Lessons from the loom

I think I need to approach my life like I approach the loom. I received a handmade table loom right before Christmas. It is a beautiful piece of work. It has 4 shafts and a very funky swinging beater. It came loaded with warp so I was able to weave 4 towels (how I wish all looms just magically appeared warped). I loaded this warp again when I was taking my class. I like the idea of towels-small projects-tweak the weft a little and each towel is different. My kind of gratification.

So the loom has been giving me grief. The 4th shaft has been giving me the shaft (pardon the pun :) It is hard to shift into it. It pops out while beating. It was driving me nuts. I kept thinking maybe the tension was just too tight on it. So I called up my weaving instructor and asked her to look at it. She has always been fascinated by it. So off I went on Saturday and she just let me talk it out. Because it is a handmade loom, I think she is a little hesitant on advice because it isn't like all of her table & floor looms. I got out the hammer and pulled out 1 nail. The cord loosened. Low and behold, that was all it took.

So now, how do I 'loosen' the tension in my life. Do I hold onto something so tight that it makes any movement difficult? I think that might describe me. I have my vision of how things should turn out and forget out the factors-people. I need to loosen my grip and let things flow. I know what I need to do and what I can do. I'll just go along on 'beating' my own weave and let others make their own weave.

This was made on Wordle. I just put in definitions (without the articles) on spinning, weaving, & knitting. Think I might print it off and put in on my loom room door.

The loom room has been painted. My husband keeps moving anything fiber related into the room. My job this weekend will be putting away everything so that it makes sense to me (and still leaves room for my daughter to stay for the summer).

As I have been spinning on the Louet Hatbox for the last 2 weeks, I am still struggling with thick & thin but it's all good. After I have been setting the yarn, I have started a shawl. The actual color is red & orange (thank goodness for Kool Aid) but I love how he took this photo in black & white. He has framed it and put it up as my first piece of art in the room. I really do have the best husband.

The Beauty of Guilds

So at the last spinning/weaving guild, this cute Louett Hatbox spinning wheel was brought in. Since my wheel has been ordered (and hopefully shipped tomorrow), I asked to borrow this one from the guild. Luckily I have lots (did I say lots-should say lots & lots) of ready to spin fiber. Since my fiber is from some local German dairy sheep, I have done all the cleaning & carding. I am so afraid of overwashing the fleece, I end up having lots of lanolin in the fleece. I just finished my first bobbin and my hands feel wonderful. Now if I could only consistently spin.

Happy Mother's Day

What a great day. Homemade tortillas courtesy of the school parents. A beautiful sunny day. And now my own room for my creativity. Frank has set out painting this morning. No, it won't be finished on Mother's Day (the gift I requested) but now I get to start planning in my mind where the loom, sewing machine, spinning wheel will go. And of course, our daughter will use it for a place to sleep this summer (that's all she wants-a place to sleep while off from school). I'll post  later when the room is set up. I am pretty excited-a big sliding glass door onto the covered patio, light, lots of storage possibilities. Life is good.

Memories of Mom

It has been almost 6 months since my mom died. I think of her daily. I am fortunate for all the funny memories of my mom.

My mom came and lived with us for about 12 weeks when the condo she lived in was having mold removed. It was quite an interesting adventure. Lots of good memories...the frozen sausage incident...Erin not seeing Mom asleep on the couch because she had covered herself completely under a blanket...Mom going for a walk and Frank calling me because she was gone for over 2 hours.

While she was visiting, she started knitting and made many hats for my students. As a way of thanking her, I made her a pair of socks. She picked teh Coriolas pattern from a Cat Bhordi book and she picked the brightest orange sock yarn. She would definitely be ready for Halloween.

The only problem with using a Cat Bhordi's pattern is that the socks fit the recipient. When Mom passed away, I couldn't fit into the socks that I had made her. In the donation box they went. I hope someone has some warm feet courtesy of my Mom.

I kept passing this yarn at my favorite yarn store. I bought it on April 1st with the intent of making the same pattern that I had done for my mom. I also set the deadline of Mother's Day. This would be my creative tribute to my mom and now whenever I wear them, I can think of my Mom.

End of class

So the weaving class is over and now I need to stay ahead of my weaving projects at home. The last project that I did in class was weave fabric to make a bag. The guild had set out a challenge to make a bag for the fair. We were all given cotton warp. When I had received a handmade table loom, there were 4 cones of yarn. This was a green/brown mix. I am not even sure what the fiber content is. It isn't necessarily my colors but I figure this is the time to use it up. I followed the Rose Path threading. It really gives a different look from each side. It actually is the color scheme that my mother-in-law likes. Now I need to figure out how to make some bags out of it. I'm thinking a tote and a zippered bag so she can keep all of her knitting stash in the bag. Now if I can get on the ball, I can even have it down by next Sunday (Mother's Day). We will see. If not, I can always give her one of the handmade towels from my class.