Feeling Blue ? ~ Meet Blue & Jay

 Yes, I'm still here.....   Its been a while hasn't it?

I don't have any weaving to show you.  😳  Oops, I just heard half of you leave..... 

Dahlias from a friend, photographed by Bruce.

 

Its a few things really....   

I seem to have lost my weaving mojo.  A friend said after  me weaving non stop for 25 years it was bound to happen and not to beat myself  up over it.  Our doctor said everyone ( and she means everyone) is dealing with low grade depression thanks to the never ending pandemic and the Fourth Wave.   

I also pulled a muscle in my right shoulder blade area and its not settling down.  Its past the worse phase now but as the day progresses, it aches something fierce. I'm on familiar terms with icepacks and Tylenol. It also keeps me up at night.    This makes throwing a shuttle difficult. I want it to heal properly  and I also want to weave again soon.   I can't wind warps  due to the up and down motions to the warping mill either.  So I have been using my Hansen e-spinner and enjoying that for short periods.

Then there is also the mystery of the reoccurring toe infection that prevents me from treadling.    Gee, aren't you glad you stopped by for all this whine  🍷 to go with the cheese 🧀 ? 

We have two new members of our family!  Meet Blue and Jay.   Yes, after the baseball team (Hub is a huge fan)

Blue, who loves the mirror and has a favourite spot to perch that he defends.

Jay, who likes to do loop-de-loops around the perches.

The cage is quite large so we are considering getting a couple more before its too cold to transport them home.     The house has happy chirpy sounds and it really lifts the spirits.  That's what we were aiming for!

I aim to slowly get back into weave mode and bring you something soon.    Notice I didn't say 'promise'..... I'll do my best.

🍂  🍁 🍄 🍁  🍂

🌷Spring Towels: Limping to the Finish Line

We have melting snow here after a large snowfall last week.  There is nothing like feeling trapped in your home, while you are 'stuck' in your home.  Is it just me or do the days whip by so fast while it also feels like the longest winter ever?  ❄️

Our phone has been even more quiet than our usual quiet.  A friend, who is a registered nurse, shared a story about how everyone are  basically head down and coping right now. Its been a very long year with a great deal to process.  The vaccines are here but for the average person out there, they are still months away. 

One side effect of this is inertia: Inertia comes from the Latin word, iners, meaning idle, sluggish. 

So we're all coping as best we can.

🌷

I decided to challenge myself to use up some cottons in my stash and to use some colours that I don't normally choose.  I chose a 16 shaft point twill, so easy threading, and a short treadling repeat of 8.    The warp was 8 yards long for 7 towels so not an overly long commitment, but long enough to get a decent stack of towels.   Here you can see the draft and my  edge threading  to perk things up.

I started with the charcoal grey  and woven to 36 inches on the loom, and then moved onto white,  salmon pink and green for the first 4 towels.  The simple treadling got me through listening to CNN as we had first an insurrection,  and then an inauguration, and  yet another impeachment trial. 

For the last 3 towels I decided to change up the treadling and weave my favourite colours. I also wove up some samples for my records.

So this warp took a while to weave not due solely to inertia,  or political distractions.  I could only weave using one leg as I have been coping with an infection in my left big toe that simply would not heal.  We have access to our doctors during covid but its usually over the phone after emailing pictures to them.  To my mind this is okay for a time, but over the long term, much can be missed or ignored by the patient.   So I'm on my third batch of antibiotics and crossing my fingers. 

So even a snail gets to the finish line eventually and I was able to serge / secure my towels and wet finish them.    A good steam pressing using my Singer press and I was able to hand sew the hems while we watched TV.

My favourite is the white, second is the green

They are thick and thirsty.    Brassards cottons, sett 24 epi.

Salmon weft, diamond treadling.

Lime weft, 2 treadlings

White weft, 2 treadlings.

Charcoal weft, 2 treadlings.

The loom is loaded and I'm underway with another project which looks very promising!    Spring is just around the corner and already the days are longer.  We have bulbs coming up under the snow, and there are birds back already. We're all a lot tougher than we think!

🌷🌷🌷