The Mighty Structo Lives On!

Our Weaver Study Group is weaving away on Structos!  Those mighty little but powerful looms are ringing out with warp and weft.  The group is working on mug mats for the state conference to be held in 2017.  We have promised 170 mats for the brunch meal.

These wonderful looms are quite portable, easy to carry to workshops or meetings.

at one time I bought a lot of 5 of these gems but I sold them

all--it's okay though--other weavers are enjoying the delights of weaving

The warp of the mats will be 4.5" wide by 4.5" in the state conference colors

There has been much discussion about the sett of the warp--either 36 epi or 30 epi,

so both are being woven using 5/2 cotton or 10/2 doubled.  We'll see where they land.

Several had taken a rep weave workshop earlier this year so using that knowledge to

create this layout.  The weft is one shot of thin and one shot of thick.

Weaving is slow work, but the weavers trudge on

Gerry bought an eight harness Structo and this information booklet came with it.

Dated 1959 

And take a look at the price list--in 1959, you could purchase one of these looms

for $22.50 for 4 harness or $37.50 for 8 harness.  Gerry said she paid $300 for 

her 8 harness!  My, my how things to go up with value.

If you have one of these structo looms, you have a good deal!

Columbus Day--

Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries in the Americas and elsewhere which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in and the discovery of the American Continent on October 12, 1492. The landing is celebrated as "Columbus Day" in the United States, as "Día de la Raza" ("Day of the Race") in many countries in Latin America and as "Día de la Hispanidad" and "Fiesta Nacional" in Spain, where it is also the religious festivity of la Virgen del Pilar. It is also celebrated as Día de las Américas (Day of the Americas) in Belize and Uruguay, as Discovery Day in the Bahamas, as Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural (Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity) in Argentina and as Giornata Nazionale di Cristoforo Colombo or Festa Nazionale di Cristoforo Colombo in Italy and in the Little Italys around the world.^[1][2] These holidays have been celebrated unofficially since the late 18th century and officially in various countries since the early 20th century.

Columbus Day first became an official state holiday in Colorado in 1906, and became a federal holiday in the United States in 1937, though people have celebrated Columbus's voyage since the colonial period. In 1792, New York City and other U.S. cities celebrated the 300th anniversary of his landing in the New World. President Benjamin Harrison called upon the people of the United States to celebrate Columbus Day on the 400th anniversary of the event. During the four hundredth anniversary in 1892, teachers, preachers, poets and politicians used Columbus Day rituals to teach ideals of patriotism. These patriotic rituals took themes such as citizenship boundaries, the importance of loyalty to the nation, and celebrating social progress.^[3][4][5]

Many Italian-Americans observe Columbus Day as a celebration of their heritage, the first occasion being in New York City on October 12, 1866.^[6] Columbus Day was first enshrined as a legal holiday in the United States through the lobbying of Angelo Noce, a first generation Italian, in Denver. The first statewide Columbus Day holiday was proclaimed by Colorado governor Jesse F. McDonald in 1905, and it was made a statutory holiday in 1907.^[7] In April 1934, as a result of lobbying by the Knights of Columbus and New York City Italian leader Generoso Pope, Congress and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed October 12 a federal holidayunder the name Columbus Day.^[7][8][9]

Since 1970 (Oct. 12), the holiday has been fixed to the second Monday in October,^[10] coincidentally exactly the same day as Thanksgiving in neighboring Canada fixed since 1959. It is generally observed nowadays by banks, the bond market, the U.S. Postal Service, other federal agencies, most state government offices, many businesses, and most school districts. Some businesses and some stock exchanges remain open, and some states and municipalities abstain from observing the holiday.^[11] The traditional date of the holiday also adjoins the anniversary of the United States Navy (founded October 13, 1775), and thus both occasions are customarily observed by the Navy (and usually the Marine Corps as well) with either a 72- or 96-hour liberty period.

39 ++++Still Counting!

Happy Birth---day to Me!

Yes, I have always said I was 39 when asked "how old are you?" 

Then I add "plus x number of years".  It takes awhile to

add the two numbers together--

I enjoy my age, even with the aches and pains of the body.

No, I don't want to look my age--but, the other

day a young-er gal said to me

"I'm looking forward to having gray hair.  I figured I earned them!"

I thought what a great thought!

But, I'm still highlighting my gray head, people!!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sterling LaBosky owner of Sterling Quilt Company, has designed this super quick table runner project. Fall is her favorite season, October is Sterling's favorite month, and Halloween is a favorite holiday, and this recipe is perfect for your favorite fall mini charm pack. It’s also the perfect project to break out of your white background comfort zone. Black and…BOO!

This table runner finishes at 18″ x 34″.

1 Chestnut Street by Fig Tree & Co. mini charm pack
1/2 yard background fabric {Bella Solid Washed Black 9900 118}
1/4 yard pumpkin fabric {Bella Solid Snow 9900 11}
2/3 yard backing fabric
1/4 yard binding fabric

You can find this pattern recipe Moda Bake Shop

Stitching Christmas! Never too early.........................

Val Laird has the first of six free Christmas Tree ornaments that she will be sharing with you. There will be a new one added each fortnight. Here is the Christmas Pudding:

She has added embroidery and some crochet techniques to

her unique ornaments.

You can find this pattern along with the other forthcoming ones

in Craftsy

Weave, Wove, Woven

It was weavers gathering day!  Hurray!  Always a great time to see what my fellow

weavers are doing in their studio.

Marion showed off her inkle woven bookmarks that she gave as thank you to

her garden club members.

She used natural colored cotton (green and brown) in this tape woven lenght

She also had this 'dog' off the loom after 5 years!  It's is absolutely lovely!

Light and fluffy as a cloud with this mohair boucle yarn--hard to weave that's for sure,

but a real bonus for her sofa this winter.

Not all our talk is about wovens.  Connie was showing off the indigo dyed

napkins, stitched in patterns.  These napkins will be used for the

state conference luncheon

So many interesting and unique patterns in shibori technique

The guild is hosting stitching days where anyone can assist with these

stitchings and learn some new techniques in the process

Every napkin is different!

We'll need over 200 napkins as luncheon favors

This is my favoritef!

Connie was demonstrating how to achieve these lines in the cloth with

resist stitching

Penny showed off her woven fabrics to be used as aprons.

She used an overshot pattern between plain weave.

Look closely and you can see how the plain weave does the 'tracking' element

when washed.  This has to do with the way the fibers are twisted and spun--

nice patterning technique

Penny also had these interesting towels she wove in Cottolin.

And Penny has these wonderful linen washcloths that she makes every year for the guild sale.

These sale like hotcakes--she pairs them with goat milk soap--perfect gift!

Super duper day spent with friends of like mind.

Hats--Done!!

This was such fun to knit--I hastily picked up a ball of yarn and my needles as we

were going out of town.  I need something to do with my hands as we travel.

Knit, knit, knit--follow the pattern and soon I see that the yarn is changing colors

Well, I'll be!  This is a ball of leftovers!  yarns that have been wound together

into a ball--forgot I did that! 

 But, who cares--I like the color changes!

This was Sea Folk by Jennifer Lysen

This is the second hat off my needles--It is Picacho Peak

by  Alyssa Latuchie 

The yarn is silk and feels so soft; will be nice to stuff into a coat

pocket for anytime use.