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It’s October– time for Lambtown and OFFF!

Oct1

Fall Fiber Fairs are Fun! 

Sometimes it’s cool enough to have us thinking wool! Sometimes not quite that cool but we can feel it in the air and we can see it in the leaves of the trees! Stores are done with Halloween candy and stocking up on Christmas! lol A sure sign it’s autumn.  Apples are ripening and it’s time to make pies and can applesauce for your winter oatmeal. But hey! we’re almost ready and it is time to start weaving your gift list.

  

We’re heading to Dixon and Lambtown in a couple days. I have 10 weavers joining me for a class on Friday. It’s my first all day class so something new to look forward to. We’re going to have fun! I hope! The scarf is just the start! We’ll be real Scotsmen before we’re done! and almost immediately after that it’s Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in Albany, Oregon so if you can’t make Dixon I’ll see you at OFFF!

 

 

 

 

Must be fall, the poison oak is turning red!

Sep14

 

And while the bush beans are about done, the pole beans are just hitting their stride! I’ve already canned around 120 pints. Now I’m bagging them to take to the local Food program, along with some cucumbers which are also turning them out. And he just picked 4 lugs of pears and says that not all on that tree and there are two more trees! lol This is kind of funny in a way as in the past few years we were lucky to get 6 pears off the three! But I have pears in the dehydrator now and will be canning pears and making pear butter. They are ripening rapidly. I had two for breakfast. Delish, I have to admit. I just wish canned pears were as tasty as fresh.

And just out of curiosity, I looked up the nutrition comparison between apples and pears. It appears they are a lot alike but pears seen to have just a bit of an edge. They have more fiber and only just a few grams more sugar. I always thought of pears having a lot more sugar but at least the ones they tested did not seem to. These are Bartletts that Grandfather planted many years ago. But speaking of apples… They are about ready to pick, too. I want them to be ripe but we have to get there before the bear does! I’m surprised they haven’t hit the pears yet. Maybe because this has been such a productive year, they are finding plenty of food elsewhere. I hope so!

One of 4 lugs I have to deal with!

Other than that I am working on my class stuff for Lamb Town next month. Took Cat to the vet so get him the rest of his shots so he could spend a week or two in the Pet Motel while we attend the last two shows of the year. If you are in the area we’ll be at Lamb Town in Dixon, CA. and also the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in Albany, Oregon. I had intended to let him just live outside as he’s used to doing but there is rumor of a lion in the village so I guess that wouldn’t be fair. He is pretty good at hiding in the snow but stands out pretty good in green grass. And I think that’s probably true even if you only see in black and white as I understand some/most animals do. He’s not going to like it but I doubt he’d like going to “dinner” with the lion, either!

Speaking of Cat, he was getting bored with his toys so I got the Cat Burglar out. It was a favorite of past critters and was a hit with Cat, too. He went from his pink Tribble to the cat burglar and had a great time! The stuffed squirrels that you can see under the dining table have lost their place for awhile!

          

So meantime I am trying to keep Sis cheered up after her knee surgery. It isn’t much fun for the first couple days.  I haven’t heard yet this morning and am hoping that means she’s getting some good Zzzz’s. Mine is still working and hope it will continue doing so. I have been able to lose a few pounds this month which ought to help it some.

Okay, I guess I’d better get back at it. Hope your September is not too hot or too wet! It’s pretty nice here in the Trinity Alps!

Yarn fun!

Jul14

Well… Sis is  on her way home after a couple of fun days. I don’t count the day she arrived or left as they weren’t full days and today was not really all that much fun waving good bye! But on a brighter note, we are already thinking of the next time! That will be at her place.

But did we play?! You betcha! There’s more but she took a bunch home with her, too, and , as usual, I got so involved I forgot the camera! That’s almost unheard of in these days of cell phones, huh? I guess it comes from not having one of those little devices! But now I Have Ideas! It’s going to be more fun playing with my new colors. I’m thinking of making Art with those paper towels we dribbled tests on! lol

 

And Sis sent a photo of her part of the pretties! All hers is handspun. Most of mine is commercial.

Dh is busy bringing in the early fruits of the summer squash. So it looks like I’ll be getting the dehydrator ready a little sooner than I figured. Everything else is starting to bloom so it won’t be long. I see some fruits on the winter squash and fancy pumpkins. The green beans, the peppers, the okra… the peas are putting on another go just in time for the 100+ summer heat. Off we go.

So now its back to everyday stuff and staying cool. It looks like the extreme heat is going to be fairly wide spread so I hope you can all manage to stay cool. Reasonably so at least! And spend your in-door time with your looms!

Hazel

It’s July– already!

Jul9

And what a month it has been. It started last month! But that’s all water under the bridge. speaking of which, the “spring” run off is still running off! It’s been a good spring and early summer for water. Still snow on the north sides of the peaks, haven’t seen that in July in a long time! The yard and garden loves it. And the weather has had a couple hot spells but mostly has been pretty temperate but it looks like that may be coming to an end. This morning’s forecast threatens us with up to 110drgrees f. this next weekend! Yikes!

Sis is coming down and we’re going to play with dyes. I was hoping to talk her into a longer stay but I’m pretty sure that won’t fly once she hears about that! She thinks 80 is hot! Ah well..

The people at Lambtown want me to advertise my class this October on my social media. Does a blog qualify for that? If so I hope you will think about joining us if you are within reach of Dixon, CA. They always have bus service from the bay area if you live down that way. We’re going to be weaving Tartans!  The scarf is one of the simpler projects you can use your tartan designs for. Can you imagine weaving your own kilt?! Me neither! That’s something like 35 yards of fabric, but we’ll have useful and wearable projects you can weave. This class is mostly about how to take a floor loom woven pattern and translate it into a useable pin loom pattern. We’ll be using the Quilt Weaver Looms. mostly 12 inch and 14 inch squares, tho I will include the 10.5″ and even some that may work with the 7″ square. It’s going to be fun!

Meantime, the garden is the main topic. The peas are blooming again and we picked the first summer squash this morning! There are lot of green tomatoes, some peppers, the beans are starting to flower and we have little cucumbers! Going to be a busy canning season, too!

I hope you are all having a great summer!

Dish Towel on the new 14″ x 28″ loom.

Mar22

This is  our new Dish towel loom that weavers have been asking for. Several are making gift sets to give or sell. I used some peaches and Cream, called Ocean Stripes. This 100% cotton yarn is a bit lighter weight than the Lily Sugar and Cream I usually use but I only had plain colors of that on hand and wanted something more varied. I worked a single crochet around the edges because I thought it might help to stabilized the diagonal drape of this rectangle.  It has quite a bit of draw up before the fulling was done & I think no matter what, the diagonal is going to effect the final size/shape. I did not use this towel gently. It was hot wash, cold rinse, and full cycle in the dryer since I figured that would be the way my normal kitchen laundry would be done.

     

It works fine as towel in the kitchen. It feels quite soft and is as absorbent as the dish cloths made on larger looms and fulled the same way.

It was challenging for me to weave as it is a larger loom than I generally like to work with and I ended up weaving it much too tightly. I used one of my painting easels to hold the loom and set it on a dining chair so I could weave from my chair. I tired it on the dining table but it was too high there for me to reach well whether seated or standing. It took me three days to weave, not an average! I just worked at in by fits and starts as the saying goes. But all in all I am pleased with it.

 

My 2nd for the WAL

Mar3

I finally finished her blue dress and the jacket. I’m not sure the blues are a perfect fit but i am quite happy with both. I especially like the jacket. I used some yarn by Universal yarn company called Uptown worsted. It is 100% acrylic and wonderfully soft but still holds stitch definition well and is just nice to work with. I turned the neckline out on this jacket to give it a bit of faux collar. I’m not sure about the sleeve length, I may go back and work a little edging to make them a bit longer.

   

 

Some Weavers have ask about the SweetHeart blanket Heart Valentine Block.  That is basically a woven design that you can put together into a blanket

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This is mine.

This one was made by Penny Tennerman and given me by her daughter.

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Progress…

Mar1

I redid my seams so she now has sleeves. This is only pinned together as you can likely see but I am making progress. I do think I like the vertical alignment of the floats better but not enough to disassemble the whole thing!

 

While rummaging in my loom basket, I also found the 1×6 Randy made for me some time ago. Just for fun I used it to weave her headband and I really like it for that! It’s needs two plus the few rows of garter stitch. I did this blue on in plain weave as it seems a bit flimsy with the pattern stitch, but I did a 2nd using some Red Heat worsted, it was tight weaving but I did the pattern stitch with that, giving it a bit of ease, and it worked fine that way.

So I am happy to see some of you are making progress, too. I did get a head start of you all so ought to finish first, tho I can see that’s going to be close, too! lol

I’m deciding what I am going to offer as a bonus pattern to finishers.

It’s begining to look a lot like…

Feb28

… the dress!

Here’s a excellent example of what not to do. Yes, assembling your blocks in strips is a good way to put this dress together but do remember to leave the top seams open for the sleeves! Once I got all three strips assembled I found I had no sleeves so had to do some un-sewing! Also, and this really is a matter of your own choice, pick one side of the pattern, making sure they are all the same side. The original dress had the floats running up and down, but I put this one together with them running side to side. Not intentionally rather from not paying attention. But, as I said, that really doesn’t matter.

WAL Official start today….

Feb28

I was late, however, due to our snowfall and power failure. The Great Guys from PUD got out there in the cold and snow and got it back working in just a few hours!

I have some pictures to share, unfortunately my camera decided it it needs a battery recharge this morning of all times! lol But I posted things yesterday so you should all be busy weaving squares toward this dress.

Just thought I’d share a couple other outfits I’ve woven for your inspiration and, hopefully, enjoyment!

This one is an attempt to weave a version of Molly’s meet outfit. It used the 4×6″ Multi for both the top and the skirt.

Addy is wearing one using the 4×6 and the  2″ Multi looms. I think this yarn is Caron’s Simply Soft. It’s on the heavy side for these looms but not bad. It’s also brighter colors than it shows here. I called it Festive.

     

And a Hoodie for Dean. This one used the Quilt Weaver looms. I gave it those Kangaroo pockets and a zipper. I’m afraid this hoodie is probably more for warm than fashion. For that, I think it needs to be black and have a deeper hood, for hiding in. It has knitted cuffs and edgings. I should have shortened the sleeves as well.

         

Kanani is wearing a cropped version. Her cargo pants are also woven.  She has way too much hair for the hood so it is just a collar for her. Here she is weaving on her ridged heddle loom. She is weaving a small afghan using some textured stash yarns.

There’s lots more. Once you get going with this you can easily design your own and they can also be embellished in anyway you like using knit, crochet; you can embroider or add beads. Sky’s the limit.

 

A bit of a fashion show.

Feb24

I spent yesterday having the ladies model some of the woven clothing in their wardrobes. Not all of them have written patterns but I think once you get the ‘hang’ of weaving for your dolls you won’t have any trouble designing your own. Meantime I hope you find these inspiring you to dig out your looms and yarns!

This one was fashioned after a dress knitted by Patricia Elizabeth over in Italy after one in the AG catalog, don’t recall what year.

It used the Multi looms. 6″ square for the front, 4×6″ for the back and skirt and 2×6″ was the sleeves. I indulged in a little lace work. No, I don’t remember what, but I could probably come up with some, if not quite the same. I think Pat’s dress was titled the White Dress, don’t remember what AG called theirs. Ruthy looks good it it if I do say so!

Still snowing here, 13″ this morning….