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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.

Oops!

This is what happens when I don’t get the bed made early! It was raining out and she loves my pillow. Well, the sheets were due to be changed, anyway.
Hope your Easter was, cozy and warm!

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.


Spotted Deck

I’m sure there is a very scientific reason for this pattern on my deck this afternoon but I just think it’s neat, even unexplained. It rained icy slush all morning but has quit now and the tempo has climbed to 38 degrees. I have been weaving for my top so have not kept an eye on the forecast but Last time I looked we were due more snow, or so they say. Meantime, Mother Nature is making art! lol

Those Poor Primorses…

They’re buried again. It’s nearing a foot in the open areas. No plows so far and only one brave parent from up the road trying for the school. School won’t close unless the power fails as most kids are within walking distance. Which it just did but was only off minute. This new battery back-up worked just fine, saving this half done post. Thank you, Bernie!
But Mother Nature is fooling with us, sending us the East Coast’s weather. No, Mom! We don’t want it!
Even Redding at 500′ of elevation is getting to share this one. Hiway 5 north seems to be having their troubles, tho the further you go north the better it looks. this is via the web-cams. I’m staying home!

Added on the 18th. I think it’s over for this time but here’s the primrose, one ore time…

Next Morning…


Next morning all the snow is gone again and it’s raining hard. Forecast is for more snow. Sure is spring! Cori’s abandoned tennis ball is laying out there with the drowning Primroses. She loves snow but opts to stay in if it’s rain. Can’t blame her.

But I am using the time to get some weaving done. My aim is a top for myself using whatever random texture patterns I can find or invent. I have a nice stack of them so far but many more to go. HD told me I have shop work to do today, too.

And I am working on cleaning the crystals on my chandelier before my tea party next week. I had not realized how dusty it had gotten. And I took down the xmas decoration that has been there for several years! lol The party is just to break the doldrums with a few friends. We’re neighbors but rarely see each other this time of year & everyone seemed happy to have an excuse to break their dullness. Including the hosetess!

For Tom & Nora


Nora ended her note telling us of her husband’s death with this…
“He will be buried..in..the cemetery across the road from our street so he can see me coming and going and when I blow him a kiss as I go by.”
I have never met Nora and Tom in person, but they have been friends for years and my heart breaks for them. I am sending my love to Nora here and in the mail in hopes that it will help support her in the days to come, when she is going to miss Tom most strongly.

The Shoe Project

(This is by the way but I just wanted to mention that I am not turning the comments on and off. This web page is doing it randomly and I can’t figure it out! If anyone know why this happens I’d appreciate a clue.)
I mentioned on my doll list that I was going to get Himself to make me a “cookie cutter” to cut the craft foam for making the soles of doll shoes. A lot of the members seemed to think that was a great idea. Well he has made it but it turns out that it is not feasible to make them to sell so what i am planning to do is to cut out the soles and sell them in kits. Here are three of the first 5 pair I’ve made. I think I’ve finally got it down. the red pair is made with some of that fabric that has the sequin-like disks fused onto it. They are lined but the next pair with such thin fabric will also be interfaced or lined with some stuff fusible iron on stuff. They fit but would be easier to get one if the back was a little stiffer. The felt pair go on easily. the sandals I’ve experimented with. One pair has sewn on snaps on the straps and the other pair, I glued the snaps on. We’ll see how long those stay on. I have a hunch it’s probably not going to be long. But all in all, I think I’m nearly ready!

January…

What can you say. it’s January. Kinda like Monday. lol Well, we have been at work in the loom shop, Randy is helping a friend move as well. They are giving up their grocery and gift shop here in TC. Just can’t make ends meet anymore. We are slowly becoming a ghost town. Very depressing, very January.

But on the other hand Randy did finish building a car for our grandson, a model of our old Jimmy, which he loved. I think it looks great. The real one is bright red but this one is walnut and maple.

I am knitting and weaving and reading and doing laundry and rearranging furniture… you know, the kind of stuff you do in January.