The Holiday Rush Is Over!

Well......it's finally over. I'm a little sad because I just love the rush of holiday orders....and, of course, the last minute finishing touches that go with them. The holiday rush this year has been my best yet. A top number of return customers!!! Hooray!

I am sad to say that there were two orders in particular that were not photographed:( So I have no visual documentation of them. One was a beautiful run of grey chenille shawls and the other was a run of striped towels on natural cotton in various colors. Oh well. At least they were finished in time! :)

For next year BIG plans! The one thing I know I learned is that for Spring/Summer shows, Spring/Summer items are a MUST! It's a little difficult to sell scarves in 90 degree weather! :) My first objective is to work on the "Our Table" line with Lynn Isaacson of New Prospect Pottery. Lots of mats, towels, runners, napkins, etc....to accessorize and personalize your table right along with her fabulous made from scratch pots and glazes!

Next up is an end of the year run of brown chenille shawls......an order from the co-op seasonal store for our Etsy team. Then......well......it's time to weave some of those seasonal items for Spring/Summer shows.

Happy New Year!!!

A Step in the Right Direction!

The step in a right direction is any step at all! I've been weaving and designing so much and I really haven't been taking the time to document and post the pictures......ok....ok......there are hardly ANY pictures of my finished work. I make, I sell, I have no picture! I'm really on a quest to change that!......no really.....I am! :) Look!

So the patterns made me happy. I know for the next run, which will be the same patterns but different colors, I'm going to pack my weft in a little tighter for a test! :) I sampled a small piece at the end of this run and think it's going to work out beautifully!

So! Back to the loom! I have the next run warped and half woven but my loom went ka put and I had to send a piece in for repair. Yuck! So in the meantime I'm going to be weaving some shibori scarves in chenille! Perfect for cold weather! :) Until next time! :)

Ready! Sett! Go!

So much has happened since my last post! I'm currently working out of two studios and acquired yet another loom........that turned out to be a 16 harness countermarche loom from Sweden. And boy is she a beaut!!! The name of the loom is Varapapuu! Wow! So, of course, her name for short is Papi! :) I currently only have four shafts and six treadles on her but my gosh!!!! What a steal!!! She is set up at New Prospect Pottery......where work time is either very quiet or there are several people glazing, knitting, or exchanging 'art' information.

New Prospect Pottery was one of the only featured studios for American Craft Week and it was so much fun to have the tents set up in the yard and converse with other artists and crafts people! Never a dull moment:)

I've been working like a mad woman!!! In more than one way:) Yes......this season has been especially wonderful! I'm happy to announce that I have only four hand woven scarves and two hand spun skeins! I'm nearly sold out!!!!!!! The Etsy shops have been bare for the last few months as I've decided to concentrate solely on weaving new items for sale for shows. This has turned out to be an exceptional year!!! There is only one little problem (a 'good' problem).......I have a show in Chappaqua that requires quite a bit of inventory. So! Back to the drawing board! These next few shots are of the next run of scarves. Straw and golden brown echo weave warp with four different wefts in four different treadling patterns.

One of my favorite parts of weaving is playing with patterns and color. I've learned so much about split compliments, compliments, monochromatic, polychrome....the list goes on. Thanks to Lynn for pounding it into my brain. I've still got a long way to go but, it's getting in there. Jeremiah picked me a bouquet of flowers with blue and purple hydrangeas and yellow and orange marigolds........split compliments!!!! It's everywhere!!! :D

Also in good news....Lynn and I have decided to join forces and came up with a custom table setting line called 'Our Table'. Right now I'm completely consumed with replenishing scarf inventory but, our first 'set' was purchased before it even came off of the loom!!! I was thrilled! 8 mats, napkins and towels!!! Ye ha!!!

Now to find the balance between two part time jobs, a full time job, and weaving. Aaaah. The dreaded balance:)

Well......I hope to be diligent enough to post updates more frequently but, I think I say that at the end of every post:) Now that Jeremiah is sleeping (he now reads books to me before he nods off) I'll head up to the studio and count out the ends for these scarves! Woo hoo!

New Toys!

I remember as a kid looking through the Sears catalog and paying particular attention to the toy section. Carefully going over each item with interest.....not necessarily wanting things.....just observing them. I get that same feeling now as an adult. Looking at yarn, loom, and equipment catalogs both online and paper. Sometimes there is a need for research but for the most part, the specs on looms just turns into information stored for a later date and yarns.....well.....I have enough of that! :) Just eye candy!

In my search for a used Louet Spring, I found that I was most interested in the countermarche action due to my jack loom not being able to accommodate rep weave. The more research I did, the more I found that perhaps I should be looking for a Glimakra. Swinging beater, ability of adding a draw loom in the future, and HEAVY duty! So....the search began. I came across several for sale within a days drive. One in particular, near Pittsburgh, seemed like the best deal. It was newer and the floor model from a store........never used! The only problem that I could foresee was that it was 32" and not the 39" needed to accommodate a draw loom. I have no idea how to work a draw loom but know without a shadow of a doubt that one day I'll learn. Oh well. So.....I emailed her and picked up the loom! Hooray!!! Come to find out....the loom is a 6 harness and not 4! That was the first suprise! The second suprise came when I put it together, with Jeremiah's help (thank God for Jeremiah.....I couldn't have done it alone!) and found out that it is indeed 100cm!!!!!!!! 39"!!!!! I can (one day) attach a draw loom!!!!!! I cried a little........so happy!!!!!!

Jeremiah washed down the loom before putting it together. The hired help:)

Names are important. I've named things that have turned around and bit me in the tush:) So, I let Jeremiah name this one! He's such a good little helper:).......I added to it just a little. So without further ado.......here she is 'Vav: The Pirate Ship' *what a name!*

Ain't she a beaut?!

*just found that 'ain't' is a word my spell check recognizes! Wow! I really do learn something new every day!*

At the beginning of the school year I promised Jeremiah that he could have whatever he wanted if he was a good boy at school. There were some problems at the time due to the issues going on at home........he seems to work better with a reward system:) Know what he picks? ..........sigh..........

"A kitten! And I want his name to be Jumper. And I want him to be a boy. And I want him to not have any claws"

.............sigh................

Guess who had not even one small incident for the rest of the school? Yep.

About a week before school ended I could just see it.....we would have to go to the Humane Society and get a kitten................I think they come to you.......right? Yeah.....that's what I told him! The kitten will have to come to us. We are NOT going to go out and get one. One that needs a home bad enough will find us.

Jeremiah finished school on Friday. Saturday we were at our annual yard sale..........and we hear a scratchy meow. Jumpur found us. I swear you can't make this stuff up! Lol! The kitten was on it's last leg. We took her home then quickly to the vet. She has everything but lukemia:( BUT everything is treatable and according to the vet, if this kitten had not claimed Jeremiah, she would have never made it. So.......here she is......Jumpur......who is a girl.....who has claws.....who loves Jeremiah!

Here is her sleepy self!

She's so sweet and tiny and is getting better by leaps and bounds. She sits on the back of Jeremiah's remote control trucks and rides them around the living room.........and chases the matchbox cars down the hall!

Happy Easter!

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Today is the big day! :) Big dinner, kids eating waaaay to much sugar and re-hiding eggs dozens of times, family getting caught up, and the promise of good weather to come. I love this time of year, not only for the fresh air but the over all feeling of new life. A new beginning.....it seems so appropriate, doesn't it?

There are lots of news things on this end. Lots of new good things:) I'm currently working on getting myself established at a 'new job' and may cancel some of the other odd jobs so that I can concentrate solely on one thus (hopefully) creating more time for me to be creative. I had wanted to start working on my C.O.E but have found that there is little to no time to put together what I need. Even the small tasks of defining words and describing various parts of the loom has become impossible. (notice the time between blog posts) But all in all, I guess that is part of the process for an artist working to make it;) Hopefully this concentration of work will alleviate some of the pressure. :) It's worth a try!

I've been weaving towels like a crazy woman. Pulling a set off of the loom every few days:) The show season is starting earlier this year and I'm looking forward to having some 'spring' items available. My friend Lynn and I have also started putting together some of our ideas for table settings. I think we might be at the point right now on getting colors right. We did a full day photo shoot last week and I'm really happy with the way things look together. I think the two opposite textures compliment each other quite well and the colors really really set each other off. Here are a few pictures from the shoot. Some of my favorites.

Next up on the loom I'm planning a painted rayon scarf. I had a ton of rayon I bought years ago and started playing with dyeing some of it. I think it's going to make a nice light springy scarf perfect for the Artist Showcase at the Byrdcliffe Guild Gallery next month! :)

I Play Inlay! Yay!

Cheesy title but, I couldn't help it! :)

I first wanted to start with saying that the Compact Loom has been fixed! Thank God!!! I sat back down and just starred at it wondering what in the world could be wrong! I scanned each inch until my eye hit the obvious. The piece of wood holding the front cloth beam in place is crooked......just a little. It wasn't even that much. I peeked under the loom and low and behold there was one little screw that I've never tightened. I didn't even know it was there! Just imagine my joy as I tightened the screw and watched the cloth pull on that side! Woo hoo! I've never been so happy to see such horrible tension on my loom! :)

A very special thank you to Karen for the Louet dealer recommendation. I'm thrilled to know that next time I head upstate for a camping trip I have a new place to stop in at! The Spring has been on my mind for quite some time and I'm making a plan to start saving. ;)

So the project that was on the loom was another run of towels and has since been completed. The warp was long enough for 8 towels but, I only wove 6 leaving enough room for some 'play'. I've been talking about combining efforts with New Prospect Pottery for a line of custom/unique table decor. Well......it's happening. Lynn was very interested in seeing some cloth napkins and I have a C.O.E. to start.....perfect playing ground for getting some of the requirements done! The last yard and a half of the towels was used for a fun fiesta feel of color and inlay. This is the first time I've ventured into inlay purposefully and was happy with the results only after I started to show the accomplishments. This first piece to me felt like practice.

I need a little more practice and I'm sure I'll be creating some more soon. I serged the ends with a rolled hem and LOVE the way they came out! I think they'll be fabulous addition to the table setting line!

I have so much yarn, it's honestly ridiculous! I've been slowly trying to empty boxes of yarn laying it out on shelves in the studio closet as I think of projects. I found a wonderful rayon boucle on Ebay years ago and bought close to 15lbs! I'm down to the end of it and have been playing with cellulose dyes to create some fun painted yarns to weave light colorful Spring scarves with. I dyed nearly 3,000 yards of it in a beautiful pink, blue, and purple and put it up on the swift to count out ends. Well, the weight of it all made it quite hard for the swift to move so I asked the 'hired help' if he could pop in the studio for a minute and help me out. I demonstrated what it was I wanted him to do and he readily agreed with one stipulation, "Sure.....but I need something to sit on!" A boy after his mother's own heart! He helped me count the ends and I can't wait to share pictures once it's on the loom:) Such a good boy!!!

I'm finally near the end of the towel orders as well. On the loom currently is another set of olive green and burnt orange. In the back of my mind...................reduce the stash.........reduce the stash! :)

Frustration in the Studio

Ug! The worst thing in the world is to realize that your equipment can't keep up with you:( This has happened to me a couple of times now......why? Because I cut corners! Oops! All I can say is lesson learned. Apparently with my little Compact, the front warp beam is moving. I adjust it...it moves again....so on and so on. The obvious solution would be to not move it, right? I have to because the beater hits the beam......frustration! Phew! You can see by the pictures below that the metal bar holding the front beam in place has moved.

and in the second pictures what happens on the other side. This is where I'm having the problem. The metal bar is in the way of the beater! You can actually see where some of the wood has worn away. And you can imagine my beat! *sigh*

Finally you can see what has happened to the fabric. Notice the dip on the right hand side?

Unbelievably frustrating! I think this may be the last set on this loom. I maintain the tightness of the screws and can't quite figure out how in the world this problem is happening.......or what in the world held it in place before. I'm pretty sure I'll be ending all of the towel orders on the Megado.....which is kind of funny in a way:) Kind of overkill for towels:) Especially since the designs are all 4 to 8 shafts!

In the meantime I'll be shopping for a good deal on a Louet Spring.....since Louet just 'makes sense' to me!

Back up to the studio.......with a pocket full of hope! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

Obsessive Compulsive Order

I recently started watching a show called My Strange Addiction. It's dvr'd so, when I spin, I can watch it. It's really a neat show.....documenting people and their strange addictions. Eating pottery and ashes, makeup and shoe hoarding, and hair pulling....things like that. Perhaps the show is in my head.....but, I'm beginning to think that I may obsess compulsively over compulsively obsessing over my yarn! I mean.....I don't hoard. The stash is always turning over and I certainly wouldn't say no if another weaver came over and wanted a tube of my most precious silk. I don't buy yarn EVERY time I see it...........just if there's a good sale or an irresistible color! But.....truth be told.....I think I reorganize my 'currently using this stash' at least 4 times a week! Eeek! It sooths me, makes me calm and creative......so, is there a such thing as obsessive compulsive order?

Any way.........I've dressed the loom for another set of towels and am planning for the last three yards for plain weave. Lynn of New Prospect Pottery and I have been working on a table setting line and I think I'm ready to fiddle with the first set of napkins. I

went with a plaid looking pattern:

The picture looks a bit muddy.....it's a screen shot, not the actual cloth. I'll be using the plain weave for the napkins and this swirly pattern for the towels before.

I have high hopes of having some serious shibori scarves in bamboo after this current cotton warp. Something light and airy for the showcase at Byrdcliffe Guild in May! Hooray!!!!!

M and W Advancing Twill

To take a break from towels (temporarily) I've decided to weave some scarves and revisit some patterns. I dug through my list looking for something classy. Something with style and personality! I had my heart set on the diamonds scarf that I wove on the Megado for a bookmark exchange then rewove using 8/2 tencel a couple of years ago. Then I did a Shannon classic........I knew how many ends and yardage I needed and knew that I had the right color........but was there going to be enough?! Yep....I eyeballed it! I tried hanging sheet rock at the old house once and 'eyeballed it'. You would think I would have learned by the fruit of that project that measuring once and cutting twice was the better option. I had a good inch and a half gap!!! Lots and lots of unnecessary spackeling! So there I sat on the studio floor Indian style 'eyeballing' the cone of black yarn. Honestly it would have taken merely minutes to walk over to the closet and pull out an empty cone, tare the scale, and do some simple math but no.......I starred and starred and starred. Turning the cone over and looking at it intently thinking "If I do it, there won't be enough. If I don't there will" <--I know....makes a whole lot of sense:) So......off to winding the warp I went. And you've guessed it! I was short by 30 ends! Now what?! I chained the warp off of the board and set it up to be beamed on the back beam. 160 ends.......alone with no purpose. I would have to fiddle with the pattern to see if I could make it work. So there it sat for a good couple of days........

I think like most weavers I tend to think about weaving, patterns, yarn (

oooooh yarn), looms, and spinning most of the time. Constantly thinking of the next project, pattern, or color choices......or next piece of equipment:D I pondered the pattern in my mind for the black warp sitting on the back beam of the loom. I knew that if I modified the pattern from the original idea, I would not be doing the pattern justice and should probably just look for something using less threads in a pattern repeat. I dug out The Best of Weaver's Twill Thrills by Interweave. How could I go wrong! It was only a couple of minutes and I found something that would work perfect with 160 ends!!!!! Hooray!!! A huge sigh of relief! HUGE! :) So, here is the next project. Scarves! Three, in fact.....one red, one purple, and one in gold :) Thank God for Interweave Press!

Towels Towels Towels

So I was trying to figure out if towels are worth making anymore. I like to weave them but, really what I get for them is peanuts....but....I like weaving them. Hmmmm. I went on Etsy and found that I was WAY under priced! It seems that most sellers have their towels listed at a bit more and sold individually! Okie dokie then...time to make some changes. :)

Not even a couple of days after the change, I was contacted for a custom order for more towels!!! I still can't believe it! :) It almost seems cliche. I've heard that raising prices can raise sales but, for it to happen!!!!! I'm a happy girl!

My good friend Lynn of New Prospect Pottery

has some of her items in Byrdcliffe Gallery Guild in Woodstock NY. She was kind enough to send along my site to them and they contacted me asking for some items! Woo hoo! I drove up to the beautiful town with my items, parked in municipal parking 1/2 mile away and trekked to the guild. As I walked I realized that I live relatively close but, have never been to Woodstock! Wow! And really it's a beautiful town with PLENTY of places to shop for unique items......I was certain to come back and do just that! When I arrived at the gallery, I was greeted by a warm friendly face:) Always a wonderful thing. We looked over the items in my inventory and I walked away with next to nothing........which is why the Etsy store looks so bare! There are many events held at the gallery and I highly suggest, if you're in the area, to check it out.

So, to replenish the shop, I've been working around the clock weaving like a mad woman:) I've since pulled off another run of towels with similar patterns of the Banana Split ones above in green and purple:) I've got to hem them, wash, take pictures, and list on Etsy. Then next up will be some black advancing twill scarves in tencel.