I've weaving some dish-scrubbing cloths to accompany an order of the Autumn Leaves towels I wove last month. I wound a separate warp for these, so they're not exactly the same - my random warps are just that - RANDOM - but I used the same colors, so they'll coordinate. I'm using a different draft of huck texture, to create more "nubbies" for scrubbing. The warp is 12" in the reed and I'm weaving them to 13" on the loom, which will translate to 9"x9" after washing and hemming.
I'm spinning this lovely 50/50 blend of superwash merino and tencel, Enchanted Knoll Farm club for December 2014, called "Poinsettia". I'm planning to spin the whole 4 oz, then chain-ply it.
Hoping to finish this one by day's end and begin the plying...
DebbieBHandmade
Handwoven, Handspun, Handmade
Monday, January 5, 2015
Thursday, January 1, 2015
2015!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Let's make a fresh
start, shall we? As many others are doing, I'm viewing things with fresh eyes
today and making to-do lists (so much nicer than resolutions, and I can cross
them off!) This past year was filled with creative bursts and eye surgeries (doing
great, thanks!) and vacations and conferences and successes and "learning
experiences". Everything - the good AND the bad - taught me things, and
I'm grateful for the lessons.
Now onward! Updates
- rather than try to catch up with everything since April, I'll just look at
what's been going on recently and move forward…
WEAVING: I wove a
LOT this year, a mix of SAORI creative weaving and traditional pattern weaving.
Planning even more weaving in the coming year, and I'm taking some classes to
improve my weaving creativity and cloth making/sewing skills. When I weave for
others, I'm certain of what I want the cloth to become (scarves, shawls,
dishtowels, runners) but when I weave for me, I'm just weaving CLOTH, that will
become garments later as inspiration strikes. Next up on the loom, some more
color-family SAORI scarves for the shop, and since I'm participating in a "Use It UP!"
Weave-Along on Ravelry, I'll put my inside set with a black cotton warp on the
loom and weave up orphaned bobbins and bits and pieces of handspun. In December I wove several SAORI
scarves/shawls for commissions and for gifts, and I've just finished weaving a
set of Autumn towels (there are still a few available in my shop):
SPINNING: I managed
to surpass my "14 lbs in 2014" goal, I spun 365 ounces {22.8 lbs}
this year. That's an average of 1 oz every day, though circumstances (eye
surgery!!) got in the way of daily spinning. This year, the goal will be 15 lbs
in 2015. I've significantly reduced the influx of fiber to my stash, I'm
currently only in 2 fiber clubs (Enchanted Knoll Farm and Nest Fiber Studio).
So I'm having a great time digging into bins and spinning up old favorites. I
created a lot of handspun this year, and sold some of it, but I've been lax in
photographing and listing skeins in the shop. On my to-do list for this year is prompt photography! Anyway, here's what's on my wheel today -
Nest Fiber Studio "Bauble", December 2014 club, BFL/silk:
KNITTING: I'm much
more of a casual knitter - weaving and spinning get most of my attention. But I
do love to knit - I save knitting for when I'm away from home. I keep a sock
project in my purse at all times for travel and waiting rooms. Here's what I'm
currently knitting - a pair of socks from handspun 2-ply Cheviot, dyed by
Edgewood Garden Studio in her "Swedish Summer" colorway (I renamed it
"Papaya"):
GARDEN: We were
blessed with an abundance of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, and
green onions this year, as well as lettuce and spinach (before the heat caused
them to bolt). No success with squash or zucchini - the $*&# squash vine
borers murdered my plants. I'm still harvesting green onions, but everything
else is "ex-garden". We have a lot of clean up to do to get the
garden ready for spring planting. The weeds ran rampant after my eye surgery
(no bending for months, making it impossible to weed!) We garden organically,
no pesticides or herbicides, so if there's no one picking the weeds and the
bugs, they tend to take over. I'm planning to expand our garden even more this
year, which means we really do need that new freezer!!
EXERCISE: A
Jazzercise workout is an essential part of my day, 5 days a week. It keeps me
flexible and limber, strengthens my muscles and my bones, and helps to
counteract some of the sedentary effects of my chosen activities - weaving and
spinning involve a LOT of sitting. My local Jazzercise center has a good full
schedule, so I can always find a time that fits in with what I'm doing. I
usually tend to go for a morning workout, that sets me up for a great day. JZ
combines aerobic dance with strength and resistance training using handweights.
The retinal detachment in April (and the subsequent surgery in May, with its 2
month recovery period) kept me from attending classes, but I started back at
the first of August. I've had to modify what I do - no high-impact jumping, no
up/down floor work - but Jazzercise is great for that… they give low-impact
alternatives to the high-impact moves, and the abdominal and leg exercises can
be done standing or in a chair, rather than on a floor mat. When I started back,
I dropped down to 3# weights, but I've worked back up to 6# and hope to soon be
back to the 7# I was using before surgery.
And that's what's going on around here. I'm healthy, I'm happy, and I'm productive. And BLESSED!
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