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Another project.

 

Been meaning to make another one of these for some time now. Gabi’s WAL got me inspired.  The only towel in my stash was one I got for xmas from my $store shopping MIL a couple years ago. I just happen to have some kitchen cotton in the green-ish colors of the wreath. So here it is. I worked a slip stitch up from the outside bottom of each tri to kind of reinforce the edges for the tie string to hang from.  The ends are sewn into the hems  where I stitched the tris to the towel. The towel is cut about 2/3 of the towel and cut edge zig zagged, then gathered this time. I fitted it to the edge of the tri and pinned closely and sewed it down, on the back side first, then the same on the front side. Then stitched another row about a half inch above that to encase the raw edge of the towel. This one has not been washed yet so you may see some ends that will be clipped later.

This is a photo of the first one I made before I chained on the tie strings. It is no longer photogenic! lol But it’s been very handy and is still working despite it’s less than stellar condition. This one was pleated rather than gathered. You can do the dame thing with the towels you weave, too. But this is a quick  project. They make nice gifts as well.

I’m still working on the idea for an apron.

Up next is…

It was supposed to be my new sweater but  was not working out for that. I bought this alpaca yarn on a good sale as it was being discontinued so I have a limited amount to work with. It’s Blue Sky, I’m sure I can get more. I think it was just the colorways that were being discontinued. Anyway, I think I found a way to use all these 12″ squares. It’s a knitting pattern but so simple that it will work for the squares. It’s just a matter of will it fit me?! I’m forging ahead and hoping for the best! lol

So here’s my layout. I have enough (I hope) Navy to knit the ribbing. If not I also still have some of the colors so it could be as colorful, almost, as the squares. Well, these are the blocks but I cannot get a picture of my present layout. It’s a camera issue. But this one is going to take awhile as I did not weave the ends in as I went. I’m sure I have advised you to do so, in the past. I guess this is another case of “do as I say, not as I do!’ lol It will be sewn together with an overhand stitch. Pinned each time to avoid stretching out of shape. It’s a very soft yarn. Soft and drape-y.

 

       

The other thing is that it is also getting toward gardening season. The rain (knock knock) has stopped and the sun is out. Water is quite high in streams and the lake. We’ll have a full lake this summer! Took a ride north yesterday and got a picture of Scott Mountain creek! It hasn’t run like this in years! I wish you could hear it as well. It was Roaring!! Love it! all the branch creeks and seasonal streamlets were adding to it and by the time it reached the Trinity River and on down the canyon to join Coffee Creek, that one was roaring as well! But CC does not seem close at all to flood tho a lot of people who have moved up here in recent years may be a bit anxious since they’ll never have seen spring run-off.

 

Another one done.

This is some handspun, a soft fluffy yarn, cannot of course remember what. I really do need to label stuff, but finished assembling the triangle cowel and wanted to weave a hat to go with but didn’t have enough of that yarn left so I knitted a head band. Which, as you will see, does not really work for me. lol I need a pretty young model! But none the less, if you have long hair this may work well for you . The cowel consists of twelve 7″ triangles  sewn together with the faggoting stitch, in this case. Pretty fast and easy to make.

      

The headband is a reversible cable. I modified from a scarf pattern. Cables don’t show up very good here.

CO 12,

1. Seed for 4 stitches them k1p1 for 8 stitches, and 4 more seed for the border.

2. Seed for 4, knit the knits, purl the purls for 8, seed 4. Work 8 rows and cable the 8 center stitches.

Repeat as long as needed.

I’d suggest working just 4 rows before the first cable so as to be able to join away from the last cable, If you are good at kitchner that would make it truly reversible. I am not so just did the knit together cast off, making mine a little less reversible.

So today we are photographing the looms for the new web page but I’ll get to the next one once we finish this. meanwhile, hoping my cold is on it’s last legs– or I might be! lol

More….

I’m going to have to put the red & green on hold for a bit. The idea was an apron, but I found the ball band which informed me that this was a fine wool. Not a good choice for such a utility garment! So in looking for another, I discovered several. The Grey has had me stumped for a few years. I think I’ll go with the stack of triangles. Already partly assembled it should not take long to come up with a pretty cowel. This fat yarn is also very soft! Don’t know why the photo won’t enlarge but you get the idea. I wove these on the 7″ Quilt Weaver Triangle. Still working on the finishing. Keep your fingers xed for me! That’s when you are not weaving yourself, of course!

 

TA_DA!

I betcha didn’t think I’d do it! Took awhile and a few re-do’s but I got it done (barring buttons) and here it is! You’d think that anyone with two large cans of buttons would have the right ones! lol Well, I did but I need 8 and only have 7. That’s the pits. I’ll get better pictures with it on once I find buttons. But it fits well and I like it!

Next.. I think. Got a couple vague ideas for this. Can’t remember what I had in mind when I made them. There’s not much of that yarn left.

 

 

 

WIPs & a determination.

Yesterday I went through my stash and laid out all my WIPs. At least 4 Large projects & a few smaller ones, not abandoned, but halted for one reason or another. I’ve decided that as there is really a lot of time & yarn tied up in these that I need to either find a way to finish them or repurpose them into something else useful. Most were meant to be some bit of clothing, large projects. So I think today I’ll choose one to start with. I’ll have to make the bed first as that’s the only place other than the dining table ig enough to lay out these projects. As we actually eat all meals at the table it isn’t available all day. I guess I am just posting this as a kind of commitment to actually doing this. You are all holding me to it!

I think I’ll start with this one.  A vest. I can’t remember when I started it or why I quit. I’ll take a look at the details and make a decision today. Hang in there, I’ll try to keep it up.

Painted Sweethearts

Here are a few of the looms I have painted. These are all large Sweethearts. My camera is not taking very good pictures or else my computer is messing them up but this is the best I can get. For instance, the light “tan” on the Flutterby is actually a metalic gold; and the Red is pearly.

The Flutterby

Golden is red with metalic gold over lay.

Holleyhock is brighter

Moonlit Night is stars and clouds but here it looks rather like ocean and gulls!

Star Spangled is just blured. I can add the year or a short name on the banner if you like.

 

October in Washington

We spent 10 days on the road– more or less. I got so buy at Fiber Fusion that I totally forgot to take any pictures while at the festival, but it was fun, interesting and even slightly profitable. I had three very nice  ladies in my class and they all caught onto and seemed to enjoy the weaving and went away with at least one finished wash cloth.  We did a 2nd one using the kitchen cotton and a type of scrubby. I had acrylic, cotton and a fuzzy sparkly one to choose from.

After the show we left, avoiding the freeways, and wandered though the forests of Washington in vaguely the direction we thought we wanted to go. Randy says that while he might not always know where he is, he is never lost, and sure enough, we eventually came out just where he wanted to be!

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That was into the Cascade Mountain Nat’l Park. The Cascades are the youngest mountains in the US and are high rugged craggy peaks. Very scenic and steep, prone to rock slides, the signs warn. There are large lakes and rivers, of course. Washington state builds lots of dams for power generation. One of the major exports, it appears, but in at least one occasion, they had totally stopped the river from flowing past the dam, a practice I, and I am sure others, disapprove.

Damn

But it is very scenic. We spent a cold night in the parking lot of a closed Nat’l park with 3 other rv’s and a half dozen tent campers. There were Lot so rv’s from pick-up’s to giant pushers & the tenters, so I really don’t know why the park system thinks tourist season is over on labor day! Anyway, I was glad I had my heavy wool quilt with me! If you were at the last two events we were at you saw that one on the table.

!blanketdone4a

But we really enjoyed the trip through the park tho he would have liked to have gotten off the ‘beaten track’. It appears that there is no ‘off’ there unless you go hiking which he’d love to do but we did not have time for that and it’s not a great time of the year for hiking there, anyway, with the weather looking iffy. But here are some pictures. Well, the pictures are at scattered but you’ll find them here somewhere! I don’t seem to be able to get along with this “new” editor but am not going to try to ‘fix’ it now as I’ll just make it worse I’m sure! But I’ll try to add some here.

After we left the park we went into Apply Valley. Apples of several types, lots of cherries, these were covered with nets as they ripen to keep away birds. There were also grape vineyards, they seem to be the purple kinds and further down the valley they grow hops. This is a rocky canyon and the orchards and vineyards were tucked into all sorts of spots where there was enough dirt to grow them. Beautiful colors in the orchards and the wild trees. Dams along the Columbia river, too, with their power plants.

I wanted to add this one but missed it. It’s the netting that overs the cherries in their primes, all neatly rolled up waiting for the next crop.

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So then we headed up  hill. Some 2000′ of elevation in 6 miles of curving road and we were on the Palouse, the top of the World up there. Mostly Geology and wheat fields here.

 

 

Hot time in the old town tonight…

A little too hot, in fact. It hasn’t got to town yet but is threatening East Fork. They’re having a meeting tomorrow so maybe we’ll finally get some news. Went up the hill yesterday afternoon to take a look and some pictures. Not so scenic as it was last week. I haven’t been to Redding yet and am not looking forward to that. Those who’ve been find it heartbreaking.

But I hope to be going soon in order to get my new computer! Boy will I be happy to see that! I’m going to see if this one will download any photos tonight. Well, they’re pretty fuzzy but the best I can do. Pray for rain.

It looks like a long way but is only about 7 miles across the lake and within 1 mile of those folk over there.

 

 

Hi. Finally.

Well, this machine is still sick and it gets frustrating to try to post but I’ll give it another go. As soon as all this fire business is over I’m taking it to the guru and see what can be done. Meantime we battle along.

We’re clear and sunny today, first time in a couple of weeks. My solar lights are soaking up their charges and the garden is getting charged, too.  Nice to be able to breath deeply again for us mammals.

What’s happened…? Well, we went to Albany Oregon for the Black Sheep Gathering the first of July and back again the first of August for the Mother Earth Fair. Mostly we’re been working around here. Himself has jobs that he’s always behind on as well as looms, I have garden and looms I’m generally behind on. You get the idea. Dunno why, it just seems to work that way. I haven’t done much yarn stuff but I’ve found a lot of interesting recipes for using up zucchini. Canned peaches this week and it’ll be green beans tomorrow. Got a turkey in the oven. I had to get it out of the freezer to make room for incoming things. It’ll also get canned- or most of it will anyway.

Had some friends/neighbors up for a couple weeks. They live south of the fire but have the cabin next door. They came up to get away from the smoke but eventually had to go back and they said it was still smokey. Naturally, almost as soon as they arrived up here we had heavy smoke! Now that they’ve gone the smoke has cleared up. hummm…..

I bought some gadgets for fermenting veggies at the Mother Fair and have stuffed a quart jar with cabbage in hopes of ending with sauerkraut.  Don’t have a clue what I’m doing, just following  a ‘recipe’ from the internet.  Time will tell.

The garden has grown a bit since the last pictures I posted! The fence rails are 10′ and the sunflowers are just an inch or so over that.

I accidentally ended up with three zucchini plants. Last year I had two and got two squash, this year I have enough to feed the community. Unfortunately most of the rest of the gardeners here do too! lol But I’ve found some interesting recipes for it. The tomatoes are producing well, but aren’t the greatest I’ve ever raised. Peaches are luscious! I’ll be canning green beans tomorrow and I think we’ll have egg plant with our turkey for dinner. Is that a workable combo?

I forgot to mention that we had a visit from this pair last month. The one on the left was the first and the other the next day. On my porch! They may have been hunting mice, we do have a problem with those little varmints, but I’d really rather they hunt elsewhere. They are hunting somewhere up Ramshorn now, Randy dumped them both in the same spot so if they were friends, mates ,or siblings they can be together if they wish, but not here. The difference in the patterns and coloring is interesting, too, I thought. I assume they are the same kind of rattler. As far as I know we only have one kind here, I think it’s called a Western rattler, but I can’t remember for sure. Haven’t seen one since, which delights me.

 

I have neat picture of some balloons that took off from the airport across the fence from where we camped at the Linn County Fairground but it’s on my tablet and I dunno how to get it here except to email it to myself which seems complicated. It was early, first cuppa, when we heard them and they were still quite low with the moon behind. And I got a shot of two of them with a jet above!

Well, I printed out a recipe for chocolate zucchini muffins which I think wants to be made while the oven is hot.

So… See you next time!