Trifecta

Fall is definitely here!  The moment I have been waiting for has arrived....

We have a Japanese maple tree near our carport and this is its time to really shine... literally.  When seen in person, the tree's canopy looks like a luminescent glowing red cloud. Set against the darker green background, this is the way that Mother Nature intended red and green to be together.

Then we have the annual Dancing Ladies...

Its a nearby avenue of trees that turn later than most but what a display!  Their branches seem to stick out all over like arms. I'm not sure what type they are, but they are real eye candy this time of year as we drive in and out for shopping and errands.

My days have been busy and quite full but not with weaving much of late. Bruce continues to heal and is doing quite well after his knee surgery.  He had a lot of bruising come out and a painful upper thigh from where they crank down a tourniquet apparently. Some days are good, some are a step back but he's on the mend.  Our best wishes go out to Lynnette's hubby Michael who just had the same thing done and on the same knee!  He's about two weeks behind and doing  surprisingly well from what I hear.

It seems surgery will be in my future as well. I have a bothersome right foot that needs some surgical 'TLC'. No worries, it won't be any time soon. Its a twenty (20) month wait just to meet the surgeon, then there's the surgical wait list. I'm told by my rheumatologist that this guy is the best at what he does, and so it shouldn't surprise me that others have heard the same report.  I'll hobble on and wait my turn.

So what's going on in my studio?  Well, all three looms have seen some action...

Weaving is ongoing on the Louet Spring 'Lisbeth' for turned twill towels in muted colours. The plan is for roughly nine towels and I'm on number four,

I've woven one each in plum and sage in the planned pattern repeat, then another two in what I'm calling 'drall style'. Its where I'm weaving the repeats in blocks of three before changing. It doesn't look like the classic Drall but in the same spirit of Drall.  I'll do some plaids as well and try to change things up a bit.
I did discover a nifty new trick. I normally like to pop a thread into the selvedge every time I measure what I have woven to date and keep track. Well, I couldn't find my large eye needle in the bench seat box and so resorted to using my small hair barrett.... and it works!

I've been measuring from the centre bar in the clip....its snaps opens and slides up the cloth nicely.

On the Woolhouse "Emmatrude' I have beamed a warp of silk and bleached camel blend. Its soft like a cloud! Its long enough to weave off three scarves in snowflake twill. First up  weft wise is silk and yak blend. A sort of international melding of critters!

and a close up.....

One scarf will be white on white but with a shinier silk and I'm still mulling my options for number three. It will be a 'spendier' weft as I want some luxury scarves in my Etsy store.  Full details at another post....

Now, there was a decision made about the Megado 'Margaret' and scissors played a prominent role. I made a mistake using the softly spun silk as my first warp. My intentions were good but it caused me nothing but difficulty.  One edge was beautiful.... and the left side was lumpy. I was learning the program and so would make mistakes and had to click 'unweave'. Going backwards meant the silk was being abraded and thinning. It also was fuzzy looking and so didn't look nice anymore.

So after just looking at it occasionally and avoiding the loom, I walked in yesterday morning and simply CUT it off and threw it away.  Its just yarn.  I do have some great samples.... and here's a close up of the pattern:

I have another narrow warp wound and being beamed today. Its for more of my book marks but with another 12 shaft/ 12 treadle draft I created. I can experiment with learning the program and create something useful at the same time. I'll be getting a little extra help on Oct. 29th when Ingrid Boesel stops by for a visit as she dashes off and back to Saltspring Island.  We live on the road to and from their ferry so a convenient diversion.  Knowing that Ingrid is coming also helped with the scissor choice. I have to get something more agreeable on! (Its like cleaning your place before the Molly Maid comes  ;-)