One Bald Guy and Pointed Sticks

I seem to be back on a sock knitting binge.

Seeing some 'new' designers pop up on my radar,

makes one hungry to pick up the pointy sticks

and get busy.  I found two lovely solid yarns in my stash--

don't remember when I purchased them or where,

but, I must have good taste as these are

really yummy colors and yarns!

Here comes another creative designer

and he's male!  Does that make him weird?  Not in the least,

his sock designs are awesome!

Here comes That Bald Guy Knits

This pattern can be found on Knitty--not familiar with this site?

It is one of the best for knitting patterns--all free!

Great designers and super patterns.

I'm off to see what he's designing for Ravelry solid sock group June mystery--

this should be fun......................

My Feet Are Going To Love Me!!

Come Winter or that one cold day in Texas, my feet are going to Love me!

I finished my socks...............

from the Valentine blank

This blank came from Gale's Art  and she has several for other holidays

But, what will I do with the leftover sock blank I didn't use for the socks?

My problem when I begun these socks--since this is a single yarn blank, how much should I knit on my first sock in order to have enough blank left for the second sock?

well, guess that wasn't a problem!!

Independent Films

 

Have you ever attended an Independent Film Festival?  The last two years we have found time to hit this film festival--Hill Country Film Festival.  The Festival is well represented with independent film makers from many world countries.  I think that is the part we like about this event.

We usually like to see the 'shorts'--various small films that last less than 15 minutes.  We also have a chance to rate the films we have seen.  there are some really good ones here to view--only one that I disagreed with, but that is what the filmmaker wants--discussion on his topic of conversation.

I think our favorite by far was "Man in the Can"--a film about minor league rodeo clown with big dreams to make it to the major leagues before he gets too old or taken out by bull.  Check it out!

Recently, there was a film festival in Estes Park, CO, held at Stanley Hotel.  This was totally horror films.  Check out Independent film festival if one comes to your town--there is no better entertainment at a good price.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces.^[1] The holiday, which is observed every year on the last Monday of May,^[2] was formerly known as Decoration Day and originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the war. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service.^[1] It typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.
Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries.
Annual Decoration Days for particular cemeteries are held on a Sunday in late spring or early summer in some rural areas of the American South, notably in the mountain areas. In cases involving a family graveyard where remote ancestors as well as those who were deceased more recently are buried, this may take on the character of an extended family reunion to which some people travel hundreds of miles. People gather on the designated day and put flowers on graves and renew contacts with relatives and others. There often is a religious service and a picnic-like "dinner on the ground," the traditional term for a potluck meal in which people used to spread the dishes out on sheets or tablecloths on the grass. It is believed that this practice began before the American Civil War and thus may reflect the real origin of the "memorial day" idea.^[3]
Memorial Day is not to be confused with Veterans Day; Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving, while Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans.^[4]

Watching Penny DYE!

Okay folks, we are watching Penny DYE, not DIE!

Us fellow hand dyers always have this joke about

watching someone dye--and if you don't know what

we are really talking about

You could get upset,

but this is

what we do................

 

 

We heat a big pot of water, add our fiber and then the dye

Penny was dyeing these huge spools of wool that had been spun around a core fiber.

These yarns will be used for rugs--luscious rugs to walk on!

The color has been taken in by the yarn and now to the rinse bucket

and Penny unwinds and unwinds

Does she like the color all the way through?

or does it go back into the dye pot wound the

other way?

 

Just perfect!

And Penny is all smiles with your colorful yarn

Now, to lay it out to dry--so may D words!

We all agreed, we liked this variegated look on the fiber

Now, I'm anxious to see her finished rugs!

Once finished in the dye shop, we must head into the studio to see what's on her loom

Fabulous!  I'm thinking this is for a swatch swap--shhhhh!

Liking this!  Penny owns Skyloom Weavers.  Visit her sometime--because you'll be in for a treat!

WOW Finished Linen Projects

WOW (Way Out West) Weavers met in early May to discuss their year long study of linen.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend.

Luckily, we have good scribes and these photos and info was sent to me

by Gerry W.

Thanks Gerry--photos are great!

 

 

This is Tracy's sample-- double weave with basketweave interlacements

Her main project is a table square

Marian wove a plain weave with warp floats inspired by a Dimity pattern (plain weave with cords) from the 2013 Cross Country Weavers swatch collection inspired by Architecture.  She used linen warp and nubby silk weft.  Her hubby made a clever wooden hanger for the wall piece

 Gretchen wove several runners on the same warp and came up with several variations using different linen wefts. 

How lovely these are! 

 

Karen I. Wove a delicate narrow Inkle band with 16/1  multi-colored linen warps and 16/1 unbleached linen weft.

D'Anne wove a 4-shaft Goose Eye Twill with 16/2 natural and black linen.  She states, "I wanted to learn to love linen, but I didn't!"   She also can't see any of her children ironing linen!  

Gerry used a draft from the 2013 Cross Country Weavers Architecture inspired swatches.  The motif is an angled "brick" shape in Huck Lace, using 16/2 tan warp from Bockens and 20/1 half bleached linen weft (Bockens). 

 

Gerry is definitely an over achiever--she had these samples using different fibers!

And here is our gifts for the Texas Conference raffle basket.  I think we came up with a super basket once again! 

Linen Projects

I struggled with this study group project.  I'm not a big fan of linen, that's for sure, but once in--all in!

I was working with

This linen warp and using

handspun cotton/silk blend for weft, but somehow, I just couldn't get interested in making a finished project with this cloth--it will be saved for a rainy day.

Then I went on to weave on this linen warp, using handspun paper for weft

This is washi linen paper, which was cut into strips and then spun to be used as weft

Now, this I could really get my head around--

a photo of my finished project,

a heart shaped potholder.  I used hand dyed indigo cloth as my lining

and binding.

I also have this cone of washi spun paper ready for another time

Finely spun paper that can be used for weft.  I'm thinking I might ply this at least 4x to get a nice strong warp.  We'll see.

At least, the project is finished and we move onto the next study--wonder what it will be?  Not linen, that's for sure!  Been there, done that!!