Tag Archive | Quilt Weavers

March Madness off to a maddening start!

Mar5

Got  up to no phone and no internet! But here at 1 pm we’re back connected to the world. for now anyway!

Here’s the starting pattern. No picture yet, I don’t want to spoil the surprise! Just hope it doesn’t surprise me, too!

Random Squares.

©Hazel Spencer 2-2022

 

Loom orientated diagonally, like a diamond. The pin furthest from you will be Top, the one closest is Bottom. This pattern is woven over under just as is usual with diagonal continuous weaving. I am sharing the technique of making the patte4rn but not giving weaving lessons.

Center row:

  1. Light yarn, slip knot on top corner nail, tail brought out between bottom nail and the on just to the right of it..
  2. Dark yarn Long slip knot over light yarn to nail on each side of top and bottom center.
  3. Light yarn over dark and around.
  4. Dark yarn
  5. dark yarn:  Note how the pattern seems to have changed direction. You may not be able to see this yet, but keep weaving.
  6. Light
  7. Dark
  8. Light
  9. Dark
  10. Light
  11. Dark
  12. Dark
  13. Light
  14. Dark
  15. Light
  16. Dark
  17. Dark
  18. Repeat rows 6-17 or as often as the number of nails on your loom allows. Your square will end with a single row.

You may not be able to see the pattern well, it may look sketchy. The best way to tell is to look at the weaving almost horizontally. But the next step is to take if off the loom. Stretch it side to side and smooth it out to relax and lightly full the yarns. Now you’ll see the pattern! Let us see what you have woven!

If you have already woven the first pattern as posted here (which is now corrected) you may end up with something like this, which is interesting but not what it was supposed to look like.  Just enjoy and try the new one.

Another January

Jan16

I didn’t check to see when I last posted. I know it’s be awhile. Not a heck of a lot to post about in January. We had our snow at Christmas, and since then it’s been mostly sunny and cold. Pretty much 24 every morning for the last couple weeks. A bit after 2 pm it reaches the high for the day, lately brushing 40 degrees, it was 41 today before it starts dropping again. Days are getting longer but since we have a late, bright moon, the day seems to start about 3 am! A bit longer than I’d like.  I manage to sleep until about 4 am then nap for another hour. Makes the days seem longer, anyway.

I have been doing a bit of weaving, playing with stitch designs and textures. Did this one today. I think I’ve figured it out enough that I can chart it and maybe get a good one. This one will get frogged so I can reuse the yarn. I have to figure out how to center the design and how many will fit and also do something about the edges. Simple, right! lol I’ve been working on single color pattern for the new Fine Sett looms as well. And making a chart that lists the yarn amount needed for each of the looms. I guess I didn’t realize how many different looms we make when you count size and shape and type!

As for the rest of the day… I seem to be busy all day but I really can’t say at what. Strange how that works. The days just fill with little things , nothing memorable but seem necessary at the time. Well, I mean the dishes have to be washed, the laundry also, dinner has to be planned ahead of time, It’s not like we could afford to eat out every night even if we wanted to and had a restaurant closer than 40 miles from us. Then there’s always work in the shop making the looms and packing up the orders and getting them shipped off to waiting weavers. And of course, the Infamous Internet. Yes, emails to answer, posts to read & someone is sure to send a link to a funny or interesting You Tube, just a quick glance you tell yourself. It’s amazing how fast an hours gets by!

I did knit myself a pair of bed socks. They fit well and stay on all night or until I kick them off.  Those were knitted during the evening movie, mostly. We take turns picking one of our many DMVs or video tapes and swap off between reading evenings. Pretty lively around here of a winter evening!

But I mostly just wanted to let you know, anyone who may still be interested in my “Life in the Country”, that I have been worrying over not posting or more specifically, over not seeming to have anything of interest to post about. I hope you are enjoying your January and hoping it’s a comfortable one. That you aren’t in the big snow blizzard back east and sitting in the dark with no power. Tho if you are you are not readying this! duh.

With that brilliant observation I’ll bid you all a good night!

Sweet Dreams!

Once a UFO

Dec6

Now it’s nearly done. Just has to have a trip though the washer. After that I’ll decide if the bottom of the yoke needs stitching down. I think I pinned this in place before the Big Evacuation and it’s just been out of sight out of mind since. It’s kind of long on me, too, so I may have to re-hem it. I like these shirts. I got them on sale at WalMart in Yreka a few years ago. There’s a green one and a red one left. They’re well made men’s shirts so have sleeves of a decent length. I prefer those without the band but liked this color in spite of that. The yoke is sock yarn on the 4 & 2 inch Multi Looms. I just place the assembled yoke over the shirt, pin in place, sew it down with the machine and cut away the parts I don’t want. I left the shirt fabric under this one to gvie it a bit of heft.

 

 

We’re supposed to have rain today sometimes and snow next weekend. Good time for shop work except…! He’s gotten a case of food poisoning somewhere and has had to spend most of the last two days… well, you know where. But he has gotten some stuff done in the shop. If you have an order in, please be patient, we’ll get them done as soon as we can.

Trying to stay warm these December days! Hope your December is going well!

Winter work…

Nov6

It’s November even tho with temps in the 60’s as high and the lows just in the low 40’s it doesn’t really feel very wintery. Well, except for the rain and gloomy skies. And gloomy husband. He doesn’t do well in continual darkness and besides has jobs that need to be outdoors in dry weather so that’s adding to the frustration. I’m fine tho it worries me a bit that it’s not getting cold. We are still picking pole beans and when I cut greens yesterday there was a bee buzzing around in the borage. Not normal winter conditions for these mountains. Well, I guess we’d better start getting used to the “not normal”. They are suggest a vague possibility of some snow on Monday. Not holding my breath!

But meantime, with the WAL coming to an end, I got out my cardigan project. My favorite orange sweater is wearing out. When even Himself notices it’s sort of ratty condition I guess it’s time!  So I’ll be weaving 12″ squares for some time. I’m reusing a frogged knit sweater that turned out to be a bad idea, mostly a bad fit. And I have another one that is in line for frogging as well. I guess I’d better stick to weaving! lol I balled this yarn up but it hasn’t been washed before weaving with it. I’ll find out if that’s a good idea.

     

But today I have to finish up a batch of apple sauce and sand a couple looms as well. The sweater is going to take awhile to finish.

  And there’s enough apples  left for a pie.

 

Sharing a nice letter from a weaver!

Oct26
Jody gave me permission some time ago to share her little story with Weavers here. I know exactly how she feels about weaving on the loom and I know a lot of you feel the same way but it is really nice to hear you say so from time to time. I hope this WAL has inspired some of you to dust off your looms and enjoy this relaxing and creative craft once again.
“Hazel please forgive me, but I must tell you a  story about your looms.     I don’t know when I purchased a 12” loom from you, maybe 2 or 3 years ago.   I really can’t remember, but I had such a great time in the evenings making these wash cloths.   I loved them and I loved weaving them.  You would not believe the number of wash cloths I had made.   I gave them to my daughters, to friends as Christmas gifts in a basket of goodies.   One of my friends absolutely loves them for her facial wash cloth.  Well anyway, I ran out of steam as it turned out as I was making them day and night.  I put the loom back for a while.  
Jumping forward to this past year.   My husband and I had decided to move up closer to our youngest daughter–she is 42 years old.  I have been working on our house, downsizing, packing away things to make the house a bit more appealing to prospective buyers.   Well a year ago this past August I fell–ouch—I am 73 and have strong bones praise the Lord for that, but they tell me I had very deep extensive bruising and it would take a while for me to get back on my feet- maybe about a year.  I was tickled when I finally could get up and start accomplishing some cooking and cleaning and packing again.   Me being me has to have a project of some kind going.   I decided the perfect thing would be to make some more wash cloths, besides all mine were looking pretty sad.  Well, I searched high and low and could not find my 12″ loom.  😦   So I thought okay I know it is here somewhere and since I can’t find it I will order another loom.   I saw you had the 14″ so I ordered that thinking WOW that will give me a larger size to create larger cloths.  So I ordered it.  When it arrived I immediately started making cloths again.  After making a half dozen or so I decided that these were a bit too large for what I wanted.   Finally I gave in—I told my husband, the best way for me to find my 12″ is to order another 12″.  haha.   So I did.  I was as excited as a kid on Christmas day when my 12″ arrived all safe and sound.   I immediately sat down and started making wash cloths.   I don’t know why, but all my worries go away and pleasant thoughts dance through my head as I weave.   I have several rigid heddle looms, but they are a bit awkward with me sorting and packing, but this little loom is just the right size, easy to move from room to room and so relaxing.   No, Hazel I have not yet found my other 12″ loom, but  that is okay as it will show up one day.  In the meantime,  I have this 12″ to keep me relaxed and happy.  Thank you for sharing this craft and thank you for being so prompt in sending this wonderful product.
Take care and may God bless you and yours,
Jodi”
This dishcloth is mine, just an illustration of the kind of weaving Jodi was describing.

Raining fish and frogs!

Oct21

Well, not really. Used to do that once in awhile when I lived in Florida years ago, but never seen it here. But we are all delighted to see it raining hard enough that the Fire Service people are considering the fires to be OUT!  

I finished my Antimacassar yesterday but was not able to load it here and it kept timing out. So I’ll try again! I added a 14″ triangle to the top to hang over the back of the chair to keep it in place and still let the whole picture show. I’m not really very happy with the additional stuff on the top left but not unhappy enough to rip it out and do over. Worked a SC in white around the edge just to finish it off neatly. Now I just have to find a shiny black button to give him an eye. Sister insists that he needs one in spite of the fact that it’s probably not going to show.

So I hope you are all making some headway, maybe even starting to assemble? Hope to hear some progress reports!

Remember, this weeks prize is a 4″ Multi triangle loom! The dusty one in the photo is mine, you’ll get a new un-dusty one!

Row two is the most complicated bit and that is really not that hard once you look at how it’s put together. It’s just overlapping triangles!

Sept-Trying again..

Sep28

Maybe  the internet and I will get along better today. You think?! Doc says, Yes I did break my finger. He gave me a new splint and congratulated Randy on his. He also said I’ll need to wear this thing for a month!! Trying to make apple sauce today. I can halve them with the cutting board and big knife but coring realty puts a strain on that finger so Himself will have to take over that slot for the time.  But I’ve got the first pot cooking. The Squeezo wall take care of the clean cores.

I spent most of yesterday in town what with Doctor, Chores for Himself, and my own list. Traffic was horrible, with fire hold-ups still north of town and Weaverville’s first traffic light being installed on the other end of town. Took forever to get from place to place so I didn’t get anything done on the shirt yoke.

But we got a lovely cool wet rain! It was so relaxing that I didn’t mind sitting at two road work stops on the way to and from town, just relaxing with the cool and wet and dim landscape. It was great. And hopefully did some damage to the remaining fires as well.

I’ve made and modified the pot holder. Have two more made and one test woven. It’s a light commercial “worsted” woven on the 5″ Quilt Weaver Square. So a test for both yarn and loom size. The dark on on the left is the first one I made using the 7″ and it was a little too long. I rewashed it to felt it a bit tighter and then cut it off shorter. The red one and the one on the skillet handle are both handspun felted max. You can see the pot with the apples there on the left, too.

But now I think it’s time for some lunch and by then the apples may be ready for the next step. Hope your day is moving along smoothly!