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But it’s not all mud!

Oct23

It’s raining again this morning, but gently. The colors really stand out in this dim light.

Just noticed this Mountain Ash sappling!

On the way back from the mail box

The last butterfly blossom, No buzzing today!

End of gardening season. A few hardier flowers and his pole beans still producing a few.

This is my favorite, another Oregon Big Leaf Maple but worth a repeat, I think!

Forecast is for more flash floods but it’s a perfect autumn rain so far. Good day tp finish up the last lug of apples. These will be for pies! Or just east, they are a wonderful juicy blend of tart and sweet! Just what the doctor ordered!

 

Hazel Rose Looms 20th Anniversary!!!

Oct4

OKAY! It’s Monday and time to start Weaving! We’ve gathered up our square and Triangle looms and found the perfect yarn and  we’re ready to weave!  The Pattern is posted below, You’ll also be able to find it on my project page at Ravelry and on the facebook Pin loom group.

Be sure to enter for the weakly prize by posting a comment about the WAL here on my blog.  name will be [picked at random at the end of the week. This weeks prize is a set of Packing forks the regular and the small sizes, one will be one of Randy’s arty ones! Very handy tools to have in your kit!

Red Bird Pattern.

 

It’s a Party! There’ll be weaving and pictures and projects and prizes and chatter and fun!!

First an anniversary story.

A little History…

I’ve been reading about companies moving their manufactories back to the US and it got me to thinking. Randy & I have been making small looms for nearly 20 years now and all those years have been right here in the US. Right here in Trinity County, California, in fact. We started out in Grandmother’s garage. We now have our own shop but it’s less than 100 yards from that old garage so we haven’t moved far. In the beginning I told Randy that I would not publish our web page until he had at least a dozen looms made that first time and last year we made over 1700 but it’s still just him and me.

Some people may think they see too much of me ‘on-line’ but it’s what I love. I belong to many groups, to a bunch of Ravelry  groups, as well as facebook, even twitter, tho my internet and ‘dumb’ phone won’t let post there.  Most of these are about yarn in some way. I knit, crochet, weave, felt, spin… you name it. It’s what I like to do, just as you do or you would not be reading this here. And I like making the looms. I think we do a good job with them and I think the fact that we’re still doing it after 20 years proves that a lot of other people think we do a good job, too. I use the same looms we send to our customers. Well, almost. I usually end up using the ones he doesn’t think he got quite right.  You know, what some other company would call ‘seconds”. It has an extra hole drilled in the wrong spot or the grain of the wood caused it to develop little hair line cracks when I put the nails in, that sort of thing. But they are still good looms and sturdy!

Yeah, if you ever manage to wear out your loom or find a flaw in it, send me an email. We’ll make arrangements to repair or replace, depending on what’s wrong. For instance, if you drop your loom in the driveway and then back over it, we may not be willing to replace it free but we’ll try to fix it if you think it might be done. I’m still using the very first looms he made for me and they are going strong. And I don’t really treat my loom tenderly; they kick around all over and get tossed in the car to go to shows or just on trips with us. They aren’t hung neatly on the wall like my sister’s but are piled in a box in the closet. Sturdy!

And if you need something special made, Randy’s your man. Several of the looms we make started with a weaver saying, “Can you make a….”. Randy says, “I can make anything.” And so far he’s made good on that bit of boasting, I have to admit. He made a tiny purpleheart trapezoid for a weaver and recently made a long thin loom that will be used to weave purse straps. Our Diamond looms started with a customer request. And the Multi’s were a result of another company dropping their version of the old Weave-it looms. Weavers kept asking so we finally gave in. Now we make 6 sizes of Multi squares, three rectangles, and two triangles in that style.

We ship the looms, not all over the world, but I can count at least 10 countries I have shipped to. If you are in England, Canada, or Scotland there are shops carrying them. There are weaving teachers giving workshops using them, too. We are quite proud of our little looms and are just tickled pink by the number of people who also like them. If I sound like I am bragging, well, I guess I am. We’re not in the same category as Schacht or Ashford or LeClerc or any of those Big Guys but I think we have a quality product in our nitch.  We want to make weaving tools as beautiful as the projects weavers make on them.

And we are lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful parts of California and get to work from our home. How could it be better? I try to post on the blog regularly and there are pictures of our part of the world. Take a look and then go look at our looms and see if I exaggerate.

I learned about this kind weaving from my sister who built herself a 6′ triangle for weaving shawls. I was visiting her and she showed me how to do it and I went home and ordered Carol Leigh’s 7′ adjustable loom. I wove a few shawls, Okay, done that. And the loom set up in my small house took up just too much room so one day I got inspired and got some finish nails and some scrap plywood from Randy’s construction stuff and made myself and 7″ tri. I was able to weave these small triangles while sitting in my chair in the evenings.

The first rough loom. It worked, even if it wasn’t pretty!

The square came next, thus the first Quilt Weaver set. It was very rough and ugly but worked fine. Sometime later, things were looking down for us, his big job for the summer was canceled when the people found they could not afford to build after all, and the K-8 school where I was aide and art teacher was losing students and had to cut back my hours, so we were feeling sorry for ourselves. I jokingly said, “Well, we can always make looms.” He asked to see what I was talking about and – it just grew from there. We haven’t looked back. When we first started he made one loom at a time. Today he cut out and assembled 30 looms. My Dad used to say that when you make something for money, it’s not fun anymore. Well, I don’t know if loom building is exactly fun, but it is very satisfying. And it’s also satisfying to know that we are helping other people learn the art and enjoyment of weaving.

I think that sometimes we should remember that the people we buy from on-line, especially in this yarn line, are not corporations for the most part, but people, almost neighbors, no matter how close or far they live from us. There’s a weaver sitting at a floor loom in the back bedroom weaving dishtowels to sell, with the timer beside her so she doesn’t forget the roast that’s in the oven for dinner. A spinner on the porch spinning yarns for sale while she watches her kids playing in the yard.  A couple of knitters working on lace scarves to put up on etsy, I know a weaver who is weaving I-pad cases on our looms to sell at the spring craft sale in her area. It’s the same with the gal who spins or the family raising sheep or alpaca. This is all true. It’s that huge village and we all contribute to it whether we sell or buy or just share what we make via donations to charity or pictures posted to group, blogs or even facebook.

But now I’d better get back to work, neighbors are waiting for their looms!

 

Sept-Trying again..

Sep28

Maybe  the internet and I will get along better today. You think?! Doc says, Yes I did break my finger. He gave me a new splint and congratulated Randy on his. He also said I’ll need to wear this thing for a month!! Trying to make apple sauce today. I can halve them with the cutting board and big knife but coring realty puts a strain on that finger so Himself will have to take over that slot for the time.  But I’ve got the first pot cooking. The Squeezo wall take care of the clean cores.

I spent most of yesterday in town what with Doctor, Chores for Himself, and my own list. Traffic was horrible, with fire hold-ups still north of town and Weaverville’s first traffic light being installed on the other end of town. Took forever to get from place to place so I didn’t get anything done on the shirt yoke.

But we got a lovely cool wet rain! It was so relaxing that I didn’t mind sitting at two road work stops on the way to and from town, just relaxing with the cool and wet and dim landscape. It was great. And hopefully did some damage to the remaining fires as well.

I’ve made and modified the pot holder. Have two more made and one test woven. It’s a light commercial “worsted” woven on the 5″ Quilt Weaver Square. So a test for both yarn and loom size. The dark on on the left is the first one I made using the 7″ and it was a little too long. I rewashed it to felt it a bit tighter and then cut it off shorter. The red one and the one on the skillet handle are both handspun felted max. You can see the pot with the apples there on the left, too.

But now I think it’s time for some lunch and by then the apples may be ready for the next step. Hope your day is moving along smoothly!

Weaving a Pot holder

Sep4

Okay, finally here’s some weaving content! When packing up the kitchen in case of evacuation I used all my potholders as packing material between breakables. Clever, huh? Yes, but I still have to cook meantime! The too thin commercial pot holder that was left  is cute but I may as well use my barehand and burn scars are not cute! I I dug out some yarns and the 3.5×7″ Quilt Weaver rectangle and wove a few. Two are Brown Sheep’s Lamb’s Pride 80% wool, 20% mohair and a skein of my own handspun, unlabeled, of course. That’s how I know it’s mine. Rosy, my spinning sister, labels hers with fiber type and yardage. Anyway, I wove two of each yarn and felted them in the washer with some bath mats. Not a good choice by the way as they incorporated  a nice bit of white fuzz onto my blocks. But as I am not after pretty with this project I didn’t let that stop me, just something to keep in mind!

So now I see that the Brown Sheep felted up nice and tight, the hand spun less so but still good. I decided that the Brown Sheep were going to be a little too small for my project and that both were still a little thinner than I wanted for a pot holder. So I sewed the smaller ones to the larger to make my holder a double thickness. Then I used a blanket stitch to sew the two pads together.

Those of you who use the original non-stick (cast iron) skillets know how hot that handle can get but I think I’ve fixed that now! I’ll tell you after breakfast tomorrow!

It’s not pretty or cute but it looks like doing what I need. It ought to be pretty fire proof too, so hopefully I won’t set the kitchen on fire! However, I think I’ll make another and make it just a bit shorter. And maybe this time I’ll go for cute as well as safety!

 

I think September is the start of Fall…?

Sep1

At least I hope so. The Weather Wizards have been speculating on La Nina, telling us we may get a colder and wetter winter this year. What a wonderful thing that would be. I’m afraid to believe it, tho because if they are wrong it is going to be just too disappointing! Anyone who has been watching the goings on out in the US west know we are drying up and burning up. Here in Coffee Creek we are under Evacuation Warning and the fire is creeping closer. We have the trailer parked in the driveway and are loading what we want to save. Have you ever had to make decisions on what you want and what you have room for? Then you know what it’s like around here these days. Not only that but we don’t know we are going to have to leave so meantime we have to go about our lives. There  are still looms to make, the garden to tend and veggies to can, he has unfinished jobs… It’s hard to pack what we need to take if we have to leave when meantime we have to live here and need those things for that! If you can figure that out!

Space station photo. I tried to mark the fires for those in the area. Not guaranteed, tho.

Here’s a picture of the fires on Aug 2 from the space station. That was before the Haypress fire (ours) got over the hill and down into Coffee Creek drainage. Since that time it’s been creeping down toward us. The canyon is filled with smoke from it and from the rest of the fires in N CA. But the fire people tell us that’s a good thing as it keeps the fires down, less oxygen for them. Also for us! But I don’t think we’re going to be able to count on La Nina to arrive in time to save us so we’re just going to have to count on the fire crews and our own resources. And your good thoughts or prayers!

But meantime…

Bread and Butter pickles from the basket of cukes.

Looking up at a Tall sunflower!

Meantime since I was disturbing the dust I decided to run all these dust collectors through the dishwasher. My, they are shiny!

He mulched the potatoes with straw and now we have a crop of wheat! I can make potato bread! ;-D

Himself thinks these old games are worth a lot of money to game collectors, but I think those guys want unopened new “old”
games and mine have a lot of miles on them! I played and so did every kid that came around. It was fun but I expect I’d get Zelda slaughtered these days. If I could figure out how to hook it up to the modern TV. But it just goes to show what you can find when you start digging out dusty corners. I didn’t find my wedding rings, tho. 😦

Is it history?

Weaving content is still missing for the same reason. But there will be projects in a couple of Little Looms magazines next year so is that something to look forward too?! I hope!

Meantime get out your dancing shoes and give us a rain dance or two!

The neighbor brought her kids over for lunch.

 

 

Yeah, still summer.

Aug14

 

Local fires. Coffee Creek is the yellow oval on the right. It’s about 14 miles mostly bad dirt road. 

https://zoom.earth/#view=41.058244,-122.847436,12z/layers=fires

But while the fires aren’t all that near, the smoke is! It was really bad yesterday. We were closed up and it got hot and muggy in here but we could breath at least. Today the smoke is higher and I have the house open to get some new air in here. I can’t smell it today at least. Not a good ‘aroma’.

I took these pictures this morning. The smoke is starting to settle now so I’ll be closing up soon.

Where we can’t see Bonanza King Mt.

Where we can’t see Morrison gulch.

I think we’ll be safe, at least for some time yet, You really can’t predict where these things will go and until we get a good rain they won’t be out. They are usually pretty good at protecting small towns, tho we’ve seen examples where there is just nothing anyone can do. I’m looking on the bright side. but if it happens and we burnt, I seriously doubt I could bring myself to come back. That would be a issue I hope we don’t have to face.

On the more cheerful side, I’ve finished with the peaches. We have a bowl of sliced in the fridge for dinner and then we’re done for another year. I’m knitting a “meet dress” for my new used American Girl Kirsten. That’s been interesting making up the pattern as I go along. As you can see from the pro photo, I have a way to go! I’m thinking I may embroider one row of little red flowers on her bodice but no way are they going to be all over!

 

The long view of the garden that’s my potato bed ther in the front. his corn, cucumbers on the trellis and really giant sunflower out in the middle. it planted itself, likely with the help of the jays last year!

 

The kale and green beans make a nice back drop for some pretty zinnias in the garden.

Hope your August is going well!

If you smell smoke it must be summer….

Aug12

It’s another hot summer in California. No- in the western US! So far we’ve been lucky in our part but it’s getting closer and we’re not having fun. The Summer Fire, part of the River Complex, is now on our side of the mountain. There are towns on both sides of us being evacuated or burnt so we’re still luckier than some, but it’s getting hard to breath and we are starting to pack up the important stuff we need to have if/when we also have to go elsewhere. We, at least, have the 5th wheel so will have a place to live in that case, again luckier than some.

Western US

Coffee Creek is in the square, the little hand points to the area where the fire is edging down toward the Coffee Creek drainage and our way. Just now it’s about 14 road miles and moving, they tell us, slowly downhill.

Meantime, life goes on as well as we can manage. I’ve closed up the house now, the smoke is starting to settle in & they are predicting thunder storms this afternoon, not what any of us want to hear. This time of year it rarely comes with rain. 

He’s about got a handle on the water system so we do now have water for domestic use. We water the garden with a pump in the creek, being lucky enough to live near that resource. And the garden is producing. We didn’t plant a lot this spring, not being sure if we would be able to water it. But I have been canning beans and drying various veggies as they ripen for my winter soup mix: peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, onions, whatever crosses my path really! And yesterday I made peach jam, have more of that to do, maybe later today. Meantime, I wanted to post here and then I have to get out to the shop and finish looms. 

Blackberry puree via the Squeezo! Love that machine!

Where’s the weaving content? Well, the only weaving I’ve gotten done this month has gone off the Little Looms magazine and I can’t show you that yet! But when I catch up on my chores I’ll find some to  share!

June- It’s summer fur shure!

Jun4

We’ve managed 103 already, but it’s going down again. Just 94 today as a high. Well, I like summer but I’d prefer a more moderate  kind. And add to that, we’re short water. The springs that supple the water company are not producing as they should. It’s going to take some work and, of course, some money. Haven’t run out yet but we’re all conserving like heck. I had to run the dishwasher yesterday. Even having rinsed everything, the kitchen was starting to get … Well, less that fragrent! And we were out of forks. I used paper plates that we had but really, it only saves two dinner plates, pots and pans and all the rest still have to be used. But with the heat I’ve been going to meals that don’t require much cooking and no oven & that’s helped a bit, too. Got the Air Fryer out to bake the potatoes for last night’s stuffed ‘taters. I put it away this winter as it takes up most of my available counter space and the oven works just as well when it’s cold outside.

The only weaving I’m doing is for the magazine submissions. It’s just too hot for yarning. But I’ll take another look at projects and find something to share. I may get inspired!  I found one little thing that could be of help with a project. If you need to weave a strap and don’t have an inkle or some kind of starp weaving loom you can use your square! I’ve done this a couple times. The last time I got one that’s 65 inches long. I wove it on the 12″ square. I cut my warp and rolled it up in Butterflies. Then warped the loom by tying it at top and using double half hitches at the bottom.  Once I wove as much as I could, I undid the half hitches (one at a time) and slid the whole thing up, putting the end of the weaving just outside the top nails to hold it in place. Then re-hitched the half hitches at the bottom.  Just keep moving it up like this until you have woven the length of your warp! Eaiser than it sounds! lol

 

We’ve been lugging water to the garden in buckets, but he fimally got the pump in the creek so we should be able to eliminate that job. I was reluctant to plant without it and have not got much planted. Don’t want to watch them dry up a the summer goes on. But I found I not only still have these big red poppies in the side garden but they have actually seeded a few more!

And the roses that have always (knock knoco) bloomed profusly are doing a great job this year as well. BUT… I just vacuumed, which I pretty much have to do daily, as my carpet looks almost like the deck looks under them! Himself has never figured out that walking over the door mat does not wipe his feet! It will look like a wedding out there for at least half of June!

The only other thing going on is the ubiquitous diet. I’ve managed to gain back most of the last 10 I lost this spring. I could claim it’s muscle from my workouts but my clothes tell me different!   Sis amd I had a conversation about Addictions.

Yes, and in my opinion sugar is more addicting that heroin, at least it is for me.  And much easier to get as well!  
Yeah, Good point. I would not have any idea how to find that or be able to afford it, either. No problem with sugar. Maybe the feds ought to add it to the list! Can you see them going after C&H? lol Hershey bars being peddled on dark street corners & school grounds! A dealer standing outside the WW & Tops meetings. Boggles!

It does boggle but it’s really is a hard addiction to shake. I guess I’m goiong to have to go back to salads only. Seems to be the only way I can keep losing. And I got so close to my goal. Well, my first goal, I still have more to go. Always something to look forward to, huh?!

Have a great day!

Trying again…

May6

Not only am I not techy, I think I have the Anti-techy gene! But I’ll keep trying! I think I have figured out how to do this… maybe.

It’s springtime so we are doing all those springtime things, garden, cabin, jobs for Himself, garden, project writing for me, spring cleaning, garden… lol You know how it goes! I have several projects going on the looms and am trying to Organize, Wow! That’s a huge word for me. Always has been but even more so these days. I just find that I really don’t want to, I just want it to all go away and leave me alone! I guess most of you can understand these days. Mostly I’m okay as long as there is no deadlines. You’d think that at my age the only deadlines I’d have would be those I give myself but that hasn’t worked out for me for some reason. Probably goes back to that word- Organize. Should have taken care of that a couple decades ago. Ah well… Time to quit bitchin’ and get on with it.

Garden seems to have come up most in the above list. Climate and weather warming up early so naturally the gardening bug hits. Still too early tho for most things. Got peas growing- slowly it seems to me. If they don’t hurry they’ll get caught in the big heat before they’re ready. And the tomato plants are outgrowing their temp pots before it’s time for them to go in the ground. I think that’s going to be next week- ready or not!

The iris are blooming up a storm now. These were the first ones but there’s more colors now and the morels below were a bit of a surprise! I think I counted about 26 of them in the lawn. I don’t plan on cutting them. They’re welcomed to do their thing. Everything seems to be blooming  very abundantly this year even tho we are in a drought, the state tells us. I guess fire weather has already impacted some parts. It’ll be here soon, too. Meantime yard and woods are all blooming and lovely.

Weaving is making progress, too. Have several projects done or in the works for publishing and have started swatching for my cardigan.  I have a bunch of nice wool, I’ve knit and frogged a couple cardigans already and am now determined to weave another one like my raggedy orange one. I over fulled (felted!) my 2nd swatch. Too much time elapsed after the first one so didn’t remember what I’d done to get that one perfect. Got another square woven so will try again today. Once I get that right I can get an estimate of how many squares I’m going to need. I still have another knit sweater I can frog if I need more yarn.

Been playing with pattern stitches for the Quilt Weavers. It is more difficult to get them for that loom than for the Multi for a couple reasons. One- it is woven diagonally and it is a much larger/wider set. The diagonal edge needs special attention so that it stays woven to make a selvage edge.  That leaves less room in the center for the arty work.  And a lot of stitches are lacy which makes the sett even more important. Too loose and you have no definition, it just looks a jumble. Too tight and the opposite makes your lace disappear, makes it look solid. And the tightness is partly the yarn you use as well as your tension and stitch. Does that help make it plain? lol

Here’s a couple. Lacy but not very stable. Both using a heavy yarn. They’d very likely be more stable once stitched together, but both need some work.  My cardigan uses a  simpler pattern. More a texture stitch than a lace.

The right is the fulled one, the other woven of frogged knit yarn, unblocked. I’m going to try machine fulling it as I think that’s what I did to that first one. Should have taken notes, hummm?

Well, I think that’s enough for today I need to get some work done. Have a lovely day!

Summertime…

Jul4

The livin’ may not be easy for everyone, but up here in the boonies it’s not too bad. The garden is thriving. I picked peas this morning. There is something so satisfying about shelling peas. The one chore I actually look forward to.

  Shelling peas.

Big bowl full

The zucchini are in full stride too, of course! Tomatoes growing, beans- bush, climbing, and lima- blooming. I’ll be sweating away in the kitchen with the canner soon. Not a chore I really look forward to, but the results are satisfactory.

I am weaving, too, a couple projects I intend to offer to magazines so won’t show those yet. But I was doing some stuff with Log cabin that turned out pretty well. They’ll make nice coasters or, well, about anything else you might want to make!

  Diagonal weaving on the weave-it loom. Plain and log cabin.

Same thing in Green. This one done of the Multi 4″ square.

Still hoping to make it up to Sis’s this year, but will be a couple months yet, it seems. I’m getting a new knee middle of this month and then there’ll be some visits to the Torturer to learn how to use it, but I hope to get though that part quickly. I go in the 13th to get my lecture from the surgeon on being too heavy, but I have actually been losing. We’ve been walking up the hill every morning. Made it to the top again with only one stop to pant , this morning!

So I hope you all have a sense-able 4th of July weekend. I want you to all stay safe! Both heath-wise and fire-wise. There’s been a lot of air traffic around here this morning that I am hoping is just precautionary. We can save our fireworks for New Years when there is snow on the ground. They look even prettier then anyway!

Meantime…Happy Birthday USA-I hope you are around for another one!