At an Impasse...

Well, this blog started out as a weaving blog and lately it has been anything but. Lately I've been decluttering and cleaning the downstairs, so the weaving has been put aside. Before Christmas, I started cleaning out the weaving room, decided I had too many things to do before Christmas, so the weaving room went on the back burner. I have a free day tomorrow, and really want to get back to sewing and weaving.
{singing} Three of these threads are not like the others!

On the loom downstairs, I have rayon chenille scarves - that are being quite difficult. I was almost finished with the first one, when I had three threads break. Not cool! I haven't been brave enough to face that monster since.




Upstairs, I have wonderful dishtowels that are absolutely lovely to weave.




The problem is that I can't find the loom. Everything that is there, belongs, it just needs to find a good spot. Yeah, right! So tomorrow, I am determined to wake up, gird up my loins and tackle these monsters. Onward Ho!

Playing With Fire...

As Promised....

Here are pictures of the big broom my brother made. I absolutely love it!

Brooms!

Check out my brother's Etsy shop - Tsebaverybrooms!

I set it up for him while he is at college because a.) the whisk brooms were made up and no one was enjoying them and b.) if they sell, he could use the money! Because I have the special privelege of being his sister, I have both a full size broom as well as a whisk broom. I love them! The whisk broom is the best to use in the car, and they don't fall apart! I will post a picture of my big broom tomorrow, but I took the pictures and the battery died on the camera. Once the battery is charged again, I will load the pictures and post them.

Remembering Warmth

Flowers and Butterflies



Our favorite place to go in the summer


Beautiful Fall Days

Homemade Centerpiece

Rosehips


This fall I decided that I wanted to make my own wreaths. Before winter really sank in, on a cold and rainy day, I went out and hauled some grapevines off trees growing on our relative's property. While they were damp, I wrapped them up into wreaths, 2 small and 2 large. Earlier in the month, Nate had gone out and picked me some rose hips and pinecones - you can ask him what kind of trees they came from! :) Anyways, when they were dry, I made a wreath. The rosehips are wrapped around the wreath with wire, and the dried oranges and pinecones are placed on top - so they do fall off once in awhile! I love how it turned out! It is still on our table and will probably stay there for awhile! I didn't get a chance to make up the others, so those will be this coming year's project. Things got a little postponed trying to finish a commission by Christmas! More on that one later, though. Psyche entertains herself by biting the rosehips off their branches and watching them go flying! What a darling little MONSTER!






I love the light it gives off at night when the candle is lit!

Meet Psyche

This is Psyche. She was named this when she was a small kitten because of her face. Little did we know, it aptly described the personality underneath! This cat has many nicknames, the most often one used is Monster. Her hobbies include raiding my sock drawer, drowning all of her toys (even the socks) in the dog's water (it's a little disconcerting to find a beanie baby face down in the water) and eating oatmeal. Yep, you heard me right. Every morning when Nate and I are finished with our oatmeal, Miss Psyche has to clean out my bowl. This morning, Nate and I had a big to-do list, and cleaned up before she could get her share. For an hour, she was absolutely obnoxious until I realized that she hadn't had her oatmeal. So I made her a tiny amount, she ate it, and left me alone after that. Yes, she would be a just a tad spoiled...but she is happy - and the oatmeal makes her fur very soft!


Hungry Kitty


Polished Bowl

Vintage Fabric

I found this fabric at a thrift store here in town, and had to buy it. Now the question is: What do I do with it? It has wonderful flowers, and awfully wonderful colors - so neat, but not my first pick! There are a few yards here - maybe one or two aprons? I need input!!!

Fabric Bags

I made these bags for my mom and grandmother for Christmas. I got the idea from Trina. The instructions are here. They were pretty easy to put together, and took about 2 yards of fabric each - one for the outside, and one for the inside. They are so sturdy!

I used an upholstery fabric for the bags, because I know me - I will run them into the ground! An other grandmother saw them (I am lucky enough to have 3 sets of grandparents!) and asked for a couple. So, all together, I made 14. I am done making bags for a while...ok, that may not be true - one can never have enough bags!


This black one is my favorite. Good thing I bought extra fabric when I got it! I think it is just BEGGING for a touch of red. When I am ready to make some more bags, that will be one of the first ones.

Thrifted Sweater

Wednesdays are my favorite day of the work week. Not only does it mean that my work is half way over until the weekend, but it is also half off day at the Salvation Army here in town. I go in for work clothes which need to be replaced at a scary pace, and also to find items that I have another purpose for. My coworker and shopping buddy thinks I am nuts! I wish I had a before picture of this as a sweater, but I don't. Oh well. This was an Old Navy sweater that had already been partially felted. Not very good for wearing, but it turned out awesome with this bag! It was so much fun throwing it in the washer, having been taught that wool NEVER goes in on the regular cycle. The pockets are made from one sleeve and also the neckline. Because it is felted, they don't fray. It could use some way to close it - a magnetic snap would be perfect, but it's a little late for that! I think I may make a tab closure for it, but as it is already in use, I'm not so sure it will happen. If you want instructions for it, let me know!

I Wonder...

How many sewing problems are caused by a dull needle? I just had a major DUH moment! I was sewing along, not very happily, feeling like I was fighting with my machine. It wasn't feeding the fabric consistently at all! I decided to change the needle, and it sewed like a charm! I didn't even have the the fabric warp on me, which I had just been blaming on the way I cut the fabric. OOPS!

A Few Of My Favorite Things

The Stole Project

I had the wife of our local Methodist minister commission me in the fall to make her husband a liturgical stole. She loved the patterns and texture of my inkle bookmarks, so we worked from that idea. The color he needed most was for Ordinary Time - green. After discussing which greens he liked and didn't like, we decided that an emerald green would be best, with some other colors for interest. I couldn't find a green that I thought would work very well, so I decided to hand dye the yarn. (I will come up with any excuse to turn my kitchen into a dyeing station!) What fun! I have finally come up with a good (for me) system to do my dyeing, as my kitchen is a little small, and we rent, so permanent dye on the floor or walls is not a good thing! My husband laughs at my adult-style finger painting! I digress. I played with different greens within the emerald, then weaving them into bookmarks. Here are the resulting bookmarks:







When these were finished, I took them in to show her, and she decided on the last one. The finished result needed to be 5 inches wide, so with a little more tweaking on the colors, I came up with this:




I love it! I tried to make enough for two stoles, but I didn't dye enough yarn... So
- I now have about a yard of this 4.5" wide sturdy fabric, and am trying to figure out what to do with it. Any ideas?

Wow! I just found this looking through my posts! It never published!

Mary's Bag

I promised pictures of this bag over a month ago. Oops! Life has been busy with the Holidays, but very pleasant! Anyways, here are the finished pictures:







With it, I included a little wallet made from the same fabrics. I loved how it turned out!








She really likes it, but feedback that I've gotten makes me think she needs an organizer for inside of it. I've been told she keeps losing stuff in it - it may be more of a Mary Poppins type bag!

On another thought, I am going to be updating this more frequently. I am still getting used to Blogger's formatting, so bear with me please! Thanks!