Category Archives: Uncategorized

Fine Art Department

Check out the Facebook Fan Page of the Fine Art Department.image  There are lots of great artists represented there with some beautiful work.  The website itself is here.

This has been pretty much a non-weaving week for me after cutting off the last piece.  The whole time I was weaving it, I thought about the meditative quality that it seems to have for me.  Several others have also commented on that.  However, Meditation does not seem quite appropriate as a title, so I thought Peace might work.  Still thinking about that.  Any ideas?  I’m anxious to get to work on the next project, but have had many other things interfering.  Real life, you know… 

We joined the YMCA that’s fairly close by, so now workouts have to be scheduled in.  I’m sure that right now they take longer than they will later when we become more experienced with the machines.  And, of course, the Thanksgiving holiday is coming up.  Cleaning, cooking, etc.  The good news is that my son and daughter-in-law will be arriving sometime Monday. 

American Craft Council Show in Atlanta update:  I decided that I just don’t have enough inventory on hand right now and don’t think I can weave fast enough to get what I consider the best number of pieces finished in time.  And, since the cheapest booth costs $850, I decided to pass this year.  I felt sad when I sent in the form, but also felt like it was the correct response.  This lack of inventory has caused me to really focus and weave much more.  Every time I cut off a piece, I record the date and am amazed at how much faster I am getting pieces completed.  This week I will do the finishing on the last piece and get its official formal portrait made.  The guild is participating in a sale on December 5.  Boy, that’s coming up soon!

Ta Da!

The TA DA Part

Okay, as usual, the picture isn’t great. This is the one that has just been cut off the loom. And, as usual, the colors are not quite right. Oh, well, I’ll try to get a “real” photo taken next week. But, you know, it is the holiday season and other things may have to take precedent. Like visiting with my son and daughter-in-law next week. They will be arriving on Monday, so maybe a little extra housework is in order. As I have been weaving I worried that the color gradations might be too subtle (and they are more subtle than this picture shows). But when I look at it laying on the floor, the gradations look good. I don’t have the final measurements yet, but the width is about 38.5 inches. If plans had worked as planned, it would be square, but I don’t think it is.

Studio

I am now going to clean the studio–good for the soul–and then tie on the warp again for the next project. If I have learned nothing else lately, it’s that tying on the warp immediately means that more weaving gets done.

Weaving, weaving, weaving…

For the first time in a really long time, I have had to take out small sections of my weaving.  Before I start the next change, I have to really think!  And even then it sometimes doesn’t seem to work…thinking that is. I’m hoping to get finished in the next couple of days, though. But for today, I’m going to get the next section started, so I’ll know where to start next, then move on to more mundane things like vacuuming and laundry.

The weather here has been wonderful for the last several days—sunshine, warm, and no rain.  However, that appears to be changing this week.  Expected cold front, maybe our first frost, and rain again. In anticipation, I brought firewood up to the porch so I’ll have something dry to start a fire with.  Love weaving in the winter with the fire going in the woodburning stove. 

I found a small tomato plant growing outside, so maybe I’ll plant it in something big and keep it covered for a while. There’s also a cucumber plant still blooming.  I used to have a small greenhouse and loved working in it in the middle of winter.  Alas, a tornado got the greenhouse, but no matter…I have a hard time making myself go outside in winter nowadays.  The idea of coldframes is appealing, but there again, you’ve got the cold part.

For a long time I have been wanting a small portable loom, and have tried several. I’ve looked at the Mirrix website, and they look good, but still can’t make a decision. What kind of shed do they get? Are they really portable? Will I need a stand for weaving? I recently saw a used one for sale, so the questions come to mind again. Anybody familiar with this type of loom?

Is this how YOU make a tapestry?

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Boy, mine don’t move along this fast!

Halfway

I am at about the halfway point of the current project. Have spent some time taking out and redoing because of mis-measuring. It’s been a little difficult because the colors are very close. I wanted gradations, and when the yarns are in their ball state, you can see differences more clearly than when in their woven state. Hope the colors aren’t TOO close together, but won’t be able to tell until the piece is off the loom. I would post a picture of the incomplete project, but it would probably look like a solid color piece because of the gradations.

I am now free to move about the country, or wherever I want–no longer required to check in for jury duty. Whew! Though, I think it would kind of be interesting to be on a jury, just not one of those sequestered rest of your life ones.

Off to vacuum and do laundry…get a head start on the coming week, although I’d rather weave.

The fungus among us…

The interesting fungus is gone. I went out to get the paper yesterday and discovered that its top had disappeared and the stalk knocked over. It was completely hollow. So, today, I finally remembered to look it up. My Google search turned up a quite handy mushroom identifier. It’s a PDF and easy to use. In my amateur way, I identified the fungus as a Stinkhorn. You can read more here, if you’re so inclined. Here is the specific variety that I think was growing in my yard, appropriately named, by the way. Very interesting, this mushroom stuff. And, after reading about Stinkhorns, I am reminded again about how wonderful and ingenious Mother Nature is in regards to lifeforms reproducing themselves.

Okay, what is it?


While taking the garbage out today, I discovered the single fungus here…I’m assuming fungus is the right word. I have never seen anything like this before. The stalk is about 1.5 inches in diameter. Whatever it is, it has a powerful attractant for those big blue/black flies. They were all over it! As you can see in the picture on the right, there is a hole in the top. Very interesting, huh?

In the frustrating weaving day department, I had to take out 1 inch of tapestry today. The more I get into this piece, the more butterflies I have going. Ikept looking at what I was weaving, thinking it didn’t look quite right. So, out comes the tape measure, and sure ‘nuf, one section was the wrong size. Got it taken out and reorganized the offending yarns, so it’s all ready to go tomorrow.

Acnestis

This is the way I’ve been feeling lately. I want to take a trip—or do whatever, but can’t because of my jury duty status. Of course, none of this would enter my mind if I wasn’t tied down by that obligation. It’s the telling me I can’t that makes me want to rebel. Yesterday, while mowing the yard, I did have an actual physical spot I couldn’t scratch, which made me think of this word again. It was a new one for me. You can sign up to receive a daily word with meaning. One the words I liked best was the word to describe that wonderful smell of the first raindrops in summer, when they hit pavement or whatever, after a dry spell. Of course, I don’t remember the word, but just the knowledge that there IS one I found very interesting. I looked it up, and here it is. According to Wordsmith, the word of the day folks, acnestis is as below:

PRONUNCIATION:

(AK-nist-uhs)

MEANING:

noun: The part of the body where one cannot reach to scratch.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek aknestis (spine), from Ancient Greek knestis (spine, cheese-grater).

USAGE:

“In what has to be the longest post-election season in living memory, the last five months have felt like an acnestis upon our collective soul; like that little patch of skin on our backs that we just can’t reach to scratch ourselves. It’s irritating. It’s annoying. It’s left us reaching and spinning around in circles.”
A Wish List to Soothe Our Collective Itch; New Straits Times (Malaysia); Aug 5, 2008.

In Other News

I tied my warp for the next project in record time (for me) and started weaving. I had to tweak my design (thank goodness I checked before getting too far into the weaving) because my plan called for a 40 inch width, but the warp is only 39 inches. Makes a difference!  The list is long this week, but I’d like to see how fast I can get this off the loom…a personal challenge. But I also have to start getting things ready for visits for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. That means more housework than I usually do. Oh, well, once a year you just gotta buck up and do it!

Tomorrow I am taking a drive to deliver a piece to its new home—literally new. The house should be finished and ready for move-in soon. It will be a nice drive, if long.

Well, it is Halloween …

image

My grandson sent me this picture, so thought I’d share. It’s gross, of course, as that’s what pleases little boys his age. I had thoughtfully sent him some pictures of sugar skulls for Dia de los Muertos, and this is what I get. If you want to see it bigger, go here.

I have been weaving frantically for the last several days and was rewarded with being able to cut off the piece today. Even though it seems to take FOREVER to tie the ikat, the weaving goes quite fast. I put on a warp of about 33 yards at a time, so one of my greatest fears is running out of warp in the middle of a project. I very carefully measure the warp used by recording it on a spreadsheet the day of cutoff. According to my records I cut off the last piece on October 3. Not bad, heh.

I spent several evenings winding weft yarns into balls this week, so the next project is ready to go. Will tie the warp back on tomorrow. It will be tapestry, so it will be interesting how long it will take to weave a 40 x 40 piece. That is, if I get to weave…see below.

I am still checking in daily on my jury duty status—am obligated for that through Nov. 6. Somehow the possibility of being on a federal jury sounds very serious. Wonder why?

Best of all, though, is the sunshine. We actually have some! Officially this has been the cloudiest October on record, and it shows in my state of mind. We should have sunshine for the next several days, so I’m hoping the yard will dry enough that I can run the mower without getting stuck to the axles.