Its way too hot to wear it but.....

 This shawl is knit as a sample for my friend Angie.  She dyes a lot of yarn for a sheep and wool festival in the fall and thought it would be fun to have some samples.  It was fun to knit, a little odd in how it was constructed but I think it turned out fine.  It is about 100 here today so needless to say I won;t be wearing it soon.

One Pair is Done

I finished the first pair of panels to send to my kids in Colorado--the window they will put them on is quite a bit smaller so it is a little hard to tell exactly how they will look but I think they will look smashing!!!!

The first panel is done

The first panel is done--I really like it. Now I have to warp another one, too bad I had to whack off 18" on the first warp, darn that mistake!!!! Anyway, I don't mind threading--this is an easy one.  Now I am torn between just hanging the panels off some very cool rods or making shades, what do you think?

My Summer Project

I have always wanted to try this weave--A Swedish one from Vav.  My son and his wife have moved into a "fixer upper" and have been doing a lot of work on their bedroom/bath.  They live in Colorado.  So I am making two Roman shades for the bedroom.  I decided to weave each piece of fabric in half sections as my loom will not make the wider piece of fabric.  I also think it is easier to weave this way. I am using 10/2 pearl cotton.  It weaves up very fast. I want to get them done before we go to Colorado later in the summer so I can see them hung.

The Queen

My husband and I have recently returned from a fabulous trip to Europe.  We spent almost a month traveling by train throughout central Europe.  I usually reject all things made in China but could not resist the "queen".  I found her in Amsterdam (was she on vacation?).  She is solar powered!!!!! Her purse has a mirror and when she is placed in a sunny spot she waves!!!!!! She makes me laugh.  Now back to reality and I am going to weave again soon.  I want to make some curtain material for my son and his wife.  They are remodeling and some roman shades sound perfect.  They are coming to Wisconsin next week and we will figure out the weave pattern then. Till then I will laugh with the queen.

My New Chair Pads

I am back to weaving and decided that I needed to do something with my old chair pads.  They were pretty old but not worn out so I thought I could use them as a base and make some new ones.  I uses 16/2 cotton and the pattern is goose-eye.  I like that they are each a different color.  I think they will look great when they are all sewn.

So I Put A Bird On It

Several years ago I was at a local auction and saw what I thought was a really nice foot stool.  I think I paid $10 for it and when I got it home it was not so nice at all-plastic leather and China made.  So I have been pushing it around since that time always thinking what I could do with it.  We had this very neat "Army" blanket that was somewhat the worse for wear and I thought "why not".  Since the winter has been snow less here I went up into my woods and picked up some leaves and began.  Towards the end I thought it needed a little boost so I put a bird on it!  I like it and so does my old cat who has begun camping out on it.

Its Magic

Somehow I always think it is magic when what looks like a jumble of ends actually works! Maybe cause I've been known to have a jumble of ends that don't work!  Anyway it always amazes me when what was in my head actually works! I used 16/2 cotton at 30 epi and I think it will be fine for the chair cushions.

Back to Weaving

It is good to be back to weaving.  I thought a lot about what I wanted to do next and decided to make 4 chair covers.  I rearranged my studio and set up my jack loom.  I have another rep weave project in my head but need to put on four more shafts before I can do it so I thought this would be a good interim project.  So I got out my favorite book and decided on Goose eye.  I had a lot of 16/2 cotton and decided to make all four of them somewhat different.

The gold on the lower left is going to be the background and then I will make the four cushions with each of the other colors--at least that is the plan for now.  I decided to add a 1" stripe in each of the colors  thinking that this would combine them as a group.

We will see--it is good to be back weaving again.

The Rooster

I think the rooster is the last animal for a bit.  There are no more in my head right now.  Who knows when the next one will come.  They were really  fun to make.  Used a lot of scraps up and they make me smile

A Smile is a Good January Thing

So this is my angel--she makes me smile!  My inspiration was a set of Christmas plates that I got years ago--probably 25 or more.  They are my favorite holiday things.  They are by an artist from Japan named Kiki. I have tried looking on the web for more information but so far have found little. She is going to have a place of honor in our new nook. I like her a lot.

Merry Christmas Everyone

I have been working on some whimsical little critters.  The inspiration came from a lovely book from Estonia filled with old patterns and very sweet puppets and critters. I had some leftover hand dyed yarn in yellow and blue that I thought would be fun.  The yellow is goldenrod and the blue indigo.  I have enough to make one more and am pretty sure it is going to be a chicken.

Then I have angels in my head--so who knows. Merry Christmas everyone, Peace.

The Rug is Done

So the rug is done--I am pretty happy with it--I used some heavier warp that I liked a lot however it didn't cover as well as I would have liked.  I think it was because the twist was not consistent--but it is a great bathroom rug--I think it will suck up a lot of water out of the shower----next I think I am going to do some stripes for a cushion for a bench--we'll see

Why do I like it?

Well I am almost ready to go--seems I always say that and then I make an error slaying the reed or something really dumb. Have been thinking about why I like rep weave so much and I think it is because there is a rhythm to the threading much as there is a rhythm to knitting.  There is also the geometric aspect--I like it when the calculations work --its truly magic.  Will have to let it rest for a few days, am having a house full for Thanksgiving-so it looks like Sunday or Monday--that's OK it will be fun to have family here for the holiday.

Animals on Parade!!!!

My "Penny Rug" animals are done.  It was such a fun project--they seemed to grow right out of the felt.  I have another one in my head---birds---but I think it has to wait for a bit. I have a sweater that needs some attention first.  I almost have my rep weave warped and am anxious to get that going. 

Good, not so good.....

Sometimes it takes me a long time to figure it out!!!! I finished both my rag rug and penny rug. I love the penny rug--the rag rug--not so much. Don't get me wrong, I love rag rugs.  It just seems when I make them I have a "vision" in my head that just never turns out.  So I am kissing my rags goodbye.  For anyone that wants some I will bring them to the next weavers and feel really good that they are going to a good home. I am really enjoying the wool, beads, applique process and have another in my head--it is all animals and so far I have the giraffe mostly done.  I am also starting another rep weave--this one will be for my husbands bathroom.  Right now I am moving heddles--but maybe next week I will be able to start warping it. 

Two New Porjects

I spent a good deal of time last winter making rag balls out of all my unused quilting scraps!!!! It was a long winter!!! Anyway I finally decided to make a rug for my son and his wife in Colorado.  So far I have about 20" done--I want it to be about 60".  We will be visiting them in less than a month so I guess I should keep at it.

My second project is my version of a "penny rug".  I have always wanted to make one but did not want the usual version.  So I decided to make a bouquet of flowers.  It is all wool with embroidery and beads. Very fun to do.

Summer is almost over and....

I finally got my rep weave done!!!! I like it!!! I wanted to add some more color and decided to add a border. I had enough fabric to make some napkins.  I was going to cut one of the runners and make place mats but my friend Susan thought it would be a good idea to keep both of them and overlap them when I needed four--I really like that idea

I like the darker side better but think it would be fun to use both.

So its on to another project--think I am going to do a rag rug--

Maybe Cool Colors Will Help

I am lucky enough that my weaving studio is in the shade until afternoon.  It has been OK with a fan until about 2:00. Then I make a mad dash back to the house and the air conditioning.  I started another rep weave.  I am not sure what the end product will be.  I have enough on for 2 place mats and a table runner, four place mats or I was thinking maybe I would use the fabric for a couple of bags.  We shall see when it is done.  I did get the warp done so maybe tomorrow Harry will help me wind it.

This is my dog Scraps-.  It's actually not really my dog but that is a whole other story.  He is my weaving companion.  He comes to the studio and sleeps while I weave.  He has good taste when it comes to places to lay!