beam and began to beam by beautiful, stripey warp.I tied onto the front apron, dutifully wove in my spacers (rolled up toilet paper- it works wonderfully!) and began the joy of weaving.
Clicking up the shafts, clicking down the shafts, throwing the shuttle back and forth, packing the warp with the beater, clicking up the shafts, clicking down the shafts throwing the shuttle back and forth, advancing the fabric, etc.There is such a pleasing rhythm to weaving - it is one of the things I truly enjoy about it.As I progressed, I was pleased with the pattern, my selvedges looked good, and I wasn’t pulling the weft so hard that it was distorting the edges.I happily wove along, feeling talented and proficient, blissfully ignorant of what lay ahead.
As I neared completion of my third placemat, it seemed that I was unusually close to the end of my warp.Now, I know the importance of measuring your ppi (picks per inch) and of sampling, however, as with everything in life, knowing is not the same as doing. So, yes, I was weaving at approximately 12 ppi and my pattern was set up for 15 ppi.Non-weavers may be wondering what this has to do with anything, weavers are probably nodding their heads and smirking, knowing how this small discrepancy can make a huge difference, especially since the pattern I was working with is a certain number of picks, not a certain number of inches. It became apparent that I was not going to be able to squeeze my final placemat out of the remaining warp…
This dilemma presented me with several options on how to proceed. My first thought was to tell my friend that 3 placemats were plenty (I am not too proud to admit I am lazy!), but I reconsidered, they are a wedding gift after all. My second option was to cut off what I had finished and start fresh.Not a bad option, I enjoy sleying and threading, but it seemed so wasteful, not using that last bit of yarn.
So, I made the big decision- I would tie on more warp.And since I was tying more on anyway, I would cut enough to make napkins too! Oh, wasn’t I brilliant? Wasn’t I brave?The next step, of course, was learning how to do it.
My impression was that I would be cutting off the old warp behind the heddles (as the benefit to tying on more warp is that you don’t have to re-thread everything).With that picture in my head, I began trying to figure out how one would keep all the little threads straight as you tied them on, how you would keep the 100 inches of added warp from tangling up into a big bird’s nest and finally, how you would re-beam the new warp. My husband and I envisioned two long tables on which I could lay my warp threads, one at a time, as I tied them on.He offered to help by holding the threads for me (God bless this patient man!). I emailed for help, I Google searched, I looked in my weaving books.For as popular a method this seemed to be, I could not locate any directions on the actual “how” to do it.
Finally (and of course) my weaving study group came to the rescue! Our meeting last week was at one of our member’s homes.She has a beautiful studio and we gathered there to share our tricks and shortcuts on warping. When I described what I was hoping to do and how I thought it should be done, they were quick to help me see that I was looking at it backwards (hmmm… how unusual!)The old warp was to be cut off IN FRONT of the reed, then the one could proceed beaming onto the back beam, as per usual.
AHHA! The light clicked on in my head!Well that actually made sense! And solved all the problems of how to deal with these enormous lengths of thread balling up everywhere.I was thrilled!
And so my newest weaving learning adventure commenced.
I grabbed up my chains of neatly measured warp and prepared to begin. Then, as is my usual sequence of events, I put it back down and did the step that was actually next- cutting off what I had finished.
I had enough existing warp to make one of the napkins, so I completed that.It may be obvious to you by now that calculating loom waste is not exactly my strong suit.So I ended up shortening my first napkin by about 2 inches, so that I would actually be able to cram the shuttle through the tightening shed (I eventually had to use a stick shuttle at the very end).
I did have the foresight to tie up the apron rod for the back beam before I cut my project off and therefore prevented all the threads from slipping out through the back!
Once I cut my completed placemats and napkin off, I had approximately 3 inches of thread left in the front of the reed.I HIGHLY suggest leaving way more than that if you intend to try this.
With my project safely cut off, rolled up and put next to my sewing machine for finishing, I sat down to begin the process of tying on 227 pieces of thread.Since the ends were so short, I used a pair of hemostats to assist.My weaving group told me (much to my relief) that I did not have to use the “fancy” weaver’s knot, but could use a simple overhand knot.Lucky for me, since I would probably still be tying knots if I had to use that one!
I once again grabbed up my warp, put the cross in my hand, took it back out so that I could cut the loop in the end, put it back in (incorrectly), one-handedly shuffled around through the items scattered on the floor beside my loom, came up with my Learning to Weave by Deborah Chandler book, looked in the index to find “holding the cross” (page 35, if anyone else needs to know!), reassembled my cross correctly and grabbed up the first thread.
By wetting my thumb and forefinger, I was able to get a firm grip on both ends of the two threads to be tied together.
I made a loop, then pushed the nose of the hemostats through, grabbed the two ends and pulled them through the loop.I pulled extra hard to tighten the knot then went on to the next.
First all the light green, then all the dark green.Slowly, but surely, the new warp was secured.
I now realized I had yet another problem.The idea is to just start beaming the warp by turning the crank on the back beam.My problem was that an overhead knot would not easily slide through my 15 dent reed (15 dent means 15 slots per inch- if you can imagine that!) and believe me, I tried!So this basically meant that I had to re-sley the reed- one fat, knotted thread at a time, by sticking my sleying hook through the dent, twisting it a little to broaden the space, and pulling the thread by hand from behind the reed.If you have never done this, I will tell you that is absolutely a test of patience!
However, now I am rolling!The knots pulled easily through my Texsolv heddles, and I continued to beam my warp without incident! YAY!
The actual weaving of the articles is not as time consuming as all the incidental activities and set up involved.It is a metaphor for life in a way.If you take the time to set up a good foundation, everything flows more smoothly.
The change of seasons makes me oddly happy/sad. We've had our first hard frost and my beautiful garden has turned into dark green (soon to be black!) slime. I did however harvest about 40 pounds of beautiful Yukon Gold potatoes this weekend. And I did get three red, ripe tomatoes this year! This gardening in northern climes is not for the faint-hearted... In some way I am relieved that the garden is finished for this year. It is a tremendous amount of work and although I love it, this ending will give me more time to participate in other things I love, like weaving and painting.
A lesson in letting go, in staying in the moment, in not wishing away today for another, "better" tomorrow. Every year I resist the coming of winter- the snow, the ice, the bitter cold. And every year, on the first day it snows, I am filled with the beauty of it, the sheer exhilarating joy of it.Winter is the time for hot tea, a fire in the woodstove, a chance to be inside my life.
In the warm, long, sunny days of summer and fall I can’t stand to be inside.I work inside and the second I get home I change out of my school clothes and into my play clothes.And I play.Usually I play until dark- in high summer that is about 10:30 at night.Mundane chores like dishes and housework generally go undone, unnoticed.“Cooking dinner” consists of grabbing a sandwich or a piece of fruit (or really, sometimes a Pop Tart!) and eating it standing over the sink (this is a time saving tip- little to no clean up with this method!) and then racing back outside to mess with the horse or the goats or the garden.Summer is all about people visiting, building projects and outdoor activity.
Winter is different.Slower. Quieter.Interestingly enough, people don’t come out to visit us in the winter.The building projects are buried under a blanket of snow.And outdoor activities are pretty much reduced to snow shoeing to work and feeding the animals.Oh yes, and moving snow.Indoors becomes quietly attractive.Suddenly being inside all day Saturday doesn’t seem a punishment.Now is the time for art. For painting, weaving, writing.For nourishing that part of my soul.
Fall is the harbinger of all this nourishment.My favorite time of year.
