Update again

I guess I'm just an every-couple-months poster right now and that's just the way it is. First a bit of catch-up. I did warp more chenille and made two scarves. I used up every single inch of one of my weft colors, and nearly all of the other. Even steven, all the way around. My brother LOVES his chenille stole and I have a couple scarves to sell, if I can bear to part with them - soft, luscious, wonderful pieces.

I warped 10 inches of 10/2 cotton to sample for another blanket. That's off, washed, and shrinkage calibrated and I have wound 807 ends of 10/2 cotton in natural for my next blanket. It will be in Queen Anne's Lace, a sweet, small overshot pattern from Bertha Gray Hayes' book. I haven't decided what color cotton I will cross it with yet.

I haven't been idle the last few months, though. My son and his family were here for a couple weeks, then I went there for a week. I loved every minute of their visit here and my visit there. Grandchildren are SO special.

I was preparing to venture into my first weaving teaching gig, and had a friend's LeClerc Dorothy table loom at the house while my daughter-in-law was here. She's always had an interest in weaving, with not much opportunity due to two small boys, but here was Nai-Nai to help out with children and a loom calling to her. So, she made a rag piece 14" wide and last I saw, had sewn it into a nice tote bag. She did it all from winding the warp to sewing the bag.

I taught weaving at Shannondale Craft Camp http://shannondalecraftcamp.com/ last weekend and had a lovely time. My students were all at different levels with different projects/goals, and it was fun helping them toward those goals. I hope they had as much fun as I did!

I have been mulching hostas the last couple days, which always puts me in an artsy mood. I'm not a "green" person as far as personal color, but when I work with my hostas in the spring, I start thinking about greens for future projects. Fun, fun!

This blanket will probably take me a month or so, what with gardening, yard work, and two weeks in Berlin coming up, but I'm learning to be okay with this new, no-show-to-weave-like-a-madwoman-for pace. Sometime this summer I want to dye a Tencel warp for scarves or shawls, and colorways are running around my mind a lot for that. Always something to think about when you're a weaver!

catch-up

Can't believe it's been so long since I posted! So, what has happened since last June? Lots! I changed looms. I sold my Hammett and Newcomb and bought a Cranbrook countermarche. I love it. I have done half a dozen projects on it, and feel like I'm acquainted now, and on the way to becoming best friends.

I made a set of tea towels, some mug rugs for a Christmas exchange, a blanket for my grandson, a couple custom rugs, and am now working on a chenille stole for my priestly brother in purples. It's lovely.

I ran samples from some old chenille I had which I thought was 1450 ypp. I finally got happy with the sett, and then got the new chenile in. Guess what! Not the same ypp. The new stuff is for sure 1450. The older is a little larger. Also the new chenille is in much better shape. The old stuff was a mill end and probably 15 years old. A bit hard to work with. So the project is being friendly so far.

I haven't decided if I will stick some more chenille on for scarves, or if I will thread up for another blanket next. I want to make blankets for all my kids and grandkids - a worthy project and one I can really get into.

I will not be going to a show this fall - that decision made on time limits and generally not wanting to spend ALL my time weaving making stock. Hence the blanket project and the stole, scarves, etc. It feels nice to be able to weave what I want. I'll try to post photos of a couple things soon.