potholder loom

Stash busting

/ one2travelfar / 2 Comments

I wish.  But I have made some inroads.  I started a queen size quilt yesterday using only material from my shelves.  I have to make more room on those shelves because I acquired two nifty fiber devices last week.

First, a neighbor passed along a Brother 929d serger via freecycle.  She thought it had some issues, but I read the manual, threaded all four strands carefully, spun a few knobs, watched to make sure I didn’t cut off a finger, and away I went.  This will be especially useful as I start to sew with my woven fabric.  It binds along the edge to stabilize it then slices off the excess.  When I make my next bathing suit it may be helpful too.  As an aside, I wore my homemade bathing suit to swim laps yesterday and it’s holding up fine.  Today I think I’ll have to wear a wetsuit because I am going to venture into Mirror Lake where the water temperature is only 68 degress f.

Next I purchased a Louet drum carder from Goodwill.  I have a lot of alpaca fiber, maybe part of a wool fleece, that has been sitting in bags, after I washed them, waiting to be carded. And waiting.  I have visions of blending fibers to get new colors but at least making some headway on my fiber so I can empty those shelves to refill them again.  Tim’s getting nervous.  We just read about a woman who was a hoarder and died among her possessions when the first floor of her house collapsed upon her.  I am a only hoarder wannabe.

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I made quick work of some alpaca fiber and carded two beautiful batts.

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After the girls left, I sat back and tried my hand at a couple of potholder looms.  What fun.  Every weaver should start with this rather than return to it after using a floor loom for a few years.

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This baby blanket came off the floor loom and has been shipped to the new baby.  I love the colors and it is quite soft.

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Creative geniuses

/ one2travelfar / 1 Comment

I am so lucky to have my daughter and three friends visit me at Camp Adirondack.  They are experiencing it at its best, despite the fact it’s still black fly season and the pine pollen is falling in clouds.  They’ve hiked locally and afar.  We went for a sail on a blustery day, played board games and of course have explored arts and crafts. Now they’ve crossed the border and have headed to Montreal.

In anticipation of their visit, I invested in a //ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=islandnorcoul-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B002EDNZD0&asins=B002EDNZD0&linkId=&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true” target=”_blank”>Harrisville Designs Pro Loom and a couple of bags of 10″ loops.  The larger version is an improvement (in my humble opinion) over the original 7″ design.  I never could have imagined the fun they would have with it or how competitive they would be – hoarding loops and judging the finished products.  In a couple of days, on their own,  they have explored color work, texture, twill and sett.  It’s amazing. It may have allowed them to appreciate the thought that goes into even the simplest project.  Plus they have a useful reminder of their time in the North Country.

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I also played with some yarn necklaces before they got here because there were a few – and why not celebrate them all – birthday celebrations.  We saw a version of this in a craft store in West Virginia and it looked easy to replicate.  I bought a little jewelry making kit and practiced bending and twisting wire.  I think the wrappings are smooth enough and hopefully won’t gouge anyone.

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One morning, during breakfast, my neighbor pulled up in his tractor to tell me there was a fawn next door.  We must have walked by it the previous afternoon and had no idea it was there.  We returned with cameras and found this beautiful little fawn lying in the grass.   We gave it a wide berth and I  used my zoom lens to capture its image.

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Their weaving enthusiasm inspired me to complete a scarf, which had been languishing on my rigid heddle loom since December.  Now the loom vacuum is begging for another project.

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Over the past couple of days I have scored a Louet Drum Carder and Brother Serger.  So much experimenting to do.