Last post of 2017

My hair felt like a mop so I went back and had Christina cut off another 4” and also thin it out.

She blow dried and styled it, something I won’t be doing and it resulted in Hilary hair!

This is what it looks like IRL (in real life).  I’m still experimenting with gels, mousse and nothing.  Curly hair is still a new experience for me. I keep wondering if it turned itself curly, will it turn itself uncurly?

I’m still struggling with the Summer and Winter draft, it’s very slow going.  It’s Sarah Jackson’s pattern which I bought in a Handwoven collection.  Since it’s such a popular pattern I figured it would be a no-brainer but it’s been a very steep learning curve for me.

I started to get a better handle on it when I put each treadling pattern on a sticky note, but still it’s a two-shuttle weave and just managing them instead of juggling and dropping them has been a battle.  And to throw them from the side they exited from last instead of crossing over the top leaving a huge trailing loop. Unweave!

There are five towels on this warp and the first one is a mess though it’s not as bad as the Crackle towels I tried to weave and didn’t even bother to hem.  No wonder I couldn’t weave Crackle.  It has three shuttles and I’m barely managing to control these two!  I’ll hem the first one and use it myself.  This is the third towel and has one color used throughout, either as tabby or pattern.  It’s finally getting interesting.

I no longer have to count out loud but I think if I had used very different colors, I would have been able to keep track a whole lot easier.  I’m going to try it again, just to get a better handle on this draft though it’s too time intensive to weave for sale.

Meeting weekly with the Knitterbugs, a group of ladies who knit, has encouraged me to knit again.  This “Where’s Waldo” sweater is from a blog give-away that Teresa Davies did a number of years ago.  There’s more red yarn then white so I’m knitting the body and sleeves at the same time until I run out of white, and then the rest will be red.  It’s a rather fun project, another Heidi Kerrmier pattern.

This is my latest print, a linocut of a beached tuna boat, the Edith.  I put her back out to sea, gave her a little dignity by turning back the clock.

New Tricks

The problem was me!  I was reading the threading order as the treadling order.  I had done the same thing when I attempted Crackle and somewhere in my subconscious that trickled to the surface.  It looks much different when you do it right.  I have very little time to weave this month so I’m glad to have this on track for when I can get back to it.

I’m going to back to where I started in printmaking, to LinoCuts.  It’s what attracted me in the 70s and it’s what attracted me last October.  I’m doing a series of “exercises.” The good news about these is that I can do the carving during my four-hour volunteer shift since they’re Interruptable.  I’m going to participate in a group buy of the photopolymer plates after the first of the year and have several photos that I’m anxious to print up and ink in color.  Until then, I’ll doodle on.

So this happened on Friday morning.

This is how it looked styled by my hairdresser Christina.

And this is what is looks like styled by me.  It has continue to become more curly every since my accident four years ago.  Curly hair is an entirely new experience for me but it’s nice to have the weight of all my hair gone, plus it used to take hours to dry.  It’s still thick but now it’s dry within 90 minutes.  I’m learning a new way of life, new tricks for this old dog!

I had penciled myself in for three hours of printing time in the studio and went there after my haircut.  Paula was cleaning up, getting ready to leave and asked me if I’d like to try her palette, colors that are totally her but that I’d never think to put together in a million years.  I was planning to print a chine colle plate so said, why not?  Sure!!

I’m glad she asked.  It pushed me completely out of my comfort zone and it was a great challenge for me.  More new tricks.

Eating my words

I know I just declared that I was going to return to warping from the front and boy do I love these colors - can’t wait to see how Summer and Winter works.  But switching my style of warping was kinda like switching horses in the middle of the stream.  Not a good idea.

I double checked my tie-up and that wasn’t the problem.  It had be in the threading.  This is Sarah Jackson’s pattern and I originally had decided to warp from the back so the complicated threading would be exactly as the she had written it.  That’s when I switched horses.  That’s when I fell off into the stream.  I thought I was going to have to cut it off but messaged her and was advised to put a cross in the back behind the heddles, and cautioned me to be sure it was tied securely to the loom before I undid the tension.

Having done the two methods so close together in time was actually a very happy accident.  I realized how much easier it is to thread the heddles from the front and it’s at an angle that is much kinder to my neck.  I just got my mind made up for me!

It’s been at least six months since I’ve made soap but we are out.  I’ve been low before, but never out!  I know I’m low on supplies and realized that I don’t have enough lye or palm oil to make another batch after this.  This is about $150 of soap were I to buy it, but it’s about more than just economics.  I like my soap better than any I’ve ever used.  I have another six months before I have to fold up shop or buy more supplies.  Meanwhile, we’ll have soap in about three weeks.
About a month ago I joined a knitting group and am surprised to find how much I’m enjoying these ladies.  We reserve space in Jackson’s Corner from 1:00-3:00 and people come within that time.  Some eat, most order drinks.  I discovered that one of the ladies is my neighbor who likes to talk walks around our area so tomorrow morning we’re going to meet up and walk at 10:30.  It should warm up to about 30 degrees by then.  I’m looking forward to having the company!

Eating my words

I know I just declared that I was going to return to warping from the front and boy do I love these colors - can’t wait to see how Summer and Winter works.  But switching my style of warping was kinda like switching horses in the middle of the stream.  Not a good idea.

I double checked my tie-up and that wasn’t the problem.  It had be in the threading.  This is Sarah Jackson’s pattern and I originally had decided to warp from the back so the complicated threading would be exactly as the she had written it.  That’s when I switched horses.  That’s when I fell off into the stream.  I thought I was going to have to cut it off but messaged her and was advised to put a cross in the back behind the heddles, and cautioned me to be sure it was tied securely to the loom before I undid the tension.

Having done the two methods so close together in time was actually a very happy accident.  I realized how much easier it is to thread the heddles from the front and it’s at an angle that is much kinder to my neck.  I just got my mind made up for me!  

It’s been at least six months since I’ve made soap but we are out.  I’ve been low before, but never out!  I know I’m low on supplies and realized that I don’t have enough lye or palm oil to make another batch after this.  This is about $150 of soap were I to buy it, but it’s about more than just economics.  I like my soap better than any I’ve ever used.  I have another six months before I have to fold up shop or buy more supplies.  Meanwhile, we’ll have soap in about three weeks. 

About a month ago I joined a knitting group and am surprised to find how much I’m enjoying these ladies.  We reserve space in Jackson’s Corner from 1:00-3:00 and people come within that time.  Some eat, most order drinks.  I discovered that one of the ladies is my neighbor who likes to talk walks around our area so tomorrow morning we’re going to meet up and walk at 10:30.  It should warm up to about 30 degrees by then.  I’m looking forward to having the company!