Loom Music

bucket of 'spring' towels ready for their final press - hope to get them listed on my Art Fire Store next week....

People sometimes ask me if I manage to read so many books because I listen to audio books.  The short answer is - no.  I used to listen when they came on cassette tape.  Each side was around 45 minutes and I'd go weave and listen to a side, then take a break and come back to weave some more while listening to the next side. 

But the technology changed just around the time I was having increasing issues with fatigue and I found that if I just listened to music I could find my zone, get into my groove, and weave.  The music kept me in rhythm and somehow carried me along with the beat.

I admit to having rather eclectic tastes in music but what I mostly listen to when I'm weaving is good old rock (and sometimes roll).  What can I say?  I'm of that generation.

(Anyone remember the quote from Mick Jagger saying he wouldn't be up on stage after 50?)

Today I managed to get into the studio and weave - so far 4 towels - in between visiting with a couple of friends I hadn't seen for over a month.  It was great to catch up with them.  It also felt great to be back at the loom, finding my zone, getting into my groove.  I'm still hoping to get this warp off the loom tonight, cut and serge the 10 towels and run them through the washer/dryer so I can go pressing tomorrow after bobbin lace.  Another hour or so of weaving - I think I can, I think I can....

Today's weaving brought to you by Doc Walker, Bruce Cockburn and Eric Clapton

Keeping On, Keeping On

The level of distractions ought to reduce now - the house sale has closed and mom has her money.  Unfortunately the work crew removing the asbestos insulation have damaged the ceiling in two places so now that needs to get fixed, too.  :(  But the pressure is off - the new owners know that the work needs to be finished but they will be able to start moving their stuff into the house and if they have any renovations they want to do, well, now they can go ahead and start their work.

Mom will start physiotherapy soon and is back on the list for knee replacement surgery.  In the meantime she says she can manage on her own without the light housekeeping service - at least until the next surgery.

This week was mostly taken up in scrambling to get paperwork dealt with.  There are still a couple more things that need to get taken care of, but I did get the small loom dressed and this afternoon wove off the first two towels.  Since the weather continues to be chilly the snow is taking a while to leave.  I'd hoped for rain to wash some of the dust out of the air and melt the snow, but the weather forecasters were wrong - again!

At least I've got this pretty spring green warp on the loom.  Think I'll go weave another towel - or two.

Details, Details

lease sticks between breast beam and warping valet - I push them up as high as possible and then roll the warp onto the back beam until the sticks reach the breast beam, re-hang the weights lower down the warp chain, push the lease sticks up again, and repeat until warp is beamed

I think that sometimes people get frustrated with lease sticks because they attach them too close together, in effect crimping the warp threads so that they can't move/slide easily.  My rule of thumb (finger?) is to secure them so that they are about a generous finger's width apart.

There are many ways this can be done.  I use masking tape because it works for me, but other people have made various gizmos or used 'found' objects.  For example - the rings that open and close that some of us used in high school to keep papers together.  I've seen foam cut into brackets to hold the sticks, and small wooden blocks to do the same job.

Ultimately it doesn't matter what you use so long as the sticks are held in place securely with about 3/4" to 1" space between them.

Currently reading Jane and the Canterbury Tale by Stephanie Barron

Organizing Small Bits

loom bench at Leclerc Fanny with basket at one end, foam 'cushion' to sit on at the other

Spent some time this morning putting my studio back together.  I stripped stuff from the area around and from the loom to bring with me to teach The Efficient Weaver so it all had to go back before I could really get started doing anything productive.

I used to have a somewhat larger plastic basket that perfectly fit onto the loom bench and into which I threw odds and sods - shuttles, bobbins, measuring tape and so on.  But plastic breaks and it was getting to the point where stuff was falling out of the basket and I was getting frustrated with it.  Unfortunately that particular basket (actually a veggie storage basket if memory serves) is no longer available - or at least not available anywhere I shop - so I had to find something else. 

Several fruitless trips to various stores ensued until I finally found this little basket that more or less fits and which I could tie to the end of the bench to keep it from falling off.  Unfortunately it doesn't have a good place to store the threading/sleying hook I prefer, but the scissors do fit into the handle so I don't have to go rooting through the basket for them (as long as I remember to insert them back into the handle, of course!)

Since returning I've been wading through paperwork that piled up while I was gone and was reminded of the course descriptions/info for next year at John C. Campbell Folk School which I'd totally missed out on sending when I returned the contract just before I left in February!  So I'll finish polishing that and get it back to them later today.  Also need to write up info for a large show we'll do in November.  Sometimes it's hard to do all this planning so far in advance of events but calendars have to be written and sent out so groups and organizations are quite often working on things a year in advance.

Part of my problem is that my allergies are on high alert with all the dust in the air from the sand spread on the roads all winter.  It was supposed to rain today, which I was actually looking forward to because it would have settled the dust and washed some of the grit from the roads but so far it's just overcast, dreary and dusty.  Which hasn't helped my brain function any. 

I also realized that I've completely forgotten the thread count on the pattern repeat on the AVL so before I can weave on that I have to review my draft.  With a brain that isn't functioning particularly well, perhaps that's a job that ought to wait for another day.  But I think I can manage to rough sley and beam the warp on the Fanny.  The threading might have to wait until tomorrow as they are predicting rain tomorrow now, too.  And maybe I'll not feel so wooly headed if it does.  :}

A Special Day

Today is a significant birthday for Doug.  :)  I delivered this balloon bouquet to him at work with the hat Syne sent with the Rat City Roller Girls logo.  He'd wear it at work except that he's not allowed to wear logo hats that aren't Home Depot.  :D  So I delivered it in the Rat City Roller Girls tote bag.   I'm sure he'll get asked what the logo is for!  :DDDD

Today is also the day the sale is supposed to close on mom's house.  She's anxious to get it done and over with but so far I haven't heard anything from either her or the real estate agent.  Since the buyer seems as anxious for the sale to close as we are, I'm assuming that everything is going ahead and that in a few days it will be all over bar letting the dust settle - literally - the insulation is being removed as I type and as soon as they get the tests on air quality back, hopefully they will be positive, the new insulation can be installed and then all that's left is to change over the electrical panel.

I spent most of the morning with mom then running around town so it looks like I'm not going to get much done in the studio today, either.  The work table is cleared off enough that I could actually rough sley the reed and maybe get the warp beamed before dinner and guild drop in.

Oh yes, I also scored four new tops, all of which were on sale.  I actually have casual wear that isn't t-shirts now!  ;^)

A Touch of Spring

I had completely forgotten I'd wound this warp before I left - what a lovely surprise when I finally made it into the studio just before dinner.

Too tired to do much of anything, I've been wading through paperwork (still have income tax papers to do), watching taped tv and knitting.  However I did finally manage to empty my suitcase (although not put all of the contents away - yet) so I'm hoping that I can get my work table cleared off tomorrow and start dressing the small loom with this very pretty warp.  :)  And think about a new scarf series - I have very little inventory left of scarves so I really need to come up with something new for the fall sales.  Speaking of which, the papers came through for one of the major shows I do in November - which means that I have to write out post dated cheques to cover the booth rental.  Never seems to stop....

Mom has a meeting with one of her management team members tomorrow morning so I'll sit in on that with her and find out more about the rent subsidy program.  I'm keeping fingers crossed mom qualifies as that will make her life a whole lot more comfortable if she can get it.

The house sale should close on the 28th and that will help her, too.  :)  She will see her doctor next week for a post surgical assessment and they will decide if she's ready to go back onto the list for knee replacement surgery.  She's done so amazingly well recovering from this surgery - it's really been a huge relief for everyone.  :)

I'm finding myself dragging still, in spite of a good night's sleep.  Finding this lovely spring-like warp has made me anxious to get it onto the small loom - maybe even start weaving by tomorrow night.  Or perhaps not - Tuesday evenings are guild drop in so I might just head on over there with my hemming.  There's always the next day although I'll be spending some time with the naturopath discussing a treatment plan for my nutritional deficiencies.  I'm determined to get really and truly healthy!

Currently reading Fundraising the Dead by Sheila Connolly

Still Winter

my backyard, March 25, 2012

After nearly a month away I was really hoping hard that spring would have arrived by the time I got home.  Not as such.

It was a great trip.  Lots of enthusiastic weavers who jumped right in and explored new frontiers and shared their experiences.  I got to see my first geckos in real life and heard the manatees (they only came out after dark so we didn't see them).  There were mangroves to see as well as other exotic plants and flowers.  In Chapel Hill we went to the botanical garden and in Asheville to the Southern Highlands Craft Guild shop.

The Folk School was great - lots of song birds although the foliage wasn't quite ready to pop.  On the drive from Brasstown to Asheville we were entertained by an amazing thunder/lightning storm - fireworks just for us.  :)

While in the Seattle area I met more new spinners and weavers, then went to visit with Syne Mitchell who took me to a roller derby event.  (She even has the photographic evidence - I brought my knitting!)

And now I'm home.  Started wading through the paperwork piled on the table and will go to town tomorrow to pay bills and visit with mom.  I bought some jigsaw puzzles and will let her build them first because I have no time and a dining table heaped with paperwork - house sale, income tax, and other stuff I haven't unearthed yet.  It's the only thing that isn't nice about going away for so long - the paperwork still needs to get done.

I left a warp on the loom so if I can manage to get to the studio, I'll at least have something to weave on right away.  :)  And then I have to decide what to put onto the small loom next.  I'm thinking I'd better start making more scarves - I really don't have nearly enough for the fall sales, which will be upon us all too soon.  One of the envelopes on the table is the paperwork for one of the shows in November and next month I have to submit the paperwork for one of the local shows. 

It never really ends.....  :)