Things are getting done!!!

OMG I finished a sweater!

DH left 3 days ago for France to bicycle up three mountain passes on the same day... I did not go because I can't handle heat, altitude and that much climbing in one day! I have been back on the bike lately but even in my strongest riding days I doubt I could have ridden that... While he's gone, I've been trying to get some things done around...

For the fiber part of it, I finished Mystic River! Okay, almost, I still need to sew on two buttons. It's drying right now, and I'll sew the buttons on tomorrow before I put it on to wear to Knit Night. I'll swap the photo out for one on me when I wear it the first time.  I think it'll be adorable over a tank top.

Card woven badge lanyard

I've been hosting the Guild's Card Weaving Study group every two weeks to make lanyards for our guild badges, hoping to get folks past the fear of making simple bands. Last meeting, I used a warp that was  John Mullarkey's class demo, which he gave it to me because he couldn't remember my name. Win! I added two border cards to each side and wove it up into a lanyard. Looks like 27 inches finished length puts in mid chest; I sewed one end to a lobster clip and tied the other one on with twisted fringes.

I don't know what I'm doing

Did I mention that I've become the guild librarian? It's a heady feeling to have all those books and magazines at my fingertips. I'm working on getting enough shelf space for all of it as well as moving things in. I want to drive more interest in the library so I decided to weave something from the library books periodically and wave it around at guild meetings with the book it's from. I picked Handwoven Scarves as my first book. They have a twill scarf in blue with random bits of white in it (she calls it random ikat) that I thought would look fabulous on DH and it's time for him to have a new scarf anyways. Note that I've never done ikat, but am scheduled for a class on it next month. So I pulled an ikat book from the library shelves and dyed the warp and weft today; it's drying outside.  I'll put technical details about the scarf in a future post.

I noticed something interesting looking at older weaving magazines and weaving books. Most books I've looked at contain exact instructions, numbers of threads, colors, yarn, tie up, methods, etc. The older books are more like a suggestion; there's data on how it was woven, but so much depends on the weaver knowing what needs to be done. Have you ever looked at an old cookbook? Where an instruction might be "prepare the dough"? Depending on the cook to know what needs to be done? I'm fascinated.

Next up? I have too many things in flight.

• Sew two pillows out of that Kilim of my mothers that I have for the couch in the den. 
• Clear the Mac and cut texsolv cords for all of the tie ups. 
• Warp up a strap with a new card weaving technique (AngloSaxon?) and get a little bit done before the next card weaving meeting.  I'd like to use the strap for my new wine bag.
• I'm also working on a Devan sweater for one of Scott's coworkers who is expecting a baby in the fall. This is easy enough to qualify as "idiot knitting".

It's the end of Q2 '19 (5)

I spent way too much time making this cute little mug bag.

Realistically I'm not going to finish anything else by the end of June four days from now so I might as well sum them up now.

• I finished the little cell phone bag to carry my phone about when I don't have pockets.
• I tried to weave a doublewidth blanket from stash yarn and ignored all the things I know about yarn and it failed. I'm still counting it as a project that is complete. And the scraps went into my mug bag
• Scraps from the above failed project above became mug bag, with the addition of a cardwoven band that I wove 2 or more years ago, a piece of marbled fabric I made YEARS ago, and a kumihimo braid I just made to coordinate with the band. It's just big enough to hold a coffee mug. I freely admit to having sewn the button on in July but will count it as Q2.
• I knitted a pair of socks that are warm and wonderful.
• I finished the rep placemats for the new kitchen but might relocate them to the lodge.



Awesome placemats, crappy photo.

• I'm not counting the 6 class samples from The Weavers School.

Q3? I'm still thinking about it, but I suspect it will include some mosaic work, Mystic River, and a card woven lanyard for the guild meetings. The rest is to be determined!

The Weavers School

I spent last week at the Weavers School in Coupeville, WA. What a beautiful place, and I learned so much!!! I learned some basics of weaving, like the proper way to wind a bobbin. More importantly I learned to look at blocks in weaving, and from a block design how to substitute in different weave structures, and how to figure out all the pieces (threading, treadling and tieups) needed to weave it. I wove samples in 6 different weave structures, learning how to tell if I had the right beat. I met a bunch of wonderful weavers and had a very good time. Photos are here, most with notes in the info field. I expect to clear my looms soon and start working on something I learned in class!

Placemats on the Gilmore loom

I feel in love with a new loom in class... I may or may not sell my larger loom and buy a new one. I came home and wove a bit to see how I felt, and the thing that annoyed me the most is advancing the warp. M had told me it was kitted out with the anti-spin kit but somehow it was still spinning. I had S take a look at the documents and there's a missing piece of wood! Gilmore is shipping a new one to me for the cost of postage, which is very kind of them, and S will put it on for me as soon as the placemats I mentioned in the last post are done. I'm about 10 inches of weaving from the end.

The failed alpaca blanket in the last post? I sewed together two parts of the scrap that I'd woven into a mug bag for guild meetings. I lined it with some marbled cotton I made years ago, and plan on using a card woven band as a strap. I think I'll need a tie to close it, so will try kumihimo. I should have it ready for the July meeting.

Mystic River continues, I'm about half way down the back. Apparently the pattern is Feather and Fan, not to be confused with Old Shale; this article explains the difference for any who are interested.

The real time sink the last two months has been the house.  We're doing a kitchen remodel as well as all kinds of yard things like tree and brush removal; it's felt like a slog but I'm hoping that things level out in the next few weeks so I can get back to enjoying my craft instead of just sneaking it in. And hope to be back to cooking...

Life Before Fiber!

Just big enough for my cell phone!

Our kitchen remodel is in full swing, and I'm working a lot in the yard with or without helpers, so the blogging has languished; I have had some progress on a number of fiber projects.

I wove a hand for a little cell phone purse so I can carry my phone along when I go between here and the other house. It's super useful and I'm more than pleased with the kivrim card woven band but I definitely could have done a better job on the bag and on sewing the band to the bag. So I've learned a lot for next time.

I'm hosting the card weaving study group every other week through July and have started a card woven band using thrums (the unweavable yarn at the start and end of any woven piece) from an other project; I'm trying to conquer a few tablet weaving techniques; the latest is Egyptian Diagonals. I think I'm doing fine.

I think I mentioned starting an alpaca blanket... I suspected one of the yarns would be problematic and it was!!! I ended up having to cut it off the loom and throw most of it away. It would have been beautiful, too.

I was so discouraged by the blanket that I bought a rep weave placemat kit from Gist Yarns, swapping out one of the colors for one that I preferred. I'm in the process of warping the Gilmore loom with it, so expect a photo once I get started on it.  I'm hoping the colors of the placemats coordinate well with the new kitchen.

Part of one of the front panels for Mystic River

The "Mystic River" sweater I started is half done; I just started knitting the back side.  We travelled to Albuquerque for a family event and it was frankly too big for airplane knitting; so I started a Delavan (my third) for a baby due later this summer... I'm making it in the 18 month size so I've got plenty of time to finish. I brought everything on the plane... Then realized after I cast on that the needle had started coming loose from the cable, so the yarn caught with every stitch. I made my DH drive me to the closest LYS and announced to them that I had a knitting emergency!! Anyways, I got one of the front panels about 1/2 done on the plane flight home, and am looking forward to knitting on it.

The other exciting news for me is that I've become the Guild librarian; this means that I have all the Weaving Guild books at my house!!! I'm in heaven. I suspect I'll enjoy this resource immensely.

Springtime catchup

So much has been going on but not much fiber or cooking related!

We took a three week trip to Italy; visited Rome, Orvieto, Montepulciano, Citta di Castello, Ravenna, Ama (population 5), and Florence, and many points in between. The food was amazing; the wine was amazing; the sights were amazing; the trip? amazing.  I'll come back to describe several of those places in later posts. Before and during the trip I listened to a book about the Etruscans, a Great Courses lecture series on the Roman era, covering the monarchy, republic, empire, and fall, and stared a Great Courses lecture series on the Renaissance in Florence, so was able to put what I saw more into context; I think DH was entertained as well.

Socks!

I came home to an empty loom and an empty house; DH took off almost immediately for some business trips, so I went from having a constant companion to being constantly alone; this is a little depressing. I'm finally coming out of that and starting to be productive again.  So here is what I'm up to.

Fabric for a bag by one of
the 4H students

• I finished a pair of socks from some of my oldest yarn.
• I am working on a cotton summer jacket called Mystic River; I got part way through a front panel and couldn't decide on the length so I put it away and started the second front panel; I'll have to decide on length in the next week or so.
• I wound a warp and started dressing the loom with some alpaca I bought in 2001 and some alpaca that was gifted me around 2010. One of the yarns is a singles yarn and one of them is a two ply; so I'm doing a plain weave pattern called log cabin, and weaving it doublewidth on my loom. This'll be my first project using doubleweave to get an item longer than my loom will support. It'll be a throw blanket to use in front of the TV; it should weave up pretty quickly once I get the loom threaded.
• I did spinning demos at two events and went to the Spinning Guild meeting, spinning on some wool/tencel mixed top that I've had for forever. I hated spinning it, it was not a happy fiber to work with. It's done and I've moved on to the next blue fiber that I have, a dark blue merino Tussah.
• I poked at some tiles on the mosaic but haven't had the concentration to keep going on it.
• Most of the kids in the 4H group finished their bags!!! I have no photos of the finished ones, but have included one of them before it was sewn together and straps added.

I have been spending a lot of time on the yard, getting the new yard in shape and getting the pond cleaned out. I came home from Italy to find it full of pollywogs and string algae! Also, we're starting work on the kitchen on May 6, so I've been spending a lot of time chasing down materials. 

Completed Objects Q1 19 (6)

Why do I make these posts completed objects posts?  First, if I don't, I end up wondering where all my time goes, and what I've accomplished.  Second, I've also recorded a lot of data about some of my projects that I've referred back to for details. Third, it gives me a sense of how my work is evolving (or not evolving).  And I like to organize my textile related travels in a way that makes them more accessible.

I'm going to close out Q1 early as I know I won't finish anything else this quarter. Since all of these have photos on other blog posts, I'll just do a quick list summary.

• Handwoven twill scarf from hand dyed and hand spun, which was very well received by it's recipient. 
• Fingerless mittens that match my ram tam.
• A mosaic painting of a cypress tree that looks like a tree!
• Fabric for the stitches class jacket.
• The Frog Prince sculptural mosaic.
• Oasis, a little poncho is cotton with a touch of silk/wool.

I'm going to document my priorities when I get back to work on my textiles.

• Weave the doublewidth throw blanket from stash yarn that I've planned (weaving)
• Buy backing fabric and make pillows for the den that out of the nearly dead kilim (sewing)
• Finish the two little bags I've started (wine bag and little blue bag) (straps)
• Make significant progress on the mosaic table. (Mosaic)
• Work on the pub quilt (quilting)
• Keep spinning 
• Knit sleeves for my jacket (knitting)

Prince of Frogs

Small 3D mosaic featuring a
very special frog

I started this piece last September at one of Wilma Wyss' workshops... I got stuck on how to finish the sides. It finally occurred to me that something shiny but dark is what I wanted, so here is the Prince of Frogs waiting patiently for his epoxy to dry. I ordered a tiny crown for him which should arrive later this week. What would I have done differently? I think I would have trimmed the green tiles around the round opening neater, and I think the frog would have looked better slightly elevated; if the epoxy fails I will certainly do that. Otherwise, it's a whimsical and engaging piece which will find a happy home in my yard. On the mosaic front, I also cut glass for the border on one of two tables I'm making for the deck; I should have time in the garage tomorrow to cut for the other table. Then I can start on the fun motifs!

Brand new baby goat 

On the fiber front, I did another spinning demo for first graders at Deer Hollow Farms. One of their goats had just birthed 4 kids... So here's a 5 hour old baby goat.  They were amazingly adorable. I'm spinning a wool tencel blend and not enjoying it. The tencel is clumpy and it drafts out oddly; looking forward to having that done.

I'm also working on:

• a poncho in a color gradient yarn
• a pair of socks from a very old skein of yarn
• the pattern for a jacket make from the handwoven in my last post, with knitted sleeves, after which I will start working on the sleeves.
• Yes, there's a lot of other projects languishing. . I do have a list and someday I'll get around to finishing things.

Marshmallows made from Scharfenberger
cocoa powder;  some of them (not pictured)
were dipped in Tcho chocolate.

I joined a Stash Busting group on Ravelry; it's a strict yarn diet but most of the group is trying to finish a number of projects without buying yarn. I know from my own experience and watching some friends that sometimes you just can't make your stash work for a project... but I'm looking for projects I can knit from what I have. The fabric I made for the jacket ate up a whole bunch of sock yarn! And I have an alpaca blanket planned after which I'll have used up a whole box of yarn and created two beautiful and useful items. 

On the cooking front, I made marshmallows again. I had some issues with the pattern, as in I didn't follow it very closely, but here are the chocolate marshmallows I made to take to a dinner party.

There's been a lot of other things going on involving getting ready for a kitchen remodel (starting this summer) and getting some yard projects out of the way; even with contractors doing most of the work, it takes a lot of time! 

Editing this afterwards to show the results of the frog's coronation: