Meanderings of a Mermaid

 So here are some "before pictures" as I prepare to convert the guest bedroom to just a craft space. Okay so I have partially started the conversion and the room is a mess. But it gives you a little idea of what I'm up to. This corner with the two looms is a bit crowded! It makes it tight for walking through the door and into the office/livingroom. And here is the opposite corner of the room. This queen bed has been sold now and once out of the way will make a lot of new space for me. I am thinking the bigger loom, the Artisat, will go across to this corner. The biggest loom I have, the Nilus II now lives in the Tuff Shed (very happy there!). You can see this room has great light. That's just one set of windows (south facing) and there is another equally large set on the west wall. I am anxious to gain this new space. Yesterday I made up this floor plan. One square equals ten inches. The furniture pieces are movable and held somewhat with a roll of tape on the...

 Well the starting point for most of these fibers was from some inexpensive Kool-aid dyed mystery wool I bought at a shop. At the Guild meeting the other day we played with this on the drum carder and with the hackle. First we took red and yellow to make orange. From left to right the bundles are: one pass, two passes and then three passes through the carder. You can see how more blended it got each time.  Most of this product went to one of the gals so she could spin it up at home. This was dizzed of the hackle. One pass.  The lustrous white in this shot is pure silk. Oh what a lovely touch. A little silk goes a long way.  For another experiment we decided to try to make a colour to match something in the room. My earring (puau shell) was suggested. So there's the earring in the middle. Too bad about the high reflection off the earring, but you get the idea. We pretty much nailed it. I might have to card a few more batts of this because I do quite like...

Well I have been trying to wait for sunny days for this photography but even when the forecast calls for clear weather, we don't have it! So in an attempt to catch up a little with some finished objects and things still underway, here goes. Seeing as how we were trapped indoors for a couple of days (felt much longer) by freezing rain, I spent part of one day re-organizing the gear. Yes I seem to do this a lot. As new equipment arrives, and I start to use it, I determine where the lighting is the best and other factors play a role too. In this case, I want to be able to use the same weaving bench at either loom. So the Medico (back) and the Artisat are now side by side. Here is a limited image of the overshot I am attempting. I haven't woven enough length yet with the same weft threads to really show much. As with all my weaving forays I am learning a lot as I go. These batts are from some wool fiber that has been dyed with koolaid. I carded them just once, in preparat...

The question might be asked "Why weave?" Could I not easily find all the clothing and household linens in the nearby thrift store, while supporting local charity organizations? Yes. I already knit and sew, amongst other fibre- and fabric-related crafts. Why not buy the yardage on sale somewhere and speed up the process? Good question.  I weave because it is a challenge and I love to explore new things and learn. That is my definition of being alive, to be continually learning. Weaving is certainly fulfilling these goals for me. You can start out with easy projects: maybe a frame loom, a rigid heddle loom; and learn the basics there. Soon my analytical mind wants to see how the bigger machines weave. I want to learn how to manipulate threads and looms to make fabric.  I love to challenge my mind and work on the careful threadings. Flexing the memory is a good thing as I age. When dressing the loom I might have to get into positions or stretches that are a bit c...

 Hey Hello Y'All!! Yes I am still alive and staying as busy as I can be. First off, I purchased a great quill set up from the TheFiberCafe.com. Here it is mounted on my Lendrum upright wheel. I have started to play with the spinning off the tip. And yes, I trimmed the plastic straw so that the bevelled tip of the spindle is exposed. I am trying to learn the Fast Flip method for winding on. So far so good! I have been busy with many projects. The Nilus II loom received it's upgrade to 8 shafts plus I installed the flying shuttle beater. What a cool gadget that is. The learning curve has been very fast there. In this photo I have blue and green tencel warp with a variegated (blue and green, naturally) silk weft. This will probably be a shawl. A few hours were taken up with this project. The ladies at the Llano knitting club made nearly 40 squares (knit) for a surprise present. One of the members is getting married and this blanket plus a pillow constituted the gift from t...

Rejoice Friends! I had a chance to get some expert help and now my new website is published to the web. You can check it out at www.mermaidknits.com  There will be announcements of upcoming knitting class and a heads up for Guild members. Also my designs come up for sale periodically. And I am invited to show pieces from time to time.  There will be lots of pictures of me. Because I give myself permission to show myself.  Me, shaped like a munchkin. What happened to my legs? This is the Rainbow jacket I made this summer. Even celebrities will flock to my website. Be the first one!

 And here are the "after" pictures. Isn't that Canadian Maple just a lovely glowing wood? It matches well with the tumbler of Forty Creek Whisky that sits atop the castle - also a Canadian beauty. So you can see there are two upright posts now, side by side. There are eight shafts and therefore ten treadles. This is part of the expansion from four shafts I mentioned previously. Yes, those are John Deere curtains I made for Mr. They are staying. He suggested that I should weave new curtains. Maybe once these ones fade too much in the sun.  The view is from the left side. In the centre of the shot in the bold sunshine is the box for the new flying shuttle beater. The same box exists on the other side as well. A fancy shuttle with metal tips is propelled by a tug of the cord and races along the "race", across the beater to the other side, where it stops inside the box and awaits my command. This mechanism will speed up my throwing of the weft and also eliminat...