Off The Loom!!!!

After weeks, no--most likely months--I've cut off 7 yards of warp!

A warp and weft of all my handspun natural cottons (been stock piled for awhile)

It feels so good when you pull off the last bit and take the scissors

to finish off a project!

Done!  Ready to tie on another one--

what a view--a stack of towels.

This brings back memories of the indigo dyed handspun cotton 

piece of 10 yards I did many moons ago--That piece was

juried into several exhibits and was chosen to represent

the state of Louisiana at Convergence--Handweavers Guild

of America biannual conference in Toronto, Canada--the first

Convergence held outside of US. 

From the seven yard warp, here are the seven towels that

are finished with hems--just need to wash to complete

the project

Although the warp was the same--I varied the weft sections--

whatever yarn I had on the bobbin was thrown--this

section was alternated with white and brown cotton.

So Creative.............

Some people are so creative and think 'outside of the box'!  I remember many moons ago when
we learned from Mary Ellen Hopkins' book "It's Okay to Sit On My Quilt" that you could cut your sewing time in half by the use of corner sewing a block on top of another block--

That was a real eye opener for me--I still use this technique today in my work.

But, Eva Paige, above video, has established another method of

pulling half squares out of an accordion sewing block!  Just

blew my mind!

Watch the video and be amazed!  Why can't I be so creative?!

Leaf Lace knitting................

I've always wanted to weave my handspun silk to make pillowcases--it's a life long project and goal-- recently, I found just the right pattern to do the edging for these ongoing pillow cases--

Isn't this just elegant looking?  I think my handspun silk would look

lovely in this pattern--

The pattern is understandable and would be easy to knit--

you can find this interesting pattern and others at Stitch Maps--

want to join me as I begin my journey for those handwoven, handspun

pillowcases? 

Memories at My Fingertips..........

Memories--ah, memories!  Those treasured times, places, people, sight you can recall--
I have so many t-shirts that hold memories as well--places I've visited, workshops I've attended--

I decided to use those Tee-shirts to make my memory quilt!  As I cut each one into 12" pieces,
the memories flooded back--all my t-shirts are from weaving or spinning events.  I may not have
the item I produced in the workshop anymore, but I have the shirt--the shirt was proudly worn to
boast "I was here!"

One of my dear friends loves to make t-shirt quilts and she'll search and search for the perfect
fabric to use that makes the quilt pop--but, I was lazy--just get those squares together, get them
quilted, and sit back to enjoy the memories.

Here they are!  together and quilted with a cool sheep pattern--

which is hard to see 

Maybe, you attended some of these events

Spinning conferences--or wool conferences--

some had really neat shirts

This is my backing

Don't you just love the border?!! 

Here comes the memories............

Agatha June Mystery

Another Poirot mystery- Sheila Webb, a Stenographer,

is instructed to let herself into 19 Wilbraham Crescent and finds

the body of a dead man sprawled on the living room floor.

Poirot on the case finding time was a factor--Sheila remembers

hearing a cuckoo clock strike three O'clock--

the other four clocks in the living room 

show the time as 4:13 and only one of these

clocks belonged to the owner!

Mystery indeed!  And another mystery--what to knit for

this interesting tale?

When I typed in "Clocks" to Ravelry pattern section,

five pages of patterns appeared--that didn't help with

the decision--

patterns for socks, potholders, shawls, mitts, actual clocks,

scarves, and the list goes on and on--just like a clock--

I finally settled on a hat--

The Time Thief Watch Hat designed by

 Antoinette Buchanan

This pattern reminded me of the hats I've done in the past

using up all my small bits of yarn--

it's a go! 

I had the yarn left overs from various projects--one was the FLG

I posted about few days ago.  The hat has been begun--I knitted

along as I watched the story unfold on Acorn--I know I cheated--

I didn't read the book--sure do enjoy watching though as I knit!

Don't Freak Out.............!

Please don't freak out on me!  This post is meant to be

educational and debunk any myths you might have

about rattlesnakes....

Recently, we were fortunate to hear from professional

rattlesnake wranglers from Sweetwater, Texas--

the home of the rattlesnake round-up every year.

They brought along their 'snake pit' and the floor was

covered with 25 or so rattlers--these are Western variety.  The guys

in the pit were walking amongst the snakes without any strikes on

their boots--of course, they were wearing heavy leather

boots!  

A rattler can live up to 25 years or longer in captivity--in the

wild not so long as they are prey to predators--

Rattlers will not warn you by their shaking their rattlers --strike first

and then rattle!  Each rattle on the tail is developed after they

have eaten a big prey (mouse, rat, rabbit, etc.) They shed their

skin and add a rattle

There are 8 different species in Texas.  This one is diamond back

western.  The snakes can climb trees, hide and swim ponds.

There are over 150 snakes that are not venomous.

Snakes are sexed by the number of rings on their tail.

Snakes are born live--not from eggs--and up to 25 or

more babies can be born.  The younger the snake

the more venomous they are. And they will strike

more often than an older snake.

The fangs are 3/4 to 1 inch long.  The fang will break

off when they get an animal but the fang will grown back within

a few hours.

The venom is 'milked' from the fangs and used for

anti-venom vaccine.  If you do not receive treatment

within a few hours of a bite, you could face death!

Acadian Brown Cotton

Cotonjaune from Sharon Gordon Donnan on Vimeo.

June 2015 on this blog there was other information regarding Acadian Brown Cotton--

Recently, this video was shared on Gist Yarn podcast--oh, so many fond memories!  Love these ladies and their heritage--My Acadian friends were sharing from their hearts and  hands--I learned many techniques--how to gin brown cotton by hand, how to card to make a rolag, spinning off the point, plying and most important--how they used this fine delicate short staple cotton.

If you interested and want more information, look for their educational video on Acadian Brown Cotton website.  I enjoy viewing the video over and over as I watch many of my Friends share their heritage with the fiber world.