So much has happened

Clearly my best intentions are useless. In blogging, as in life, actions are what counts, not words. It’s now been a whole month since I wrote. Sigh.

I’m going to try to take things in chronological order. And I’m going to try to not write excessively – time won’t permit me to sit in front of my computer that long this evening, and you probably wouldn’t want to read it all if I could.

In early March I took a class at the Weaving Center, Suminigashi. Ever hear of it? I hadn’t till recently. A Japanese ink marbling technique. It was actually a two-session class, but I could only attend the first part. We used just black ink for this class. It was pretty cool. Here are my finished papers.

I couldn’t attend the second class because I went on a program with Road Scholar – my first but it won’t be my last. They did SUCH a good job giving us a very high quality program. I could go on and on about what we did for the week that we were in Santa Fe, but I won’t. I’ll just give you one highlight. We spent an afternoon at Ghost Ranch, where Georgia O’Keefe did much o her painting. The tour guide took us around the Ranch, very slowly, in small vans. They stopped frequently and we go out and they pointed out a specific visual, and then held up an 9′′x12′′ color copy of an O’Keefe painting and showed us exactly what she was looking at when she painted that scene. Wow! Here are 2 photos from that visit.

The weather was beautiful in Santa Fe that week – cool in the morning and sunny and warm in the afternoon. At home in Rochester? Not so much. Here’s my yard on March 23, the morning after I returned.

I got my taxes done, shared a lovely Easter day with family, and did a variety of mundane tasks.

I’ve joined a group of local women who write postcards motivating people to vote. They’ve been doing this since the Women’s March in 2017, growing their list of people willing to write since then. Their email list now tops 500, and it’s not all talk. This grou send out roughly 600 postcards EVERY WEEK!! The core group studies races, determining where extra encouragement is needed. Writers can pick up packets at a variety of locations, which include 20 postcards and stamps, a mailing list, and a script We’re encouraged to decorate the postcards to make them more eye-catching. Here’s one of the 60 I’ve already mailed. It feels good to DO something instead merely worrying. Or kvetching.

Then, of course, the postcards have to go to a mailbox. This is where I got sad. Or frustrated. Or some other unpleasant emotion. Not that long ago these PO drop boxes had big ‘doors’ that pulled down so you could put a pretty decent-sized packag in them. A few years ago they switched to a much smaller door that would accommodate a thick, soft package; all of the USPS Priority Mail boxes were too large to fit. When I went to drop off a batch of 40 postcards, I put a rubber band around them to make it a tad easier for the postal carrier – pick up one wad of postcards instead of a mess of single cards. Hah! The boxes had been modified again, this time there’s only a slot. Nothing opens. And a group of 40 postcards was too thick to fit in that slot. I’m guessing they did this because some jerks were putting garbage or other nasties in the boxes.

Then there was the eclipse. I made my grandson a Tshirt, and wish I’d taken a photo of it because it turned out much better wha you’ll see here. It just involved black fabric, a bowl, and bleach. Of course, my grandson did fine, but I got bleach on my favorite sweatshirt, so I decided I’d put decorative patches on it. Since there’s a big heart on the back of the sweatshirt, I went with hear on the front. When I have time I may do some simple sashiko embroidery on the hearts. Or maybe not.

On eclipse day my daughter had a party, with a total of 31 people – adults and children – attending. I offered to use the Tshirt technique to make eclipse bandanas and head ties. They did not work as well, but here you can get an idea.

Of course, because we live in Western NY, the weather didn’t cooperate. It had been sunny and beautiful Saturday and Sunday and was again on Tuesday. But Monday? We were SOCKED IN with thick clouds that never parted.

It was still very cool. It got darker out very gradually, and then all of a sudden, BAM, it was pitch dark! A minute later BAM it got much lighter quickly. I do wish it had been clear as none of the many kids there had ever seen a total eclipse. They’ll just have to wait.

Meanwhile I put a warp on the loom – all 16/2 Jaggerspun fine superwash merino. Long enough for a shawl and a mobius. I wove the shawl of 2 strands of 60/2 pink silk held together.

Here I was auditioning wefts for the mobi. I really wanted to like the navy (I’d already tried black), but I just didn’t. I ended up using a 30/2 cream silk.

I’m leaving in the morning with 3 of my line dance sisters for a Beginner’s Ball in Richmond, VA. Although I’ve attended a few local & regional line dance parties, this is a MUCH bigger deal – 850 people and 3 days of dancing! WOO HOO!!! I’ll leave you with this photo I love of my grandson and his dog.

April 10th, 2024 

August fun

You’ve heard me talk about my wonderful urban soul line dance group, the Grateful Line Danze Krew. I can honestly say I hav never been involved in anything like this group before. In my 70+ years, nothing has made me feel so welcome, so appreciated, so truly grateful to be a part of it. I’d like to think that a single Black woman would feel as welcome in a group of white women as do in this group of Black women, but I know in my heart that is just not true. These women are something else. Like any organization, large or small, so much starts with the person at the top, and for us, it’s LadyP. She exudes warmth and joy. LadyP is the woman kneeling at the far right in the photo below.

Our 2nd year anniversary celebration is this weekend, and I’ve been involved in getting everything ready for a wonderful and FUN time. This year we’re hosting a Glow Party. We have sold 146 tickets to this event, with groups from Buffalo and Syracuse sending large contingents as well as lots of local people.

As the name implies, we’ll have black lights and lots of glowing decorations. Everyone will get a bag of favors on entry. Shhhhh.....don’t tell anyone, but here are 2 of the items in that bag. (I suggested these.)

I crammed myself into my little closet to take that one.
Then, because our line dance group loves to make noise when we dance, the favors also include a branded whistle.

The whistles were my idea, so although I didn’t create the graphics, I was the one who worked with the online company to get a sample, then get our artwork correct and get them shipped on time.

There are also 2 starlight mints in the bag. Here’s a tip from me, learned too late. Don’t buy the mints at the local dollar store. While they taste fine, they are very hard to open and I know that people will find that frustrating on Saturday. Unfortunately I didn’t know that until I had already purchased 5 bags of them and put them in the bags.

Because there will be so many people, we want everyone to be able to identify who our group is, so if they have any questions o concerns during the event they can easily find one of us to ask. Someone (not me this time) suggested that we make buttons/pins. One of the group thought she had a button maker, but it turned out she’d given it away. So I reached out to a friend of my daughter’s who used to make buttons as a side gig, but she’s a busy woman and it took several days for her to respond. I the meantime I learned that one of the local libraries has a whole button making kit available for borrowing, but unfortunately it was already checked out and not due back in time. I was getting desperate so sent out a group email to my weaving guild and one of the members actually had one she’d loan me. She lives almost an hour away, but we were able to coordinate times for both pickup and return when she would be much closer. But still...time to find one, time to drive to meet her, and way too much time spent at the computer making the logo the correct size and shape to print several of them on a sheet, in a circle that I could very carefully cut around, and then turn into these buttons.

Then, while I was meeting the woman with the button machine, I stopped at a local seafood eatery to pick up gift cards for Lady and Cleo, her teaching sidekick. (Standing far left in the photo at the top of the page.) One of the other members of our core group suggested I make little pouches to hold the gift cards. I went through my fabric stash and came up with two that I knew would work great. From my sister’s place when I cleaned it out after she died back in January. It took longer to sew on those snaps than to make the little pouches themselves.

Then, one of the group said she’d buy bottled water and make labels for them, also handed out at the event.. She did this last year as well. Last year we had about 85 people come, so she’d planned on bottles for 100. When we sold almost 150 I told her I’d take care of the last 50. I bought the water, configured a Word document with both our logo and that 2nd year 2023 side from the whistles, printed them out, and taped them on. Only after the fact did I have an oops moment. Kim had labels printed on lab paper. Mine were on plain paper. They would NOT stand up to an ice-filled cooler. So I went back over each label with clear packing tape. They will likely still have issues and Kim’s will be nicer, but I did what I could. (See how the time adds up?!)

So while I have been busy, it hasn’t included included a lot of weaving.

I did finally get another batch of 3 handwoven hugs completed. I’m quite pleased with them. I used a draft I’ve used several time before, because it’s easy to thread and treadle and I always like the look. This first one may be my favorite of the three, and it went first. The warp for all three is mercerized cotton, mostly 6/2, in a gradient. This one has a lavender cotton weft (8/2 and 16/ held together), that seems to go from silver to bright lavender as it crosses the warp colors.

Using the rule about black intensifying colors, I used black bamboo (3 strands of 20/2 held together) for the next one. It’s fine, and got chosen second, but it’s just a tad dark for my taste.

I still have this last one, waiting for someone to claim it. Will that be you?

My hugs are given at no charge to people who are dealing with depression OR Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. The hug can be for the person with the disease or one of their caregivers or loved ones. I do not have anyone on my wait list, and I know myself well enough to know that I’m motivated by a list, so if you’d like this hug, or to get on a wait list for whatever might come next, PLEASE let me know. All I will ask is reimbursement for postage. The golden glow of this one is so inviting. Another bamboo weft.

Finally, I did get bead bags sewn for August.

I have some lovely garden shots, but I’ve been sitting in front of my laptop for too long and have to get out and do my morning walk, so they’ll be in the next post.

August 18th, 2023 | 

Late July, 2023

 I’ve accomplished a lot in the last few weeks. First up, I wove and finished 8 Fun Stripe towels. I just posted them in my Etsy shop. I saw some towels that used a draft called Dianne’s Awesome Rainbows and posted in Blazing Shuttles Chatter Faceboo group by Jean Eldridge Flores. It called to me. I made just the tiniest modification, changing to blocks of 4 instead of blocks of 3 and went to town! Every block of 4 stripes in both warp and weft is a different color, so these towels took much longer to make than is typical for me. That would usually make me not like them so much, but not these towels. I really like them. A lot. I know that my newest creation is often my favorite, so I am trying to remember that.

Look how totally SMASHING this would look with black as the primary color instead of natural! I may have to do that sometime, but probably not for kitchen towels. Maybe as shawls?

I also finished that second jacket, with some lovely, nubbly, undyed yarn. This one will be for sale...hopefully it will speak to someone.

I spent A TON of time on the finishing of my red jacket, deciding on and then making the closures, and couldn’t do that for this one that’s for sale. So I opted for a magnetic closure with a simple button for looks, one that’d I’d made from polymer clay some years ago. I’m happy with it.

I didn’t plan how the various weft options would fall, it just happened. If I think about it, I may try to do that on my next jacket. I’m kind of sorry that the stripes are mostly on the front and the individual inlays are mostly on the back. Although they take the mos time, they are my favorite look and I wish there was a bit more of them on the front. You can just see tiny bits of them on the collar/flaps on the front. C’est la vie.

I have quite a length left over. Will I finish it for a regular shawl? A mobius? Something else? I don’t yet know, and would welcome your input.

I also sewed bead bags for July. All this batch needs is the ribbon threaded through the top casing.

Then, because I apparently don’t have enough commitments (LOL), I decided to take a 3-session beginning embroidery class a the Weaving & Fiber Arts Center. It’s the first time it’s been offered, and I do like this teacher. I knew if she didn’t get enough students the class would be cancelled, so I registered.

I learned to embroider as a pre-teen. In the (MANY) intervening years, I’ve done stamped cross stitch, other stamped embroidery, counted cross stitch, and probably others that aren’t occurring to me at the moment. I was therefore a bit surprised to learn new things in this class. :-0 Here’s the output of the first 2 classes. I still have to do my ‘homework’ before the 3rd and last class which will take place this Friday.

As always, I’ve been line dancing with THE BEST group of people EVER, and kayaking. I even got my 7-year-old grandson out kayaking twice in a little plastic sit-on kayak. I hope we can do a few more adventures when he gets back from family vacation.

July 26th, 2023 | 

And suddenly it's October

An entire month. To the day. With no post. How does this happen, especially when I’m feeling so busy? Obviously too busy to blog.

But then I should have a lot to show for it, shouldn’t I? Alas, that is not the case.

In chronological order – or something close to it...

Way back in late August I showed you the striped warp I was beaming for towels. They got woven and listed in my Etsy shop. A few have sold. Trust me when I tell you that part of me hopes that none of the towels I weave at this point sell, as I want to have plenty of towels to bring to the Weavers’ Guild Holiday Sale.

So why do I put them up on Etsy? Because a sale is a sale is a sale, right?
After those towels I put another warp on with all those luscious new colors. More dots.

That lightest colored one? It’s not dots – or at least not just dots. I really sort of hated it on the loom so didn’t make any more wit that type of treadling. Off the loom? I like it and now sort of wish I’d done more. That’s how life goes, right?

Then I quickly put on rayon chenille warp for 2 rainbow shawls.

Seeing these colors just makes me SO happy. And these will be my last rainbow shawls. This is the end of my yellow and orang rayon chenille and I won’t buy more.

Then I wove the two shawls, using black rayon chenille as I’ve done before. After the fact I wish I’d just used black rayon, which is substantially finer than the rayon chenille and wouldn’t have covered up so much of the warp threads. The black rayon chenill darkened everything up more than I would have preferred.

Instead of doing a self hem, I machine stitched on a bias binding I’d made many months (years?) ago of dupioni silk. Then I han hemmed that down. You can just see the corner of it in the photo.

I sent one of the shawls off to the Copper Shop Gallery in East Aurora; the other will go to the Holiday Sale. While those shawls were in the washer & dryer I stitched up the September batch of bead bags.

Then I planned, measured, and beamed a warp for my September hugs. On September 28.

On the 30th I got 1 and 1/3 woven. Today I’ve woven 1 full one, so about 2/3 left to weave. I had to leave the house for a few hours for another obligation, and *hope* I can get that last hug woven before the day is out. I’ll still be late for September, but that’s the best I can do. Besides, this is a self-imposed deadline, so....

Closing shot. While Florida & South Caroline are dealing with Hurricane/Tropical Storm Ian, we’re having pleasant weather here in western New York. Look at last night’s stunning sunset.

October 1st, 2022 |

July updates

We’ll start with a bit of the natural world. Yesterday morning I was heading back from my walk and came upon a man who was staring up into the trees. It was clear he was watching something, so I stopped and quietly asked what was interesting. There was an adult pileated woodpecker (mama? papa?) and 2 juveniles up in the tree.

The adult was very busily working on the trunk, making a big hole and digging out bugs or larvae, and the juveniles were sort of hopping around and trying to imitate the behavior. Emphasis on trying. The adult was seen to feed one of the tasty morsels (s)h uncovered to a juvenile.

Can you see the juvenile poking around the side of the tree near mama/papa?

On to some sewing. I realize I never showed you the bead bags I made in June, so below you have 2 sets: first June’s 10 bags and then July’s. I don’t love the skull fabric, but I’m hoping they’ll appeal to some of the children in the hospital.

As for weaving, since I didn’t finish them until several days ago, I’ve decided that I’ll not call these June hugs. That boat has sailed and I have to admit that I simply missed that target. These are July’s hugs.

Personally, I prefer the bright ones – the second two – but I’m trusting the first will suit someone. These hugs are a combination of bamboo, cotton, and tencel or rayon.

Because I’ve somewhat struggled in distributing these hugs to people with dementia or their loved ones, I added another potential avenue for these. I am a member of my local BuyNothing group, a Facebook based group. As the name implies, the concept is to give away what you don’t need or want and get what you do. I’ve both given and gotten several things. I’m hoping posting in that group will reach people I haven’t yet had contact with.

So as always, do contact me if you know of someone who could use a hug – a woven one.

Now for the closing. I take an urban/soul line dance class weekly. This is an important part of my week, and never fails to raise my spirits. The group is SO positive, so encouraging, so welcoming, so great. This week, one of the core team wore a T that struck me as perfect, so I asked for her permission to photograph it and her. I love the sentiment and this woman.

July 16th, 2022 | 

This and that

Spring is absolutely my favorite season. I LOVE seeing all the new little plants poke their noses through the soil, watching the colors of the spring blooms, the cooler temperatures of spring vs. summer, and I even like doing the spring garden cleanup. Tha last item does take time, however, even when I did a bunch of garden clean up in the fall. So that’s my excuse for why I haven’t blogged in 3 weeks.

I’ve moved some plants, making a new garden area. That’s always hard work and takes time. I’ve prepared the soil and planted seeds. I’ve weeded most of the garden and areas and mulched. Here’s just one pic that I like (I should take more).

This is a silver dollar plant. Also called money plant and honesty plant. And those 3 common names are why I learned the Latin names of lots of plants. So this is a lunaria. After these lovely purple flowers it’ll make seeds, with pods that look like silver dolla and work beautifully in fall arrangements.

I had to take a photo of this house. During Monday’s wind, virtually all the blossoms on their tree blew down, carpeting their law and driveway in a vibrant pink.

I believe the tree is a double-flowered crab. And then there’s this:

For Mother’s Day my sweet and talented son made me a planting table. He’d heard me whine about how the multitude of bunnies eat all the young plants I put in the ground and decided to do something about it. This table is 2′ wide x 6′ long. And it FOLDS so I can reasonably store it in my garage over the winter!

In the pots I’ve put a summer squash and zucchini, yellow wax beans, sugar snap peas, lettuce, and my favorite sweet pepper, Carmen. Then, just for fun I put in a pot each of green and red/purple sweet potato vine and a red-orange lantana. I stuck some nasturtium seeds in with those non-food pots, too.

Back in the house, I finished what I call my happy socks. I knit these from the sock blank I dyed in March.

Don’t they make you smile?
Here’s the ball I’m using for my next socks. I didn’t dye this but like the color shifts.

As I was nearing the end of my 3rd warp of the Ukraine support towels, in my head I was planning what I’d do for the May wove hugs. But I wasn’t in any rush, as I still had 2 of the April hugs in my hands. (Only 1 left now.) That feeling – no rush – felt good.

Then, OH NO!! I remembered that I had promised to weave a shawl for the upcoming Alzheimer’s Association fundraising auction. Preferably in purple, which is their signature color. I looked up the date of the auction – May 20!!! It was already May 12 when I remembered, so there was no time to lose!

I knew I could always give them a piece I’d already woven if I had to, but it wouldn’t be purple. I went to my stash of Tencel yarn I didn’t have what I consider to be a clear/straight purple, but I had lots of red-violet, so that would be the majority of the shawl. I threw in some random stripes of yarns that I had tiny amounts of to finish up those cones/bobbins, and set to work.

Unlike my usual practice of warping for at least 3 pieces, I warped for only 1. Gotta get this onto and off of the loom quickly.

I auditioned at least 6 different wefts for this one, and was surprised at how ‘fussy’ the warp was. Few of those weft colors looke great with it. I ultimately chose a medium blue, trying to shift the overall away from the red a bit and toward the blue. Then weave, cut off the loom, twist the fringe, wash, dry, & hard press.

Someone is coming to pick it up momentarily, so I snapped some shots quickly.

And this morning I dropped off my 10 bead bags for May at the Weaving Center.

May 18th, 2022 |