Weaverly

Nearly There

The project calls for six yards of finished fabric. I put on an 8 yard warp, just for insurance. The weaving is slow but pleasant on these days that seem to stretch on forever. My Tempo Treadle makes the pattern selection error-free, so there's hardly any unweaving. 

The tie rod on the warp beam just hove into sight. The end is near.

Haul away.

Amazingly, there was only one broken warp in the entire cloth.

Quitting time. I'll finish this tomorrow.

Some of you asked to see my studio. Here are a couple of snapshots before I go out to collect the mail.

And just in case the county issues a stay-at-home request, and closes the Trail, I've mapped out my neighborhood, just in case. It's exactly .48 mile, if I include both cul de sac loops. Four times around will make it nearly 2 miles, just about right.

Becalmed

Establishing a fixed routine seems to be a good idea these days. None of this lolling about in bed till 10 AM. Today I did my walk before breakfast. There weren't so many boy racers on the Trail. Here's where I pass under the highway. 

Since the Trail is a former railway bed, there are sections where it is quite elevated above the surrounding terrain. The views are interesting, kind of a birds' eye effect. 

Back at home, I am doing some sewing, as in garment making. I haven't made a garment in several years, and my skills are rusty. Here I am setting in a sleeve. Two rows of gathers, then pin, pin, pin. 

Then to the sewing machine and stitch carefully. This brings back memories of sewing class in middle school. At that time I was sewing my first blouse out of pink cotton broadcloth. Very unforgiving. There were a few random pleats in the sleeve cap when I was finished. That's a no-no. I brought the blouse home and my mother made me rip it out and redo the sleeve. I was furious at the time, but in retrospect I see that as an important milestone. 

Fast forward. I finished the new blouse and tried it on. Too small! I had made the wrong size. Three days wasted. But not really wasted. I did enjoy the feeling of sewing again, and will start another garment soon, this time measuring more carefully. Note to self: I am not the same size as I was in middle school. I'll give the blouse to my sylph-like granddaughter. 

Then there was yesterday's bread. It's the same recipe I've used several times before. What happened? I don't know. My buddy thinks I must have forgotten the yeast, but I don't think so. It looks like it rose high and then flopped. I sliced it up and put it in the freezer. It will be good toast.

My daily cuppa, usually at 4 PM, in my safe space. This is my new mug from East Fork. Best mug ever. A beauty, and it has heft. The mug mat is ply split braiding from Barb. Hi, Barb! The handwoven carpet was found by Phyllis in a Greek monastery over 50 years years ago. It's been from house to house to house with me, and is still going strong. Phyllis, where are you now?

 

A Cluster of Cairns

More walkers than bikers on the Trail this morning. The county workers are out mowing the grass verges. Scent of onions.

On a trailside bench, a man reading a book. A crutch is propped next to him. How did he get there? A runner alongside his small helmeted son on a bicycle. A mom pushing a stroller with an infant, her young daughter riding ahead on a pink bicycle. A gray-haired woman walker passes me. She's the same one I saw yesterday. Daily routines emerging here. A very tall guy in a beautiful yellow suede-like shirt. I longed to reach out and touch it, but I didn't. 

Some new cairns have sprung up overnight, or perhaps these are modifications to existing cairns. No matter. All messages welcome.

And here is a cluster of cairns! Or concatenation of cairns. Or a convergence of cairns. Or a community of cairns. Take your pick.

Of course there is more green than yesterday. A doubling of green. Every day there will be twice as much green as the day before. A better statistic than some others.

Back in the studio I continue to labor at the amalgamation project. I've had to scrap every word I wrote before my move. It's total c##p. Did a fresh new draft. Somewhat better. Now I have to decide what to do with the woven samples. I no longer have the photography setup with backdrop and lights. I will have to go with Plan B. The scanner perhaps.

And the drafts will have to be organized. Well, that's for another day. Click on this one to enlarge, it will look better.

Virtual wave. Here's lookin' at ya!

More Messages From Out There

I'm so glad the Trail is still open, and I hope the county will elect to keep it open. Folks are being very cooperative about social distancing, and I think everyone realizes that it's important to get out and exercise every day.

Today there are more cairns on the Trail - or maybe I've just been paying more attention. But it's like getting a message from Out There. So I wave back. Thanks, whoever you are.

It rained hard last night. I could hear it on the roof. The trees are about to explode into leaf. 

Sometimes I work on the rigid heddle loom while watching the news. It's calming. The weaving, not the news.

This is all handspun: the warp (except for the red silk tie-down threads), the ground weft, and the pattern weft. 

The darned spell-checker keeps wanting to change the word "handspun" to "hands-on". Gr-r-r. Bad doggie.

OK out there. Stay warped. Stay wise.

Extending Horizons

Walking north on the trail instead of of my usual south has its rewards. I saw a cairn this morning, and welcomed the virtual hello from some unknown walker. Hello! Enjoy this spring day! Be safe!

A little further on, the Bird House. Does this mean the Birds live at the end of this path? Or that the birds, lower case, are the occupants of the little houses? Some day I'll find out. But not today.

 

I got as far as Rabbit Roost. That's a pretty long walk for me. Time to turn around and head home.

In the Department of Yarn, working on this knitting project while listening to Governor Cuomo. A voice of sanity.

Willy just sent me this. It was painted on a gate in his neighborhood.

Just wondering: when this is all over, will someone ring a bell and announce "It's OK to hug your grandchildren now"?

New Vistas

I didn't think it was possible, but they have put the lake on lockdown. How can you lock down a lake? Goodbye swans. Goodbye ducks. Goodbye blue egret. 

I know it's the smart thing to do. And I still have a place to walk. It's just that I didn't have a chance to say goodbye to the turtles. Here they were two days ago. Hundreds and hundreds of them, sunning themselves on the artificial islands.

And the trees that were just starting to bud. I thought I would be able to observe their daily progress. Not to be. Not this year.

And so back to the studio. I've found a new enthusiasm: downloadable patterns. As long as the printer paper, ink, and scotch tape hold out, I'll be OK. 

Department of books: I just finished reading Lily King's "Writers & Lovers." Highly recommended.

On Lockdown

My activities while we're on lockdown are the same as usual, only more so. That translates to increased weaving time. Lucky, lucky, lucky.

You may recall that the fabric being woven here will eventually become a bias-cut pullover. I will be using this pattern by Sarah. I've used her patterns before, and find her to be a very dependable guide to sewing garments from narrow handwoven fabrics.

But first I had to make a muslin, to check the fit. I had no muslin on hand and a trip to the fabric store is a no-no right now. I did, however, have an old bedsheet. It's an incredible cotton/linen jacquard, too good to get rid of after its useful life was done. Over the last couple of days I made my dummy garment out of this, and it fits perfectly. In fact, it's so nice that I will be wearing the muslin, even after the handwoven version is done.

I've also been finishing up the teaching warp on my rigid heddle loom. I may want to put another warp on this loom soon, and have to be ready for action when the mood strikes.

Then there is always the daily walk. As you can see, I am maintaining social distancing.

So are they.

Be careful out there, y'all. Be mindful, be kind, and be grateful for the work of your hands.

Monochromatic

There was enough warp on this loom for at least 6 yards of cloth, which was the original goal. It's going to be a garment, eventually. The idea is to have as much variety in weaves as possible, with plenty of changes in the weft colors, too. A real stash buster. It's slow going, as this is a table loom. But the weaving process itself is pleasant, and quite soothing. I was surprised this morning, when I took measurements, to find that over 3 yards have been woven so far. Past the halfway point! Bring out the champagne.

It's a cloudy day, and the little bits of color are especially welcome. Spring is coming, no matter what!

The crane was hiding in the weeds. He almost looked like a weed himself, at first glance. I stopped and enjoyed this scene for quite a while. 

Then I went back to my loom.

Amalgamation, Again

Trying not to watch too much news, by daylight I finished the red & green striped warp with this little sample...

...then cut it off and washed all the little bitty samples, then ironed them and photographed them by artificial light (so yellow!).

Front...

...and back.

Then made a new warp...

...and tied it on to the last one...

...and here it is almost ready to go.

A few inches woven before I turn to my evening reading:

And I leave you with this creature. Enjoy.

Yarn Choices

I am back into the amalgamation study at last. These samples are not so much about color as about yarn weights and sett. 

The red warp is 16/2 cotton, and the pale green is 16/2 cottolin. 

The 36 epi sett makes a very dense cloth. It would be good for placemats and such. For clothing or napkins I would prefer a more open sett.

And if your eye is craving yellow at this point, here is the inevitable daffodil picture. 

Or if you'd prefer a more sedate black and white, here are some swans. They are so ungainly out of the water, but trust me, when these guys go back into the lake they are gorgeous.