Weaving A Gem Of A Life

3 in 1

I can’t limit myself to one topic for this post…that might mean I should be posting more frequently, but then where would I find the time?

I got the warp for R & R’s wraps threaded through heddles and reed. Then I tied to the front apron and wove 2 patterns to see if I had any threading errors. I didn’t. (YAY) But I wove those 2 patterns quite crookedly…that is, not square with the loom…so when I started weaving the first wrap it started off very crooked. I knew that this error would only get worse as I wove, so I cut out the first 5″ of my weaving. Since I have plenty of weft yarn, that made much more sense than unweaving. Once that was done I could start again, making sure the beater hit the warp threads squarely this time. I managed to get about 50″ woven today.

As a person who lived 35+ years on a dirt road, concrete sidewalks offer some interesting differences. For instance, the tannin in maple leaves leaves clear impressions on a clean sidewalk.

I’ve seen ones even clearer than these, where you can see each leaf vein.

Jack is doing very well. His skin issue seems to be totally cleared up, his ears are fine, too. His confidence isn’t improving at all. So I got him a permit for the local dog park. I thought since he doesn’t have a live-in canine role model, maybe we’d start with part-time ones at the dog park. We’ve been just twice, both short visits. He was fine with all dogs, regardless of size, who came up to say hello to him. Only a small dog (Yorkie? Silky?) got him to wag his tail, but no dog caused it to go between his legs. Their owners? Generally another story. He wants to be as far from most of them as possible. He does a great job of following me as we walk around the pond off leash, staying within 4-5 feet as a rule.

Meanwhile, I’m trying to get him used to the wonderful, insulated dog house my son gave/lent me. He had it for his big, clumsy bloodhound, so it’s way larger than Jack needs, but I put a soft, cushy bed in it to make it more comfortable. In keeping with an online suggestion, I took the bottom half of the door off for now. Jack spent all of 30 seconds in the house after I did that. I like to call that photo Jack-in-the-house. He popped out as quickly as a childhood Jack-in-the-box. 🙂

New Views

When I finish a warp I get two views I like at the loom: the cascade of yards of fabric as I roll them off the cloth beam…

…and the neat cut ends of the remaining scrap warp.

After inspection, trimming/repairing as needed, hemming, washing, drying, pressing, and labeling, two more wraps are ready to mail. Here’s ARO’s wrap showing its flexibility.

And LM’s wrap, rolled up and slipping into the bag to get ready for final packaging.

Those 2 wraps are on their way to Australia.

I immediately got started on the next warp, for RH & RB. As usual, the reds don’t photograph well for me. This first bout is magenta and fuschia. In my head those 2 colors are so close they’re almost interchangeable; in real life, they create a lovely blend.

Next up is fuschia to turquoise. The contrast of these colors is beautiful.

Then we move to turquoise to pale green, a nice subtle shift.

And finally pale green to lilac, sweetness in colors.

Together these colors remind me of childhood candy, although I can’t explain why. This evening I got the warp beamed and I’ll thread, or at least start that process, tomorrow. I can’t wait to get weaving on this warp!

Beautiful colors

Here you can see the purples clearly as I change from LM’s black weft to ARO’s marine. The next color, lavender, still doesn’t show up well in the photo, but it does in real life.

In addition to being black, LM’s weft is a cotton/hemp blend. And since it comes only in natural, her yarn was hand dyed – by a woman I’ve used before. Susan over at Iowaweaver does a really great job dyeing yarn, whether it’s a solid black like this or hand painted in the colors mom chooses. ARO’s marine is the same cotton as the warp. I’ve got less than a yard to weave tomorrow to finish weaving her wrap, then the off-loom work.

The colors of autumn are particularly beautiful this year. It starts with a pink, orange, lavender, and yellow sunrise.

Then, later in the day, the leaves put on their own show: the reds and oranges of maples;

the golden ?birches?;

the bronzes of my oakleaf hydrangea.

This variegated maple captured my eye, so I captured it.

Interesting enough when you see the whole tree, a closeup really made me wonder…why are the variegated leaves so much smaller than the green ones?

Meanwhile, lots of things are still in flower. I picked some hydrangeas and roses at my daughter’s house, and they’re now in my basement, curing to dry slowly for use in decorations.

Soooo productive

Today was a very productive day. I started by walking about 3.5 miles round trip to the hardware store to pick up a few things I needed. I stopped by the bagel store and picked up a few bagels, and –YUM– a slice of double chocolate banana bread to reward myself on the way home.

I had determined that the wire to my front doorbell broken or shorted out someplace in the wall. I didn’t think it was worth fixing it, or trying to thread a new wire through the wall. So I bought a wireless doorbell…a simple one that just goes ding-dong. Got it out of the package, removed the tab protecting the battery, plugged in the chime, pushed the button, and…..nothing. Removed and replaced the battery. Nothing. Plugged the chime into somewhere else and tried again. Nothing. Read the troubleshooting part of the instructions, following their directions to sync the button and the chime. Nothing. Decided I had to call the hardware store and see if they’ve had problems with the batteries to these things being dead. As I’m talking to my friendly hardware store guy telling him my tale of woe, Ding-Dong, the bell suddenly works! So I “installed” the button by the front door – which just means using double-sided sticky tape to adhere it to the wall.

I also “installed” the new light timer for my outdoor lights so I could stop plugging and unplugging the Halloween lights every day. This just involved choosing the setting on the timer (I chose on at dusk, off at dawn), plugging it in, and then plugging the lights into it. Had to wait for dusk to see if it works…it does. Now I’ll watch and see if it goes off at dawn.

Then I sat down at the loom and started working toward my goal of getting 100″ if LM’s wrap woven today. I was making good progress, and at about 1:30 my new front doorbell rang – and I could hear it easily from the weaving studio, even with the audio book turned up loud so I could listen over the loom noise. The young man from the HVAC company came for the annual clean & tune for my furnace, water heater, dehumidifier, and fireplace. When I answered the door I saw that my new microwave cart had been delivered…why didn’t the Fed Ex man ring the bell?

Anyway, while the maintenance was being done on my heating system I started assembling that microwave cart. It went together reasonably well, although the doors aren’t exactly straight. If the hinges had slits where they screw in I could easily adjust them, but they don’t; they have holes. So I think I’m just gonna live with the crookedness rather than try and make new holes in the pressed board. I finished at the same time as the HVAC guy – 3 hours for each of us.

By then it was 4:45 and I hadn’t started the soup for dinner yet. My new gas stove was delivered on Monday – the Frigidaire recommended by Consumer Reports – and that day I baked a quiche.

It was gone now and I wanted to make something yummy on that stovetop. In an hour I had a wonderful minestrone-like soup. I like my soups with a very high stuff to broth ratio.

While the soup was simmering I reached a new high with Jack. He hadn’t been outside since his morning walk, and he asked to go outside. Sort of. He walked between me and the door a few times. If I hadn’t been paying attention I would definitely have missed it. I couldn’t stop to walk him, so I went to the back door & let him out into the yard. He stood at the bottom of the steps waiting for me to join him, but I backed away and stood in the shadows in the house. And lo and behold, Jack peed in the yard!!! I know that doesn’t sound like a big deal for a dog, but it is for Jack. It is THE VERY FIRST time since he’s been with me, 6 weeks now, that he’s ASKED to go outside AND peed in the yard! I’ve been out there with him MANY times with no pee. I’ve watched him from the window when he’s asked to go out (which is a rare thing in and of itself) — no pee. Needless to say, he got LOTS of praise, and treats, for this major accomplishment!

I got rid of all my garbage while the soup finished cooking & ate my luscious soup. Then went back to the loom to finish my 100″.

You can see the difference between the navy and marine here. Then it’s bleu moyen, magenta, and gris pale.

Learning from experience

You know this is one of my favorite angles for photos of new warps. This is no exception. This time it’s for LM & ARO, and although all the colors may not be obvious in the photo, they are in real life: mauve fonce -> mauve -> lavande -> gris pale -> magenta -> bleu moyen -> marine -> navy.

How does a lovely looking wrap like this with 8 colors happen?

Like lots of (most?) people, I often learn more from my mistakes than from my successes. When it comes to baby wraps, I’ve learned that it’s way better to take the time on preventive steps than to suffer the consequences of not doing so. My major screw ups have taught me what I need to do to avoid repeats.

In June of 2014 I put a bout on the lease sticks backwards. To avoid ever doing that again, I now put each bout on the lease sticks as soon as I take it off the warping mill. That’s when I am totally clear on which side of the bout goes on the right and which on the left.

Then in March of 2015 I made a mistake when measuring the warp for the gradient threads. I lost count while I was winding. To make sure that didn’t happen again, I created a gradient checklist. I change the specific colors for each warp, and make sure to check every single box every single time. I also use this checklist to make sure that I have the right number of total threads before I start, and to decide where to end each bout so that the threads are relatively evenly distributed.

Tomorrow I’ll be able to start threading this lovely warp. Some weavers don’t like this step, but I’m good with it. It’s almost meditative for me. It’s also a great time to listen to an audio book or a podcast.

Weaving A Gem Of A Life

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