June-y

So, last night, knowing I'll be gone for a few days and the grass unmanageable when I get back, I came home from work and jumped on it. Riding mower, then weed eater. It took a few hours and I was zipped and drenched when done. When I get really tired like that, sometimes I don't sleep well. Which might explain why I woke up at 3:00 a.m. , finally ditched the attempt to ride it out and go back to sleep and got up. It will be a long day.

I'm headed up to the loom room. My take-up handle that exploded on me last week is fixed and the loom back together. I'm weaving worm rugs and they're looking pretty. I'm still on the seed pattern tea towels on the Newcomb. I think I have another 3 on there and will get those off as soon as I can. I think I'll thread some overshot for the next tea towel warp, using a pattern from Weaving Designs by Bertha Gray Hayes: Miniature Overshot Patterns, sticking with 20/2 warp.

I'm hoping I've found some 10/2 colors. No solid info yet. I may have to go to 12/2, but would rather not.

The gardens are looking fine. Harvesting strawberries and chard. The squash and cukes are blooming and I saw a couple blooms on the eggplants last night. Can't wait for those babies.

Heading to southwest Missouri this afternoon to see siblings. I'll work Art in Bloom for the station on Saturday afternoon on the way back. I'm looking forward to seeing this venue.

Summer Party is the next weekend, and after that, my schedule is slightly more open. Good. I need to spend some serious time on the rug loom. I'm taking a pile of blue jeans to cut this weekend while visiting.

Time Flies

Remember the silly portrayals of idioms on the back of the funny pages? Like they'd have "Time Flies" and then a cartoon of a clock being launched through the air? That's kind of how I've been feeling lately - like launching all the clocks/calendars and seeing what happens without them. BUT, I finally caught the yard work up after being in Berlin an extra two weeks thanks to the volcano, and I feel much better with everything mulched and the mowing on schedule.

I have a 20/2 stripe on the Newcomb for tea towels. The previous post tea towels turned out nicely. These 20/2 ones are a finer weight. They're in a 6 fold basket weave, but I'm treadling for Seed Pattern, and they're nice. I'm kind of limited on weft options. 10/2 works best at this sett (30 epi) but I don't have many 10/2 colors that work with the warp. Actually, I don't have many 10/2 colors, period. It seems to be a vanishing weight, hard to find even natural in unmercerized 10/2 any more. Anyone knows of a good resource for unmercerized 10/2, I'd appreciate it.

The Hammett has large rugs on. I will probably throw another small rug warp on later this summer, but for now I need large rugs. Today I broke the take up handle which I had made last fall - just the rivet or pin or whatever it is that holds the pawl to the handle. I will take that to the welder tomorrow.

And so it goes, flying clocks, exploding take-up handles, weaving forward, etc. You know.

Currently reading: Jazz by Toni Morrison

In the thick of it

Well, that title refers to my day job, not weaving. I work at a Public Radio Station and we are in our drive week. For me, that translates into very early mornings and long hours through Saturday 10:00 p.m. It's a dynamic time, though tiring.

As to weaving, well, confession is a good thing for the soul. I cut that danged 20/2 warp off the Newcomb. I did get it beamed but I had too many ends beamed for my chosen pattern and those loose ends were making me crazy, crazy, crazy! Pulling the warp forward and rebeaming was not an option, because I tried it. So, another lesson re-learned: be sure of your pattern, beam only the ends you need. So, I cut that dog off the loom - arf, arf.

The same evening I wound and beamed a sample for some cotton flake I have on my shelves. Ran a couple samples and I think I'm going to like this stuff, maybe even for a shirt!

I'm down to one rug left on the Hammett warp, so I'll be winding and beaming another warp for that loom in the next couple days.

I also burned my ornamental grasses yesterday. Whoosh! Kind of exciting.

Reading: The China Study

Public Statement!

I do solemnly swear that I will clean my loom room as soon as I have this warp beamed, and BEFORE I weave a single throw! It's getting to me. Something has to break. Last night I searched through 4 containers looking for my crank handle and finally found it in plain sight on a table. In rummaging through the 4 containers (baskets, buckets of shuttles, etc.) I realized how much crap I have in those things that is completely irrelevant (now). So, cleaning next on agenda.

I am beaming a tea towel warp in 20/2 cotton. It's unusually slow because I wound some 10/2 cotton in for some of the stripes, but really, really hated how it was feeling in my hands as I roughsleyed the reed. I should have come to that conclusion BEFORE I wound it on the board, but... So, I wound some 20/2 in another color to replace the 10/2, and am cutting the 10/2 out of the warp bouts as I wind on. Fun, fun.

I haven't decided yet on a modified twill or straight twill or plain weave for the threading. That will be after I get the studio cleaned! ;-) It should be a pretty piece at any rate. I'm going to have to figure out how to post photos and get one up of this warp. Last night, while it was taxing my patience, I thought, heck with tea towels, I'm making a shirt out of this. Too much work for tea towels! and I may weave some of it into yardage for a shirt if the sample is light weight enough.

Sunday I sewed worms for the Hammett warp and that's ready to roll - as soon as the studio is cleaned. Lots to do when I get back from Galena this weekend.

Currently reading: The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Start it all again...

So, I got home from California at night, went to work the next day, took off at noon to go home and turn my water back on and see if I had any frozen/burst pipes from the -14 weather we had while I was gone. Did I say "if?" Ha. After looking under the house I quickly decided my little 5 ft of plastic pipe, a handful of connectors and glue I picked up at Lowe's were going to be of little effect. A call to a plumber, (who couldn't come for 2 days) then a call to my mechanic who found a local guy for me, and I was in business with water that night. Yeah small town networks!

A week later, and I have the Hammett warped and mostly woven off in small rugs. Ready to wind another warp for that one. My goal is a 12 yd warp woven off every week for a while. Also wound 20/2 cotton for tea towels. I'm waiting for my new 15 dent reed to come in before I stick that on on the Newcomb, but that's okay. I have plenty to keep me busy until then.

Plus, it's been colder than the dickens and we have about 10 inches of snow on the ground. I'm on my second big pot of soup since I got back, lots of weaving to keep me busy.

Reading: Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler for a book club.

Thanks, Tri-Community Weavers!

I had a lovely little respite this week. Since I'm away from my looms, and missing them so, a friend of my daughter-in-law invited me to her weaving class. (Thanks, Michelle!) It's offered by Tri-Community Adult Education

http://www.cvusd.k12.ca.us/tri-community/tricomhome.htm

and was a wonderful way to spend a Wednesday evening. They have several classes offered and over 100 looms in the classroom and every one of them is occupied by someone. Very reasonable tuition, and your loom is yours throughout the entire semester. So, you can come in every week and take up where you left off.

Over 100 looms! Many of them were floor looms, a few table looms, most were jack, one tapestry, and every one of them with a project in some part of the process! Yeah! Weavers ranged from beginners to the more experienced who don't have room or time at home to work on looms, and enjoy the dedicated time each week. The teachers were knowledgeable and all were so friendly to this loom-sick visitor from Missouri!

It is so nice to talk weaving! I can well understand why some people take this class for years in a row. It's like a weekly guild meeting, and indeed, I was told that most of the people in the class also belong to the same guild.

I'll be heading back to the Midwest in a little over a week now. I'm starting to feel like time is getting short. I have a list in my head of things I want to be sure to make food-wise before I go. I will certainly miss these guys. I have enjoyed cooking for them and being part of their days.

I have no idea what condition my water pipes will be in when I get home, but you know what, I know how to repair plastic water pipe! First-weekend-home plans? Warping both looms! Yippee!

Counting the ways

Counting the ways I don't miss winter weather during my sojourn in Southern California. Back home it's supposed to be -5 with wind chill of -14 tonight. Brrrrr.

In my brief time home between trips I did start winding a warp for tea towels, which means I made time to sit down with my chosen colors and a piece of graph paper to work out stripe sizes and color progressions. That's a fun part for me. Sometimes it's a one-cup-of-tea warp and sometimes it takes several sittings to figure it all out, but it ends up done. I like being able to look back at past plans, too. If I particularly like how a stripe pattern turned out, I can substitute colors and duplicate it in a future warp. No reason to re-invent the wheel, you know. I think most weavers have archives of project plans. I have several notebooks.

I'm looking forward to getting back to weaving in February. I do miss it.