Weaverly

Around the Block

Not very high tech, but it works for me:

Summer & Winter, two blocks on four shafts.

Various rayons & cotton in the warp, 16/2 black cotton tabby, 6/2 light blue cotton pattern. 

Warping Drama

The past two days were spent in NC at the Biltmore House & Gardens. If a few daffodils and tulips are good, a few hundred thousand are better. 

In the conservatory, a sublime designer at work.

Then back home to tie on a new warp.

Beamed.

Don't you just love a new warp?

Ready to weave.

Now out to dinner at Il Ristorante. This is what eighty-five looks like. 

Getting Organized

I wanted to title this post something like "getting my ducks in a row" but everyone's tired of that one. Bear with me.

On the current two-tie threading for two blocks, I have a bit of warp left, and wanted to try some other arrangements in the treadling.

This is quite fun, as it shows up the variations in the warp colors a little more. I think I'll want to explore that further. Maybe even tie a new multi-colored warp onto the end of this one. And then maybe change up the colors of the pattern weft as well.

The tabby weft here is red tencel and the pattern weft is Harrisville Shetland. Washing will soften it up quite a bit.

 

Summer & Winter

Summer & winter. It's about the weave, not the season.

But first, the season is spring. No question. Not officially, but you can feel it in the air. On campus, the students are looking dazed. Some are pairing off. They are blinking at the sudden light. 

You can see the lake through the trees. That won't last long. 

The summer & winter piece has been finished. As usual, the side which was uppermost when I wove it is not my favorite side. I like the reddish blocks in the middle, not the white ones. 

But I hemmed it by hand, so I can always change my mind and flip it the other way. 

There's enough warp left for an entirely different treatment. But now I've got spring fever and it's hard to concentrate on summer & winter. Insert smiley-faced emoji here.

Emptying Bobbins - a Bottleneck Situation

There comes a time when all operations cease until more empty bobbins are found.

Such was my situation today. I had to stop weaving until I could free up the bobbins. Which I did, while watching YouTube videos about bookbinding. A win-win, I think.

This is a new warp, a 4-shaft project in summer & winter for 2 blocks. Not my usual, but a very good stash buster. The warp is striped, cotton & tencel,  and I'm using up some orphaned cotton/wool blend knitting yarn as a pattern weft.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to upcycle my huge collection of brown paper bags by cutting them up into sheets, ironing the sheets, and stacking them all up in preparation for some bookbinding. It's mindless work, but there are days that seem to call for that. Rainy days, mostly.

Just finished reading Nervous Conditions by Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Dangarembga. 

Find Your Best Cow

I am frequently entertained by the language I hear in yoga class. We in the class understand exactly what Kelly means when she says "Find your best cow." But if a stranger were to walk in off the street, they would find this uproariously funny. 

Another funny yoga expression is "cactus your arms." Sharon and Joy and Herman and I and the others understand this perfectly. But that hypothetical stranger would certainly wonder. For starters, who knew that cactus is a verb?

OK, enough of that. Here is my Thanksgiving loaf. It was gone in about 20 minutes.

And here is my walk in the woods. A tree really did fall in the forest. Right across my path.

On the loom, some samples of Summer & Winter weave. 

 

Signs of hope in the ever-changing  Department of Houseplants. It appears that my Christmas Cactus may actually bloom this year, for the first time since 2019.

Just finished reading The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos. 

Also finished reading They Came Like Swallows by William Maxwell.