Pandula Arts Creations

Pine needle basket coiling.

2012-02-08T00:01:00.013-05:00

January 6, 2012

It is coming right along!

First just green thread, then green stranded with royal blue. It is 8 in. across and 4 1/2 in. tall.

My friend 'Buzzy' helped me with the wood centers. We cut a tree limb and sliced it, then placed holes all around. I rather like it!

My hand is only there for scale.

January 8, 2012

All DONE!

Notice the stripe of green pine needles...I dried them in the shade.

My largest to date! Hope she likes it. (Wish my stitches were straighter too! )

A little pencil work.

2012-02-01T00:01:00.013-05:00

January 3, 2011

Just a couple of pictures of some abstract pencil work I have been working on. My own designs of course.

This one started out as a rose. Not sure I am happy with what it turned into. I do love the colors though. This is prismacolor on Bristol smooth paper.

The one below is just graphite in multiple layers and grades. My own design again. It is difficult to get good pictures of graphite pencil due to the shine. But I think you can get the gist.

January 10th, 2012

I think I am done with this one...maybe. I darkened things up a bit, but I can't decide whether to fill in the side pieces along the center piece's at the bottom?

I love doing my own designs, all done free-hand! I only wish I had more to show for the work than a piece of paper to hang on the wall. I still prefer 3 dimensional art that serves a purpose other than just to look at.

Pine needle basket for Steve.

2012-01-25T00:01:00.007-05:00

January 20, 2012

I spaced my stitches too close together on this one about half way through it. Took longer than it should have to finish it as a result. It is nice and firm for sure, but it seems a little busy to look at for my own liking. But here it is...

Please note that my posts are somehow out of order. You are seeing the finished product before the 'process' posts. Instead of rearranging my entire blog I have just left it as is. Please forgive any confusion.

Purple and blue, brown and yellow!

2012-01-18T00:01:00.034-05:00

January 15, 2012

Just a shot of a couple of more pieces that were done over the course of my healing (in December). The yellow and brown one was done on the pvc pipe loom, and I forgot to take pics while in the process. Here is a shot of the loom with the bell pull piece on it, in case you haven't seen it.

It is rather labor intensive, in that I make a backstrap warp, mount it onto the loom bars and then wrap them around this frame and lash them together. If you look closely you can see the wooden loom bars up near the top (I am almost done with this piece in this pic). You can also see the threaded rods inserted into the pvc side bars for tensioning. Works great! Rotating the warp when I can no longer find enough space to weave is a bit of a pain, but since this shot I have worked on that problem also.

But as usual, I digress.

Here is the brown and yellow piece I did on the same loom. The yellow is called Maize and it is #3 mercerized cotton crochet thread, and the brown is #10 in Russet. I love these colors together.

I see a day of sewing in the near future!

This one was done on the backstrap and gave me fits. I had a really hard time winding warp with a bum shoulder. It will probably just be a table runner. Too wide for an envelope pouch, but might work as just a tri fold ....we'll see when I break out the sewing machine.

Red, white and blue for 'Captain America' !

2012-01-11T00:01:00.003-05:00

January 6, 2012

New backstrap piece. This one is a plain weave, 4 ft. long piece with 90 ends. It will be made into either a belt for my 7 yr. old friend 'Monster' or maybe a pouch he can hang from his belt! I haven't quite decided yet!

I put it on the backstrap knowing it would be 'easy peasy' and not hurt my shoulder to work on it. Wider piece are still difficult. So far so good. If you look closely at the lower left hand corner, you can see that Wiggles little foot, she still keeps a sharp eye on my weaving skills.

Simple, but striking non the less.

Edit: So I am going for a little pouch that hangs on his belt. Here is a few pics of it pinned together.

Remember this is just roughing it and theorizing.

Here you can see at the top I have created a 'loop' to slide his belt through.

I called his mother and got some belt measurements...I certainly hope it works. Wish me luck.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-04T00:01:00.004-05:00

January 1, 2012

Happy new year! I hope this one is better than the last.

Here is a little update on my socks. For some reason I don't seem to be able to concentrate on any one project of late. These have been on the needles for a while, but I find that some projects bother my shoulder more than others and by spacing out several different mediums I have less pain.

Sock number one is done to just past the heel...I still have to do the second heel, but I thought you might like to see it anyway. I am using the Lucy Neatby "Cool Socks Warm Feet" book. This heel is the short row garter stitch with wraps. I absolutely love this heel as it is very cusiony. (sp). My heels bother me when I have to stand for long so this is a good thing. Also with the purl bumps on the outside the stitches aren't as noticeable on the bottom of the foot. I have at times even made the entire foot with the purl bumps on the outside of the foot.

I strictly use double pointed needle's, 5, 4 per sock and one working needle. This means two sets of needles, and no second sock syndrome. LOL

I am very pleased that I still remember how to knit socks! These will be mine all mine, and they FIT!

Finally finished! Today is January 3, 2012. They have been done for a week or so, turned out a little too long for my foot and will be gifted to my friend Dana for house socks/slipper.s

Creative mojo definitely broken...except for the pine needle coiling!

2011-12-28T00:01:00.007-05:00

December 13, 2011

I am so bored, nothing creative is working AT ALL!!!!

UPDATE: Well some of it is working...sort of...the socks are coming along nicely, except I am bored with them. I have one heel turned and now for the next one. I promise to post pictures soon.

The shoulder injury gets a little less painful each day, Thank goodness, but the weaving still hurts me and sooooooo...I have picked up my pine needle basket weaving again! This I can do sitting in my recliner with very little physical pain.

I went to Jacksonville to spend a day or so with my friend Max and took my newly started basket with me. I weaseled her into taking me to look for pine needles too. We actually found some fallen branches and so the gathering was actually pretty easy. ALOT easier than picking them up one at a time from the ground for sure.

Then as we sat amiably, she beading and me coiling my pine needles, I wondered aloud who would like a basket made of green stitches. Of course she said "I would" and it began.

She bought a couple of my baskets in the past, and I didn't realize that she liked them that much. hmmmmm!!! So in the course of the conversation we decided on a centerpiece, maybe like a fruit bowl. It would have an 8" base and it went from there.

So I have taken a few pictures for you.

It starts of with pine branch slice and myrtle green #10 mercerized cotton crochet thread (I already had it on hand). Later I will be adding in some Royal blue. Here is a peek.

First de-capped pine needles. These are shorter pine needles than the ones I used to get in GA. But they work o.k. These are ready to go. I am using them dry as they didn't need to bend overly far to accommodate the pine limb slice, my friend Buzzy did the slices and the holes for me.

Here you get to see the entire set up. One container for the pine needles themselves...this is because there are times when they have to be damp. The other is for things like my needles, thread, scissors and such.

A little tip for any of you who are going to do pine needle basket coiling. As you stitch, you have to tug the stitches nice and firmly tight, or you will have a soft/sloppy basket. In doing so you hands tend to get sore, sometimes the thread will cut you, and of course the needles do poke you at times. Both can be quite painful.

I discovered when I did coiling the last time that gloves can be very difficult to work in, so the hunt was on. I couldn't find anything that worked like I wanted it to and let me still feel what I was doing. So I improvised, I got a pair of 'Playtex' cleaning gloves and cut off the long arm part, and the tips of the fingers. WALA! Perfect! I can feel what I am doing, the gloves don't slip (I actually found them in size small for my LEETLE hands) they protect beautifully, they are reasonably priced, and easily found. Can't beat that right! I don't have pictures for this post, but will have some up for you of the glove very soon.

I am not sure if you remember, but I actually made the pin cushion also. It is steel wool covered with burlap and placed in an old cheese tin. Large and tough and stable!

Here I am at almost 8" and I am started off with double strands of thread, one blue and one green. I found that I kept popping/breaking the single stranded green. #10 is a little to fine I guess, even though I have used it successfully in the past. I do run it along an old piece of vanilla scented candle wax to help with this. I also have some nylon and hemp to try for the next basket.

I have used #3 also and I definitely like it better than the #10. If I am going to work so hard to make nice neat evenly spaced stitches I want them to show a little more than these do. ;-}

And here you can see I have started the side walls...you may even be able to see the royal blue in with the green.

It is now 8 1/2 in. wide and 1 1/2 in. tall.

So this is what I am up to for now folks. Stay tuned, as the basket progresses I will post pics, and I will definitely be finishing the socks. Especially since the first one fits so well.

Maybe a little 'Sock Knitting'

2011-12-21T00:01:00.038-05:00

December 2, 2011

I decided to see if maybe I could pick up my sock knitting again.

Unfortunately this has never come easily for me, and it also hurts my hands. Not to mention I have mostly weaving yarns, not knitting yarns.

However, recently, a Ravelry buddy sent me some cotton and merino wool blend very fine yarn and I thought I would give it a shot again.

I decided to do my usual toe up socks on double pointed needles. I am using a traditional toe and will use some sort of short row heel. I am making my socks opposites of each other. The toe, heel, and upper trim o the cuff on each sock will the opposite color of the other.

I am using size 2 (American) needles on 56 stitches. I double stranded the yarns as I don't like teeny tiny forever knitting. This also means if I miss a thread the other one keeps the socks integrity and I am less likely to find out I dropped a stitch later on...again knitting doesn't come easily to me.

This pair will probably be just plain old stockinette till I get back into the groove of it.

Here is what I have so far. The proverbial knitting basket. Notice the little weaving in the bottom, this was done years ago on my tapestry loom. It is my own hand scoured, hand dyed with kool aide, hand spun and hand woven piece! One of my very favorites that I kept for myself.

See how the colors are opposites!

Already lots of frogging and re-knitting, but since I can rest my arm on the recliner arm rest, it doesn't hurt me as bad as the weaving. So far so good. Let's just hope they fit!

I may have to do some pine needle basket weaving also.

Experimental bell pull

2011-12-14T00:01:00.001-05:00

November 30, 2011

I decided to see if I could weave with my separated shoulder. SO I warped up a thin band and although it cost me dearly in pain, I have created a little bell pull. It is cute for what it is and I gifted it for a Thanksgiving present.

It say's "HO HO HO", but it is tiny and I am not sure if you can see it at all.

Several things came out of this one...first it is definitely too painful on my shoulder to weave...the doctor said it would bother me for 2 or 3 months...WTH?

So for now I need to find another artistic outlet. I am soooo bored, and even more broke than usual as I couldn't work for 3 weeks. Maybe my creativity is just broken.

Please understand I get a little better each day and I am back at work. Impossible to work with a sling on though, and so the pain is ridiculous after my shift. So I am not sure just what I will be doing. Stayed tuned folks, changes coming, same bat time, same bat channel!

Bell pull

2011-12-07T00:01:00.001-05:00

November 30, 2011

I got my shelf that my x made me forever ago up in my room, along with the boat shuttle candle sticks Ms. Carol gave me forever ago. I love it! All things woven, including my pine needle baskets! The one with the buttons is my first ever weaving. It used to be framed, but the frame died so I used leave it laying around so I can look at it.

On to the current piece...red and green for the Facebook Color Challenge group project. A new color challenge is posted every two weeks, when I decided to try and see if my arm would let me weave again, it was a red and green challenge. So I got out all of my scraps of red and green and this is what I came up with. It is warp face double weave and waaayyyyyyy too narrow. But I needed something easy and mindless. I am thinking it may turn into a bell pull when it grows up. Maybe.

Oh yeah, and I gave Max's son his skull band and it now resides happily around the neck of his favorite stuffed animal. Makes me proud, he sleeps with that silly dog every night of his little life. But I digress.

I decided to try some lettering on this piece as it is kind of narrow for motif. I used the Bedouin star for a Christmas star and then did one of my little 'wingin it designs' of a Christmas tree. The letter is "Ho Ho Ho" of course. Short and sweet. Here is what I have so far.

It is only 15 warps wide total...small. Maybe a little over a half an inch. The bells I bought are a little large...not sure what I will do with it in the end.

Stay tuned.

Northwest Inkle Looms

2011-11-30T00:01:00.090-05:00

November 22, 2011

Today is the first day of starting up my blog again after my car accident and short hiatus. I will be posting on Wednesday's only for a little while, with maybe a few scattered in between as I feel the need.

To start with, I think you all know that I have recently been forced to move for the second time in 3 mnths. It really sucked, but I am no pretty much getting settled in...again. However, per usual, I was having an extremely difficult time figuring out where to hook up my backstrap. The room I am in is extremely small this time and this was making me very sure my trash picked weaving table wasn't going to fit.

So I decided to try out an Inkle loom and see if this would eliminate this problem from here on out. I went on line and did some research. I decided I wanted a full size loom, not an inklette. I also decided I wanted one with two sides, one of which would be removable for warping. This research lead me to a site for the Northwest Loom company in Wyoming. Beautiful handcrafted looms very reasonably priced. So I went ahead and ordered one.

There was a little confusion on delivery, since I was new to the neighborhood, through no particular person's fault, but it came to me the day after I got into the car accident. It is/was a beautiful piece with a free belt shuttle as well. Oak is my favorite wood and it was crafted beautifully.

I have been in a sling, but did manage to warp it up with my roommate's help for a set of shoe string's for her. Home Depot orange, ecru and gold (I still have to get aglets for the ends). Very narrow, plain weave. The loom was about 34" long though, making it necessary to have a table at the far end to rest it on. I had thought I would rest it on the floor at the other end from me, thus no need for another table. I have seen others do Inkle weaving this way, but for me it was a uncomfortable, and it had nothing to do with the car accident, it just felt awkward.

So in rearranging the furniture in my room for the 15th time I finally hit on an arrangement that allowed my weaving table to come into the room. OMG, what a homecoming. It was like slipping on my favorite slouch clothes when I sat up to that backstrap loom. I knew in that moment that Inkle weaving was not for me. No matter how lovely the loom. So it has been returned to Wyoming with my most sincere regrets to Mr. Tony.

I put on a practice warp for the backstrap, a little red and green piece for the Facebook Color Challenge group and started up (more about the actual weaving soon). Now to get rid of the bulky and ugly tool box. There is a drawer in my trash picked table...so I brainstormed and came up with what I now call a "Weaving Station". I laid a handwoven piece in the bottom of the drawer and placed all of my necessary tools in the drawer. Everything from a mirror for double weave, to my notebook. Then I took a Russell Stover candy tin my friend Max gave me and put the tools necessary for the actual weaving, pulled my computer chair u next to the recliner as a table, and placed the tin there. PERFECT!

First we see the tin with the immediately needed tools ready at the hand next to me. They are sitting on the computer chair which of course has wheels and I can position anyplace needed with one hand.

Here you can see the drawer with my other tools in it. You can also see the backstrap loom, it is behind the c clamps.

Love this! I need to trash pick more often. My roommate and I are even thinking about painting the table with acrylic pain, maybe a woods scene.

And here you can see it being used!

So for now I am set up again...until another (God forbid) move. Can't weave for more than a few minutes at this point, because of my shoulder. The car was t boned on my door. So the right arm (I was a passenger) is very sore, we removed the staples on Saturday the 20, boy am I glad those things are out. But I still have alot of pain due to the separation in the shoulder, but hopefully I will be o.k. in the long run.

Stay tuned friends and I will be letting you know how this little Christmas band turns out.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day!

2011-11-24T07:33:00.001-05:00

Crack of dawn on Thanksgiving day.

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY Turkey Day to one and all!

May your day be filled with all that you are Thankful for.

I am sooooooo bored!

2011-11-23T00:01:00.042-05:00

November 21, 2011

WOW! It is the week of Thanksgiving already...how did that happen? Seems it was Easter only yesterday.

And so I thought I would try to get back into the swing of things after the Thanksgiving festivities are over.

I intend to start my blog back up again, full time, the week after Thanksgiving. I am going to start out posting on Wednesday's only. Please keep in mind that the car accident is still effecting me in that my shoulder that is separated won't let me weave for very long at one time. Actually, even typing is difficult/painful, and I am sure you know how much I love being in a sling (couldn't have been my left arm right? Had to be the right!).

Soooooo...I have been taking photo's on the current piece, along with some updates on my weaving station and the new surroundings since I moved; in preparation of starting the blog back up again. It has been a very difficult time, I haven't even been able to work for two weeks. Bored out of my skull at this point. I think Wiggles and Lacy are going to have 'mommy withdrawals' when my schedule kicks back in. LOL

So for those of you who are still with me, Thanks so much for all of the well wishes and caring conversations. Keep watching, because the first post will be on Wednesday, November 30th. As soon as I can I will pick it back up to the Monday, Wednesday and Friday postings. But for now I think this is a good way to go, slow and easy.

I sincerely hope that ALL of you are going to have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and eat tons of turkey! Eat, drink and be merry my friends, because that is what I am going to do and that is what this holiday is for. Being with friends and loved ones, breaking bread and giving Thanks for all that we DO have and not dwelling on what we don't.

Car accident

2011-11-10T18:11:00.002-05:00

On Monday night I was in a car that was t boned on my side. I am unable to post for a while. Please stay tuned.

Crochet

2011-11-09T00:01:00.001-05:00

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Planning an day outdoors today. Going to meet a new friend and go motorcycle riding. We have been having some great weather here of late, should be loads of fun. We will be heading to Fernandina Beach by way of the scenic route. Maybe even go across the Mayport ferry in Jacksonville.

Crochet blanket is about all that is being worked on at this point. I am still deciding on what to do for my first project on the Inkle. Might be shoelaces so that I can get the hang of the loom. But keep in mind that I also have some hand spun yarns that need to be used. My Fall wool and tons of cotton. Still gotta ply both though...

No new loom yet...

2011-11-07T00:01:00.018-05:00

It is Saturday, November 5, 2011

After the long research (months) and research, I am about to pop waiting for the new inkle loom. It was supposed to get here yesterday (Friday) and I thought I would bust waiting for it.

I haven't done anything creative, other than a couple of hours to finish off the skull piece, in weeks. I am bored and frustrated by the whole thing.

Soooooo, I did get out a crochet hook and start a small blanket of acrylic for a Christmas present. I don't love doing crochet, but at least it does keep my hands busy. I also owe this one to one of my relatives. The year I did blankets for everyone, she got short changed. I ran out of yarn for hers and it is being saved in her hope chest for when she has a baby. I still owe her one to snuggle in when watching tube and such.

So now I will go and crochet while having my morning cup of jo. I will post pics as soon as there is some progress on the blanket, and also when my new loom gets here.

Change in plans...

2011-11-04T00:01:00.001-04:00

October 31, 2011

Having had to move for the second time in 3 months, I am now back to square one on how to tie up my backstrap loom. I am in a smaller room than ever and I simply can't find a spot that works. The frustration of this is at an all time high!

There is no room for my usual table (if you recall I found it trash picking and it worked perfect), and I don't think the walls in a mobile home will take the pulling very well. I am made to feel much more welcome here, but I often find my weaving a meditative solitary endeavor. In other words, even though I could weave in the living room, there is a HUGE big screen, 2 adults and a 6 yr. old alot of the time in the same room.

In thinking about this dilemma ever since I first started to do backstrap weaving, I am find it a total PITA each time I have to move. I am finding that for my purposes this loom is anything but portable...or maybe to clarify, it is portable in that it is easily moved and transported, but not portable as to finding a place to tie up. Maybe if I were in another country where folks sit outside alot more, a tree would be very handy! But here in Florida in the southern United States, between the mosquitoes, flies and humidity, as I have a choice, I prefer to weave indoors. Thus the dilemma.

So I have been researching Inkle looms for quite some time now. For many reasons. Direct warping being one of them, no need for a warp board. Easier! and less gear is a good thing. Longer warps, most have somewhere around 6 to 9 feet capacity...if not more. A 9 ft. warp on a backstrap is beyond my current skill set or need. Along with the fact that 9 feet of the same weaving is boring after a point. I love that it will allow me to use the same techniques I am currently using on my backstrap also.

For a long time the 4 1/2" width seemed narrow, but I have come to the conclusion that this is about my maximum width anyway, my comfort zone as it were. Especially since I am no longer afraid (Thanks Dana) of my sewing machine, and of course still have access to the large Wave my friend owns any time I want to use it (or can find space for it).

SOOOOOO...my friend's, yesterday I ordered an inkle loom. It is made by Northwest looms. It holds 9 1/2 ft. of warp and has a weaving width maximum of 5 1/2 in. It also has two sides, one that comes off for warping and then is placed back onto the loom to keep the pegs from bending or becoming loose from the tension on the warp while weaving. I already have a hook on the wall to hang it when not in use.

I can either use it on a table, or I have even seen folks rest the far end on the floor while weaving. No extra pieces of furniture taking up valuable floor space and no need for a fixed object that won't move while weaving. No need to scoot my chair up or the table closer while weaving either. Much more user friendly in my current circumstance.

If you have never visited Northwest looms...please do. I talked to Mr. Tony in person yesterday and found him to be a lovely gentleman. I am excited to get started!

I got these pictures off of the Northwest site. My loom will be Oak, which is what I think this one is made of also.

Here is a shot of it with the side off...Another point to notice is that the tension peg has a large wing-nut on both sides of the loom. I am sure this will make for an easier time using the tension peg. Can't wait!

More yarn spinning than usual.

2011-11-02T00:01:00.001-04:00

November 2, 2011

I have been doing a little more spindle spinning than my usual, as it requires nothing in the way of brain power or valuable floor space. On a positive note I did bring a bit of spinning fiber with me through both of my moves in the last 3 mnths. (Did I mention moving sucks?)

So I have been working on some commercially prepared white cotton roving, and also on my Fall (that's my name for it) wool roving. The colors are sooooooo rich and I am even thinking that it may turn out to be sock yarn...maybe.

Here are a few shots.

I still have a bit, quite a bit actually, of the Fall roving. I have one ball all nice and plied and one ball of singles. Lots more spinning before I can do any more plying of the wool.

But this is the end of the white cotton roving. It will be plied next. I have been spinning for weeks and weeks on both of these!

I was trying to catch the brilliant colors in the sunlight, still working on the best location for pictures.

Back in the saddle...sort of...

2011-10-31T00:01:00.005-04:00

October 30, 2011

Things have been crazier than you could ever imagine girls and boys. I am trying to get settled into a very small room and a very difficult situation. Moving definitely sucks!

I did, however, find a little down time. Actually, after days of breathing paint fumes and cleaning chemicals, working my job, packing, unpacking, bending, lifting...etc...well, I am sure you get the idea, I was actually plain old exhausted and took a couple of days at my leisure. I still have tons to do, and of course finding a place to tie up my backstrap loom is once again a dilemma.

So I mounted it onto the copper pipe loom so that I could at least complete the piece I was working on. Now I can concentrate on finding a proper tie up. I don't care for weaving on the copper pipe loom, I don't like the sounds it makes, or the smell of the copper on my hands after I am finished weaving for starters. But the piece is woven.

It is the skull piece for my friend KraftyMax's son. He is 6 yrs. old and I was just fiddling around trying to save a botched plain wv dbl wv attempted warp. I did post some progress pics a while back, and now it is as finished as I can get it for now. I was thinking maybe a belt, but out of the 36 in. warp I only got 22 in. of woven web. Not quite long enough. It is also, in all probability, too wide for his belt loops. Again, it was an adjustment thinking and technique trying to save the warp from the trash can. It may turn into a pencil pouch or something else for him when it grows up...still thinking on that one.

So here are the pictures of the completed band.

Warp face double weave, so reversible. I only did one 'cross bone', because I didn't like how it turned out. But I am quite happy with my little skulls!

I am working towards my standard Monday, Wednesday and Friday postings, but may still be a little sporadic for a time. Please hang in there with me, I will get back on schedule as soon as possible.

An apology!

2011-10-24T09:24:00.000-04:00

Monday, October 24, 2011

I owe you, my fans, an apology. It has been one full week since my last posting, and I am truly sorry. For you as well as for myself. I have run into some snaffoo's in my personal life that have had me without...well...alot of things for the last week or two.

First I have had an unexpected move. This has been very stressful, to say the least, and it has lead to a total lack of concentration, as well as creativity. I have a life long friend who always says "this too shall pass" and I am going to hold it to her this time. Desperately.

Through all of this, some very good friends have stood by me, some...not so much. Funny how that goes.

BUT, I am in the new place, dogs are safe and I have a place to rest my head. So all is not horrible. There is going to be alot of ongoing adjusting for all of us, me, my dogs, my friends, their dogs, their child...you get the picture. LOL But I am welcome here, something I never felt in the other place.

I am also getting a few more hrs. at my job what with the holiday season approaching. So my friends, this blog will probably not resume it's usual Monday, Wednesday and Friday posting until next week. I will try very hard to reach that goal, if not then the following week for sure.

Still lots of unpacking to do, but I will indeed figure it all out.

In the meantime, Thanks to you all for your patience from me, Lacy and Wiggles. We will talk to you again soon.

Maybe this post should be called 'Manic Monday'?

2011-10-17T00:01:00.001-04:00

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Well gang, it seems I am still in the creative slump that has had a hold of me for about 2 weeks now. As a result postings are getting difficult. 8~(

So today I will just post a 'Thank You' note to all of my fans and wonderful on line weaving/fiber art buddies.

I actually received yet another gift from my friend 'Popsicletote' from the Ravelry.com site. She is so talented and generous. She actually hand-made me a reed to play around with. She put it together with twining, and she actually did it on a backstrap loom. On top of that, she actually sent me five wonderful skeins of yarn, a wool-cotton blend! It is a fine yarn and I can use it for sock knitting or for weaving, either one. Tempting to do socks as I haven't had any really nice sock yarn in quite some time. How did she know that blue is my favorite color?

We often do what is called a Weave-a-long on Ravelry (aka WAL) and usually they have some sort of theme. OF course there are no weaving police, so often there are wide and varied ideas going on. The one going at this point is for plain weave. Either plain even weave, or warp face plain weave. As a result alot of the gals are doing, and experimenting, using the backstrap for plain weave. (I have discovered that as far as terminology goes, it is understood that plain weave is neither warp face or weft face, otherwise it would be stated as such. So here on in, assume when I say 'plain weave' that you can see both weft and warp.)

And, actually this is what got me started on trying to do some plain dbl wv. If you recall the pink and blue piece a couple of posts back was the best one so far.

What I usually do is warp face dbl wv and they are definitely horses of different colors. I think they both have their place to be used to their best advantage, and at this point I still prefer my warp face dbl wv, and warp face plain weave also. This may have something to do with the fact that I am still learning how to do plain dbl wv. Mostly, I think it is the cleaner lines that make me prefer warp face dbl wv. Plus you don't have to factor in the color of the weft, as it is never seen.

The learning process for the pln dbl wv is how I ended up doing the skull piece I have on the loom at this moment. I didn't get it just right for pl dbl wv and converted it over to wrp fc dbl wv. Often when I am learning a new technique I will have to 'adjust' my thinking. I end up with alot of extra bands that way, and luckily, I have learned to save the warp yarn somehow and I usually even make a envelope bag out of them, so no waste! That is a good thing. I would only have so much need of a narrow band, and the little bag's make great give-a-way's.

For now, here are some pictures and my 'Thank You' to all of the folks out there, you know who you are, who enable and encourage our fiber art addictions! I often find surprises of gifted fiber related boxes in the mail box. Thank you one and all.

I think she got the thin reed pieces from disassembling a dinner place mat another lady from Ravelry sent to her. Again, generosity. The gold trim is one of her hand produced pieces. I am not sure what technique she used. Might be weaving, might be braiding. Trim for our weaving's has become a hot topic of late also.

Sky blue and teal.

And how did she know that I am a bag lady? All the way from Oregon? Isn't that little blue bag just perfect for weaving tools!

I've been doing some spinning also!

2011-10-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

October 13, 2011

Here is another one of my on-going projects. Spinning up some wool on my hand carved spindles by Ms. popsicletote from Ravelry! Aren't they cool! The yarn isn't bad either.

I have had the roving for quite some time now. As a matter of fact I have a LARGE basket full of roving in storage that I just keep chipping away at. I think this will turn out to be sock yarn at some point...not sure though, I might try weaving it into something who knows.

It spins up nice and fine and I usually use my spindles as support spindles in my lap in my recliner as I am listing to the television. Aren't the colors vibrant! Did I mention I am into the Fall colors lately?

This spindle is a phang, and it is carved of cypress and spruce. The whorl is bark! How cool is that?

I added the phone for a size reference.

Did I mention Fall colors? lol

I love the way all of the roving looks in one basket with all of those vibrant colors.

And I have even been chipping away at some cotton roving. Spinning is great when I am don't have a particular weaving idea going on in my head. I love using my own hand coiled pine needle baskets too. Hand crafted anything is the bomb! This spindle is one I got in a swap along with the pink and yellow roving you see in the basket above. Great for cotton. Just the perfect weight. Not that I know much about the technical end of spinning yarn.

O.K. I think I am all caught up now. See ya soon. Gotta go work on those Christmas presents.

I've been doing a little bit of knitting.

2011-10-12T00:01:00.005-04:00

October 11, 2011

I've been working on a pair of all cotton socks. Un-mercerized at that. I wanted to try a tube sock for the first time, and of course in my small living area do not have immediate access to all of my yarns.

So I decided to make the two toes opposites, the bodies the same, and the cuff's will be opposites also. They are called bed socks in one of my sock books. So that is what I have intended them for, sleeping in or just padding around the house in. They are not intended to wear inside of a shoe.

Since they are of cotton, they will of course shrink considerably so they are made larger than needed. Actually much too large for me in all probability. Luckily I know several ladies with largish feet, so they can easily be gifted out for the holiday's. I also know several who absolutely love purple.

I have read that because they spiral, they wear well. They form fit the foot, and as the heel never rests in the same spot, they are less likely to get holes in them. Knitting hurts my hands at times, especially doing the heels and toes. Probably grip the needles waaaayyyyy too tight. But between that, and the fact that getting socks to fit well is problematic at times, I don't knit often.

I was on a mission when I decided to take up knitting. I wanted something more portable than weaving and it worked well for that. Unfortunately, not a soul in Florida could teach me how to knit a sock and so I had to learn it all on my own. It took me over a year, but I did master it. Started out with Christmas stockings and then onto human fitted socks. I probably made about 30 or so pairs. Then it was back to weaving, my first love!

So here are a few pics, they have been on the needles for quite some time and I am trying very hard to get them finished.

First the proverbial knitting basket.

And a close up of the spiraling.

I am husbanding my sock yarn. As you can see I had a little left over from 2 previous pairs of socks. I will make the cuffs out of the same yarns, but opposite of each other. I think they will be cute, and I happen to know an 11 yr. old who will adore them.

Kind of into the Fall time of year!

2011-10-10T00:01:00.001-04:00

October 7, 2011

This one has actually been done for a couple of weeks. I have to smile when I look at it, reminds me of candy corn. LOL I Just forgot to post it. It is my first piece with 100% linen. The yellow was sent to me by a fellow Ravelry member, Mr. cphilip, and it is the linen.

I had actually decided to go for some supplemental weft (brocade) but didn't like it at all. So I just did it in plain weave. I usually don't like orange at all, but have of late been craving it. I had intended to use it for the supplemental weft, so I am still craving it. I even added in some of the copper mystery yarn that I found hidden away. I love the sheen of it peeking out of the regular brown.

It comes as a surprise to me that the yellow linen has some sheen also.

I do like the finished piece though. I think it will make a nice table topper for the Thanksgiving time of year.

Houston, I adore these skulls!

2011-10-07T00:01:00.001-04:00

August 6, 2011

I think Monster, my friend Max's six yr. old son, is gonna love these! I know I do!

I have been playing around with the design and I like the first one the best and the middle one the least. I am going to try to turn this into a pouch of some sort for him...maybe even a shealth for his Thor's hammer's handle, or a sword, perhaps a gun? Who knows what it will grow up to be since it is so totally off the mark from what I started out to do.

The original plan was to do a little pouch for sliding on to his pants belt. Maybe for coins or marbles and such. But as it is going to be so thick from side edge to side edge I am not sure. Maybe it will be a pencil case. By placing the skulls upwards and downwards both I think that there will be no wrong side or right side so which ever I decide it should be o.k.

He has the skull drawing I did for him (see previous posts) hanging on his bedroom door. His mom framed it out with duct tape that also has skulls on it. Wayyyyy cute!

I did my first attempt at acrylic painting for him also. That one is Captain America's shield. Let's just say that painting is not my best thing. However, it has the dignified spot on the wall just above his desk in his room. How cool is that. I have hit one something a boy can like. Good thing there are lots of action heroes!

Rss back up and running! WaHOO!

2011-10-05T00:01:00.002-04:00

August 4th, 2011

This is just a little update. I have indeed started to get my Facebook back up to par...again. Every time they make changes it blows up. Somehow I can't see my friend's avatars, but other than that it is working fine again.

So although I am terribly behind in my postings, (they are usually a month or so ahead) I am going to post a little something for tomorrow the 5th. I will keep on the Monday, Tuesday and Friday schedule.

I did indeed finish the little experimental blue and pink piece. I used the Handwoven magazine for January/February 2011. There is an article on double weave book marks and I have now tried several of the techniques. I have also used the Jennifer Moore video I bought months ago in Georgia.

I am not sure yet which I like best. True Finnweave (a form of dbl wv) looks beautiful on the front, nice clean lines with no hatching at the edges, but is absolutely not reversible. The others have varying degree's of this hatching on the edges of the motif's, along with varying degree's of reversibility. My goal is not reversibility. My personal goals are clean lines, less bulk than warp face double weave, (because the threads are spaced further apart you also get a larger piece for the same amount of yarn, so it is economical also) better drape, and I don't care at all about the reversibility. I figure that if I want reversibility I will just use my warp face double weave techniques. (Like the skull piece I have been working on.)

So that being said, remember that the skull piece was supposed to be plain weave double weave and I had some threading (warping) issues, and converted it over to the warp face dbl wv. I find wrp fc dbl wv much more straightforward and it has much cleaner design lines on your motif. But unless you use fine thread, and I prefer #3 crochet thread, it is very thick. The fine threads are just too tedious and difficult to see for me, even though I love what they produce.

So here are pictures of the little practice band, and I do wish I could remember which section I used which technique. I will definitely keep notes on that the next time. My handwritten journal has turned into my weaving bible. I keep very accurate notes, on thread count, width, warps per in, length etc...But I didn't think to write down which technique was used for each design factor. I think the ones I like best are the ones on the opposite end from the squares. I believe they are done in the #3 technique in the Handwoven magazine (the one that looks a little like a heart is actually not, it is part of the motif on those bookmarks. The squares and the first diamond are done in the Jennifer Moore technique and are reversible.

RSS Grafitti

2011-10-03T09:49:00.000-04:00

Today is Monday, October 3, 2011

This post is simply a test to see if my feed is working properly again. Please let me know, somebody anybody, if you can see this on your facebook page.

I really enjoy the blog, but I am aware that most of my followers do not use a reader and simply glance at the posts on Facebook. If it isn't working then I am having trouble getting motivated to blog.

Hopefully I have corrected the problem.

Thanks so much,

Marsha

Pine needle basket coiling.

2011-10-03T00:01:00.004-04:00

Social networking, blogging, tweeting...what for?

2011-10-02T09:17:00.000-04:00

October 2, 2011

It is Sunday morning. I am sitting with my coffee going through my usual 'waking up' routine.

Email, check, Facebook Fan page, check, horoscope, check, Facebook personal page, check...wait, where the heck is my horoscope? And there are no tweets on my FB page or my blog kisok. Well, dammit, FB has screwed things up AGAIN. Worse, I think they did away with the RSS feeds altogether...but I am not sure. I am not a computer illiterate, but I can't seem to figure it out, again, nor do I wish to spend my morning all irritated about it.

All of my 'fans' Avatar's have disappeared also. Who knows what I accidentally clicked on for that to happen...sure as hell can't figure out how to undo it. I just don't understand why in the world every few months they have to fix things that aren't even broken. I am very very very tired of relearning how to use my own social networking page.

So communications are down with most of my fans, I can't even find half of them...what ever subscriptions are I don't seem to have many of those.

I also gave up my Artfire shop not long ago. It got to the point that I was spending so much time on the computer I was fighting for time to actually produce art. Not to mention every time I sat down to do some, I had to think and think and think about what might sell. This has actually taken a very lot of the fun out it for me.

So, I have made a corporate decision. Instead of all of the hoopla on Facebook, I am going to concern myself with my blog, as I always have actually, instead. I will check e mails, and Facebook in case someone is trying to reach me there. But it will no longer be a critical to me. I will be spending my time here, and on Ravelry, and if I can find one I like (that makes sense) I might move over to another social netowork. Maybe.

I like that the blog is all up to me. I can add kiosk's, or feeds, or widgets as I please. And not as they make me do.

I have been rather slack on the blog of late. I only have one post done ahead instead of my usual month or more. So tomorrow there will be a post as usual, and from there you may see more than the usual Monday, Wednesday and Friday posts. This blog has kind of become a sort of diary to me. So if my ramblings and my life/art interest you...stay tuned. This is where I will be concentrating my efforts. Along with my art of course.

Oh yeah! Look what I did!

Plain weave double weave! Success at last! Well, sort of...

2011-09-30T00:01:00.011-04:00

September 17, 2011

I finally figured out how to do plain wv dbl wv. Love this crappy table I got off the side of the road. It makes a great table to hook my loom up to. Nice and heavy.

All I really did was the same thing I do with warp face weave and space the warps further apart. I twined the bottom edges for spacing and used double stranded worsted weight yarns for the continuous heddles. Works great so far. Now to figure out the patterning.

I did alot of reading to figure this out! Handwoven turned out to have a great article in their Jan/Feb 2011 on dbl wv bk marks that made it finally click. However, I am not using 4 shaft/sheds I am picking and counting the same way I do for warp face dbl wv. I will indeed develop the other two sets of heddles later on to see if I can make it even quicker. I just felt like it was taking longer to set up than it would take to weave the piece anyway, so who needs two more sets of heddles. If it was any faster it would defeat all of the prep work, kind of a let down to be finished so soon.

It is also just a practice piece with mystery yarn, so definitely alot of learning going on.

This just lets you see the table.

Here you see where I twined and lashed my warp to the bar. I am trying to accomplish a 4 salvaged piece. In other words no fringe. As well as having interchangeable colors from back to front.

Of course Wiggles has to supervise. See the little weaving...on the back the colors are reversed. Notice how you can see the up and down threads (warp) and the side to side threads (weft)...not what I usually do.

The back side.

The front side.

And here I decided to switch the colors, now they opposite color is showing!

Update: Later the same day...

Been working on this all day and I have learned some things if you guys are interested.

First off I was using the same dbl wv system Laverne taught us…stick shed and heddle shed with separating out each color as needed by picking. When I tried to do a pattern it was a dismal failure this way. Just couldn’t seem to get it to work. Soooo…back to the books.

I went ahead and put in 4 sets of continuous string heddles, per the draft (just learning to read these also, another new skill). Somehow I had trouble, couldn’t get it to work with the treadling sequence my books gave. So I persevered and figured out the sequence for putting which ever color I wanted on the top face. Maybe I threaded wrong for the sheds/shafts, but I did get it to work. Eventually.

When I replaced my original heddles and stick shed with the string heddles, I only used single worsted for the heddles…instead of double stranded worsted as I had in the start. I am now getting narrowing. I have unwoven several times and I can’t figure out if I am having problems because my heddles aren’t as thick and helping out with the spacing, or if you just get different tension in general with 4 sets of string heddles. Or if maybe I am just frustrated and tired. lol I did find that the tension was very different when I used string heddles on my few pebble weaves. so it might just be the nature of the beast.

Then I tried, per, the instructions to do a pattern. A simple diamond. Still can’t seem to get it. Weird. I am also finding that I horribly miss the clean lines of my warp face dbl wv…instead of the stepping on the edges of this weave. I know true Finnweave, which is not reversible, gives cleaner lines, but I am threaded for ldld (supposed to be more attractive on the back if not completely reversible), not llddlldd. So I am committed at this point, as I refuse to redo the heddles yet again. I am also finding that I prefer finger picking/counting to all of these fiddly string heddles (no offense Laverne, I know how you love using all of the heddles). Maybe I just like to more tactile feel of getting down in there with my fingers/hands. I am also thinking…that I may have more design freedom without all of these heddles…will have to keep at it to figure that one out.

So for now, my shoulders are screaming, and my brain is fried…but I am closer to achieving the goal than ever before. I can at least get double face plain weave, which by the way is very very near to balanced. More so in the part that is narrowing. In the first part I get 9wpi and 8ppi…in the part that narrowed I am getting 8x8.

So those are my thought on plain dbl wv up to this point. whew, tired…

September 18, 2011 Sunday

Well I got a diamond of sorts. Unfortunately one side isn't closed/connected. Hmmm, definitely not my best work. But o.k. for a first attempt. It also kept getting more and more narrow as well. Better next time.

Plain weave wall hanging.

2011-09-28T00:01:00.016-04:00

September 13, 2011

Who says plain weave has to be plain...I am thinking of making it into a wall hanging with the vine you also see in the pictures.

The table my backstrap loom is hooked to came off the side of the road...thus the crappy finish on top. But it is substantially heavy and this allows me to weave on it comfortable. It also has one drawer in the front.

The woven web is 32 in. long.

More completed projects!

2011-09-26T00:01:00.024-04:00

September 7, 2011

Finished up Alissa's pencil pouch and Aye's purple peace sign envelope pouch. I like them both. I certainly hope they do!

The purple doesn't photograph well for some reason. You just can see the bottom of the peace signs in this picture.

I hope some day I get better at figuring out how to get the motif's where they are ALL right side up and positioned where they are not folded. Each time I get a little closer.

Here we have the pencil pouch. This is the side I am calling the front.

It opens with a drawstring and the sides fold down part of the way so she can reach anything small she wants to put in it.

Completed project!

2011-09-23T00:01:00.003-04:00

September 6, 2011

I have completed (in one day believe it or not) my prototype, plain weave back-scrubber on the backstrap loom. I learned alot.

Wow! What a joy to open heddles that are far enough from each other that they don't stick to each other. Wow! This is a much, much gentler type of weaving. Wow! Talk about faster! I will definitely be doing more of this as I have tons of yarns that are suitable for it.

Here we have the completed project. 28 in. long, without straps (including the one fringed end) from a 34 in. warp, and it is 5 in. wide.

If you look closely you can see where I got two stripes that tracked a little...kind of odd looking. But remember, it is a practice piece. Lots of learning going on here.

This end is gathered because that's what it wanted to do naturally. I didn't do my knots properly at that beginning end of the warp wile winding onto the warp board (i.e. changing colors) and so I couldn't make a selvaged end there. Next time I know what to do though.

All the way across I thought I had my purple thread on the right of the pink in my double threading...the tracking that you see is where it was accidently reversed...thus 2 pinks side by side and two purple's side by side. Further down the piece it didn't do this...I guess the warp's got twisted while weaving without my noticing.

This is the twined edge. I love this! Because I was able to tie the ends of the twining on both outer edges in with the knot on the strap at either side (so that it doesn't slip around) it doesn't gather.

What a nice neat edge it makes! Next I might even try and edging cord for the sides!

So this one is mine, with all of its little character flaws! Stay tuned though, as I intend to perfect it!

Plain weave double weave...eventually!

2011-09-21T00:01:00.002-04:00

September 5, 2011

SOoooooo…I just had to give it a try. There is a new Weave-A-Long on Ravelry, in the backstrap group. It is for plain weave...be it warp face or plain weave. In the beginning it didn't interest me as I am usually doing more design/warp floats than plain weave. But I changed my mind and I guess I will be the one doing plain weave without a heddle/reed.

I twined my warp for spacing, at both ends. I also doubled my worsted cotton to make my string heddles, hoping this would also help spacing. I got that idea from a fellow Ravelry member, she used a plastic bag cut into strips for heddles. I figure if they are ‘fat’ they will help with the spacing.

I originally warped up to try balance dbl wv…finnweave. But I decided as this is waste yarn (small balls left over from other projects), and I am new to this twining for spacing thing, and continuous string heddles are not my strong suit (normally I use individual heddle loops), and I want to see if I can keep a consistent width, that it was plenty enough to contend with at one time.

I actually am wondering if I can pick my even weave dbl wv by hand, like we do for warp face dbl wv??? until I can get the hang of all of the threading/heddles/shafts.

Anyway, I have 2 threads in each heddle, a pink and a purple, for both sheds, just like for warp face dbl wv. I decided to leave them that way and use a dble strand of weft, one pink one purple, basket weave at this point, and see how close I could get to a balanced fabric. My twining was originally one thread at a time…but I re-twined it using the pairs so that I could just leave the sheds like they were wound on the warp board, instead of repicking and making them individuals.

The camera flash (which I can’t figure out how to shut off) made them a little big glared…but here are some pictures.

When it grows up it will be back scrubbie!

The bottom twined, and bound to the breast beam.

Twined and bound to the warp beam.

A better view.

Continuous string heddles, made with double strands of worsted cotton.

The beginning of the weaving. Later I un-wove this and inserted a braided purple cord to make a handle for the back-scrubber. Believe it or not I finished this 34 in. warp in one day. It turned out very well. I will take pictures and post tomorrow. I think the prototype back-scrubber turned out well. That and maybe a washcloth or two will make great gifts.

Labor day weekend...so I labored!

2011-09-19T00:01:00.031-04:00

September 4, 2011

I seem to have thrown my back out, so backstrap weaving is out for the moment. I did, however, warp up a backstrap loom and mount it onto my tapestry loom.

It is 48" long, 320 thread count, 7 " wide. Now all I have to do is remember how to weave on an upright loom! I gave myself 2 sections for warp floats, each has 20 threads...however I haven't come up with a design plan as of yet. My back was killing me so I was pleased to get this far.

My little portable warp board has turned out to work like a charm, even for this wide warp. This was all wound on in one session, as I am not sure I want to try to do several small warps and mount them all on the same loom bars yet. It must be terribly difficult to get the tension even that way...at least that's what I think. I have a tough enough time just getting the tension correct with one warp session. LOL

I love the colors though, I am thinking this one might be a wall piece! I have a beautiful piece of twisted wood that Ms. Carol gave me while I was in Georgia, and as fate would have it my daughter had asked for a wall piece. So maybe if she is a good girl, Santa will step in and make sure she gets one.

I really need to invest in a new camera. The threads are doubled with two different shades of purple and it is really a nice effect!

Look what I did!

2011-09-16T12:01:00.000-04:00

September 3, 2011

As most of you know I am from an entirely female family...no boys...at all.

So when it comes to giving presents to a boy child, I find it especially difficult. Up until now, The boy in question has been too young to notice if I gave something to his older sister, however, now at 6 yrs. old I believe he will indeed notice.

As you may re-call I recently wove a purple band with peace signs in it fro my friend Max's daughter Aye. I have been procrastinating on sewing it up until I had at least 2 projects for the sewing machine to be drug out. I now have the band for Alissa's pencil pouch complete and need to do my sewing. This did leave me with the dilemma of what to gift to Aye's brother, Monster.

When Aye decided she was into peace signs, I already knew she was into purple, so it was kind of a no-brainer to weave up something for her...what in the world do you weave for a boy????? My first thought was a belt. Only it has to be pretty narrow to fit through the belt looms of a 6 yr. old's belt. This meant an extremely low thread count and I wasn't at all sure I could chart up a skull that tiny.

So, at work the other night I was talking to a woman who acrylic paints. I happen to have some paints so I decided to give it a shot...let's just say painting is not my forte'! I did Captain America's Sheild, and believe me I have new respect for the folks who paint. Very hard to stay in the lines with a wet medium. So I got out my pencils, color pencils, and markers. Did a google search on skull image's and used the results for inspiration.

CHECK IT OUT! I did it! Here it is still on the board. I added his name and 'KEEP OUT'! For the door of his room. Can't show the finished product because of his real name being on it...But this time I have something totally about him to give him!

One for Aunt Marsha!

And he LOVES it! I did give him the Captain America shield painting, but thank goodness it went to a 6 yr. old. I won't be gifting any more paintings for quite a while. lol

Pencil bag for Alissa!

2011-09-14T00:01:00.024-04:00

August 29, 2011

My current project. Just kind of wingin' it.

My friend Alissa, a full time college student, full time Home Depot employee and mother, asked for a pencil pouch. Of course we all know I don't need a reason to weave, but it is soooooo nice to have one. LOL

So I had her pick the colors from my stash that she wanted and I must say that I love them together. The warp is 36" and 146 warps wide. Used #10, so it is only about 2 1/2" wide.

Practicing on the different techniques, the silly scroll in 'warp floats galore' took me most of the day...I should have done a few more piece's with the technique a few months ago. It's like learning it all over again.

This is what I have so far. No particular design factors in mind, I just want it to be unusual and interesting for her to look at. Maybe even to catch the eyes of some of her fellow student friends, and my old buddies at Home Depot.

At this point I think it will be my usual envelope pouch, just long and narrow instead of the more square version. I will definitely be getting out the sewing machine soon. I also need to put together the little purple peace sign bag for my friend Aye!

Completed project!

2011-09-12T00:01:00.000-04:00

August 25, 2011

I completed my copper/espresso/bridal white current project. It is 4 3/8 in. wide, 17 1/2 in. woven web and 19 1/2 in. with fringe. It is also, a pleasant surprise, reversible. It is done on the backstrap, in simple warp float technique. Although I wish I had had enough of this yarn to make it larger, I think it will make a lovely holiday gift as a table topper.

I need a new camera, or to at least go outside to take the pictures. These just don't do it justice. I call this side the front.

This is the backside.

I love the spots on the back!

I really hope that you can see the copper peeking through! It is a mystery yarn, maybe even silk. It looks hand spun and just shimmers like crazy in the sunshine. I will try to get a better picture!

New warp!

2011-09-09T00:01:00.031-04:00

August 22, 2011

Hated the warp I was working on...I don't know what makes me do these things. I tried the #10 for the double weave part of that warp to see if I could make the ridge where the dbl wv meets the plain weave less noticeable. And it did. But I kept making mistakes because it is so hard to see the fell line with #10 in dbl wv...at least for me it is.

So I cut it off and re-warped the pipe loom. This time I didn't wrap around it with the warp already on backstrap bars. I just figure 8 warped it onto the warp board and when it came time to put in the backstrap loom bars I used the copper instead. Thus a warp that is only 22 in. long. No rotating, no rolling it forward to make it easier to reach the top portion of the warp. Again, what the heck was I thinking?

Anyway, the color challenge group I participate in on Facebook's colors are brown and yellow. So, since I needed to get accustomed to warping this loom, and I didn't have much brown and yellow....a short warp was in order.

Beautiful warp! I used the double stranding that I love so much and added in some copper to the brown. Now to decide on a motif...hmmmmm...Oh wow look at this one! It looks like an owl, browns are perfect for an owl...only not so much once woven. LOL

I believe this pattern is out of the Hellen Bress book, Inkle Weaving. But to me he now looks more like an alien than an owl.

I do wish that my camera, as well as this design would do these browns justice. The subtle patterning from the double stranding just isn't to be appreciated in my pictures like it is in person.

Trying to decide if I want to un-weave it. It's only intended to be a book mark to begin with, so I may keep him as he is. Maybe.

New set up with a copper pipe loom.

2011-09-07T00:01:00.132-04:00

August 27, 2011

I am not sure if it is because of the new digs (home I am living in), the move itself or if I am simply having another creative slump...but nothing seems to work of late. It has been very frustrating.

I do have to admit though, that I have a few more things going on in my life right now also. These may be a bit of a distraction. I am of course working, even if it is only a few hrs. a week. I have also been re-acquainting myself with old friends now that I am back at home in FL. (a social life, go figure). I have also been walking and doing some bike riding, I am determined not to be housebound and if it means I loose a few pounds also, then all the better. But, as usual, I digress.

I still haven't found a satisfactory place to hook up the backstrap. Even when the dresser worked, I couldn't sit in my recliner as I am accustomed to. That chair and I have a system for tensioning, and for where I place my tools between passes, while using that system. The set up at the dresser meant using a different chair, and being kind of set in my ways with it, I can't seem to get comfortable with it. Backstrap weaving never came particularly easily to me and once I got a system down, after months and months of effort, I really struggled here with a new set up.

So I took out the pine needle basket weaving supplies, sort of. I couldn't find any pine needles on the ground! Can you believe that? I am living in beautiful Oak hammock, instead of the pine forest as I have for much of my life. So I called my friend Buzzy, who lives in the forest (and has tools, he made my tapestry loom years ago) and off we went. Still no decent needles on the ground, so he cut me some limbs. So for now the needles are outside drying.

I also cut some new-growth palm and tried spitting it and coiling with it. Don't really care for the whitish color, or the lack of pine smell. I also like that the pine needles are smaller (smaller in size here than in GA) and compact for space in my work area. Palm fronds are larger by far.

So, now I needed some centers for starting the baskets for when everything is dried and ready. We sliced two tree limbs, one Pine and the other I believe is Aspen, and Buzzy drilled wholes around them so I now have them curing in a window sill. For now everything is curing, so no pine needle basket weaving.

Back to the loom...

Part of the problem I had with the pipe loom was the fact that my threaded rods in the sides (for tensioning) were waaaayyyyyyyy too long. My spare set had nuts welded to one end (that is another story entirely) and that end would not fit inside the pipe, and of course they were too long also.

Got my roommate to dig out his hack saw and help me cut them to size, which also eliminated the nuts. Wala! New threaded rods, no cost to me.

Then I took the backstrap loom, with a warp for double weft double weave already on it, and wrapped it around the pipe loom frame. In this case the warp was a little on the short side so I had to improvise (the next one will be the appropriate length and I will simply tie the warp bars to each other on the back) on how I mounted it to the frame. Lots of lashing cords. Basically it is alot like using a Navajo loom, but nicer in that it has tension rods in the sides.

Then I tried to lean it against my weaving table, and it kept pushing the little table away from me...hmmmm...Brainstorming.....hmmmm....I placed 2 large C clamps on the far side of the table, and laid the far end of the loom on TOP of the clamps. This gave me a slight slant to the loom, I like that. I pulled the table closer to me and put my feet inside of it, as I always have to keep it from moving around while weaving, pulled it up to my lap and WOW...I think this is gonna work.

I did have to slide the loom to one side of the table so that I could c clamp one side of it to keep it from moving left to right, but OH WOW, I now have a place on the right hand side to lay my tools! This means I don't always need the ugly yellow tool box right beside me either! This is great, because the tool box is large and bulky, taking up valuable real estate in my room.

I may even be able to mount a clip on lamp to the table. Heaven. Now I only have to push back the little table when I want to stand up, and with two little spoiled dogs, one does need to stand up fairly often. LOL

Now to try a little bit of weaving and see if it works as well as I think it will...And of course I did take some pictures for you viewing pleasure.

Here you get to see the angle. Notice the red walls in my room. Not my choice, remember that I rent the space and it used to be a teenager's room. LOL

Front view.

Here I am sitting in the recliner, feet in the middle of the folding table and some weaving goin' on!

When I pull the table up nice and close the weaving itself is in just about the same spot it would be in if I were strapped into the backstrap loom. I am so happy! I even have a place to lay a mirror on the table so I can keeping checking the back for mistakes in the double weave portion. Remember the center is dbl wv that is reversible...solid brown on the back side not the same variegated you see here on the top center.

So friends, I am going to finish this piece after all. Still a bit of a struggle because the dbl wv portion is #10 cotton crochet thread. I just don't like #10 for dbl wv, too hard on the eyes. Too tedious and too much counting for too little reward in my humble opinion.

I am also thinking that if I want to, I should, should mind you, be able to unwrap the warp, take the pipes apart, put all of it into a backpack and make it a portable situation for when I want to take it with me on my bicycle. I am determined to independent and portable, and under my own steam for transportation. If the Navajo Indians can do it so can I!

New project, Double weft double weave.

2011-09-05T00:01:00.022-04:00

August 16, Tuesday

This piece is a bit of an experiment. I am using #3 mercerized cotton for the outside plain weave portion, and #10 for the center double weave area. I want to see if this will make the ledge between where the two meet less acute.

This means that I am doing double wv in the dreaded fine yarn... :-{ which we all know isn't my favorite thing. But I happen to have alot of #10 and I need to just get over it. There is a sort of variegated #10 on one side that I have been hording since Christmas. I am hoping to get an interesting effect.

Here is the 30 in. warp laid out on my bed being secured to the warp beams.

Just a close up of the colors.

This is the side I am looking at as I weave.

Here is the backside.

I haven't really decided if I want to do pick up designs yet...maybe I will just let the variegated yarn speak for itself...

Pink pebbles!

2011-09-02T00:01:00.039-04:00

Monday August 15, 2011

Finished the pink pebble piece some time last week. Not happy with it at all. I still find 'pebble weave' fiddly and difficult to setup, and I haven't put alot of effort into a design motif because I dislike having to reach through to the bottom shed to do the lifts. This technique does give a double sided/reversible fabric, but I don't have much need of double fabric in the first place, and if I do I prefer double weave because of the solid background.

I decided to finish it out with just plain stripes, it is off center and off balance at both ends. It seems that when I don't enjoy something it doesn't turn out as well as I would like. Surprise, surprise...lol.

Pink pebbles.

Notice how where I doubled the weft in the stripes, it changed the weave considerably, but not the width of the fabric.

I even got hour glassing on the pebble design...different weaves, different results in the same piece.

Here you can really see the hr. glassing. The piece is actually a consistent width all the way from end to end.

New pebble weave warp!

2011-08-31T00:01:00.036-04:00

August 11, 2011

This warp did not come easily! Not only did I have threading problems and have to manually re-pick the sheds, but I ran out of heddles, twice. So TWICE I had to stop and make more. Basically it took me all day just to do the heddles.

As this is only my second pebble weave project, I am still happy with just the pebbles. No designs yet. I like it so far. I forgot to take pictures of the other side, but will do so soon. It is a reversible weave. The other side is light pink with dark pebbles, opposite of what you see here. This is a perle yarn, and as a result has lots of shimmer. Difficult to take good pictures, so I hope you can see it reasonably well. I will work on better pictures.

You also get to see a picture of how I am tying up in the new digs.

Unfortunately the very end corners of the window sill (there are 3 huge windows) are the only ones deep enough for a C-clamp to catch and hold. So I am using only one fixed point, another learning curve to be sure as it wants to wobble a bit. The red piece that you see is a piece of rubber to protect my friend's window sill, the clamp is also red so a little difficult to see.

Pipe loom project!

2011-08-29T00:01:00.033-04:00

August 10, 2011

Through no fault of switching this warp from a backstrap loom to a pipe loom, I had a lot of problems with this it. Threading sequence issues mostly.

It seems the warp was a little wonky tension wise also. I find this to be problematic, especially on a frame/pipe loom. In other words, one side of the loom is slightly longer than the other. This means that to get even tension all the across the warp, you must crank one side of the loom up higher/tighter than the other. This creates an angle in the top bar, which makes the warp try to slide to the side that is lowest, simply by gravity. If you tighten it up enough to prevent most of this, it is too tight to warp face weave comfortably. If it loosened to the point of comfort, on side of the warp is baggy and troublesome. It is alot easier to have floats and missed threads in a very loose warp. Lots of room for errors in general. Plus it will look different from one side to the other side.

So here are pictures of what I could salvage from the project, be assured that I am back on my backstrap. Working diligently on getting a workable system going again. Pictures will be coming soon.

As you can see they are small and I sacrificed alot of the warp by starting over three times and trying to work out the 'kinks'. This is the front side.

If you look closely you will see the back side of the one to the far left. The green is double stranded with two shades of green, the white is single. Notice how it made the white threads pull to an angle, kind of like little v's to make the design on the back. Interesting. I kind of like it.

These pieces have no particular destination at the moment, they are just in my box of things that will probably be gifted out, maybe even at Christmas.

Conversion from backstrap to pipe loom.

2011-08-26T00:01:00.006-04:00

August 7, 2011

Previous set up in my new home with the backstrap loom. Notice how I have to brace the chair with my feet to keep it from coming into my lap. Painful on my hips to sit with my legs straight out after a couple of hours weaving. Probably because I have to keep pressure on the chair to keep it from coming over into my lap.

So I went to storage and got out my Archie Brenan Pipe loom. Laid the backstrap on the bed (it was already totally set up and secure), slid out the loom bars. Slid in the pipe loom between the warp layers (this is a rotatable circular warp). Then extended the loom to the correct tension with the nuts you see on the threaded side rods. Easy peasy. No more hyper extended legs, and alot less hip pain.

Now I simply lay the far end against a table in much the same fashion alot of folks use their rigid heddle looms.

The two Home Depot sticks are my lease sticks and have been pushed to the back side of the warp. They are usually just to the backside behind the top beam as stoppers on this circular warp. Unfortunately I had a few issues with this warp and moved them further down so that I could organize the threads. All of the problem areas are to the bottom of these sticks and will be fringe at the end of the weaving. It was the only way I could keep from trashing this warp of very fine threads. My heart is definitely not in this one.

New project!

2011-08-24T00:01:00.026-04:00

August 5, 2011

New project for the Facebook Color Challenge group. KraftyMax started these challenges. Not a contest, no pressure. Just creative people doing what we do.

Every 2 wks. new colors are chosen and each person gets to post their project on the group page.

This one is green and white.

The warp is right at 90 threads per shed = 180 threads and it is a 68 in. long circular warp. No idea's yet for design factors.

But first...Wiggles seems to be paying quite close attention to this one.

Gotta love the Yoda ears!

The warp.

Boy do I miss my dresser for tying up to. This set up makes my hips hurt. I have to keep pressure on the back of the chair to keep it from pulling into my lap.

And here you have my mark!

Purple Peace signs!

2011-08-22T00:01:00.012-04:00

August 5, 2011

I have finished the purple 'Aye' strap with the purple peace signs.

I have it folded but not sewn up yet. To the right you see what was left over warp and I just kept weaving.

Notice that the hearts are both right side up! Next time I want to get all of the motif's running in the correct direction.

Here you get to see the back side.

Dana is doing pebble weave!

2011-08-19T00:01:00.019-04:00

August 2, 2011

I have kept in touch and collaborated with Dana on Pebble Weave! This girl is a whiz kid when it comes to this weaving thang!

Aye's envelope bag! Purple peace signs!

2011-08-17T00:01:00.004-04:00

July 30, 2011

Originally I wanted to alternate purple heart, white peace sign both right side up, then white heart and purple peace sign both upside down. Well it turned out that I didn't like the way the white motif looked. Also turned out that my charted peace sign was VERY elongated. So lots of un-weaving, per usual...LOL.

Then I did indeed get a peace sign completed that looked almost right, now I have also done the second one and it is even better.

I actually have a plan for this weaving. I knew when I warped about what width I would get. I also knew about how long and wide I wanted the envelope bag to be. What I didn't know was how large the motif's would be, so there are going to be some wingin' it going on there.

It is intended to be for my friend KraftyMax's daughter, Aye. Her favorite color is purple, of course. I want to make it where it is carried over one shoulder and since 'peace signs' are her thing I thought hard about how to make them show up right side up on the side where the closure flap is. So far so good.

Notice my home-made loom bars and sword! Even the pick up sticks are double pointed needles I made myself!

I absolutely love the way double stranding two threads of the same color but different shades gives that steaky look!

This is all I got out of the Hand spun warp!

2011-08-15T00:01:00.028-04:00

July 30, 2011

I got 10 in. of woven web...what a waste. It just keep shredding and breaking the warps. It is the blue and white stripe piece. Just have to spin it even tighter and firmer next time. 12 in. total length out of a 66 in. warp.

So here is the new warp. I have charted up a 60's style peace sign and warped in the favorite color of my favorite 11 year old. I will be making her an envelope bag with it.

The purple is double stranded, I love to do that and get that streaky look to the warp. You can see it a little better in the pictures below.

Another failed warp! GRRRRRR!!!

2011-08-12T00:01:00.000-04:00

July 29, 2011

Day before yesterday I decided to re-warp my my backstrap loom. I wanted to have a sample to show folks and I also wanted to go downtown and sit in the town square and weave. I though it would be MOST impressive if I used my own hand spun yarn also. WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING?

It turns out that my yarn is pretty textured/nubby. Probably because I made my own puni's for alot of it. Even though it has been boiled for strength, and most of it has been double spun, it still wants to pill and shred. I am so aggravated with it. I have to un-pick the cotton off of the heddles with EVERY shed. Very tedious and annoying.

For the moment I will only be spinning for the sake of demonstrations and socks. It is definitely a good attention grabber, especially in the southern states of the USA.

Unfortunately I made a 33 in. circular warp. This means I have 66 in. of it! If I can't make it work that is alot of wasted yarn and time.

Keep in mind that since I am in an entirely new environment I am also trying to figure out how to use my feet for bracing the far end of the backstrap loom. This means that it is pretty much trial and error to figure out the length needed. That is also why I need to use a circular/rotatable warp. If I had to roll up the woven web as I went it would become to short to reach my feet. If it is too long then I can't get enough tension on the warp to weave. LOTS of learning curve going on here. Good thing I have enough loom bars for three entire looms. I can always set this one aside if I don't want to waste it. Unfortunately I can't seem to think of a way to save it if I don't weave it. It will in all probability end up in the trash can.

I did take pictures though.

Back in beautiful St. Augustine, FL!

2011-08-10T00:01:00.055-04:00

July 28, 2011

I am back in St. Augustine, FL and mighty glad to be out of podunk Moultrie, GA! I have been here 8 days and am getting settled in reasonably well.

I had sort of made a game plan for when I got here as far as finding work goes. First I wanted to try to get on at Michael's Craft store, maybe even instruct weaving classes. Then maybe try Hobby Lobby, also a craft store. I also wanted to look into the Historic Spanish Quarter where they do reenactments and have things like a blacksmith, spinners, weavers and such. I think that may even be a state job, wouldn't it be great to get into that. The only drawback there is that they dress (of course) in period costume and they are outside. Which means they are in LONG skirts, usually wool, hair bonnets, long sleeves and it gets over 100 degree heat index here on a regular basis. Then of course I wanted to get in touch with the St. Augustine Textile guild. They had asked me to participate in the reenactments a couple of years ago, and even asked me to teach tapestry.

I have also been asked by Weavolution.com to give on line classes. (I actually think I would indeed have more students that way than I ever would in FL.) At the time I didn't feel particularly qualified to teach any kind of weaving and actually said as much to the lady that approached me. Her reply was "You know more than we do, you do it every day and most of us have never done it." I still wasn't convinced.

Now, however, I believe that I am. After having instructed at the Art Center in Moultrie, and being closely involved with the on line weaving/spinning community, I have come much further with my skill set.

I went into Michael's day before yesterday while spending a wonderful day out and about with my LONG time friend KraftyMax and her daughter. We also had lunch at my favorite marina and I got to see the ocean again. Smell those oyster beds!!!!! That means I am home. But I digress...It turns out that our Michael's is actually hiring permanent, not just for the holiday season. We have also have two retail outlet malls here and this is when most of the stores start putting on the holiday help. I left a business card with my web sites listed on it, and found out that you have to apply to work for them on line. So I came home straight away and filled out the application. I was told that it takes 24 hrs. for it to be visible to them, so I will be giving them a call...or maybe even a visit today. I also want to hand them a resume so they have my personal references since I haven't worked in so long.

So please talk to the job gods, or whoever it is you talk to and cross your fingers, toes, legs and anything else you can think of. I need to work and this is the exact place I want to work.

I also found out that we now have a small Bus service here in St. Augustine called the Sunshine bus! Picks up 1/2 a block from my house! Starts around 6 a.m. and ends around 7:30 p.m. The only hitch there is that Michaels stays open from 9 to 9...BUT, we do have taxi cab's also. First I have to actually get hired!

This is the historic Bridge of Lions in downtown St. Augustine. I had forgotten how beautiful it is.

During the holiday season the bridge and the entire downtown area is lit up with white, and only white, lights! It is truly gorgeous!

Finishing technique for warp face fabric.

2011-08-08T00:01:00.134-04:00

July 26, 2011

This is a system that I devised myself on how I start and end a warp face weaving. I have found that it won't come un-woven and can withstand storage or use until it can be sewn, or left just like it is. It is certainly not the only way to do it, it is just my way to do it.

I have been asked by alot of the ladies on Ravelry to explain with lots of pictures and since I did it for them, I figured I may as well post it here on my blog. I hope it helps anyone who may be interested.

There is an explanation above each picture. In other words when you read the explanation, please look at the picture below it.

In the first picture you see that I have passed my weft from right to left and left the tail hanging out. The tail eventually gets cut off. I then cut a piece of weft the size I want for the space I need to weave. In this case I cut around 24 in. as I want to end with 10 rows of each stripe color = 20 rows (sheds) total. I always start and end with these 20 rows to get the width established at the beginning, and to make it the same, for design balance purposes at the end. I then place the new weft into the same shed, with equal amounts hanging out of each side of the weaving. Bring it down to the fell line and change sheds and beat the weft.

Then, take the right hand weft and pass it through the shed to the left. For a moment you now have both wefts on the left hand side.

Then I take the one that was already on the left and pass it through the SAME shed to the right hand side. Check my edges to make sure they are neat and my width is consistent, change sheds, beat.

Here you see the result. Again a weft is sticking out of both sides of your woven web. Now you repeat the process.

The right hand side goes through the shed to the left.

Then the weft on the left hand side goes over to the right hand side through the SAME shed. Change sheds and beat, even if it is the last row I change sheds and beat, the weft stays put better until I can finish knotting that way. I usually continue this for my 20 rows and leave enough weft hanging out either side long enough to make it the same length of the left-over warp. This way it is the same length as the rest of the fringe and looks nice and even. If I decide to twist, or braid there are no little short piece's that don't act like they should.

If I decide to sew it into something else I just cut the fringe later while assembling the piece.

Now I go to one edge and separate the last two warps, one from each shed, and add my excess weft in with these two. I cut them at the furthest point that I can and I then tie an overhand knot with all three at once.

I then go to the other side and repeat this. I now have an overhand knot at each edge with two warps and one weft in it.

Then on a band this narrow I would usually just take two warps from the very center point, one from each shed, and tie another overhand knot. For demonstration purposes I have spaced them out like I would on a wider piece so you can see them.

Then I take the piece off of whatever loom I am using, in this case the backstrap loom, and do the same knots on the other end.

Then I trim the fringe to be even on both ends. I can actually leave the ends like this indefinitely without fear of unraveling. If somehow one weft were to come out (and it won't because it is knotted) then there is still another one in the shed keeping the structure of the fabric stable. It can actually withstand alot of use and I have never had one come undone finished out this way. I have even machine washed them and they hold up beautifully. Of course as with all hand woven textiles I use the gentle cycle, and sometimes I even put them in a pillow case and tie a knot in the end to protect them as they wash. But even without the pillow case they hold up very well.

I have found that since I use these pieces quite often to make little purses have a little more thickness at the beginning and the ending have been beneficial. If it is thin, or loose it doesn't hold up well when making the closures.

So this is my technique, please feel free to use it and tell your friends if you think it will help them, where they can find this information.

One last thing...alot of folks told me that this is an unnecessary waste of time as warp face weaving's don't un-weave. HOGWASH! If you use a smooth yarn, as most of us try to do in warp face weaving, they will indeed un-weave. Ask me how I know. Some indigenous weavers use things like wool, or alpaca, camel and such. Some of these won't un-weave, depending how they are spun. IF it is hairy/sticky it makes the weaving a true nightmare, so I never seem to complete the piece anyway so un-weaving is a moot point. Opening a shed with hairy yarn is very difficult.

The smooth yarns like the mercerized cotton yarns I favor, will indeed un-weave. My thoughts on this are pretty simple, if I went to the trouble to hand weave a textile, I DON'T WANT TO RISK IT UN-WEAVING. Better safe than sorry.

Just sayin'.

Moving is such a pain!

2011-08-05T00:01:00.025-04:00

July 25, 2011

I am trying hard to get settled in here at the new place. Did a little bit of cotton spinning just to relax. It spins up so fine I have been spinning and spinning and spinning and it just doesn't seem to grow much. LOL par for the course.

I have also finished the little warp floats galore circular warp I had been working on while still in Georgia. I finished it yesterday. Now I can warp up again to see if I can get the length correct for bracing the back beam with my feet. Difficult to find a place to tie up here in my new digs.

Not sure what this piece will be when it grows up. Ms. Carol requested a lipstick tote. Kind of like the red and white one I did for feminine objects. I am just not sure I can find time to finish it before I see her next Sunday. I forgot a couple of things and she is going to stop in with them on her way through to her new home.

For now here is a little eye candy.

Warp floats galore and a circular warp.

2011-08-03T00:01:00.003-04:00

July 14,2011

My second circular - rotatable - warp. It is done in #10 100% mercerized cotton crochet thread, once again I have re-established that I don't like working with such fine yarn on a backstrap. This warp is 30 in. long x 2 equaling 60 in. total (front and back of what you can see) and it is just a little too short. My objective is to figure out what length I need in a circular warp to use my feet instead of having to tie up to a fixed object. The last one was 36 in. and was much too long. I have also tried a 27 in regular warp and it was much too short. Thus the in between of 30 in. I think the next one needs to be 33 in. I need more warp to wind around the brace beams at both the front and back ends of the loom. This locks the circular warp in place so you can beat without the warp rotating/slipping.

I am also playing around with warp floats galore with my own designs. So far just my usual hearts. No chart just winging it.

One more Envelope pouch!

2011-08-01T00:01:00.018-04:00

July 10, 2011

Today I finished up my favorite of all time long band. I made it into a wonderful envelope pouch. Selfish as it is I am keeping this one for myself. It is actually the largest so far and can be carried as a small purse.

It is made with cotton and silk. The strap is removable if I need to also.

It just has a string tie. I couldn't find a button I thought would do it justice. So I decided to let the bag speak for itself.

This is the last one for a while. I am all out of bands that are suitable for making any more. I am very happy to have found a purpose for all of the bands that started out intended for the failed poncho project.

Dana came by to show me the progress on my 'purse' that we are doing together. It is going to be so awesome. It makes me very sad to move away from her. I have so loved having a 'like-minded' friend who understands my passion for the weaving/fiber arts. Instead of always having to explain what I am doing, or watching someone's eyes glaze over as they pretend to be interested.

Dana you are the best.

Update on projects.

2011-07-29T00:01:00.001-04:00

July 7, 2011

First you see my new lace weight spindle. I am spinning this commercially prepared cotton roving, (I can't remember where I got it as I have had it for years) and it is indeed turning out to be my best spun cotton to date. Either I am getting the hang of it or the roving is better, or maybe it is the little spindle. Maybe all of the above. But this is what I have for Tour de Fleece right now. Remember I already finished the wool/silk on the phang last couple of days.

Since I couldn't turn the bands into a poncho as I originally planned, if you remember they were too heavy, I have decided to develop a tote out of them. I really love the Tibetan bag, also known as Doni Delis bag. The one you see if you click is made of re-purposed commercial fabric.

The first bands I chose just wouldn't come together in a design that Dana (she will be doing the assembly) and I liked. So I played around with some of the others and came up with something I really liked. Below you see the piece that will be used for the closure flap and some interior pockets. This also gives you an idea of the color scheme. Can't wait to see the end result. She picked out some batik fabric for the lining that I will get to see in class tonight. Stay tuned to see the completed bag...soon I hope!

Tonight Dana wants to learn Double weave on the backstrap. I gotta go wind the warp! TTYL

I've been a very busy little girl!

2011-07-27T00:01:00.049-04:00

July 5, 2011

I sat down and made 6 envelope pouch's out of my warp face bands, some were done on a Gilmore Wave, some on a backstrap. I am ahead of the game when I need to give a gift!

This is the first batch. the black and white one is my first pebble weave piece. It was done on a backstrap using a circular warp and is on it's way to Las Vegas, Nevada to my daughter for a birthday gift.

The teal and brown piece was my first 'simple warp float' piece on the backstrap...I disliked this piece from the start, but my friend Carol wanted it. Yesterday she said to me "I think I will make a pouch out of this for my cell phone accessories." My response? "Well, I just happen to be getting out my sewing machine this evening anyway, so allow me." I love the end result. I especially like the buttons. My friend Dana's fella sliced a tree limb for me and drilled holes to make them into buttons. Very rustic, I sanded them a little and orange oiled them for good measure. I like the way the orange oil made the wood grain show up more.

The warp teal and bridal white piece with the Greek Key design, I am keeping for myself. I absolutely love it! My sewing skills are coming right along. Thanks you Dana, for encouraging me to sew.

I really gotta work on getting my signature hearts to be right side up. :-(

The little red and white one works great for female...well you know...stuff! It was the first successful double weft double weave. The other two, they both started out as double weave. I still hadn't yet gotten the hang of it yet and when I failed, I simply plain wove the double stranded warp. It was a way to keep from throwing out the warp, and I think they even made pretty good little pouch's!

Just about the right size for important papers, or make up in your purse. These three don't have homes yet, but will probably be gifted out to some of the folks who help me with my coming move. shhhhhh!

And then I plied the wool/silk roving.
For "Tour de Fleece".

Dana is making a scarf out of her own hand spun wool and this isn't really enough for me to do anything with, so I gifted it to her to trim out the scarf with. Or whatever else she can come up with.

My second 'pebble weave'!

2011-07-25T00:01:00.055-04:00

July 1, 2011

I tried all kind of new skills today. I warped a circular warp on my new warp board. That little board works like a charm. I used a new method of lease sticks, also worked like a charm. I made three sheds, one plain weave, pebble one and then pebble 2. I only had one tiny mistake...two crossed warps in the same shed, fairly easy to fix compared to redoing the entire shed system. And here are the results.

Here is the new warp board with my circular warp on it. Please notice how straight the pegs/bolts are. Absolutely no leaning (which means consistent tension)! I warp tight too, so this is a wonderful wonderful thing!

Here you get to see my new 'lease sticks'. The metal rings make this so much easier than tying bow's with string. Less waste also. Another plus. These are just shuttles that I made years and years ago from Home Depot paint sticks. Free is good too.

Here you see that I am all warped up and ready to go. The lease sticks are now on their side and tied to one another. This keeps my plain shed wide open, very easy to get the sword inside. You also see string heddles on pebble shed one and pebble shed two.

I am tied onto the dresser, but once I am off and running my feet will brace the stick that the blue band is tied to. This is why I did the circular warp. It is actually twice as long as what you can see on the top. Now, when I have woven as far as I can reach, I will rotate the warp around so that I can weave some more. So I never have to roll up the woven part closest to me. This way when I want to I can brace the furthest bar with my feet and the warp never changes length. It just rotates around the bars. This makes me part of the loom and self sufficient. I won't need to try out what to tie up to a sturdy fixed object (it needs to very strong for those who are not aware), which can be difficult to find at times.

Here you get to see my nice clean shed!

Here you get to see the 'Pebbles'! My head is gonna bust I am so excited.

Portable, collapsible warping board!

2011-07-22T00:01:00.019-04:00

June 28, 2011

I made myself a portable warp board today. I haven't used it yet, but I think it will work. The four boards have holes their entire length and are infinitely adjustable. The drinking straws are for protecting the yarn from the threads on the bolts. The short bolts are only for stability. When finished winding the warp...unscrew the bolts, take the 4 boards (which were cut to size) and they fit perfectly in the bottom of the tool box I will be carrying my weaving tools in.

I also got 2 more dowels cut so that I now have 3 full backstrap loom bars. WoooHooo! Got some small c clamps for holding the warp board steady and hooking up the loom as well. When necessary.

I am working hard at making my art very portable in preparing for the impending move.

Foot note:

For my portable warp board I bought bolts/screws that could be counter sunk into the wood. Then instead of counter sinking them, I put a washer on both sides of the wood. Then the screw goes right up into the washer closest to the wood and REALLY stabilizes it. I also made sure that the guy at Home Depot who put the holes into the wood did not make the holes very much larger than the screw. They fit kind of snug (no wallering around), also helping to avoid the leaning. Each of the boards were stacked on top of each other so that all of the holes lined up as well as possible.

Yesterday I did take a dremel and make the holes slightly larger as I was having trouble getting the screws in and out easily. Basically I used a sanding bit and just smoothed the inside of the hole, making it every so slightly larger and less likely to catch on the sides of the screw as it goes through the hole.

I have used it a couple of time so far and I am happy to report that it works like a charm.

I tend to wind very tight so I am very pleased that the bolts don’t lean. Especially since with backstrap weaving the warp is one long continuous thread. You don’t cut and tie on, which means if there is a loose spot the warp is basically unusable, unless you want to fight with it the entire time. I have ruined alot of warps trying to learn this consistency of tension. Fortunately I have learned to spot it before I put it onto the loom bars and I can just unwind it and rewind it. Lately it has been going better. I have found that one of the things that helped me was to stop switching back and forth between different looms. Now that I am mostly sticking to the backstrap, my skills are improving.

More Warp Floats Galore.

2011-07-20T00:01:00.001-04:00

June 27, 2011

TADA! My second warp floats galore. The hook design Laverne did last week in black and white is definitely on the list! And I did it on the backstrap! Woohoo! The warp is 3 ft. and I still have plenty to do, but going more narrow seems to be helping! No more stripes if I don't want them. Odd how I figured it out after the stripes stopped bothering me. It isn't free form but it is what I wanted it to be at that moment...and a struggle to get there!

FYI to all of my wonderful followers...I am in the process of a move back to FL...starting tomorrow morning as you are reading this. I hope that I have enough posts to keep you happy until I can get back on line. I will miss you all and be back as soon as possible. Can't wait to see the Ocean!

Another attempt at Warp Floats Galore!

2011-07-19T00:01:00.000-04:00

June 26, 2011 AND I NAILED IT!

I decided to give this another shot since Dana smoked me with it on her 3rd backstrap warp! LOL

I used left over partial skeins of red, white and blue. Used a backstrap loom, and had plenty of problems with the warp.

But I got it. I hid the stripes with spots, or as the "Helen Bress" book "Inkle Weaving" calls it a speckled background...although I am not sure it is the same technique at all.

Just in time for forth of July! Not my best work...but I can live with it!

Dana and Marsha's collaboration! A messenger bag!

2011-07-18T00:01:00.000-04:00

July 17, 2011

My handwoven bands, Doni Delis bag/Tibetan bag as a starting point...Dana's choice of batik fabric and wonderful sewing skills. I am going to be so proud to carry this wherever I go.

It goes over one shoulder and hangs in the front of me. The blue and yellow you see on the inside is another one of my weavings. It is partitioned into pockets, glasses, sunglasses, cellphone and ink pen slot. It measures 14 in. wide and 10 in. deep. I chose the brass zipper and the little woman that you see on the inside of the strap is also a pocket, my keys will probably end up in there.

Crystal's Birthday and some new backstrap tools.

2011-07-15T07:32:00.000-04:00

7/15/2011

Today my baby turns 29! How did that happen? I was just 29 myself. Happy birthday Pistal! Here favorite color is Eggplant purple...thus the purple font! LOL

I sent her a little envelope pouch for a little surprise. She is in Nevada and I am hating not seeing her on her birthday.

Hers is the little black and white one on the left. My very first pebble weave piece. She already has it and says she is using it for her sunglasses! I love that!

I have been making a few new weaving tools of late, getting ready for the big move back to FL. Trying to make everything more portable. I even gifted and sold a couple of these on Ravelry!

They are just hardware lumber, but I shape them by hand all by myself.

If anyone needs any feel free to contact me via the blog! I sell them for $1.00 an inch. So a 10 in. sword costs $10.00 PLUS shipping and handling!

This one is brand new. I will give it a swipe with orange oil to make that beautiful wood grain show up nicely.

The top one is made from a Home Depot paint stick, as are many of my tools. The middle piece has been with me for many years. I couldn't believe how much grime came off of it when I sanded it. It did take off most of the pretty golden color when I sanded it though. It is made from Lattice from Home Depot, just like the new one.

Here you see my new backstrap bars. They are Oak and all grooved on the ends (with a dremel), sanded and lightly oiled. Aren't they pretty!