Weaving A Gem Of A Life

Now THAT’s Cold!

That’s what my thermometer looked like at 2:00AM when I loaded my wood stove. It was still the same at 6:30AM when I got up.

By 8:00AM it had risen to minus 10, and by 10:30AM, with the sun shining brightly, it was 10 above. That’s when I took my daily walk.

I wasn’t sure if Red & I would be able to go the whole distance or if a wind would force us to turn back early. It was extremely cold on my face when the breeze blew, but the rest of me was warm enough, so we did make it the whole 2 miles.

The temps are supposed to continue rising all day, and not to get this cold again for the forseeable future. That’s fine with me!

Can I do that?

label list

I like many things about the WordPress platform I use for this blog, and about the theme I’ve chosen.

On thing I don’t like, however, is the way they handle tags.

I make it a point to categorize each of my posts so that readers (and I) can have a better chance of finding what they (I) are looking for. That’s fine. No problem.

But I’d like to also show all my tags – it’d make my life easier (Can you tell I have to go back and look at past posts with some regularity?), even if none of my readers ever use it.

WordPress is happy to post the tags in a tag cloud, which, IMHO, is an ugly, confusing mess. Blogspot, on the other hand, displays them in a lovely, alphabetical column.

(Thanks to Laura’s Loom – I grabbed a section of her tags –called labels– in Blogspot. And to Melange – I grabbed her tag cloud.)

Napkin Exchange

Tick tock says the clock.

Where DOES the time go?

Back in my new year’s wannas, I mentioned that I’ve joined a napkin exchange as a way to expand my weaving skills. I said I’d tell more about that later, and intended to return to the topic within a week. Well here it is more than 2 weeks later, and I suddenly realized that if I didn’t do it now, it’d be too late.

I’ll start by saying that I’ve thought about it, but never joined a group like this before, so I’m excited about it. I have complete confidence that Su Butler, an amazingly talented, experienced weaver, will lead this activity with her usual level of organization, skill, and kindness. In fact, she’s already answered several of my questions since I signed up. You can get all the details about the napkin exchange here.

Do it now – although you don’t have to mail your napkins until October, the sign up ends in just a week.

I plan to weave in cotton, but I haven’t yet decided if I’ll do a shadow weave, summer & winter, or something else. All I know for sure is that I want to explore a weave structure and/or pattern I’ve not done yet. And I plan to do an 8-shaft weave. I’m getting used to my Macomber and want to spend more time on it.

Beautiful Branches

It’s exceedingly crisp and cold out, but the sky is a bright clear blue, so I had to go out with my camera.

The way that nature responds to such harsh conditions is amazing to me, as I sit bundled in my home with my wood stove cranking out the heat. Today I decided to focus on the trees.

The deciduous trees manage to sway in the breeze, storing their life-giving sap and protecting their buds through the harshest of temperatures. Their strong silhouettes are beautiful, whether against the clear blue sky or outlined in white from a fresh snowfall.

The evergreens put on their own show. This winter I’ve been particularly struck by the difference in how the Blue Spruce and the Norway Spruce handle snowfall. In this row are two Norways framed by two Blues. The Blues make shelves of their boughs, with the snow building up on them without causing any problems. In contrast, the Norways shed the snow as quickly as possible. In the decades to come the Norways will drape their branches like the most graceful of gowns, while the Blues will hold theirs out with untiring strength.

All trees make the best use of their particular assets to survive the cold of winter, the heat of summer, and the winds of spring and fall. As I age, I try to gain the wisdom to identify and make use of my own strengths.

Creative Results

What the heck is that a picture of? Fuzzy snakes? Hairy cables? Just a mess?

Nope, they’re the results of yesterday’s creative efforts. They’re braided scarves, each made from at least 5 kinds of yarn.

Here’s a pic of just one so you can see what it really looks like.

I made 7 of them – 2 in browns, 2 in greens, 2 in blues, and one in pinks.

Although I never weave with the types of yarns I used in these scarves, I’m quite happy with the results. They’re fun, they’re floppy, they’re fashion forward. At least I think so. And they’re long enough to wrap around your neck several times, keeping you warm and toasty.

From my perspective, it was worth the temporary mess in the living room. I’ll be anxious to see what other people think of them.

Weaving A Gem Of A Life

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