Two for May - YAY!

I finished this towel warp a few weeks ago, but realize I forgot to include it in my last post.

I wove 8 of them, these 3 with a cream weft, and a different color weft for each of the remaining 5. You can see them in my Etsy shop. Along with this shawl I showed you on the loom in early April.

In other fiber-y pursuits, I was motivated to do some embroidery. In my pre-teen years my Mom taught me how to embroider wit designs stamped/transferred on fabric. Honestly I don’t remember what I made. Pillowcases? Towels? Something else? Sure beats me. Then as a young woman I ‘graduated’ to counted cross stitch. After my husband died I created new Christmas stockings for the kids and I. Counted cross stitch on navy backgrounds. All using someone else’s designs.

A year ago I took a beginning embroidery class at the Weaving & Fiber Arts Center. We hadn’t offered such a class in many years, I knew I liked the teacher, and wanted to be sure the class wasn’t cancelled for lack of enrollment. I didn’t expect to learn new stitches, and I didn’t. I also didn’t expect to be motivated to do something new, but I was. In January I stitched my Christmas cards for 2024. I started with someone else’s design and ultimately made a few of my own. They were all admittedly simple designs, as was appropriate for their purpose.

Then a few weeks ago a friend sent me a link to an upcoming unjuried show. Some years ago (I looked it up – 2018! Where doe the time go??) I’d participated in a (juried) show called Co-Crafting Democracy. Well, the same people who’d organized that on were doing another. The 2024 show will be at the National Women’s Hall of Fame in nearby Seneca Falls. (Aside – coincidentally, my wonderful son went there with me for my first-ever visit for Mother’s Day this year.) With the subtitle Fiber Art and Activism, the focus is on the (mostly immigrant) women who worked in the knitting mill there until 1999 and those who fought for equal pay and other essential women’s rights.

I wasn’t going to submit, but one morning I woke up and had an idea. I would embroider something! I went to the local craft stor and purchase a hoop that would become part of the finished piece, as well as two adult coloring-type books that I hoped to pull design inspiration from. I made several modifications to one of those designs and transferred it to some cotton I had. (That wasn’t as easy as it sounds and there were a few mis-steps in the process.) Although I did have some design help with that book, this was at least 80% my own design.

I

knew I wanted words in the center of that circle. The specific words changed a few times as I worked. I looked at several online embroidery alphabets, none of which suited my skill level or space availability. (Mind you, that hoop is only a 7′′ diameter, so my letters had to be small.) But one of them set off the lightbulb in my brain...I could create the phrases in a Word document, print i out, and use that. So that’s what I did. This time I’d figured out an easier way to get the letters onto my fabric. Then it was time t do some sample embroidery to see what stitch(es) would work best. I decided on a simple stem stitch, with tiny stitches to accommodate the frequent curves.

They are far from perfect, but I am satisfied with my result. All I have to do now is figure out exactly how to deal with the excess fabric, affix the embroidery permanently to the hoop, and back it. There’s enough time to do that.

I finished the stitching itself on Memorial Day. That struck me as appropriate. If we – by which I mean humans – were simply kin to each other, stood up for each other, and joined hands with those different from us – wars would be a thing of the past. A girl can dream, right?

Moving on. So many lovely things happen in the spring. I put my roof rack on the car and got out for my first kayak of the season last week. Looking forward to many more.

After having it on my to-do list for weeks, I finally got a mess of rocks painted so I can once again start depositing kindness rock on my morning walks.

And I’ve been really enjoying my gardens. Weeding and mulching aren’t a drag for me; I enjoy the time spent there, especially in the spring. Here are some recent beauty shots. A lovely deep pink clematis.

A beautiful blue flax, with bronze fennel and golden spirea in the background.

And some peonies my son dug out of his side yard last year. I was hoping they’d be an heirloom variety with a gorgeous fragrance, but no such luck there. They are beautiful nonetheless.

The sad news is my Redbud. It has some type of lichen, which is really just a symptom of an underlying problem. I contacted my county’s Master Gardeners, who told me I needed an arborist. I was thrilled when I learned that my town employs one, as the town planted this tree on the right-of-way 8-9 years ago. I’ve left him a voice mail and sent an email with pix and hope to hear back from him soon. Keeping my fingers crossed that we can save this little tree.

I had bearded iris that definitely needed thinning. I posted on my BuyNothing group that I’d be digging rhizomes and when & where they’d be available. These large piles were gone within an hour, maybe less.

Now I really must go walk Jack. It’s already too late today, but maybe I can get the kayak in the water again tomorrow.

May 29th, 2024 

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 

Marching Ahead

Somehow it’s a whole month since my last post, despite my intentions and efforts. I was pushing myself to finish some things in the last few weeks, which kept me away from my computer. But let’s not focus on the negative.

I took the photo above on February 10. Those snowdrops were quite brave, as we had plenty of both very cold temps and snow after that. Since they’re not mine and I didn’t record the address where I snapped the image, I can’t tell you how they made out, but I am seeing lots of snowdrops on my morning walks now, in early March, so I know plenty of these little lovelies made it.

What was I so busy with? I finally admitted to myself that the USPS was never going to find the package I’d mailed on 12/18. So remade both the placemats and the handknit fingerless mitts, filed for a refund of the shipping & insurance coverage, and sent o a new package. Along with his thank you, my nephew kindly sent me a photo of the placemats on his table.

I made a batch of 10 more bead bags, although I apparently forgot to photograph them. I THOUGHT I had taken a picture, but it’s nowhere to be found. Not even in my recently deleted file. Oh well.

At a customer’s request I wove a batch of 9 more crackle towels. We kept in close contact throughout the process, and within hours of me listing them in my Etsy store she’d purchased 7 of the them.

After those two weaves I immediately warped my loom for some black & white gradient scarves in Tencel.

The Copper Shop Gallery at the Roycroft Campus in East Aurora had sold some items I’d sent them in November, so I wanted t send them a few more. A scarf from this warp seemed like a seller to me. Here are the 4 items that finally made it into the mail today.

They got the gradient scarf with white weft. I also wove 2 more. Personally, the blue is my favorite, but I think the black & white will move faster. We’ll see.

Not something I made but instead something I just think is too sweet not to share. This vintage tablecoth is hand emboidered. I’ pretty sure it came from my mother’s, but I don’t think she made it either. Maybe my sister knows???

Now I have to go pick up my grandson from school, and if I don’t hit Publish RIGHT NOW this post will continue to linger.

March 4th, 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 | 

So much for good intentions

I wanted to get better at posting regularly. Hah! I actually got WORSE! It’s now been 6 weeks since I posted. Yikes.

Here’s my excuse – I haven’t woven much. Does that work for you? It doesn’t really work much for me.

Anyway, the time frame means this will probably be another lengthy post. As I was preparing it...and I’m not at home when I’m doing so...I see that I’ve neglected to take photos of everything I should have to show you what I have been doing. Sigh.

Let’s continue in the kitchen first. In the last post you saw & heard about my efforts with gluten free sourdough. Of course, that wasn’t the last of it. You saw up to trial #4. There were more. I won’t give you tons of details now, but here’s GF sourdough #5. Decent.

Then I tried a different recipe from a different blogger. MISTAKE! Granted it was going to be a smaller loaf, but here it is from the top, with my potholder for size. This has an egg in it.

And here it is completely cooled and cut. Look at how gummy it is. It went straight into the compost.

Time was passing, and it was nearing my trip to my friend’s in WV. So I decided to make her one more loaf with Georgia’s now tried-and-true recipe. This time I added a few cloves of finely minced garlic and some Herbs de Provence, just for fun.

Then I realized that her non-GF hubby might feel left out, so I baked him a loaf of regular sourdough. His has more garlic than hers, and black olives (she hates olives, he loves them), and Italian Herb blend. Here they are side-by-side before being cut.

And cut in half, GF in the front.

If I was lived near them, I’d continue to make her more GF sourdough, and would try more things with seeds and nuts and other additions. But this was as far as I went.

I brought her the GF sourdough starter and all my remaining GF ingredients, as well as all the bread. I told her that if she wante we could make a loaf while I was there so that she got some experience with the process. As I expected, she declined, acknowledging that she was unlikely to actually do it. No problem. Made me even more glad that I’d brought her as many loaves as I did.

Then it was Easter. I wanted to make an egg braid to bring to my daughter’s. Haven’t made one in many years and was looking forward to it. Doesn’t this look nice?

Hah! It was not the moist and chewy delight I wanted at all. Instead it was dry IMHO. Sigh. Let’s leave the kitchen. 

I sewed bead bags for April and dropped them off at the Weaving Center.

Then my 7-year-old grandson called me on a Sunday morning and asked if he could set up a lemonade stand on my corner. Sure! It was the first really lovely spring day we’d had. I hauled out my garden umbrella for him and a folding table. He and his mom made and brought everything else.

Hand squeezed lemons, simple syrup, and just a touch of hand squeezed lime. Add ice and it was DELISH! The truth was even it had been made from a frozen concentrate he probably would have done as well at selling. Location, location, location. Add a really cute little kid and it’s a winning combo. Plus his mom texted a few friends who came by. Some cars driving by simply stopped and gave him a donation. Most of the lemonade purchasers gave him a large tip as well.

I had to be at the Weaving Center that afternoon, so he packed up and went home and set up in his driveway in their cul-de-sac They don’t get much traffic, but the kid was entrepreneurial. He went door to door and offered to deliver. Of course no one said no! He made a ton of cash that day.

Sticking with nature for a bit... 
No, I didn’t take this photo recently; it’s from mid-March. But I was fascinated with what I saw on my morning walk.

The shadow of the cable and power lines made a very definite and noticeable impact on the melting snow. Who’d have thought? Not me, obviously.

Last year I went to a plant sale of a local garden club and picked up a few gems. One of them was a small bit of kerria shrub. It’s blooming nicely in this, its first year at my house.

As it grows it should be one more thing to offer me some additional privacy in my backyard.

And I couldn’t resist taking this shot.

This is a little corner of my garden that both looks and smells wonderful! I picked up the bearded iris years ago from a woman who painstakingly made her own crosses, using a paintbrush and lots of attention and patience. Beautiful and fragrant! I have always loved poet’s narcissus for both their simple beauty and their fragrance. Not sure how they, or the single tulip, got planted among those iris rhizomes.

Ok, on to fiber. 

Here are those 8 Spring Flowers towels you saw all my trial and tribulations with in the last post. Only 2 are left in my Etsy store

Then I actually wove something for myself. A rare occurrence indeed. I saw something another weaver had done and it moved me to try my hand at it. My fabric is mostly cotton, with one of the warp yarns a rayon-cotton blend.

So I made my calculations and warped up the loom. I didn’t have quite as much yarn as I wanted so I made some last minute changes to my plan. And still, I played warp chicken. This is the back of the loom – couldn’t have gotten another inch out of this warp.

I also played weft chicken. This is ALL the weft yarn I had left at the end of weaving. (Note that the color is quite off in this photo It’s most red, not pink.)

Then I took the warp off the loom, washed it and dried it, and laid it out in my backyard. It obviously hasn’t been pressed here, nor have I yet dealt with all my thread ends.

In addition to cutting and sewing, I wanted to make button closure for the jacket. Trust me when I tell you that this Dorset button took me hours to make, as did the kumihimo braid I used for the tie to loop the button with.

And here I am modeling the finished jacket. Although this type of weaving is, as a general rule, very 

much outside my comfort zone, I am really pleased with the jacket.

I want to make a few improvements and try something along these lines for sale. We’ll see how that works.

May 13th, 2023 |