07/27/2015

Custom cuff for a birthday!

10/07/2014

A friend of mine decided to gift me the labor for building me a workstation to do my wood carving. Knowing it would make me a lot more efficient and safe I was really glad to have this done for me. 

We did it yesterday and I can't tell you how awesome it is!!!  The only thing we spent money on was a box of screws, all the lumber I already had on sight.  Basically he took scraps/pigs ear and turned it into a silk purse!!! I am so excited.

See how we screwed the vice into the Cedar stump that my neighbor drug over to the house for me with his pick up. He even trimmed it for me so it would be the right height. This has definitely been a group effort.  If you look really close you can even see what used to be a sawhorse that we cannibalized for the table legs!  I have my own work bench specific to my height. Power cord mounted on the bench, fan, everything I need all within reach sooooo cool.

And this morning I used it!!!  Look what I did...

And I have no cuts on my hands. Or at least no new cuts from today anyway. I am still healing my pinky finger from the last major disaster.

Now I have all my tools and a workstation.   We're going to take a day and go out into the forest and cut me some more limbs.  

But for now I still have a couple of pieces to play with.  

So that's where you'll find me, either sitting in the yard carving a spoon or maybe a bowl, or maybe even doing to Pineneedle basket!  Ttyl

Backstrap

April 19, 2011  Wednesday

Once again I tried backstrap.  Once again I made minute advances.  It is still beyond me.  It is so far out of my range that it taxes me instead of giving me any kind of pleasure.  I keep thinking if indigenous weavers can do this I should be able to do this also.  I would list all of the issues I had, but it is redundant and I want to get to the good stuff.  Here are a few pics though.  If you look close you can see I did achieve a little piece.  Unfortunately I also wasted about 6 ft. of beautiful warp yarns....bummer.

Then I warped up for the guitar strap I am doing in double weave pick up for Dana's nephew.  It is coming along nicely, although I did have to get back into the rhythm of double weave.  The first couple of days I had to do quite a bit of un-weaving.  Yesterday went quite well.  

I started with his name as that is what we want to be on the front of him when he is playing.  We also want him to grow into it so it needs to be 48 in. long.  I did my own lettering of course and I am going to try to make flames on it.  Thus the color choices.  

I would like it to be complete by the last day of the month.  This means I need to weave minimum 3 in a day, hopefully 4 in.   So far so good.  It is 40 warps, which is 2 in. wide.  So far I have woven 12 in.  I should finish his name 'Ryan' today and then 3 in. of plain weave.  I have decided on 3 in. between each motif so I don't loose my mind trying to finish it on time.  

If I can't get the 'flames' to look like 'flames' I will chart a guitar and then flip it upside down and right side up the rest of the way down the flap...maybe even a musical note...hmmmmm.

Anyway, here s a peek.

Today is my birthday!

I am 50 freaking 2 today....HOW DID THAT HAPPEN, I was just 28?

As you already know my new friend Dana gave me new boards to make a smaaaaallllllllll loom.  She thinks they wee just pieces of scrap lumber that she had laying around.  Me, I think they are the bomb.  I disassembled my smaller tapestry loom, which was really larger than I wanted, and made this...

Then I warped...I USED A WARP BOARD!  I finally got it right!!!!  Oops, forgot to take pics till after the warping board episode.  I attached it to two sticks, in backstrap fashion, then I warped the warp around this 'baby loom' and lashed the two sticks to one another.  Then I raised the top board with the nuts you see just under it....and waalaa warp board warp on frame loom, twice the length of the loom and rotateable just like a continuous warp with a warp bar.  I finally figured it out!  I also figured out how to do it the next time in a way where I can leave excess warp chained up behind the two sticks and add even more.  I had seen pics of this technique many times and I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW THEY DO IT!

Again I am the proud mama!

Theeeennnnnn.....I stared a horizontal stripe pattern.  Warpface.  Pictures here...

Then I went to Laverne Waddington's backstrap blog and tried to see if I could now do the "warp float" technique...LOOK WHAT I DID!

And now the close up!

Now I even have pics for the completed Rigid Heddle washcloths.  Remember these were just for practice out of scrap.  In other words the design was my last thought so the stripes are not even.  But they will still wash my face the same.  LOL

And that my friends is the update from my totally woven birthday.  The only other things I did, was talk/chat with friends and family.  Thank all of the who knows how many facebook fans for wishing me Happy Birthday, eat and of course have a couple of glasses of wine.

Last but certainly not least, Carol after getting my favorite of Fried chicken, (I hardly ever eat fried food), fried okra and pole beans, (don't forget the wine) then ordered me a killer book on Inkle Weaving!

Happy freaking 52nd birthday to me!

I love each and every one of you.  Max says I am even to watch for a box in the mail...a 17 lb box, what the heck could weight 17 lbs?  Can't wait.  So stayed tuned and I will keep you updated.

Same bat time same bat channel.  TTYL>!