I am almost at the halfway point of threading this doubleweave blanket. Threading about an hour or two a day, eventually it will get done. Between painting a bedroom and trying to get the spring yard work done, there are not enough hours in the day. This week brought three sales on my etsy store, that's a record! There are never any small boxes around for mailing so I finally ordered some on-line. Of course they didn't come in time for these packages. The last two sales were mailed out in boxes constructed from larger boxes and they weren't pretty. Recycling is my preference, but the time that was wasted trying to make a box was stressing me out. The etsy blogs talk about the importance of branding, and packaging is an important part of the appearance you make to the public. This year I will try to work on that, because professional looking packaging is essential to that all important first impression.

After about three years sitting in a closet, this warp is finally going on the loom. It is the warp for a doubleweave honeycomb blanket and has about 2000 ends. This design by Sharon Alderman is in an old issue of Handwoven, and I love the look of it. Honeycomb is usually a one sided fabric because of the long floats on one side. Sharon designed this blanket as a doubleweave so that the floats are in the center between two layers of cloth that you weave simultaneously. The fluffy chenille strips hold the two layers together at intervals. Because you are weaving in two layers, you have twice as many warp threads, and twice as many picks. You throw the shuttle for one layer, change the shed and throw the shuttle for the second layer. This will probably be the most difficult thing I have woven to date. I will have to be careful to keep a good clean shed so that the weft picks end up in the correct layers. Any mistakes will probably have to be repaired by hand when it comes off the loom. The first picture shows the picture in the magazine of the finished blanket, the second picture is my warp spread in the raddle, ready to go on the loom. It will probably take me a few weeks to get this thing threaded and ready to weave. This is an 8 harness weave and I will have to count heddles to make sure I have enough on each shaft before I start threading, but I can get it wound on and ready to go, then thread a little each day until I get it done. I think this structure would make a lovely scarf, maybe I should have tried that first. Oh well...

 

I have been working on lots of little things lately, late winter doldrums get the best of me and my enthusiasm for larger projects diminishes and my energy level gets low.  Anything that can be accomplished while sitting and watching a movie seems to be just the ticket.  These pictures show a few projects that have been finished up recently. 

A fulled hat with a flat top and feathers.  This one had me at a standstill.  No embellishment seemed right, and the shape wasn't working for me.  It was round topped and kind of sloppy looking.  I made it wet again and worked it to full the wool more and then shaped the hat on a smaller flat top block.  The feathers were hanging around in a drawer and turned out to be just the right color.  I crocheted a tiny sleeve for the ends of the feathers and attached a metal pin so they can be moved or removed by the wearer.

A couple of new viking knit bracelets, one in sterling silver, the other copper.  Both given as gifts, resulting in an order for another. 

This lime green and turquoise bracelet has been on my to do list for years,  a little encouragement from Pam helped me get started.  This bracelet took forever because it is so wide and I also constructed the toggle.   

Painted rocks.  This is just something that Pam and I did for fun.  She is a talented painter and I am not, unless it is house painting.  Once a month there is an art night at the local arts council.  You can bring any project to work on, but usually there is a planned activity if you would like to participate.  The last two months the activity has been life drawing, which isn't my cup of tea.   Actually I did life drawing in college in the 70's and displayed an utter lack of talent.  My drawing teacher gave me a C for a final grade and told me if I was an art major he would have given me a D to discourage me.  So Pam and I went upstairs and painted rocks.  Sarah was upstairs with us knitting an amazing shawl and also painted a rock just for the heck of it.  I just did dots but am pleased with my rocks.  They are a cheerful addition to the kitchen windowsill.

I haven't posted anything in a really long time. I guess my life has been too boring to blog about, and at times I have just been too busy or too unmotivated. I have been to Arizona and the Tucson Gem Show, where I spent a lot of money and dropped my camera. It is still working for the most part, but not at 100%. It is old, only 5 mega pixels and basically obsolete, but I am determined to use it up. Dropping it was an accident, but I would so love a new camera to take better images for my shop. This week I am finally painting the second half of my front porch floor. I did the first half 2 years ago, but moving some large furniture was keeping me from tackling the second half. I finally emptied the large cupboard, tipped it enough to get a throw rug under it, and slid that sucker out of the way. I had to get on my hands and knees and scrub that cruddy old floor, fill dents with wood filler and bondo (for the bigger holes), prime, and then two coats of paint. It really wasn't that bad, and it feels so good to have it almost done. I have a little touch up left to do on the window sills and YAY ! Finished! I swear nothing that doesn't belong on that porch is going back out there!!!

I finally put together some bracelets with the viking knit I have been learning. I finished a few and have been wearing them to make sure they are durable and comfortable to wear. This picture shows one that I just put together to list on my etsy shop. The viking chain was treated with liver of sulfur to give it a nice patina, but decided to let the rest of it develop patina over time. When you purchase parts you are never sure if they are coated with anything or if they are pure copper. I always try to work with uncoated metal so I know what to expect. I have to work at my real job tonight so I am done playing for today, more fun tomorrow.

I recently took a felting workshop at the new location of the Weaving and Fiber Arts Center of the Weavers Guild of Rochester.  This is my first class with Marie, although I have admired her work for a long time.  We made little capelets using a nuno felt technique,  Each capelet has a little felted flower embellishment, although mine isn't sewed together yet...

This is Marie's original design so I won't be making any of these to sell, but I have a nice piece to wear and enjoy, and learned a lot in the process.   We did ombre coloration which was new to me, and layed the felt out in an overlapping X pattern instead of the shingling I have always done.  It made a thin yet structurally sound piece of felted cloth.  Marie had pre-dyed all the silk gauze that we used in the class, and had serged all the edges with cotton so the stitching matched the silk.  There was a big bin of merino roving and novelty yarns to chose from and each of the classmates came up with a unique and beautiful piece.  But I like mine the best.

I have always loved viking knit jewelry, never thought I could do it myself. This is my third attempt and I would say this one is a success. I photographed it on top of my highly professional draw plate. My friend Bert made me a tool with a hex shaft and a daisy shape at the top to help me keep my lines straight. Worked great! My first piece wasn't worth finishing, my second merely wonky, but this one with the new tool and a little practice makes me smile! I saw a video on u tube that uses the same technique with a needle and yarn/cord, can't wait to try that, too.

I can't believe how much snow has piled up in 2 hours. Really pretty, but I still haven't dug out my tender bulbs, or brought in my clay pots, or picked my cabbages. Oh well.

The November program at the Weavers Guild was a fashion show of coats by Priscilla Kibbee. The coats are pieced and quilted using the most amazing assortment of fabrics and artifacts from all over the world. Some of the coats were just stunning for the workmanship and others were just plain fun. Several of the coats had themes, ie. Cows Don't Get no Respect featuring cow fabrics, and Life is Short, Eat Dessert First. Theme fabrics were collected over many years until Priscilla had enough to make each coat. Each coat was completely unique and there were LOTS of them, she filled her car and left many more at home. Priscilla teaches and exhibits all over the world which gives her ample opportunities to collect wonderful embroideries, beadwork, needlepoints, etc. to incorporate into the garments. The guild really enjoyed seeing her work and the models had a great time wearing these unique garments.

I finished this scarf in time for the Mayday show last weekend, but it didn't sell. So... I get to enjoy looking at it for a little longer. There is enough warp on the loom for one more scarf, but I will use a different color weft and maybe weave circles instead of ovals just to change it up a bit.

This Saturday is the Mayday Underground Sale at the Main St. Armory in Rochester. I am looking forward to doing the show and seeing the latest work by friends who also do this great indie sale. I hope to have this tencel scarf done today, been thinking about it for a while. The structure is a turned M's and O's which gives a great deflected design when it is off the loom. The loose areas pull together and create oval cell shapes. I have done this pattern before and used many different types of yarn and colors and it is always a winner. This scarf is tencel in lavender, pale green, and blue gray with a supplemental warp thread of handpainted rayon in the same colors plus a little yellow. It is more subtle than I had anticipated but after it is washed the colors should pop a little more. The drape of tencel is lovely, it feels like silk but is easy care and much less expensive.

The temptation to buy things is always so great when you do a craft sale. I will have trouble resisting the delicious dark chocolate with pistachios and candied ginger from Hedonist Chocolates. http://www.hedonistchocolates.com/

Francesca De Caire makes the most beautiful glass beads and I find them sooo inspiring to work with. Check out her Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/FrancescaDeCaire

Michele Kurpisz is another terrific artisan that works in lots of different media. Her beadwork is stunning, she weaves, and makes great bottle cap art. Her Etsy shop is Beauty in the Eye http://www.etsy.com/shop/kurpisz