Wool and acrylic blend......

So.......I like how this looks but I combined wool and acrylic. In the beginning isn't it all about making mistakes????  I am not sure how this will handle being cleaned but my foray into warping with different colors was fun and a lesson in patience. My calculations didn't exactly add up and the piece is large - 12" x 60" not including the fringe.  

Patrons Classic Wool Worsted (variegated) in Lotus and Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky in Spice

The Initiation

 
The first  two scarves woven at The Weaving Shed in West Boylston, MA. The light red/purple was cotton warp and alpaca weft and the second was all alpaca. Still afraid to put them to water, but the cold weather is coming and I will be forced to partake so we can actually use them!

good practice............

Small baby blanket. I warped using pearl cotton and Jo-Ann Sensations Angel Hair Yarn Pure Essense Ab-06 Pink/lavender . Soft and washable with  2" fringe that I thought would be short enough for a two year old. Good practice.........

Schacht 25" Flip Rigid Heddle Loom is here and producing!!!

 

After the wonderful class offered by Jen Baum of the Weaving Shed in West Boylston, I fell in love...... with weaving. I purchased my first loom and warped it with the least expensive cotton 'Sugar and Cream' yarn I could find........ the first experimental dish towels were not to be too expensive as I assumed the mistakes would be many (and they were) and the frustration level would be high (it was) and the language would be colorful (ditto) BUT I persevered and discovered that I had remembered more than I thought I would.  

The bottom photo taken by my fantastic supportive husband is the  first warp I put on the loom. Crammed into the sewing room I was determined to get SOMETHING started. The middle photo is the cloth completed and the top photo is up close and personal.

Shrinkage was at about 20% with the final washed and dryer product measuring 16" x 18" not including the fringe. It is thick and soft  and I can't wait to clean up a spill!

The first mistake I made was double threading each slot in the heddle, but it turned out rather nice and appears as though I meant to make a heavy duty cloth. The next piece is single cotton through each slot and that will be posted as well.........

I am so looking forward to gaining confidence with this loom and start producing some interesting clothing... any requests?

 

 

Silk scarf from a sows ear?

I rediscovered this today while packing up the sewing room. It is a Jim Thompson Thai Silk scarf. It has never been worn. I can't remember who gave it to me though the list is very short.....What do you do with scarves exactly? I am always annoyed by them when they are around my neck; unnecessary adornments, slippery entanglements, needing a knot or special pin.

I can and do appreciate its beauty, its hand stitched rolled hem, the beautiful packaging. But passing it from one drawer to another, one moving box to the next. It has travelled with me, never leaving its envelope. Now where does it go? Storage, ebay, a "regift" ? ? ? 

 

Packing has never been an easy task for me. It forces me to look at the accumulations of my life and sort them into categories: keep, toss, donate. In my heart ofcourse it is all keep, in my head it is all donate. The reality is that most of what I surround myself with will be tossed. 

 

I hold on to memories so tightly and associate them with "things." Silly things, little notes, bejeweled clothespins, scouting projects, letters written by children, cards from my mother sent with encouraging words, photos of my Dad laughing, of my children playing, my sisters posing on the Maine sea shore. Snippets of life, of parties, of family, of success and of failure. All the layers of my life building up to this packing day.

 

Tears come to an end after a conversation denoucing my failure. A conversation of encouragement, of love, of faith; and I realize I am building a new foundation for the life I will have after we leave this house. A happy life.  An adventure full of love, family, laughter, music, sewing, and renovations! Home renovations and life renovations, all triggered by the rediscovery of a silk scarf.

Patent Pending!!

It is official, I have my provisional patent pending for what are now called "Toni's Comfort Tees"    , Necessity being the mother of invention, I constructed three of these using large mens tee shirts for fabric and made some post surgical undergarments for my Mom ~the original mother of invention!! Production will be starting soon and then hopefully some distribution to local cancer support groups. So much to do for such a little shirt!

Just Faux Fun

My first faux painting was probably done at some point in junior high working on stage sets. But now, as an adult, (and an unemployed adult) I have tapped into my childhood resources and embraced my creativity as a source of income.   After being laid off from a corporate position, I worked at Gerardo's Italian Bakery for a bit. Taking over an unused corner of a local farm stand and turning it into an Italian haven of cookies and rum cakes we wanted to warm up the area. I volunteered my services and painted the back wall. One mildly distressed wall and one edge of cracked plaster. Not too bad. I was happy that my experiment worked out ok. The bakery expanded and soon my feature wall was stuck behind some shelves and a bread rack, but if you look closely you could see it peeking out.......

A year later, the owners of the farmstand asked if I would be interested in replicating the feature in the luncheon area. Why not?? So I started and before I was even half way done, the project was expanded to a second panel and then a third. Jamie jumped in to help. Another excellent day with him by my side!! We painted the back wall with crumbling plaster, exposed brick and a tiny vine breaking through to the warmth of the inside.

What a great way to spend the day, painting with someone you love, creating a fantasy for others to enjoy and being compensated for your time. Really? Can I just do this every day?

Before we started the wall looked like this: water stained plywood, a few rusty nails.....

Mid process Jamie is painting bricks......
When it was completed we achieved what we set out to do, made a fun wall that not so much copies exactly, but gives you an alternative to reality.

This left side wall and corner will be covered with shelves so we kept the detail here to a minimum. Rumor has it that the walls look better in person. If you would like to visit them, you may! Just go to Bolton Orchards at 125 Still River Road in Bolton MA. http://boltonorchards.com/

Order up some lunch, sit and enjoy the view!