New Tricks

This was a fun box to receive last week! Its like Christmas all over again.   Now, not all of these are mine as some are for a friend who also weaves.

I have been weaving  all kinds of kitchen towels warps in the past few years and using only my stash yarns.   I still have lots but none of the "neat colours". I seem to have 8/2 cotton colours that really need something else to liven it up and nothing left for white or black. 

So I called in an order to Brassards and gave them my customer number and order. They called back to tell me that they have no record of me and that number belongs to someone else now.    Its been so long since I placed an order, they gave my number away!  That sure made me chuckle....

So now that I have a nice selection of colours to choose from I'm searching for a draft to do some more kitchen towels.   I'll make it a long one....

That book sitting on top is a brand new sample book as my old one is from 2013.   Its worth every penny too! Can you imagine sitting threading cards like these for hours on end? 

So what else is new?   Well, I have two completed shawls and three table runners all waiting for their glamour shots with the camera. Its been dark and stormy here and on the days the sun comes out, it almost blinds you!   So there's been  much going on and it will all be posted here in due course.  The shawls need to have natural light to show them to their best due to the colours of the warp and the weft.

The runners.....they can be hard to photograph decently and not look like blocks laying on a table and something more interesting is required.     But soon!

I discovered some new 3D printed brackets for the lease sticks on the Megado and ordered a pair along with their silicone bands to hold them in place.   They are printed rainbow style and shift from orange to aquamarine.   

 I just tried them out for the first time and apparently set them into the wrong spot but it seemed to work okay for the most part.  I'll try the proper spot next time on the next warp.  So here they are in use and a sneak peek at a new warp.

If I place them on the correct centre board mid way and turn the holders the other way, it may be too far a reach? I'll have to see next time. The lease sticks need to be trimmed down by half an inch as they fit too snugly between the sides of the loom.    I know they are a bit too low for threading where they are, but I love the whole idea that people (in this case the husband of a weaver) are thinking of new ways to do things and improve the process!

These lease stick holders are made with a Megado loom in mind  by https://www.gingerlockshandwovens.com  but there are other options out there for a few loom  make and models  at https://loftyfiber.com and they have one for Spring looms and a few other manufacturers.   Check them both out!

We have some valiant spring flowers starting to make their way up between rain squalls and gusty winds. They are much tougher than they look!   🌷

So I'll be keeping the camera near and watching for some sunshine (minus high winds!) and will be back soon.

This is our grandson Ethan who just won a gold and as silver medal at a recent jujitsu tournament.   For the readers who may recall me announcing his birth (which feels like yesterday) he's turning 10 in April. 

So me missing posting for the month of January is nothing to the decade that went by in a blink!  😳 🏆

Our Big Little Adventure

Waiting on the ferry and hubby took this picture of heron patiently waiting for a meal to swim by!

Heading to Vancouver and area and that's the island slipping away in the wake....  The ferry trip from Nanaimo to Tsawassen terminal is two hours. (We had reservations for both trips and it was a good thing as they were sold out)   The drive from Campbell River to Nanaimo is two hours also.... plus an hour once we reach the other side (if the traffic is good)  So five hours all told, one way.  

This was our view from our hotel window. Beneath all that cloud and smoke are the Golden Ear Mountains.   It didn't smell smokey from all the provincial interior forest fires (plus south in Washington, Montana and Oregon) but the visibility was very poor.  You are aware that's fine particles in the air you are breathing. 

On Friday we found the chalk faeries had been at work and we found this greeting out front!  Grandad took a picture in the dark and good thing he did too, because the next day it was all gone with the rain.

Madison is two and a half.... and all girl!

Ethan is five and a half and just started kindergarten, plus is in ju-jitsu three times a week.

Grandad got busy with the camera and got some great pictures of them separately and together.

That's her little vacuum but he knows she can't make a fuss while the pictures are being taken. She carried it around to keep it away from him and I think I saw it going upstairs to bed later as well. 

Then she had to show us her "Miss Ooh La La" outfit. 

We also like to have our hair do played with and have 'piggies' added.  Just sweep up a bunch of hair and secure it with a small rubber band.  Did I mention she's two and a half? 

Well she sure melted Grandad's heart!  She showed us all her dollies and coloured pictures with him: "Grandad, make a picture of a bird pooping on my brudder's head".... so he did!

I really enjoyed some one on one time with Ethan while she was napping and we talked cars, kindergarten and watched videos of him as a baby.  He sat still with me for almost an hour!  He's a high energy boy.

Then it was all over and time to come home.  Ferry ride home yesterday and then driving up island singing mostly on key and loudly to Freddie Mercury and Queen songs.

Today?  well that would be laundry, and after four days in a kennel, steering Calli into a bath to freshen up.

I was, and will be continuing, to wind some warps, carry on with the small project on the Spring loom  and mentally bracing myself for the crown prep work to come later this week at the dentist.

Fall is coming on fast here and we are starting to think of the end of season clean up in the yard and garden.    Oh, did I tell you that we plan to have the inside of the house painted?  Yeah, that's later this month and they will do the studio first.    Doesn't that sound like fun? 😳

An Amazing Eight Days!

Meet "Madison Ava" born March 10th, 2015 and weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces. Yes, that's me cuddling her. She's a very calm and cuddly baby. When she sleeps, her whole body relaxes. Some newborns still stay clenched with arms and legs folded up. Not this little girl!

This was our first peek at her on her actual birth  day. The hat looks large on here there but its only three to four inches across and is *very* tiny!

We headed over to meet her and see Ethan this past Friday.  Bruce fell in love with one look! 

Okay,  maybe Nana fell hard too with my first cuddle. We are working on a burp here!

Everything is so brand new!

Then there was Ethan, who will be three in April. He is the complete opposite of his calm sister! Constantly on the move, constantly talking in full sentences, and with intermittent shrieks!

Ethan is also train crazy.  This pleases Grandad Bruce, a retired locomotive engineer, to no end! We gave him one toy Thomas the Tank engine way back when he was first born.  Then his parents surrounded him with many other toys and play centres, but he found that train and hasn't looked back since! Here we are giving him a new stool with a train on it. He can now get closer to the sink wash his hands or help with the dishes. 

He watches Thomas the Tank on the iPad. The only time he's quiet outside of his bed at night I might add.

....or sits on the couch and watches Thomas the Tank and his Friends on the big screen TV....

.....or better still, you play train crash with Grandad!  Grandad's train fell down the hill in what must have been the worse crash of Bruce's railway career!

Ethan took me upstairs to show me his room and also to show me Madison's tree:

Soft dove gray with pink accents and little dragon flies. I found a little pink onesie with a dragon fly and also bibs and little soft shoes with dragon flies. Then there was the blanket I wove this past October.... two links to view:   here and here.  This used to be our guest room when we came to stay. We had a quiet hotel room to withdraw to at night instead this time. {But we were rudely woken *early* every morning by running children in the room directly above our heads every morning!  Quite the joke huh? }

The blanket finally made its final destination and put to use right away.  That makes a weaver feel good!

Also in the last eight days, to add to the joy,  my long time bachelor brother announced he and his lady are now engaged! No date set as yet.   Then my daughter  got married this past Friday in Colorado!  She and her new husband live in the Denver, Colorado area.   Then finally, my dear Dad is being released from hospital today after being admitted in January.  His situation was touch and go for awhile, so going home again must feel very sweet!

All that's missing is the lottery win...... but I think we already have done that!

Taking Her Out for a Spin

... Or "driving Ms. Daisy"....

I have a new tool in the studio!  A warping mill or warping reel.  It has a two yard diameter and can hold up to 20  yards. I suspect that would be rather fine stuff!   The yarn in the pictures is eight yards  of 8/2 cotton for a future  plaid project.  It was a bit awkward at first and by the end of two full bouts of my four to be done, I was a whirling blur and landing the sweet spots on each corner!

My desk is a bit too high for the mill and keeping it on the floor was too low. So it was very handy to score the large carton you see in the first picture as its the right height now.  That box had Bruce's recent birthday gift of a new skookum Sunbeam  table top mixer.   He wants to make his own bread and I think that's a marvelous  idea. { 'skookum' is a Canadian term for something that is wonderful!}

What's on the loom now? Well here's a sneak peak.... yup, more 8/2 cotton.   Approximately eight yards of it for seven towels. Half dozen for the Etsy shop and one for us, plus some samples (or a bread cloth if there is enough warp.... fingers crossed!). Weaving is under way now and of course, the knee sets the pace. My right side feels fine now and its like nothing was done three months ago!  Just a wee bit of swelling late in the day but it doesn't hurt. 

So this was my last warp wound on the warping board for some time.  It was peculiar  and long time getting it done.  The 600 +/- ends were done in short sprints where I would stand and wind like crazy and then sit to take a break and rest my knee.  It took many days to get done.  I ordered the warping mill on day one when I saw the difficulties.  May I also add that the warping mill is on sale at Woolhouse Tools so that was a nice surprise!  

Nana bought a new frame for the latest picture of our favourite grandson, Ethan.  He will be three in mid April.  Where has the time gone?  I actually bought two new frames.... as our new grand daughter and Ethan's sister will be born tomorrow by Cesarean section.   Her spot is there next to her brother already...    Yes, you can expect baby pictures next post!  Her new blanket is wrapped and waiting for her arrival. 

Speaking of time, here's another picture.  (click to enlarge) That's my son Chris (who is Ethan's Dad)  and my recently newly engaged daughter Carrie,  with Bruce and I back in  approximately 1987. Yes, I'm wearing a pair of 'high' high heels and so not normally that tall next to Bruce. We were at a family member's wedding.

Yesterday, Calli went and got her spring haircut and came home with a girly floral bandana. She had 100% more energy and raced around the house.  She's coming up to being five years old this spring. 

Our weather has been unseasonably warm and so she had to get all the long hair off.  (Sorry if you still are surrounded by snow banks, or heading into winter down under).  Our part of  Canada has enjoyed a mild winter with only one or three small snow falls and only one serious cold snap.   

Our quince bush is blooming....    Have you considered moving? Its truly beautiful here.....

Five Days Away

We just took five days off and crossed the pond and visited family and friends in the Vancouver area. We missed one ferry by four cars and so had to wait two hours for the next. That was okay and we sat reading. The crossing was beautiful and the water flat calm.The main object of the visit?  This little boy:

Sitting with Grandad ( or Crum-Dad as Ethan calls him)

Ethan is now two and a half and a real going concern! Favourite word? NO (not much of a surprise there). His usual speed?  FAST!  I didn't even try to keep up. I couldn't....
Hours of operation? 8 am to 10:30 pm. (with a brief lull in the hostilities between 1 and 2 pm for a nap that he generally fights). I have no idea how his mother does it and holds down a job too.

We had a great time and enjoyed their company .... and the BBQ with their friends was super. We contributed home made potato salad and strawberry shortcake. Bruce taught them the easy peasy microwave method of cooking corn in the husk that impressed everyone! A trick we learned on Facebook.

We shifted to a hotel over town to be close to where my Dad lives for our visit with him. It was his birthday and it was a lovely afternoon spent chatting, eating trifle my sister had made,  and watching his little chickadee family come and go from the peanut feeder on the patio.

This adorable little man is my Dad at age two or so.

We took time to visit another elderly family member of Bruce's and had a lovely afternoon reminiscing  about people, times and places as he helped me with dates and data for my genealogy program. The time flew by!

The farm area around Vancouver is enjoying a bumper crop of blueberries this year. We saw the bushes are so loaded with fruit they are bright blue and branches are bending with the weight. We bought a ten pound box. We plan to freeze them but so far we are enjoying them fresh like candies.

Its also corn season and so we got some of the famous Chilliwak corn. Tender and sweet. Nothing says summer like fresh fruit and veggies!   We had taken fresh plums from our orchard at home and gifted them liberally everywhere we went. The tree had given us a bumper crop too.

We soon found it was time to head home. I was starting to really feel the heat along with painful joints from all the activity.  We have been 'enjoying' a heat wave again and hot weather and I are not on friendly terms.  People with Lupus are advised to stay out of the sun and that suits me just fine.

With the coming weekend being a holiday weekend, I had had the foresight to book reservations to come home. Best money spent ever!  The line ups for the ferry at Horseshoe Bay was right up onto the main highway and judging by the sheer numbers, at least a two or three ferry wait. They stopped us and confirmed our reservation for the 12:50 pm sailing and we drove right by the entire parking lot of cars. Then they saw I needed to be near an elevator on the ship and we were first up in line to get on.

They like to pack everyone in tight! We made our way upstairs and went out onto the decks to take in the view. Here are some random shots of Horseshoe Bay, the marina and the traffic on the water.

Busy place... and you can see the next ferry coming around the point.

If you look closely at this one above, you can make out the cars lined up on the road, upper left.

This lady and I took pictures of each other and shared a laugh.

I got a nice one of Bruce who was also leaning out and taking pictures.

The prop wash from our ferry and the distant islands.

For emergencies....

Lucked out with this nice shot. That's the view towards Squamish and beyond to Whistler where the 2010 Winter Olympics were held.  The pictures below were taken by Bruce:

RCMP boat for patrols.

Yes, that's me snapping pictures. Notice my new wheels? Yup, the knee is that wobbly now.

The Bowen Island ferry or otherwise called a "puddle jumper"! 

....and then we were under way and heading for home. Its just under a two hour trip. The water was flat calm. No observable wild life such as whales or dolphins. Maybe they took a little break too?

So now we are trying to revive our gardens with watering, doing laundry and catching up. Calli might have enjoyed her stay at the doggy resort initially but she's letting us know that five days was too long for her. She's alternating between ignoring us completely or following closely on our heels!

Okay folks.... August is high summer... the dog days of summer.... the last four weeks before school again.  Get out there and enjoy!