Meanderings of a Mermaid

It's been an exciting year in the south for me. I have done a large amount of teaching and have explored more techniques in spinning, knitting and weaving. Yes, even in knitting one can find new things to do (check out the Twigg Stitch). But the days in the south are numbered, since the heat is cranking up and we haven't got any air conditioning here. Thank goodness we have wind and three excellent overhead fans in this cottage. Now I am in the mood to complete a bunch of things and start to think about what I may want to haul north.  I used two colours of variegated tencel for the warp threads and a variegated silk for weft. This project was the first one I did with the flying shuttle beater on the big loom. Great colours, eh?  And get a load of the drape on this shawl. I did have some issues with the tencel shredding but in the finishing I was able to correct any little problems. I am looking forward to using this, but with temperatures in the upper 80s and 90s, it wi...

 This is the senior rooster that belongs to our neighbours. There are two junior roosters there as well, so you can imagine the noise at times. We have a large backyard and the roosters spend most of their time picking at insects on our property.   Yesterday I carded up a few wool batts. Do you think I may have got some of my colour inspiration from that rooster? I also taught my last Guild class of the season, so it was a bit sad for me. But quite the accomplishment too, as it represented the thirtieth class I have taught in this town. All free by the way.   The bluebonnets are starting to bloom nicely in the back field.  And the pear blossoms are attracting a lot of bees.  This morning the dew hung heavy on the blades of grass.  Luminaria! Fog at sunrise. Today. 

 Last week I was delighted to be able to participate in a Lithuanian Band Weaving class in the Big City. In this first photo is the very start of the project, with spacer chunks of paper and the still wide plain weave portion visible. After a little bit of the pick up pattern was woven the right edge tidied up and the band is narrower. Maybe I will show you how it looks in another post.  Here was an inkle loom that won the prize for the smallest and most portable.  And this gal preferred to work hers resting on the ground.  now this inkle, A Fuchs brand, had an interesting tensioning mechanism on it.  Some of the participants working away, We see inkle looms of various types. I had also brought a simple frame loom to show as well with a project on it. Our instructor, a Lithuanian lady at left. Myself in the middle and a lovely weaver on the right. We are intent on learning everything we can! I wish I had these learning opportunities closer to ...

Here it is.....drum roll if you please..... Actual snow in Texas. Finally last night, a few granules of snow fell on our snowbird haven. Dawn is breaking and it's windy and cool out. No more precipitation in the forecast and probably just one more night below freezing and we're done with this "snowy winter". It seems like a day to hunker down at home and focus on the Three Cs: Cuddling Creature Comforts and Crafts. Yes, you're right. That's every day.

Here is a simple embroidery or tapestry frame that I have snagged for a band weaving loom. I am practising my pick-up technique, something I used to do a lot of as a child. It is not hard to do, but it will take a while for my edges and tension to be even. It's really quite fun though. I am using cotton for both warp and weft.      This photo is of the WooLee Winder on my Polonaise wheel . We have been working together ( machine and I) to make a gorgeous single out of merino wool.   The glamour shot.   The lustre and soft, sexy shot.   The fiber I am using is from Fat Cat Knits in New York state. Here's what it looks like in the braid (combed top). I have bought a fair bit of it. I suspect I will be  making at least a two ply yarn, although 3 ply is calling out to me. After my art yarn play time of a couple of weeks ago I still had some alpaca woolen singles left over. Today I plied that with a Lionheart ladder ya...

First off I finally finished 8 oz of a targhee and bamboo blend. It was a joy to spin, but because I chose thin and worsted, it took awhile. Sila the Polonaise was the workhorse on this one. I have one bobbin full and haven't decided yet what to do next.   I recently picked up some old weaving and spinning equipment, along with cellulose fiber dyes. In the box of gear were two loom cranks that I didn't need. Luckily I quickly found homes for them through Ravelry.     A bunch of window-related work has just begun around the rock house. Many panes of glass have been broken by lawnmowers throwing up rocks in the summer time. For some reason when we mow in the winter this never happens. Tomorrow the glass company is here to replace panes and re-glaze a couple more windows. To avoid any more breakage, I have metal screens being custom made to fit all the windows of the house. The old paint around the windows is mostly black and is overdue for a paint job. Ab...

Here are some more art yarns I am experimenting with. The core is a woolen spun alpaca single. I have it thick and thin because I believe that texture is more interesting than a more even one - at least for this purpose. The glass beads are spring time colours of pink and green and yellow and clear and more. Very pretty. I used a mercerized cotton thread that is pink to purple and variegated. Fun stuff. Now this one is fabric flowers that I tore up. I put them on the same alpaca woolen spun singles. I used a very thin monofilament in a clear colour. I found the thread difficult to work with as it unspooled too easily and wrapped itself around the knitting needle that was acting as an axle. The filament does not feel nice on the hand, but rather feels like it is about to cut in. And it was stretchy which made it hard to work with. So I won't be using that thread for art yarn again (okay maybe "under protest"), even though it is invisible. There are some w...