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Makeing progress… I think.

Apr25

I got the edging finished & laid them out. It made a rather tiny rectangle so I decided to space them a bit more. I’ll go out to Le Shed and go through the bin of Rosy’s small skeins. I’m sure she spun somthing that will go with this. The problem will be to find a compatable wool, size, and yes, color. Sis didn’t often spin  for a project. She spun because she enjoyed spinning. In fact, she enjoyed making yarn, often starting from skirting, washing, carding, & dying, and of course the spinning, but she like to experiment so finding yarns that go together can sometimes be a challenge. It turned out that for this layout I was one square short but I manasged to find enough useable bits to weave another square.

So  this is where the ‘free time’ project is today.

Trial layout.

Using up the bits for one last square.

Weave a restful day!

Is it spring… or not!

Apr23
I “reorganized” my yarn shed recently and found a ball of my hand spun wool in a box that the silverfish had gotten into. One of the few really fine yarns i’d managed to make. Most of my handspun tends to be bulky ‘art’ yarn so I was bummed to find this in bits. The bits were reasonably long so i wove on the 4″ Multi loom, joining as I went. Now I’m working around each square with some of Sis’s handspun. I’ve never done a slip stitch edge, but trying new stuff here. I’ll likely use a different yarn to assemble these. Don’t know now many i have but probably a smallish project. Katt may get a new chair pad. I’m going to toss it in the washer once assambled. There may be damage i didn’t find so figure a bit of felting could be a good thing. Maybe a time waster project, but it relaxes me not to have a Goal! It’s free time!
Meanwhile we are making looms, getting trips to fiber fairs set up. Things like reservations for the trailer, fees and classes, you know.  And hoping we can afford diesel for those trips!  And, of course, the garden.
We started “spring” with a warm spell which got me all excited to be sure I was not late late last year, so I planted peas and cabbage but also started tomatoes and peppers. Then it got cold and rainy, a couple times even snow. Them it would warm up for a few day befpre going back to rain and or frost- and a lot of wind this year. So needless to say, those tomato and pepper plants are reaching indoor limits! They are practically trees! We are going to have to plant them out today. He has covered cages for them but they are not  likely to be happy. I’ve started a few more in hopes that they won’t out grow the pots before summer happens! When it comes to weather these days  “You can’t win for losing” sure applies!
Hope you get time to both garden and weave. Both enjoyable…when they aren’t being stressful!  lol

Is it Spring again?

Mar30

I thought it was. I mean we didn’t have much of a winter but it felt like spring and Nature seemed to be agreeing, but now the Weather Wizards are predicting snow. Yes, we need it, but Up There, please! I’m passed wanting it down here now. Already have garden seedlings growing, just give us regular rain showers this spring, Mother Nature, please. It’s a bit chilly in here today. Shall I make a fire and chance it getting too warm or just put on a heavier sweater and wait until evening?  What worrying problems I have to deal with these days! Maybe I should just bake something, that would solve the problem, too.

Ah well, I think I’ll just ignore the whole thing and go oil a few looms. I’m sure he haas the shop nice and warm. We sent a weaver a special order last week. She wante a Bobinga fine sett loom. I couldn’t remember what that wood looked like. It turned out to be very beautiful. He said he only had a little bit left so we asked about whether it was still availaable when were were at Beavertooth Hardwoods in Medford. Yes, they did have some…$30 a board foot! Yikes! The wood for her order we probably bought 10 years ago. Can’t remember what we paid for it, but I can gaurentee it was way less than that. She got a deal on her lovely loom and no one else will be getting one as we decided not to restock it. No one seems to be buying special woods these days except for Tennessee Red Cedar, always favorite, one of my favorites.

I’ve ben weavung 12″ squares using soome of Rosy’s hand spun. I think it was the last she spun and dyed. She started a scarf with it but told me she didn’t like it and would find smething else to make  with it. She didn’t have time to do that so I thought I would do it for her. It’ll be a baby blanket, I think. I’ve been using differnt lace patterns. They’re pretty and more interesting to weave than just plain weave.

So, did you march with the No Kings? I’m not a marcher but I agree we don’t want a king, or a dictator. Or a president who can’t seem to keep his promises. Can’t afford to fill my gas tank and when I did get to the grocery store… Wow! Even chicken, the cheap meat has gone up! How is that making things more afordable? Meanwhile, he can make a gold plated ball room where as I’m lucky to afford a tin foil lined cooky sheet! Bah. And he wants the Nobel Peace Prize while attacking other countires and starting wars all over! Bah.  I’ll be 85 on Wednesday. Seen too many wars already.  Can we survive another one? Can we stay safe over here while he starts wars over there? One day we won’t be so lucky. Bah.

But in case we do get another Spring I have seedlings waiting for the weather to warm up a bit. And my peas are sticking their little green noses above ground!

   Happy April…..

Heartfelt Weaving.

Jan18

Thought I’d try to add a few more ideas here. This is an easy one. One Weaver weaves SweetHearts and carries them in her purse to hand out to people who look like they need a little cheering and to children having a public breakdown. She says it get smiles from both the child and the mother! A little ‘I care about you’ to a stranger, a fellow human in need! Can’t beat that for a meaningful valentine! In these times it can be especially important to both the giver and the receiver.

A little late with this…

Jan17

But I am having computer troubles…

Rose Bud Multi both

We are weaving a rosebud. We all know that a red rose means I love you! It can go on your card or you can find other uses for it. Here is one with a couple added leaves using the 4″ Multi triangle. You could use a green heart as leaves as well!

A few ways to make your card. Use lace glued to the card stock or scan a picture of it and apple to your card! Then start adding details. It’s fun!

 

It’s November already….

Nov15

The summer had flown by. I dunno how these things happen. Maybe we can blame Einstine. Seems he was always fooling with time and space. I never seem to have enough of either of those. But I think we are ready for winter, in any case. No more traveling except maybe a couple shopping trips. That’s good.

Looks like our semi planned trip next spring is off. Won’t be going to Great Basin or on to Yellowstone. That park is going to have to wait for a little later in the year from the looks of things. Oh well…

But I have been getting a few things done like trying to organize (if I can use the term loosly) my yarn and project stash. He has promised to redo Le Shed so I can actually find things out there. That will be great! I can barely get into it at this time and I don’t have to fear falling out of bed as there is almost no place to fall too, there is so much Stuff stacked in there. It’s pathetic, actually. Now I think of it, the whole house is like that. Can hardly eat dinner as the dining table is stacked full, can’t find anything in the fridge tho I am sure there’s hardly any food in there! I did get in the bathroom yesterday and clear off the counter top. Filled the trash can with expired and dried up stuff. Guess that’s what I ought to be doing other places now instead of typing and griping here, huh?!

Well, the outside world is lovely, anyway. Maybe I can be a bit more cheerful once I get the house in a more friendly condition. Frankly io am delighted that I don’t have to plan for an early spring trip or classes. I already feel more relaxed! I think I’ll go clean somthing!

Thank you for putting up with my grumpy post, I’ll do better next time, promise!

Okay, I didn’t even get this one posted but am in a better mood today so will just leave that but add some more cheerful stuff. Like this afghan. I thought I could put it out on the deck to dry for blocking. We swept off the oak leaves that were piling up but it’s still very wet and tho the sun is shining it isn’t getting in past our trees to dry the deck.  So I gave up and layed it out on the LR floor. Himself has a nice fire going so it ought not take long to dry.

I seem to have a differnt blog editor than I usually use so not sure what this is going to look like! lol I am hunting for technical help and will hire someone if I can find someone I can work with. That’s the tricky part, being the old (       ) that I am!

But reading that first part again, I have made some progress at Organizing (if I may use that word freely) my house. The kitchen got a little work over. This end of the little room was piled high, every time I needed something it would start an avalance so I gritted teeth and tackled it. He helped me move the microwave and built the little spice shelf. A lot of stuff got taken out to the washroom/pantry and I can actually find what I need! I hope to be able to keep it up. Today I tackle the fridge. The turkey has to come out of the freezer and into the fridge to start thawing for next week.

You might think this still looks clutered but it is lovely! My kitchen is tiny. On the left is my stove and there is 18″ of counter after that then the proch door. On the right next to the dishwasher is the sink, 12″ of counter, and the fridge. There’s a couple cupboards on the sink side and a window above the stove. That’s my kitchen. But I get breakfast & dinner made daily and all the canning done in the summer so you can say it’s big enough. Okay, I need to be working on the fridge instead of talking to you.. Remember, that’s need, not want! I hope you are having a sunny and cheerful day!

Hazel

Looking forward to Fall!

Aug16

We had a couple trips in the spring, to Great Basin Fiber Arts Festival in Utah and to Washington for Fiber Fusion and then we had the summer off. Well, kinda. There’s the garden! Don’t want to be without my fresh, pesticide free veggies, which means canning in the hottest part of the year. But it’s worth it when I see my pantry stocked so prettily!

Made cucumber relish yesterday. For today I’ll put some of our huge crop of green & yellow beans in the dehydrator,  already canned plenty of those, and make a Buckle. I found a recipe for that old fashioned dessert. I have peaches for it unless he brings me more black berries. I have a stock of blackberry jam, of course, and had to tell him stop! lol But only temporarily until I got caught up with what he has already brought. I have them for lunch with toast or in my breakfast cereal.

        

Too many beans and cukes, they out produced all the rest! I am pleased with my onions this year. I’m sure Rosy is proud of me. I always got my onions from her as I never had any luck with them. But now I have to do it on my own so tried extra hard. They aren’t going to win prizes at the fair but they are the best I’ve grown so far! There are red ones in the bottom. We’ve used quite a few already

  And I actually grew some okra this year. I thought that this big it would be tough, but it was not!

But back to trips! Heading to Washington again end of September! I have the kits ready for the Spokane classes. If you are in that area, check out https://spokanefleeceandfiberfestival.com/. It’s a new Festival but Katrina is working hard to make it a good show. I have two classes but there are other good teachers having classes there too, not to mention a flock of vendors with fiber goodies you’ll want to check out!

 

Well, it’s clouding up which makes it a nice cool day. Which after the heat of last week is rather enjoyable! But I have to spend some time in the shop, too.  Weavers are waiting for their looms!

Hope you are seeing signs of fall at your place! No red leaves yet but the asters are blooming!

Wishing you happy!   Hazel

 

 

 

A little Post Script.

Apr12

It must really be spring this time!  Look at all the sunshine and blue sky! It hit 79 today! The cottonwoods are leafing out. So is my weeping willow. The oaks are always conservative and wait, just in case. Phooey on them! It’s spring!

 

We planted the tomatoes out this morning and planted peas and beets, too.  Onions and Kale next as soon as he gets the bed ready.

     

Yes, I know it’s early yet. We will have covers for the toms at night, just in case. But it’s nice to sit on the garden bench and feel too hot!

The other thing is packing for the Great Basin Fiber Festival in Farmington, Utah. I think we leave on the 20th.

  

Okay… Hope you’re having some spring at your house!  (or fall if you’re in the other half of the world!)

Hazel

Oops… I have been slack again. Sorry!

Apr6

It’s already April. My birthday is passed. I thought I had a post for that in the files for later but if so it seems to have disappeared. Oh well… But I had two parties this year! My Bunko to host is in March but only a week before my birthday. So I used the occasion to give myself a Surprise Birthday Party! I was a little nervous about how the 11 would take it but they all seemed to get a kick out of it and helped me eat my self-baked birthday cake and sang the traditional song to me while I blew out the single candle! I wanted to put all 84 on it but as the event was held at the Fire Hall I was afraid I might be arrested for arson!

Happy Birthday to me!

My 2nd party was lunch with two friends at the Trailhead café. It was two days before my April 1 birthday since the café is not open full time yet. That was fun and I got a Chocolate Cherry torte with another candle on it and gifts, too! The best gift was lunch with friends, of course! And on my birthday, Hubbie made breakfast for me to start the day right. It was a lovely day, too. I hope I get another one next year.

Lately I seem to have mostly been dealing with business emails and teaching at fairs stuff and email program fixes so spending too much time on the computer. I have ignored all work related stuff the last couple of warm sunny days and have been out pruning and pulling weeds and trying to clean up the mess in my flower beds. This winter was hard of growing things! But there are daffodils and crocus blooming in the lawn. The snow last week pushed the daffies faces in the mud, as happens every spring about this time! Tradition, I guess you could call it, but they sprang right back up when the sun came out the same day and melted it all off again. The last puff of winter, I hope! We’ll still have frost but the white stuff should be staying Up Top now.

Himself is getting the garden ready. He does the heavy work out there. My tomatoes which I planted a good month too early need to go in the ground soon. They’ll have to be covered but I hope they’ll survive it.  Other than that I am trying my hand at making Orange Marmalade. Never tried this before but I ended up with more oranges than we are likely to used before they start drying up. And I do like it so it seems a good idea. I hope it is!

It now has to set for 12-18 hours my Ball Blue Book says. Interesting.

As for weaving, I’ve been working on getting things ready for the classes I have signed up to teach.  Several peg looms classes this year and a few others. Our first fiber fair this year is in Farmington, Utah. The Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair. We missed it last year but this year I will have two classes, Beginning Peg Loom Weaving and Beyond Plain Weave, a class for weavers who already know how to use the continuous weave looms. We’ll take a look at pattern weaves, colors, a bit about how to design your own patterns and some lace weaving, too.

The next fair is Fiber Fusion NW in Monroe, Washington. I’ll do the same two classes there since this is further from Farmington than most weavers want to travel, it’s not going to be a double for weavers. Then Lambtown and Oregon Flock and Fiber Fair in October. But between all this will be a bigger garden this year. The garden did not do well last year so I didn’t get much canning done. I don’t really look forward to canning in the hottest part of the year, which is when stuff gets ripe, of course, but I do like to have the pantry full come fall!

We stopped at the going-out-of-business sale at Joanne’s, of course, and while I was looking at potentially useful sale items he bought this rose for me. He says he went though them all to find the most real looking one. I guess he found it, as my friend  thought it was real when she saw it the other day. Of course she was across the room from it, but still, it is a lovely rose. And a lovely thought from Himself!

I hope you are all enjoying some signs of Spring where you are! My Sis in Florida is moving into summer already! I’m not ready for summer yet, gotta work up to that but will be delighted to see Spring!

Meanwhile, keep your looms polished and your garden gloves dirty!