I want to dedicate this post to a father who is very special to me. My husband! You see, while not the biological father of my kids, he is their Dad! He is there when things are crappy and when they are good. While not perfect, he tries really hard and sometimes that is the best you ask for. Thank you Keith for being the Dad for our daughters. Okay, now the real reason for being thankful for my husband.
Most husbands tolerate their wives obsessions, whether it be purses, shoes, clothes.. or ummm fluffy fuzzy stuff and their tools. My DH husband has earned the title , as I read in another blog "supporter of the Arts". This truly fits him. He actually knows what the different items are. He can identify a niddy noddy, he knows what circular needles are, what heddles are and what they are for, (and why I needed to spend 80 bucks to get more), differences between fibers, what it means to ply and on and on and on. This weekend he gave me another reason to think he is the greatest. Take 1 minute or so and watch this video and tell me if he doesn't win "Hubby of the Year".
I am just so tickled with the fact that he is interested enough to at least try. I love you honey! Who knows. Maybe two fiber artists in the family . Speaking of male fiber artists. I spent the day with a terrific friend who gets bit by the crafty bug once in a while. Steven and I spent the day talking and cooking and I brought a large triangle loom over and he is going to make a throw of some sort. I brought some homespun, who doesn't like to learn on something beautiful and we (well, he) completed one triangle in a about an hour.
I know that everyone wishes they could make a living doing what they love, I am no different. It's funny when we dream of winning the lottery we dream of starting a place where kids or adults can come to learn. So really not trying to NOT work but trying to work with our loves. Ahhhh dreams, I guess simply having them keeps you motivated.
There seemed to be alot of posts with out pictures lately so I am going to add some here to make life just a little more fun. But first a story... I finally ended the school year and while I loved my kids, I am very happy. This is going to be the summer for me. Okay yes, it's a little selfish but so what. I work hard and while broke, totally something I am not going to whine about, I have a health stash and will explore it throughly. Anyway, I bought (maybe why I am broke), 5 cones of 8/2 cotton for dish towels and cut 490 ends to begin my hand made christmas presents. SOME little voice said, "Hey, do you have enough heddles for that". Answer no, enter more frustration and a 70 dollar order to yarn barn. (Another reason for broke) There seems to be a pattern here. Then I realized that I could edit the pattern and make some wash clothes to go with the dish towels. YAHOOO.. SO stole some warp and off I went. I then realized that I made some mistakes but thanks to the folks at Ravely, i learned how to fix my warping errors and have been weaving this morning. As a teacher, it is sometimes very good for you to learn to learn again. I am at the 2nd grade of weaving and just learning to read. Because our little world is growing ever smaller thanks to this Internet thing! :) It's so nice to be able to find someone who knows more than you and go from there. well maybe a boring story but one that has filled me with encouragement.
Making up pickup patterns, sorta ;)
On the knitting front, I am almost done DD stocking and the pattern is not getting written up anytime soon :) Why, because lil peep calls my name all the time. I also am very excited because one of my patterns is soon to be (hopefully) accepted by a well known yarn company. That thrills me to no end because my goal for this year was to write and sell some original works. I feel like I am accomplishing some major things year. Now if that money tree would just start producing fruit. Oh well, that isn't what life is about and I am thankful for what and who I have in my life. The other really cool thing is I was gifted a schacht inkle loom that has a little crack (now no laughing) in it, and it seems to fit very nicely into my somewhat cracked life. :) I had an Ashford Inklette loom which I got a little lesson on..and am learning to do pick up -not well- so here is a little peak of what I have done so far. This is a challenge as there seems to be very little in the way of books to learn to do this on your own. I love the challenge of digging into a book and coming out on the other side. It seems I might have to actually take a class on this one. However, there is hope. There is an online class you take from an inkle loom maker so here is hoping that I will get what I need from that class and can continue learning on my own. Wonder why I don't feel comfortable taking a class. I guess it's because I want things to be at my pace and when I need it. I will have to remember this feeling when I hit the classroom next year.
Inklette Loom from the side
More patterns from the bottom
What?? Huh?? Lil' Peep again. Off to weave. Wow - who knew a table loom could be so demanding.
1. Wound 490 ends for place mats... have 320 heddles. (CRAP)
2. Spent 3 hours with a friend learning inkle weaving... still perplexed with pick up! (CRAP)
3. Stupid computer acting up... (DOUBLE CRAP)
Time to shut it down and go to bed. Tomorrow is another day.. Oh ordered 400 Texsolv heddles 70 Bucks. Holy smokes!
Tonight I met with a very helpful group of ladies in my town who weave.. and wow, after 2 hours, I learned so much that I want to WEAVE NOW! Unfortunately, I have to wait until school is out.. 1.5 days. YIPPEE
So I finished another weaving project and honestly, it turned into the longest salvage practice known to man. I picked out a beautiful pattern and began to weave and here are the things I learned..... 1. It was way to loose. 2. It really was way to loose. 3. I could felt it. 4. Choose a damn super wash wool to work with. 5. It would be a waste of materials to start over. 6. Superwash wool DOES NOT FELT - even if you think you may coax it into a felted state. 7. Putting it in the dryer does not help it felt. 8. I really do knit better than I weave 9. NO, you cannot weave in extra yarn to fill the gaps. and Finally - 10. It's okay because all the weaving you did, made you practice edges, and beating and all the things you might have screwed up on a project that might really have had a chance to work out.
Now I am simply waiting for dish towel yarn for the next set of experiments. Wish me luck! Maybe will post a picture later! Right now, I am mourning the death of 2 skeins of beautiful merino/alpaca superwash sock yarn :)
