Irons in the Fire

I  like a clean orderly studio.  But its far from that right now...

I simply have too much on the go and its difficult to know where to start or what to finish.   I finally got the second diamond shawl woven off.    I even wove off  seven or eight yards of towels on the Megado!  I struggled with the loom,  the brake, and found myself having to tighten nuts and bolts every half a towel or so. Something was off and I couldn't put my finger on the issue.  The rolled up raw cloth is sitting on the office shredder waiting for the desk to be clear so I can dig out the serger and secure the edges before wet finishing...

finally fixed and ready to warp up again

...doesn't look like 8 yards does it?

So with two looms coming empty I needed to start winding warps. I planned three or four actually and started winding. This meant the desk was being used for the warping mill and so the fringe twisting on the shawl had to wait.

its half way done at least...

more warps to wind, wheels to spin...

Another day saw a parcel arrive from Leclerc and new inserted eye heddles arrived for the Tissart tapestry loom and I spent an afternoon finagling the parts off the loom, cleaning them up and installing the new heddles.  So that's done..... but I also have two new apron cloths waiting to go on that loom so I'm not entirely finished with the Tissart. Not to mention actually getting the loom set up with a warp yet...

the white cloths patiently waiting to be installed...

Another day, another diversion. I enjoyed time spinning on the Rose wheel and working my way across a rainbow fleece. It must remain open and accessible so you can peel away the next section to spin, in order to get the rainbow effect. So that sits on top of the printer and the two wheels are by the door so I can take them outside.

I had a warp ready to be wound on to the Spring and another ready to go on the Megado.  Hubby came in yesterday morning to assist me and we got the longer eight yard cotton warp wound onto the Spring with no issues.  Love this little loom!

The Megado has a narrow warp of tencel waiting and I told him this won't take long..... and before we knew it  three hours had gone by and we were exhausted!  I casually mentioned the issue I was having with the loom and then he noticed some chaffing on the wood.  Long story short, it seems some carriage bolts were installed in the wrong locations and while the loom worked, it wasn't happy.  We identified the longer bolts and where they needed to go and thought we could take them out sequentially but its not that simple as we quickly discovered.

We end up removing the warp from the raddle, and then dismantling the back end of the loom, and then rebuilding it again.  It took some effort and patience but its all done now and fixed.  I even ended the day with the warp back being spread in the raddle again.    Most of the work needed to be done from floor level and finessing washers into tight spaces and lining up wooden parts, so it really needed both people working on the same page and cooperating.    We got it all done and stayed friends at the end of it all.  

warp being spread in the raddle again

So I have been busy and some might think a bit too busy (me included!) but stuff is happening and moving along.... if slowly!  I just pick a task and see how far I get with it but I have two active looms, and a third  nearly so, which means I have more to choose from !

Oh yeah.... and its summer with other outdoor distractions too.

New Addition to the Studio

Meet the new kid on the block

Judy 

 Tall, very quiet,  works long hours with no complaints and in fine physical form..... meet Judy.   My friends Lynnette and Ngaire   of Dust Bunnies Under my Loom  traveled down to Victoria to a shop selling fixtures and all the extra do-dads for displays and agreed to picture her up for me.

I already have a Madge and she is well settled here and gets the prime display:

She is the official greeter as you step in the door.   Just so there are no hard feelings, Judy is tucked by the printer desk and is relegated to wearing a scarf.  Despite the lack of clothing she is quite modest and has no butt,  lady parts or over endowed.  She also has the narrowest hips I  never had at any stage in my youth!    Lynnette told me that the sewing shows call the mannequins "Judy's"... so whom am I to argue?  

Our dog Calli got quite the surprise and growled at her as an intruder!

Judy came with en entourage.... a display rack!

That's as high as I could get the 'swirl' to go.  That's my meager scarf inventory right now and I have them set on every second section.... and there are 29 balls between sections.   I'm hoping to get them out for viewing rather than be all folded up and in a plastic box.

I have been mulling over my options and have some ideas I'm thinking through..... and no matter which ones I choose, I need to get weaving!

... 'cause Judy needs some clothes!   Thankfully shoes are not a problem.....

All in Good Time

 The new studio reveal.  Its been a long time coming! First for me and then for you...

We lived at our last home for nine years and despite the renovations and such, I was never truly at home there. It always felt 'temporary'.  Suffice to say its a long story which I won't go into here. We did try to sell at one point but after some months on the market, autumn arrived and we took it off. The market was too soft in our area and so we had to wait for a shift in the trends.

Then health issues arose and a couple of surgeries / recoveries later and it was spring 2016 and I told Bruce that I felt we should go for it either this year or next, and that this year would be better. The rest they say is history.... and I've covered off the house sale and our move in older posts.

What you (and me) have been waiting for is to have things finally straightened around and get things sorted back into a working studio again. 

So as of October 1st or just after... my space looked like this. Boxes crammed everywhere and even the closets were full, with more in the garage labeled 'studio'.  I had to haul everything out, open all cartons and see what was what and get rid of as much packing paper as possible.  I think one day I simply sat in the middle of my chaos and just thought things through.... figuring where things might fit best.   I have shifted things a few times and probably will do that still but its as good as it can be for now.

So from the mess above to the arrangement below:

This is opposite view towards the studio entry door. The red wall at the end houses the yarn closet and the dark doorway is the ensuite bathroom. Yup, this is supposed to be the master bedroom.

The closet: crammed full with additional shelving to maximize all available storage space.

The 'facilities' at the other end. Bonus tub after a gruelling  weaving session! It took some getting used to.  😄

Below is the Tissart tapestry loom in the only good spot for it. Thankfully its a vertical loom. I will be warping this loom up for its first time  soon. I have to study instructions on how to do it correctly  and then I can do some practise projects to build my tapestry skills.

Down at the far end of the room is a narrow space I call the alcove with windows on two of three walls. So lots of good light.  The spring loom is tucked in here and I must admit its a tight fit. I have a small folding table with my serger and sewing machine set up. Now, I prefer to keep them out and ready to use. I like to do my finishing right away after each project.  I also lack a place to store them if I was to remove the table and free up more room.

I suspect this situation will be the first in the room that will get changed in some way. (in fact, since I took the picture, I have had to add a printer and a scanner to the table today, so its not going anywhere for the time being. I'll just have to be careful with my dainty derriere!)

I'm also on the look out for a new desk. Something a bit smaller and emphasis on more functional (with maybe room for the printer and scanner?). We have found a great store in town with wonderful used and antique furniture and we'll be checking there from time to time.

This view shows the double French doors which will be lovely to have open in better weather to come.  I'm hoping to  sit outside and spin or even take the spring loom outside. Its certainly light enough to carry a few steps with help.

Directly outside the doors looks like this in summer (I saw the house in July but this picture is from the listing photos, so not our patio furniture.)

Then autumn after we moved in....

Then more recently, a true winter scene....

So that just leaves spring to come and now that we've passed the winter solstice, its on the way!

Changing subjects....

As of January 8th, 2017 I will be celebrating nine years (that's a 9 !) of keeping this blog, my Thrums Journal.  I traditionally have a little give-away to celebrate.   I have a selection of weaving samples from some of my past projects that you will recognize from past posts. 

So... weavers: please leave a comment, with an email address, on this post AND/ OR the next NY's Day post, and you will be entered to win (only one entry per weaver).   Some visitors say they have difficulty leaving messages:   click on the word 'comment' at the bottom of the post and then follow the instructions.  There is a delay seeing your message as I have enabled comment moderation to eliminate some nasty spam (which you really don't want to see!).  If this somehow doesn't work for you, click on my email address at my profile and send me a note with your message, name and address and I'll add you in later.

The draw will be held on January 8th, 2017 and the winner will be posted here. So check back to see if you won!   Its not done high tech... literally names written on slips of paper, shaken up and then one drawn.   There will be a  handwoven sample from  projects of anything from 4 shafts to 16 shafts plus project notes.     Good luck!     

Landing on Our Feet

So the trucks pulled into the driveway, mats went down everywhere to protect the flooring and they began to unload our goods.  Now unloading is a much faster process and so there was a constant stream of men with box loads on dollies asking where does this go?  And where do you want this piece of furniture and how is it to be arranged?   Frequently being asked all three questions at the same time and needing to be in three rooms and the front door all at the same time!  Understandably there were no pictures taken that day, or for several days...... but we did take some of Calli enjoying her new back yard. Taken Oct 11th and note the all leaves on the trees.

The yard is fully fenced but somehow she has managed to get out twice. So no unescorted yard visits until we find out where the hole is!  Trust me, Bruce has looked and she never tries to use the hole when we are there with her.

We knew we would not have a formal dining room furniture for a time so that empty space became the default zone for anything we didn't know or were unsure of.   So you can imagine how full that floor space became in a hurry!

Even if you have similar named rooms in past and present homes, it doesn't always translate through the same, depending on many variables such as door positions, the room's shape,  and windows etc.  Large furniture is placed by the movers and so you must at least try to get that right (or close to it).  We had tried to envision major furniture placements the night before when the house was totally empty but the reality of when they physically bring in the goods is a whole other deal!  We'll be tweaking and fine tuning things for a time, as and when we have some extra manpower to hand.

Moving is never easy  but somehow at our age it is simply exhausting, so we woke late on the first morning in our new place surrounded by heaps of boxes everywhere and no coffee maker in sight!   I set to opening and getting the kitchen in place. Trying to figure out the best work flow and where stuff will best fit.  Next up were the bathrooms, then the linens.... and day after day went by in a blur!  Finally, after Bruce had taken *many* loads of crushed packing paper and collapsed boxes to the recycler,  we seemed to turn a corner and it felt more home than box warehouse.

We have also found groceries stores, got a new doctor set up and introduced ourselves to our usual banks.   Found a pizza place too....

So here are some pictures of the new place and studio:

This one shows the boxes, loom parts and such dropped into the studio space.  Technically its supposed to be the master bedroom but it made sense to use the second bedroom room for us and this room for the studio. There are also two closets that were also crammed full of boxes too.

So, where to start?    I had to empty out the closets, open up the boxes and then refill the closets with shelving  and then as much yarn and equipment as I could reasonably fit in there. Which was quite a bit!  I would then know what I had left to deal with in the main room.  That space is unique for its alcove with windows at one end, a French door that runs diagonally across one wall  ..... and ends with an ensuite bathroom at the opposite!  More pictures on that later.

Calli enjoying the view out front through the full glass doors. I foresee an almost permanent line of nose prints to clean for some years to come. 

On October 12th, we had the formal dining area finally cleared and our new rug down and movers brought in our 'new to us' dining room suite.   We had gone with pro movers (with insurance) as there are several pieces and lots of glass and mirrors.  To their credit, they had managed to get it down a curved spiral staircase, into a truck and driven here safely and in one piece.... only to break the curved glass door as they were about to unload the cabinet. The second cabinet has straight glass which would have been so much simpler to replace too.  The moving company immediately got the claim set up and a woodworker came to examine the damaged wood from falling glass, cracked door frame and miscellaneous scratches.  He can work his magic on all of that and took away the good curved glass door and it was on its way to a glass blower on the southern part of the island to make another new door!  There's no time frame on when we will see the new door so we are patiently waiting.  I suspect it will take some time. That means several boxes of fine china are waiting for the repairs and new doors for unloading.... 

Calli likes all the new rugs  :)

Below shows the studio in a stage of unboxing.... books on shelves and some order is starting to show. It seemed to be a lot of shifting stuff around for the longest time.

Below is the view from the studio alcove windows.  By this point we had more than a few storms blow through and some torrential rains. The chestnut tree, on the left, shows the predominate wind direction!

We just kept on chipping away at the boxes and finding new places to squirrel stuff away.  Or at least organizing them into logical piles in the garage. Occasionally we would take a day off and go into town.  Overall, we're slowly working out what we might need to buy and add to the home, and also discovering what doesn't work and we'll part with.  This house is quite different from our last and somethings just won't make the transition! Last house was built late 1970's and more 'country' feel.... and this one is built in the late 1990's and more modern in design. (Yesterday the house was filled with sunshine but it didn't come through very well in the pictures. I will retake them with full lights on another sunny day.... which maybe a while given the Pacific storm tracks right now).

The kitchen

The breakfast dinette

The formal dining room (the white door is the entry to the studio)

Opposite the dining room and some 'stuff' that needs to have some decisions made on. You can see the openness of the upper structure.

Then to the left, a lovely area to sit quietly or read a book. We are going to be re-inventing this space soon.

Then, there's the new studio... which was formerly the master bedroom. We are using the second bedroom.  This is looking towards the alcove which has windows on two sides.

...and this is the view from the alcove windows....

and down the other end of the room....

Yes, that's the ensuite bathroom you get a peak of down there at the end.  A bit odd I grant you but what the heck! Then there is the nice side benefit of a walk in closet for the yarn.  I added more shelving to the existing shelf units and then packed in as much as I could!

Meanwhile, I have started re-assembling the Megado but this is as far as I can go with it for now. There are four long carriage bolts that secure the front portion to the main loom and I'm missing four barrel nuts that seal the deal.  There was nothing left in the old studio and the parts are not in my container.... so I can only assume they fell out later and are rolling around in the back of the moving truck, or swept out as junk.   I have four new ones coming from Louet and hopefully it won't take long to arrive.

I can move on with loading the Spring or fringe twist some scarves, but re-working the tie up is an issue for me.  I can't get down on the floor and the crates I normally use to lift the loom up so I can do the tie up are all under the Megado!    Oops..... so I'd best start with the fringe twisting. 

Lucky you.... because that means "show and tell" next in the next blog post!