We took the boys to the airport on Friday and they are back home now looking forward… maybe… to the next school year.
Meantime, the slab is poured and the forms pulled. The truck delivered the lumber this morning and Randy and his carpenter have already got most of the heavy double wall between the house and the shop built and it really standing now. They’re having lunch but I’ll bet this one and maybe more will be up by quitting time if it doesn’t get too hot. We should have most of a new space by the end of the week. X your fingers!
Archives
Summer memories
Their Mom sent the boys each a journal, so when the ball game comes on in the evenings I print out a photo of something that we’ve done that day and they get to make an entry in the journal so Mom can share in their trip when they get home. They are doing pretty good at it with a little encouragement. Here Shane is checking what Mac wrote in his. Randy reads or Googles and I weave while the ball game is on the XM radio. Since the weather has kind of settled into summer warm, it’s actually a peaceful way to spend the evening on the deck. Sometimes the boys and I have a game of scrabble or dominoes. As a rule Shane is the best at scrabble and Mac excels at dominoes. But I occasionally win at both.
Water, water… brim full!
The grandsons worked hard today so I took them swimming. They even got Cori in and up on the log! I sat in the shade and read while they froliced. It was cool enough to be comfortable and I’m just not often attracted to swimming anymore.
Today we have a small possibility of thunder storms and it’s a little cooler. Both of them have weaving project underway and so do I so we’ll probably sit in the shade and weave.
I have to go buy veggies from our local farmer as these two teens are fond of green food. My little garden can’t keep up with 4 people so I have to supplement. But it makes me happy to see. They’ll be here for another 3 weeks & We’re enjoying each others company! Wish their Mom could have come, too.
Happy Birthday to our little namesake, Hazel Rose! She is two years old this month and it looks like the little woven doggy we sent was a hit.
I should have more rug pictures to post later today. I’ve been experimenting with I-Cord and I think that turned out well. It’s a little time consuming but is a way to use up lighter yarns. It will go faster, of course with a knitting machine. I’ll get some pictures today.
The new Mat Maker and Rug loom
The new rug looms seems to be stirring up a bit of interest, I love it myself. I wove another place-mat yesterday after noon on the deck while listening to the game. Did not take very long, either. I want this set for the patio table. I like this bright red knit but I got a blister from the scissors cutting these strips last time and I need more. I might get out the rotary cutter and see if I can use that this time. This is a bit heavier than your average Tee shirt fabric. I have done a few using Tee shirt which I cut with the rotary cutter. Still, it was worth the blister! I like the way they turned out.
I have a ton of ideas for this loom, I think I’ll be using it a lot.
An FO!
I finished my orange woven top at last! It’s a little loose,(which makes a nice change! lol) but fits pretty well, all in all. I am quite pleased with it. I’m not sure how long it took to make but since it was only one among many projects it don’t think it took too long.
It was all woven on the Multi looms. Mostly the 6″ square with some help from the two triangles.
The project
I am starting to assemble the back but this is the front so far. Some people wanted to see.
You can count the squares. I am making the back of plain squares and haven’t yet decided about the sleeves. I think they’ll be textured, maybe, but of one pattern. Maybe.
Bloom time
Here’s the old garden shed and as rickety as it is, it is still lovely surrounded by bloom. The white and purple plum trees and the yellow forsythia. Even the barely budded tree leaves add some color to the spring palette. You have to watch where you step these days, too as some springtime treasures are harder to spot. Check the header above!
We are starting to look to gardening season, I’ve planted some of the cole family in the new beds already and have warmer weather things waiting indoors.
Also still weaving on my orange top and making good progress. Should be able to post progress pictures here for that in a couple days.
And COMING SOON! a new Hazel Rose Loom for your enjoyment! Just a hint to keep you in suspense!
A project for a Green Spring.
A friend who was moving gave Randy one of those rainbow colored nylon wind socks and, looking at it, I thought, “Well now, Hazel, I think you can make one of those easy with your 12″ square loom!” and I was right. I only had a stock of the green grocery bags so it isn’t as colorful as you could make it with bright colored bags. I’m sure you have some of these saved. It took two bags to weave the square and part of another one to make the streamers.
Here’s a link on how to cut your bags into one long strip, no fooling around with loops.
How to cut your plarn in a long strip.
This gal is a lot more fussy about them than I was but you’ll get the idea. I also cut mine finer, about 3/4 to one inch wide as I wanted to keep it light. I had no trouble with it breaking. (You could also weave a few squares to use as place mats for your patio table while you’re at it.)
Once I cut my plarn, I just butterflied it and dropped it on the floor and wove from there. Weave your square. I used a bit of sock yarn to sew it into a tube, leaving a tail about a foot long which I then knotted to the opposite side of the tube. I used an overhand stitch and did not pull it tight so that I could pull the seam to lay flat. It is just stiff enough to hold it’s tube shape but if yours doesn’t you could use a bit of wire or stiff plastic around the mouth to hold it in a circle. I leave that up to you. I cut loops from another bag and used a larks head to tie them onto the bottom edge about every 4th loop. Then cut the loop to make two tails. That’s it. Hang it out and enjoy the gentle waving in the breeze.
New projects.
If I have anyone reading this blog, I have to apologize for letting it go so long. I didn’t realize it had been over two weeks since I posted! We’ve been busy with the kinds of things that happen in the spring. Those few days when it has not been raining are filled with outdoor chores and the rainy ones have been mostly in the shop or working on writing up weaving and knitting projects or… book work. 😦
But we do have one great project going. The new planter boxes around the deck! Randy has been working hard to get this done in time to start planting for this years garden. I have already planted peas and chard.
Here he is taking a well earned break. Good thing we have years of compost to use to fill them. But I am nearly though with a couple of projects, too, which I hope to be able to show you very soon.
Meantime, I hope your spring is becoming warm and sunny, too!
Hazel Rose 