And so the next generation moves in…

She wanted up onto my lap when I was weaving, took the stick shuttle off me and starting sticking it into the warp – a tad agressively, so that she broke 2 of my warp ends, but still – I was wetting myself laughing - she was so serious about it - I’m hoping the time will come when she has a better idea of where the shuttle goes!

More of the same…

Yet another weird week -
Things are never simple, are they? There are benefits to being a grown-up (I remind myself of this frequently)  – I can eat 3 kit-kats in a row if that is what I want, but then there is all the stress and worry that seems to be part and parcel of “maturity” that kinda outweighs the benefits of 3 kit-kats.
My father was in hospital again – he went for some tests and was kept in for a week. He was sent home on Wednesday and has been in bed sick since then. And Hannah has some kind of rash on her face (but is eating and sleeping well – the 2 most important things in a Mother’s List)….Needless to say no weaving got done this week!
However, as this blog is about weaving, I have to say that I did THINK about weaving, but didn’t manage to settle down to doing anything, so my 3 samples already done were completed before all the dramas unfolded. The plan is to experiment with a pure lambs wool warp, the sett and the weft. So far I’ve played with weaving the same design in white chenille, black chenille and pure wool weft – Now I am itching to cut these off and wash them, but in my grown-up mood this week, I am determined to get a few more samples out of this sett before I cut off and re-reed.
The “problem” with sampling is that I always seem to have a lot of other ideas, (while sampling) that don’t relate to the warp I have on – and therefore I get restless with the current warp, wanting to put on another one to try this other, oh-so-great idea I’m having. Mmmm, “Grass is always greener” springs to mind…I’m writing down all these brilliant ideas, (that probably won’t seem so brilliant in a few days), and if I’m still motivated they can be the next BIG THING.

No snazzy title…can’t think of one!

It’s been a crazy few weeks – with tummy bugs, and a lovely commission and now teething is upsetting the routine of threading up a sample warp  – I’m not sure that I have actually had any weaving “routine” since Hannah arrived, but I like to delude myself into making lists of “things I am going to do this week”…my parents bought me a notebook for makings my lists for Christmas – it says on the front “Queen of Denial” – how sadly true that is.

So back to my commission and my current warp – Wool is the Way to Go right now. I had a glorious commission for a pure wool scarf that was fun to design and a pleasure to weave. Luckily my basic little Harris has a double back beam, so the wool I  had warped and wound on for a sample warp could wait it out on the other beam, while I got on with the scarf.  Another comedy discover of myself this week is that when I get up to feed H at 4am I seem to have loads of ideas for lifting plans or drafts or “how could I set up my loom to get an effect like…” – I can’t decide if this is sad or amusing. You’d think at 38 years old I’d be fully aware of all my stupidities. Aparently not. Needless to say, after feeding her, I DON’T make lists…I return to bed, like a good, zombified breastfeeding mother…and spend the first half hour at work the next day trying to remember what it was I thought was such a brilliant idea at 4am.

Anyway, my current sample warp is pure lambs wool, undyed, and it’s long. The plan is to weave a few samples with one threading, cut off, rethread & reed and then start again. It’s been a long time since I wove for the experimental fun of it, and it’s about time I got back to it. Etsy is fun, but I don’t weave for money, I weave for the love of it, and it’s time I invested my time more that way.

At last! 5 minutes to upload – Noriko, “work in progress”

Weird few weeks

So, what I say? Another long-ish delay since I last opened this blog, but it’s not for want of thinking about it. I’ve discovered, (or rather, “admitted to myself“), that I can weave or I can blog, but I can’t blog about weaving and weave – I don’t have the time for both – and sometimes I have the time for neither…and then there are babies, house-work, sale shopping, grocery shopping, and going to “full-time-paid-grown-up-work-at-the-office” all to consider.

The good news is that my withdrawl has been for a nice commission to weave a scarf for a lady in Japan (and go shopping in the sales!) - I’ve been rummaging for yarns, making wee wrapings, Pixeloom-ing designs and generally filling my evenings with the little pleasures of warping, winding and threading (I’m still threading up but hope to get started on Sat or Sun). Pictures of these efforts to follow.
I’ve avoided house-work and grocery shopping, and this week we’re trying grocery shopping online for the first time – fingers crossed it goes well, as I would really like to give up the 2-3 hours we seem to spend at the market, butchers and supermarket on a Saturday morning…It’s doubtful I’ll be able to spend the time saved Weaving, but I can always hope!

Another long gap

I had such grand plans to update this during the Christmas holidays – and here I am, back in Barcelona, after 3 weeks of Ireland and Derbyshire, and I am sitting in front of a computer again for the first time in that whole period…It’s been a bit hectic with Hannah being ill (one trip to the hospital with a strange rash), snow, more snow, quite serious sub-zero temperatures and then a bit more snow…been one of those holidays!
So as I write this, H is going through a basket of yarns, listening to “Happy and you know it clap your hands” and I’m trying to plan a wool warp and a quick dyeing session for tomorrow. I’ve got some things to upload onto Etsy, but I’ve decided to focus on sampling for a month or two – and a nice lambs wool warp is the focus of my attention right now – that and SOMETHING useful to do with thrums (left over weaving yarn) – photos of that to follow – Hannah has just velcro-ed herself to some single spun linen.

I should have put these up ages ago – after my fed-up-ness with suggestions in Handwoven, I went on the hunt to find something to do with my lefts overs, and having discovered the pin loom (I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I discovered it in Handwoven), I thought that some of the longer thrums would work with this – especially if they were wool and could be felted afterwards. So, “Project 1 – What to try and do USEFULLY with thrums has been launched” – God knows how it will go, or if it will ever be finished, but I’ve got to start somewhere. The idea is to weave up little rectangles with the wool thrums I have and then stitch them together and felt them – or felt them and stitch together (depending on how I feel on the day). I’m not sure how much I’ll have, but hopefully enough for a warm cot blanket or a throw.

I bought a set of 3 wooden picture frames from Ikea and used the pattern layout from the Pin Loom (eloomanation.com) reference page. Matt put in the tack pins for me – total cost, 4euros for making the pin loom…the cost of them on Ebay is quite scary, so I would suggest to anyone thinking of trying this little project to check out the eloominations page – for the cost of a wooden picture frame and a few wee nails, you can’t really go wrong.

When I was home in Ireland at Christmas, I also got my dad to make me a raddle and a “mobile warping set” so I can get some things done at home, if I don’t have time to make a warp before I go back. I’m not sure this was what I’d originally intended to blog about here, but it seems like a good time to mention it. He put together a raddle and 3 sets of warping pegs from bits of wood he had in the garage, some wood glue and some tack nails. I was very impressed! The warping pegs are brilliant, they can be fitted onto a table or work surface with g-clamps and it means you can make the warp as long as are short as you like. Not quite as convenient as my warping mill (also home made), but almost as convenient / inconvenient as a warping board.

More Japanese art in town! wooo hooo!

So after the lovely free exhibition that was on in the Padrera last year I shouldn’t complain about having to pay to get into the Picasso museum…(mmm, it’s not the money that bothers me, it’s the queues and pickpockets – but I’ll stop with the negative waves).

In particular the exhibition is of images from the floating world or “Water trade” – “Mizu shobai“…(eh, “street industry” erotic art or “porn” as it is known to most westerners). As always though, the Japanese manage to take something that the western world views as a bit sordid and cleans it up to be sensual art. I love japanese prints, and their riské material is no exception – now I just need to find someone who will go with me to see it! (I don’t think Matt would pay the money!!)
Neki – are you interested?

And the exhibition runs to the 14th of February – how romantic!

http://www.bcn.cat/museupicasso/en/exhibitions/current.html

On a sad note, I found out yesterday that an old gentleman who sells end of run yarns is shutting up shop in Barcelona. “Fleko” has been one of the best sources for some beautiful yarns and when I went to get some curtain tape from him yesterday (as I’m currently trying to make some curtains), he told me he was closing down – it’s not worth it any longer. Any weavers or knitters in the Barcelona area who don’t know about this shop should give me a ping, I’d be happy to pass on the address so you can make the most of his end of line bargains while he’s still around.

 

Rebirth – in gentle golds and soft wools

 So after a lot of debate I decided to get back to what I love – colour and structure. Klimt had more than a small hand in the influences for this belt, but I have to say, I’ve not taken one photo that actually does this justice. It is such a gorgeous blend of warm colours. I’ve just put it up on etsy…let’s see if anyone else thinks it’s worth wearing.  More about this on my Esty Weaves page.

Crochet Mad! (but especially to go with a woven shawl)

It has been a bit depressing, looking at all the beautiful things on Etsy and looking at the pile of scarves I need to get finished, the 2 baby blankets and all my shawl flower pins that have been carefully wrapped in plastic awaiting finishing – but, I’m getting there!

Hannah has been co-operating this weekend, and as well as making a beef and guinness stew for dinner I also got some pins finished – unfortunately it is taking me ages to get them on to Etsy, and further more has anyone else ever thought that Etsy is lacking a European grouping for shipping options? (I feel a twit now, I’ve just found they have put up a European Union option…ah well, you live and learn)

Extreme Weaving – Not for arachnophobics

I had to put this post in, as to me it is a beautiful little story – not to mention expensive, (and some might say creepy). So, as we approach Hallowe’en, here we have a lovely story of silken spiders and weaving.
A wee bit on the expensive side for anyone thinking of getting some of this yarn, but it’s definately a renewable, natural fibre!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113223398