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Recounting

Decided to lay it out and see how it was coming. Took some new measurements, too. I didn’t flunk out of math in high school but my Pop, who was a surveyor back in the Olden Days before calculators and computers, had been known to wonder how he managed to sire such math dunderheads! lol

Okay, but I don’t think my initial guesstimate was too far off. I scooted the cat over and laid them out on the bed. Laid the pattern out over them and came up with a couple modifications. Not entirely happy with it yet, but I still have more squares to weave so time to mull it over.

First trial  First Pattern fit

I think I may yet rearrange the upper bodice. I’ll have to see how it fits once I get most of it assembled. One thing I have learned during this design it myself era is never weave ends in until you are Absolutely Sure it’s right. It is really difficult to find ends if you have to frog once you’re done a proper job of weaving them in!

Okay– back to weaving while it’s still raining and too wet for gardening.

Still weaving…

But meantime I thought I’d chat a bit about ideas. I have a picture file on my computer under Weaving Clothing called Ideas. When I see a picture of a garment- sewn, knitted, whatever- that I think I could possibly make with the looms, I save it in this file. Of course, there are many more ideas than I’ll ever have time to make so I thought I’d share a few “Inspired by” here to give you an idea.

Here’s a couple for you with the big shawl looms. I’m pretty sure this first dress could be done but it’s a bit difficult to sketch here. I’m going to have to get out the paper towels and work in the round for this one. But I’d love it if some of you put your minds to it and came up with a plan! The second one, the shawl with sleeves, or whatever that might be called, is easier. I have thought about making that one for my daughter who likes drapey things. Trouble is, as always, the time to do it. The sleeves could be knitted in, of course, but also woven with the smaller squares or triangles. I made some prelim sketches just to keep the idea in my head. You never know…

image5961859hoodedcape

And there are lots for the smaller looms. This one would be pretty easy. If it’s your project, I have to thank you for the inspiration, I don’t remember where I saw it. It was Multi woven, the 4″ I believe, but if you have a big dog it could also be done with the 6 inch or one of the Quilt Weaver squares.

Dog coat

If you’re looking forward to summer and have the ‘figger’ for it, here’s a pretty simple top for hot weather. Your teen could wear this. The woven blocks should be a fairly tight and modest fabric but would still be lighter and more comfortable than this crocheted version probably would be. Something like a soft cotton or one of the bamboo, silky yarns might be good.

halter top planJust something to think about while I am weaving for this tunic. Make your own file, & teach yourself to think in squares and triangles while looking at clothing. Get out your stash of already woven squares and spread them out and get inspired!

 

 

 

 

SweetHeart

A weaver in Oregon sent me these little SweetHearts she made using our loom. She felted them and then added a beaded edging to them.  I forgot to ask what yarn Kathy used, but I’m guessing it was a fine yarn as the hearts are light and thin, delicate and so pretty! She says she gave some a pin back to make wearable valentines. Great idea!

Kathy Warner gooddog@gmail.com 2

The Stack is growing…

I’m getting there.

coming along

I decided to add a bit of an edging pattern to the tunic bottom. Just a little two repeat pattern:

1. Weave Plain

2. Under 1, then slip the needle across between the layers of warp and go under the last one.

Slip stitch 1

3. Weave plain.

Slip stitch 2

4. Repeat row 2 and them weave the rest of the block plain.

Slip stitch 3

Day started out raining, now it’s just cold and gloomy so I think I’ll build a fire and sit and weave today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone! I hope we all can use this weekend to remember the long list of things we have to be thankful for. It’s easy to get caught up in the grumbling and complaining  that we’re all exposed to daily from friends and family and news and  internet but I  hope we can use this one day at least to look at the brighter sides of our lives.

For Randy and I, we are thankful to live in a community of friends that we can enjoy and feel safe with. We are thankful for all the wonderful weavers who enjoy our looms as much as we enjoy making them, we are thankful to be able to spend this holiday with family and wish the rest of them could be with us as well. I hope you are all remembering and sharing the good things in your lives!

Here’s a laugh for you…. me in my woven, felted Thanksgiving Turkey of a hat!

Thanksgiving

 

Fall in Coffee Creek

It has been an exceptional autumn here, nice sunny reasonably warm weather, and gorgeous colors with the oaks competing with the maples for the brightest! Set off by poison oak and dogwood in reds against the perfectly blue mountain sky.Hope you are enjoying beauty where you are getting the wood shed full and the garden put to bed. Time to dust off your looms and start finding the perfect yarn for winter projects!

Derric cornerDogwood

Tripping

Well, we’re home again. OFFF was very …er… interesting this year! That big storm coming in from Alaska arrived just in time to dampen our spirits. Well, those of us unused to those volumes of rain, that is, and especially the gale force winds! The upper Oregonians just put on their designer waders and kept on shopping! lol We did a pretty good business, tho I was sometimes convinced that shoppers just dropped in the get out of the blustering wind and driving rain and stayed to get interested. Which was fine, but in the end we had to fold up what was left of our tent and crawl back into the 5th wheel. The wind got a little too strong and was tearing us up. But we’ll be back again next year!

After the weekend we headed out east ion hopes of visiting Yellowstone Nat’l park if it was not buried in snow by that time. We didn’t get there as you all know by now that everything National got shut down by out dilatory congress unable to made compromises and losing votes by the bucket full. But I try to avoid political discussions so will skip over that here. We did see a lot of eastern Oregon, had a nice two day visit in Pendleton, visited the woolen factory and left some $ there then went on the view several museums and art galleries. Went on into southern Idaho finally getting ahead (or was it behind?) the storm and into mostly clear but still Very Windy weather. Beautiful country but boy am I glad I was not a pioneer! Those people were either crazy or desperate! I’d have stayed in Ohio! lol It would have been awful country when viewed walking at the side of a covered wagon. But we went on though Pocatello and into Utah. Salt lake was very interesting. Salt Lake City is just too big for me! But it got worse for those poor pioneers!  Getting around that huge salt lake and then into the Bonneville salt flats and on to the 40 mile desert. It’s a wonder to me that any of them made it to California. Bonneville salt flats My window needed cleaning, the sky was quite clear and blue and the white… it really is salt… went on for as far as you could see. Those mountains are miles away. That place that looks like a blue hill there at the end of the mountains is really a mirage.  The salt was quite flat and there was no real water.

And then there was this. I think you’ll all recognize this little girl. And the piles are more salt. There were many of those piles. mortons

Well, we traveled on across Utah and into Nevada. This was our first trip though norther Nevada but, really, Nevada to tourists, is Nevada, no matter what part you’re in. Well, except for Basin Nat’l monument off Hwy 50, maybe. Took this one on the fly. The last guy cracked an Indiana Jones bullwhip over the last cow just after I snapped this.  It’s going to be hard to see detail at this size. I’m going to print this one up big and frame it. nevada cowboys

The story I started off to tell was of meeting another weaver at a way side park in southern Oregon.  She saw our tire cover on the trailer with our logo and asked about the looms. I took her into our little travel home and showed her mine. She liked them and ended up increasing her loom stash there by the side of the road! I hope you are enjoying your new looms, Cindy! I think that was so neat. It’s also nice to know that people do see that logo after all! lol

But now we’re home and after filling orders it’s going to be firewood and putting the garden to bed for the winter. hope you are staying warm!

Our Little SweetHeart.

It came about via a customer request and even tho I have not yet posted it to the web site we are already getting orders! I did make a little you tube video on how to weave it so I guess that shows that there are a few people who actually look at my movie productions! That’s heartening!

But here’s out little SweetHeart. You can see it and the rest of them at Canby this coming weekend at OFFF. Bring your umbrella!

DSC00671cardString of Hearts 3String of Hearts 1

 

What I’m weaving now.

Scarves. Hooded scarves, in fact. People keep wanting to buy my samples at the shows so I figure if I weave a few to sell, nobody will offer to buy them again! lol But if they do, I’ll be ready! Here’s some squares for one.

DSC00637

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m working on the third one now. The one below was the first one & used the triangle loom and some Blue Sky Alpaca and some rainbow colored mohair.

tri scarf 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The third one is  using the same alpaca but I dyed this one which was plain plain.  The color was called Toasted Almond which sounds very nice but to me it just looked a kind of pasty grey. So I got out my kool aid and gave it some help. I think. Anyway it’s keeping me busy while we get ready for  OFFF. The Green one is finihsed now and I’ve still got a few more squres to weave on this last one. I have more yarn but I think that’s enough for now.

DSC00650

pattern for Ducks Quilt.

If you are interested in making this Ducks Quilt here is the layout I used. I sewed my blocks together with the over hand stitch.  I added the row of yellow blocks using the blue to crochet these onto the top and bottom to make the square quilt a bit more rectangular. After sewing the 9 yellow blocks together, I did a row of single crochet on the bottom edge of that strip and another row of single crochet on the top edge of the assembled blanket. Then I worked a slip stitched to connect the two rows. Repeat at the bottom of the blanket. Then I worked a border of two rounds of single crochet in blue and yellow. You all know you can email me at any time if you have any questions about this project or about the looms. I’d love to see your projects, too!

I forgot to add that the yarn I used was some very nice Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton, called Multi Cotton. It suggested hand washing but I put it in the machine for a short gentle wash. I also put it in the drier until just barely damp and dried it the rest of the way laid out flat. It did fine.

Lay out for duck quilt