Poor Blog

Dear Little Blog,

I'm sorry I have been neglecting you. I'm so happy to see you and know that you are there but sometimes I don't know what to say. I think about you often, though. And I'm usually not for a loss of words, but those words don't often make sense.

Maybe I'll give it a try though (*bling!* That's a light bulb going on.)

I'm happy that I sold a set of my Roaster Coaster this week. I have more to put up and another set to throw in the washer/dryer. We'll see how those come out.

This is new in the shop. I have a blue set of Cottage scarves that are ready to take off the loom. One is off, having been trimmed, embellished with a flower and washed. It's probably dry now and read to be ironed. Three more to go.

Cottage March Awakens

Remember 9/11. And Scarf Weather is Here

Please take a moment to remember September 11 and pray for our country.

It is scarf weather, at least for today. Rainy. Cold. Dreary. Nobody likes scarf weather, except for me. Oh, I'd rather have sunny and warm weather, too, but I'm busy building my inventory!

Yesterday was trying, however. I was the yarn whisperer. My warp got all tangled up. I can't blame it on the cat, who shall remain nameless, who has slept on my warp before . . . It was my fault. I was trying to do something my way as opposed to doing it in the proper, more methodical manner. Therefore, I spent much time untangling it and showed an amazing amount of patience. I only wanted to throw something (the phone) once. But I didn't. Good for me. Because then I would have had to explain the broken phone and the hole in the wall, hence, only compounding things.

Outside My Window tencel and merino scarf

Scarf in diamond pattern with tencel in Mountain Stream (blues, teals, and tans) and black weft (for one of the b & m stores)

Spice Diamonds in tencel (sold)

Ruby Diamonds scarf (sold)

Gold Diamonds tencel scarf

Black Diamonds tencel scarf

Cabernet scarf in tencel and merino

And I'm still making more!

Hey, Hey, More Scarves

Keep on keepin' on. I have this mental image of my loom smokin' away!

This is the first of the Fire Combo yarn I bought the other day. The warp (vertical yarn) is the Fire Combo

Here I am ready to begin the second scarf. I experimented with a red-purple weft for a few rows. There is a hint of an earthy purple in the weft but I think this was too much. For now. I may try it on the third.

Here is the second. I decided to use a black weft. Very dramatic. It looks like a tapestry.

Which demonstrates how colors can be picked up, blended together, or play off each other. Always fun.

And here is my new favorite, Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout. It's a good thing.

Crackle Weave

Two views of crackle weave on my loom. It's a dynamic weave design that enhances color combinations. Treadling is pattern weave, tabby weave, pattern weave, tabby weave, etc. The tabby, or plain weave is the simple over, under of each warp and weft.

This picture shows the simple plain weave I did for two inches at the beginning of the project. This will serve as the hem I will fold over and sew after I take the runner off the loom. But I like this look very much, so I am considering doing one runner solely in plain weave.

I'm also thinking about doing another crackle weave project using a solid warp but changing the weft colors. This would make a nice shawl, too.

Here is my latest purchase, vintage buttons, from Shane Lily Rain on Etsy:

I spent some time yesterday driving out to some antique stores yesterday only to find they are cloed on Mondays and Tuesday. I want to go out again today but I really need to get some work done today.

New and Turkeys, Too!

Another silk tarot bag added to my store.

I am working on a third, which I should finish up by the weekend.

Watch out all you toms! Turkey season starts at dawn on Monday! Look who's trying to make a getaway:

Apprehended before leaving the scene.

Some delay on my latest shawls. The linen/cotton blend yarn is very slubby and of course I did not take that into consideration when I decided to us the 12-dent reed (12 slots or dents per inch, pretty standard). Anyhoo, the yarn kept jamming up behind the reed, creating balls of yellow fluff. I decided to bite the bullet, after 16 inches of this irritant, to cut the warp and re-sley, using my 5-dent reed instead. The 5-dent has 5 dents per inch, therefore making it wider for the yarn to go through.

And it's working.

Gorgeous Weekend

and a tease to what's to come. We put the deck furniture out and had a couple of beers out there, so, it's official! For the weekend, anyway. It's supposed to rain for the next couple of days.

So, the island is finished. We moved a bird's nest there and bought two creeping junipers. I also planted some pansies and primroses there.

I planted flowers in the shed window boxes and on the flower boxes on the deck. It's so nice to look out the kitched window and see lots of color!

Here is my latest weaving project, in progress:

It's a cotton 20/2 with sections of a cotton/linen yarn I picked up in Munich about three years ago. See, you may not have a specific project in mind when you buy yarn, but if you really like it, something will come up.

A Bunch of Stuff

Garden variety of a bunch of stuff . . . literally.

Here is the new bed with mulch. It is a source of pride for my husband. It really is nice. I put up a birdhouse, made from a gourd I grew two years ago. However, the wind blew it off the tree and broke the stem off. It's on our dining room table now.

Look! My seedlings are getting bigger! It's hard to see but I have squash - butternut, spaghetti, and delectica. There are also cukes, tomatoes, and bok choy.

I also bought this ranunculus today. I love them. I wanted them in my wedding bouquet but was told they were more than roses. So I chose dalihas.

And finally, for now, I just finished these mug mats. I'm not in love with them. They're ok. I should have studied the pattern because the pattern is not centered. I should add the second nine threading section to the beginning of it to balance it out. The plain weaves are ok. I love the colors, though.

Now I am measuring warp for a shawl project.

Treasury

I'm in another Treasury!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=43642

It's my Rain Tonight scarf:

Thank you, Pacifixe!

I have a little touch of spring fever. Here is my "treasury" of lovely Etsy finds:

Rugosa Rose Earrings by Black Star

Allowed to Dream - original painting by Jessica Torrant

Bouquet Light Shade (5) by Nice

Hope Springs Eternal by Palomas Nest