Whoo Hoo

My first totally original 40 harness design - whoo hoo. What I've woven so far on the AVL has been some drafts I've found and woven as is or I've taken the original draft and made changes in orientation or background weaves - this is my first from scratch, from my own ginkgo leaf drawings design - I am so excited.

My warp is an 8/2 tencel in a gold/green color. At the beginning of my weaving I was just using some rust tencel left on a bobbin to get it spread out. Then I switched to black leftovers. Can you see that I have columns of 4 different variations of ginkgos?

Here I'm auditioning some other weft colors. I put enough on this warp for 4 scarves.........one will definitely be black, am leaning toward the gold  too just because it's so subtle and I like the fuschia and forest too but I'll be thinking on those as I weave on the first two. I looked at it from underneath to see the other side - love it too. Sorry the picture isn't great - not good light with this weather and I'm still not over the learning curve on this new to me camera.

I had one warp end in the middle jumping out at me the last 2" I wove - I looked at it closely and it's plied so tightly it looks totally different from all the other weft ends, definite manufacturing issue. I'm not sure how many inches/feet/yards the defect covers. It's unacceptable to me so I pulled it out and inserted a repair warp end just as if I had a broken warp end - I'll be much happier with it.

Now off to start the first scarf - whoo hoo - oh, did I say that already???  Dragonflies are in the near future.  And you're not seeing just another snow picture - it's still here but at least I'm on to something creative to share.

Give me a break.....

It's not noticeable in this picture but it's snowing to beat the band again, tire tracks down the long driveway are covered up. Enough is enough - it may or may not snow Christmas Day but we will definitely be having a white Christmas as it won't be melting anytime soon. I am considering myself lucky - we could be at Theresa's elevation just to the east of us, or I could be Yvonne who is 5 miles up the road from me and still doesn't have power. We are prepared for another outage, tubs filled with water for flushing toilets, laundry being done right now and a new UPS battery back up for the AVL so if the power blips or goes out while I'm threading and weaving today I have time to shut it down without an issue. One of Sam's chores today is to drain the gas out of the small generator, add new and see if it starts up - it hasn't been used in years.   Gee, just noticed this picture is similar to the one I posted the other day - guess that's what happens when one doesn't step off the deck to get a different view.

One step forward, one step back.....

Things are improving here on some fronts in the aftermath of the snow storm. Power came back on this morning at 7:15 - whoo hoo!  But phone service went out early yesterday evening, which includes our very poor internet service, thank goodness for my Verizon Mifi wireless hotspot. It's been snowing again here this morning, we're hoping the power is on to stay.  I can't say enough good about Pacific Power, they've been working hard to get power restored and they've done a great job of keeping everyone informed going so far as to mention in their phone recording where warming shelters have been set up. I wish Century'stink', um I mean, Centurylink (phone/internet)would take a lesson from them on customer relations.....never ending problems with them and they're less than cordial about them. If we had another option out here we'd be using it......

Planning on getting out today to deliver some gifts, do some errands in the 4wd truck - main roads are fine, our rural side roads are getting there, our steep long driveway is treacherous. One of the errands will be to pick up a UPS battery backup for the AVL so if there are power blips and I'm weaving I have time to shut it down without the e-lift system going wack-a-do. If I had that 2 days ago before the power went out for good I could have gotten the heddles threaded. I have a deadline for this scarf warp to send it off for judging into an exhibit and the deadline is quickly approaching. They know I'm sending one item (which is done, ready to go) with hopes of two but with the way things are going it's going to be touch and go on the second item.

Now off to enjoy a nice long hot shower.......in case we lose power again.........

More snow.....no power.....

Power went out last night around 9pm, woke up at 2:30am and looked outside with the flashlight and it wasn't snowing anymore...... but it's snowing again now, I understand it shouldn't last but will be back with a vengence tonight where our little area will get slammed again. Am hoping the power comes on before then for a while. Trees and wires down all over including our drive and road. No hot coffee or tea this morning in this house unless I want to go get out the propane burners I use for dyeing and hook them up to the grill tank - not feeling that needy at the moment. Too dark out this morning to read or knit by the window. Now to turn off the netbook and mifi to conserve the batteries.......

Enough is enough......

Been snowing since this morning, luckily it started before friend Yvonne and I were to head to town to see a movie......that we postponed from earlier this week due to snow. Big heavy flakes have been coming down all day, hasn't let up at all. Highway has been closed just north of us....hoping Sam gets home safely very soon as he can get off the highway before there and travel the back, curvy, hilly roads to our house - luckily he's driving a 4wd truck, our 1/3mile  uphill driveway may be an issue. Have lost internet, gotten it back, partially lost it, got it back, fought with Century'stink', as usual, they say it's not them....but it is....I won't digress......  Lights keep blinking, have filled tubs with water for flushing toilets (when on a well if there's no power, there's no water), filled jugs with water for drinking, have candles and flashlights ready, lentil soup has been cooking in the crockpot all day, fire going in the wood fireplace insert. We have a RV part way down the hill on our property with propane heat and stove if needed although all water has been drained for winter. I guess we're as prepared as we can be....... 

 

Needless to say it was a wasted day - I wound a warp yesterday with hopes of threading the 40 harnesses on the AVL but no go today as I use the program and lift system for threading, don't have a battery back up for it yet and didn't want to chance any damage from power blips...even with a surge protector the lift system goes wacky with an outage. Tomorrow is another day.....hopefully without more snowfall......

Quiet snow......

Just when I think the snow is ending, snow falling in clumps off the trees, it gets dark again and starts snowing like crazy again. Today is spinning get together day and I'm here at home, not sure how many others made it there since so many of us live in out lying rural areas of higher elevation than town. An hour ago when the snow had stopped and the driveway looked passable I thought I might get to the post office that's close by and to spinning - I turned back around and out the window I see a blizzard again - oh well......maybe later this afternoon I'll get to the post office, maybe not.......the picture above was taken when I thought it might be safe to venture out - looking quite a bit different out there now.

What is is about hot cocoa with handmade marshmallows that makes one feel better......not to mention the cheap butter cookies that my Dad used to buy from Dart Drug back in the DC area......I have found them here at BiMart which is a store very similar to Dart Drug. That is not to be confused with a Dodge Dart, a '67 was my first car, a goofy looking car made even goofier since it had air shocks and mag wheels.....actually downright embarrassing but my father picked it out to be a sturdy car for traveling back and forth to college. That car served me well for a number of years......

Sheep giveaway winner(s)

Well, it seems like not too many were interested in my sheep giveaway. In the spirit of the holiday season all 3 of you will get sheep!  Martha of Thistle Rose Weaving is the official winner of the two sheep in the giveway......but I've got a small sheep for both Theresa and Deanna too. I have addresses already for Martha and Theresa - Deanna please send me your snail mail address -  cindiesam at yahoo dot com.   Hmm, now what to do with all those other sheep that need homes......might have to revisit a giveaway once everyone has gotten through the holidays........or come up with a plan b......

Sox on the needles.......

So in the middle of being overwhelmed about getting things done for the holidays on Monday while the embroidery machine was smoking along I decided to start knitting a pair of socks for Sam. I only got a couple rows knit but it's a start......can't work on them in the evenings when Sam is home so I'll do what I can and if they're not done in time needles and all will go into his Christmas stocking and they'll be finished later. Light was terrible this morning, this yarn is actually more sage green and black.

Sheep giveaway

I have an overabundance of sheep that need to find new homes. I just don't have room for them all so I've been gifting them locally, giving tiny ones away at times with etsy sales and now I'll start with occasional giveaways on my blog.

These two sheep feel like the ends of a broom, there's a natural one and a black one. They're approximately 5" long, give or take.

Just post a very short comment to this post (this post only or it won't be counted) saying what you love about sheep. Please make sure there's a way for me to reach you either through your blogger profile or email address. I will post the winner's name so be sure to check back. Friday morning I will use a random generator at Random.org to pick a winner.

This giveaway is open to those living in the US or Canada.

Recycling........

Making headway here on holiday gifts - phew. I panicked the other day when I realized how few shipping days were left until  Christmas and the fact that I had a few sewing projects I hadn't even started yet. Yesterday I worked at breakneck speed, got the sewing projects started and finished, gifts to be shipped wrapped, boxes packed and all off to be shipped today......not to mention packing up 9 orders from my etsy shops that needed to go out too. Unfortunately during my crazy hectic day I forgot to take pictures of a few of the handmade items to show later - oh well......

Today I was working on more gifts - the embroidery machine was smokin'. I have to stay near since there are many thread color changes so I work on other projects in the sewing room while the machine is going.  Here's part of what I worked on this afternoon - gift bags recycled from Trader Joe's grocery bags. Yes, I know, I shouldn't even have these since we all should be using reusable grocery bags but there are those times when I'm halfway thru shopping and realize I've left my bags in the car........and I park my car out in tim-buck-tu hoping no one will park next to me and nick up the sides of it. In a years time there are only 9 of these so I didn't do too bad.

I did not come up with this idea - a tiny little home decor shop in Bandon, Patina, makes these to use for shopping bags when you purchase from them - yes, I've got a few of their bags.  First I cut the bottom off the bag, then cut up each side to get two flat pieces. I did run an iron over them just to make them easier to sew.

Then put them wrong sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along the bottom - it's tough to see in this picture but it's there.

Of course, I forgot to take a picture of one step where I folded the bottom up a few inches  so it creates a pleat - sorry for that.  So, after you do that sew a 1/4" seam up each side.

Here's what it looks like standing upright, it stands up nicely with that pleated bottom.

And here is looking down into the bag.

Now they're ready to decorate, although I probably won't bother just because I'm running out of time, I'll just hang a tag and wrap the gifts in some pretty country holiday tissue I have that will look perfect with the brown paper bags. But if I were to decorate I'd probably stencil some holly or something like that on them.......or maybe make a sponge stamp of some holly leaves.......

Finally something to show

Finally something I can share - it has already been gifted as it was a birthday present. I made this fun little clutch called the Square Knot Clutch by Miss Make - the pattern is available through her blog or etsy shop. I love that the denim I found at JoAnn Fabrics looks like an undulating twill which all of you weavers will understand.

The cotton lining is from my large enormous stash of ginkgo fabrics - I thought this one worked perfectly with the denim. After I finish up the gift making/packing/shipping I'll get back to this pattern to make one for myself. Hmm, just had a thought as I'm looking at the picture of this clutch - I could attach little metal rings to the inside for a removable strap so I could convert it to a shoulder bag if the mood struck me. Been having fun at the embroidery machine today.....so glad my friend Kathy enabled me to buy it a bit over a year ago.