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.


New projects.

If I have anyone reading this blog, I have to apologize for letting it go so long. I didn’t realize it had been over two weeks since I posted! We’ve been busy with the kinds of things that happen in the spring. Those few days when it has not been raining are filled with outdoor chores and the rainy ones have been mostly in the shop or working on writing up weaving and knitting projects or… book work. 😦
But we do have one great project going. The new planter boxes around the deck! Randy has been working hard to get this done in time to start planting for this years garden. I have already planted peas and chard.

Here he is taking a well earned break. Good thing we have years of compost to use to fill them. But I am nearly though with a couple of projects, too, which I hope to be able to show you very soon.
Meantime, I hope your spring is becoming warm and sunny, too!

April!

It’s Really spring now! Warm, sunny, things starting to grow, birds carrying sticks, my birthday! The gal friends gave me a party, it was great fun to see everyone after being holed up all winter. We were all suffering from ‘cabin fever’.
And little Ellie Petunia’s mom brought me a picture of her sweet self wrapped in the blanket I made for her on the 6 inch Multi loom. It’s some nice Green Mountain Spinnery cotton and Mom says it gets softer all the time. Ellie is 6 months now and sat smiling and talking to us, such a good baby! I was happy to see the blanket in use, of course!

More of the same…Welcome to spring.

Well, I am weaving and making DVD’s and I’m sure I’m expected in the loom shop but the slush is falling out of the trees making it dangerous out there . And my shoes are wet just from stepping out to the wood shed. Not sure I want to venture further! Bah. That one in the center is my still blooming primroses. Poor things.

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

More weaving swatches


I’ve been working with this Coats & Clark Luster Sheen yarn. I like the way the yarn knits up but this colorway does not work with the pattern I wanted to use it for so I thought I’d give the looms a try. It really makes a difference on different looms. The square is the 4″ Multi woven diagonally and the other is the 4×6 Multi needle woven. Does not even look like the same yarn. This is a stash yarn, I guess I need to buy the new colorways for my project since these are not on their list anymore. I’ll have to test them out, too.
But I hope you are using your looms. I have a couple projects coming along. I’m not making great headway in this gloomy weather. Weaving time somehow seems to turn into nap time! lol;

March already?!

It has been a while since I posted here. Bad Hazel! but time does fly…well , not fly exactly. More like drag this time of year. I keep busy but not the kind of stuff to post about really. The sun was shining this morning and Himself invited me to go for a ride with Him and The Dog so I did. We went out and got a load of shale for the driveway. Well, he did. I took the camera. It was pleasant getting out of the house for a bit.
I’ve been walking with a neighbor, which also gets me out but the weather has been cold and wet, either rain or snow so while getting some exercise was not really a nice stroll, tho the company was enjoyable.
Still weaving squares for my two projects.
.

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!