Adventures in Nature

Aug17

The beavers are building a nice lake in the woods nearby. Turtles, fish, mosquitoes, lots of critters enjoying the water. also water cress and blackberries thriving there. Trouble is those creative builders want ALL the water. We would like a bit of it to come down stream so about every two weeks we have to go and modify their dam. We don’t take it out because we like them and everybody ought to be able to enjoy the water and we just want a share. So far it’s been working fine.

I don’t usually go but I wanted to see their operation. They dont’ show their little rodent-y faces while we’re there of course so no beaver pictures but here’s some of their operation. Looking down stream from atop the dam.

Lake Beaver. It really extends quite a way upstream, further than the camera could capture. A nice lake.

Modifying

He moves it to the secondary dam and then they spend the next two weeks building it back up. Keeps them both busy. And then we get blackberries. Even some that are almost out of reach!

Not what I started but…

Aug7

I think it worked out okay, tho a more simple garment. I know poncho’s haven’t really been in style since Martha Stewart got out of jail but I’ve never had one and thought it might really work as well as a shrug for those coolish times of the day when you don’t really want a sweater. For one thing, sleeves are difficult in the shop. The sleeves either catch on the nails or sweep them off the work table, then I have to get out my handy dandy magnet on a handle and get them up off the floor. And same thing just sitting and weaving, they get hung up on everything. Not sure this garment will work any better but I’m going to try it. After trying it on again, I think I might end up adding a couple more rows to the neckline to raise it a bit, but I might wait until cooler weather to decide if I need that. I fitted a 12″ triangle at the back neck to raise the back a bit. I just about had a heat stroke wearing this for Himself to take the photo. lol What with the smoke from the fire and the thunder storms, the heat and humidity are trapped at ground level here and it gets pretty uncomfortable. But here’s what I came up with. I’ve had some suggestions for the shrug and I have more Jiffy so it is still a possibility. But next on my to-do is tending to the peach crop!

Fire pictures

Aug4

I know there are other fires in Ca and other states where people are losing their homes that are much more scary than ours is at the moment but it is still scary being this close. I am just glad there are fire fighters to spare for us. Here are a couple rather dramatic photos taken by area people with longer shot distances that I have here at the foot of Billy’s Peak.

I’m not sure from where this one was taken.

This one was taken from the Trinity Center airport, 8 miles down highway 3 from here.

This one was taken from the East Fork road, but E Fork of the Trinity, not E Fork of Coffee Creek where the fire is. We live at the foot of this Mt. The fire is just behind and to the west (left) of it. This is what it looks like in the morning. The brown air is all the way to the ground. Weather forecast for the next few days is more thunder storms and the possibility of “heavy rain”. Do pray for that part!

Okay, scratch that.

Aug3

Added 8-3 Shrug is not working. Wanted to warn you here so you can rethink if you are following my examples. :-0 Not sure if it’s the plan or just my size. Plan rather simplistic, I agree. But it seemed like a good idea. Too short in back and too tight under the arms. tho the sleeves were plenty big. I could probably weave more squares and then cut and sew but I think I’ll just try something else this time. Stayed tuned!

But I do have a couple things to show you, meantime. This 14″ square was proving a little unhandy as a lap loom the other evening and I remembered I had this table easel over in my painting stuff so went and fetched it out. It works pretty good for this. My middle sister made one for me that sits on the edge of the table that would also work but I’m not sure where that one is at this point. But you might want to consider something like this if you’re having the same problem. I have it set on a dining chair to put it to the right height for me to work on from my chair.

The other thing is joining. You can do a russian join, which is what I have been doing, or if you have wool, the ‘spit’ join. But I just sewed the yarn into the new piece without the russian loop and it holds really well in both wool and acrylic. It may make a bit thinner lump that the previous type join. You could probably thin it by cutting plies before you stretch the join out, but I haven’t tried it yet. Sew the yarn into next strand, pull the last end flat (after you take the needle off) then work the first end flat. If you have a little lump at the beginning you can work that out with a needle and trim it.

Okay, I’m going to weave another 14″ twill square and think about what this is going to become since it’s not, after all, going to be a shrug.

Fire!

Aug2

Well, I hope we don’t have to evacuate. So far it seems to be moving west and north, into the wilderness and away from us but still too close for comfort and the sun is red this afternoon. Details, but I’m not sure this link will work.

July

Jul27

July in pictures.

Just thinking…

Jul19

It’s July and too hot to be doing much with yarn. I am working on a project for a book to be published by somebody else. I hope I can get it done in time.

But meantime, cleaning up the kitchen this morning, I got to thinking about dishrags. Lots of people weave them on the looms, Sis is one of them. I have also done it but mostly for the how-to pictures. I have clung to my sponges. But awhile back Sis gave me a stack of her old faded ones to use as rags in the shop or somewhere. I just shoved them in the kitchen towel drawer. The other day I got a bug to clean out the overflowing drawer and remembered seeing on someones blog that she had a basket in her kitchen filled with old dishrags, etc to use as clean up rags and save paper towels so I got out one of my hand made baskets (arthritis won’t allow that anymore) and put them all in it. And have started using them for that purpose. And I think I am converted! They are easy to rinse out and hang on the edge of the sink to dry. It was too easy to toss the sponge into the sink where it probably grew some really nasty stuff. I know I went though a lot of them. I remember reading in a “green” magazine that it was actually cheaper and more energy efficient to use paper towels. The author if this piece having proved to herself that the manufacture and delivery of the paper towels saved more energy that the washing of dish cloths. I am going to equate the making of the paper towels with the manufacture of yarn, energy wise. And I refuse to think of the “energy” spent weaving the cloths as effecting the global climate, so will skip to the washing. If you ran a batch just for the dishrags, yeah, that would count, but who does that? You toss the in with whatever batch seems appropriate to your style of doing laundry and as that energy would be used with or without the cloths that also can’t be counted against your ‘carbon footprint’. So it seems to me that the handwoven cloth is going to come off ahead however you look at it. There’s a little water used to rise the cloth but I usually rinsed the sponges and often the paper towels as I use the tough ones so that can’t add to much.

And more to the point… The dishrags woven with kitchen cotton do a much better job of cleaning! That’s really the part that converted me. I am going to have to weave a few more of these handy bits. I’ve had some people tell me they use them as wash cloths, too. I’ll have to give that a try next.

Summer time….

Jul11

And, contrary to that lovely song, the livin’ is not easy. It is hectic! Jobs and orders piling up, three shows coming up to have stock for, people calling daily with jobs that need doing now! So that’s my excuse for not posting lately. No, that’s my reason! I am getting some weaving done, it’s for that book, if I can get it finished in time. If you have great ideas you might want to check into this. The more the merrier as is said:

posted 8 days ago (Thursday, July 3)

Stackpole Books is currently requesting submissions of Pin Loom projects to be published in a book in Fall 2015. We are looking for all sorts of pin loom projects on any small loom. We want to see your creativity! The details of the Call for Submissions are available here: http://media.stackpolebooks.com/submissions/f15pinloomdesigns.pdf. Please contact me with any questions at cderr at stackpolebooks dot com.

Meantime our local grocery is up for sale. If you’d like to move to a lovely mountain village and run your own little corner ‘general’ store here’s an opportunity not to miss. I have no interest in this except as a customer. But if you’re a weaver, I’d dearly love to have you as a neighbor, too! (call Steve at Weaverville Realty)

And when someone complains about me & how I get things done, I wear this shirt which explains my philosophy. Popeye got it right! Hope your day is going your way!

End of May…already!

May25

I’m not getting much weaving done now days as it is panic time for Himself in the shop. Black Sheep Gathering coming up soon! But I am also spending some time in the garden. The peas and beans are growing very fast. I didn’t get many carrots from my first two plantings but I am going to try again. Maybe it was the cool weather.

And you may be tired of looking at this view, but I never do. The Snow White and Rose Red arch over my deck. The Blaze has never had so many flowers! The unknown white is one of those that just keep getting taller (or longer?) and blooms profusely every year. I want to get another one started this year if I can. I gave one to Sis and it now blooms 20′ up in a tree in her yard. It doesn’t photograph well, tho. Or maybe it’s me and my disabled camera. But it fills the yards with the most wonderful delicate scent!

Hope you are having a safe and thankful Memorial day.

An illustration from the childhood book that inspired this planting.

Cotton top

May10

Got my extra yarn from Webs so am starting on the sleeves again. I’m kind of playing this by ear, so am not quite sure how it’s going to work. Or frankly, IF it’s going to work. I’m going to weave the four 12″ squares and see what it looks like and go from there. I’m thinking I might like set-in sleeves better than just square ones, which will mean some machine sewing- steeking- but I’m not sure how that will look with this design.

Meantime, I’ve been getting some gardening done, tho it’s still a bit early. In spite of warmer than normal temps, it’s still a bit chilly nights so I am rather pushing it. And now he’s getting going again in the shop, preparing stock for Black Sheep Gathering at the end of June, which means I’ll be out there more, too. Still, I have weaving time in the evenings while the games are on! The Giants are doing great so far.

Hope things are warming up where you are!

Hazel Rose

My Life in the Country

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