Farming and Weaving, a very brief overview!

Luckily, this is not a "scratch and sniff" photo. The girls are growing well for this winter's eating, but they sure do stink! All CornishX do. Chicken *hit doesn't smell good, but eating breed chickens really have an awful odor. Other details "of the why" I will keep to myself!

Bee Balm and Cone Flowers I keep meaning to plant

Mindless wood carvings of the summer.

Rayon scarf

and another rayon scarf! Clever.

I'll be away for a bit. Family issues and I'm flying out to Arizona this Monday. Not the best time of year to visit the State, but if you're in the Phoenix/Peoria area, send me COLD air. I'm going to swelter.

We sent 7 critters off to auction this week. Mr Buck has been retired (sent to auction) and Joey will be the new goat stud. I must get a picture of the studly dude. Whadda guy. Several lambs and kids and one dairy goat (crazy girl) headed out as well. I'm afraid some of the spent hens are due to go soon as well. I've found raising chickens much easier overall. However, the hens did a job on the asparagus and raspberries this summer and Mr Princess is not a Happy Farmer. I keep yelling, "FENCING, YOU MORON"! No, don't like the word either, but how many times must this be reiterated, I ask you? Late Blight has hit the North East and I'm afraid all my the tomato plants must be ripped out. No idea if the potatoes will make it. Note: I had to plant a second crop because the first rotted due to all the rain we've had and continue to have. This is the same blight of the infamous Irish Potato Famine. That's what brought my family over here. I do wonder what it would have been like to have been brought up in Ireland. Brief thought though only, since I probably wouldn't have existed! A fond fondue until I'm back in the Land of Much Rain.

Painted rug warp

painted rug warp and dyed cotton sheeting for weft

sett 12

strips cut at 2"

hem strips cut at 1"

what colors does Marie like?

More scarf warps

No orange

orange scarf #1

Need to trim the fringe

orange scarf #2

all dyed

All 8,000 yards are dyed and dried and ready to be wound off onto the spools. Eventually. I'm warping the big loom for a rug as a reward for completing the above task.

I failed to tell of the (almost) dye disaster. I had just enough dye to dye 4,000 yards of each color. I haven't dyed vast quantities on the stove in a long time so it took some sleuth work to find my trusty big pot. Mr. Princess often (always) takes my stuff because I'm fairly organized and it's easier to pilfer from me than for him to go looking for his own stuff. Lord only knows what he used my pot for. Probably seating near the wood stove in the basement. But I found it, washed it up and put it on the stove in the kitchen. I tossed in several cups of salt, some boiling water and 3.7lt of dye stock. Stir, stir, stir. Turned on the heat and began filling up the bucket with water. I added one bucket full and filled up the next. While adding the next bucket I saw dye on the (glass) stove. I grabbed some paper towels and began wiping up. The more I wiped the more dye appeared and suddenly, whosh, a LOT of dye. A hole in the pot! I started bailing dye from the pot BECAUSE I HAVE JUST ENOUGH DYE FOR THE PROJECT! There was no way to calculate how much dye was lost and how diluted it was. After resuming breathing I found a smaller pot, added less water and started again. Luckily all 4,000 yards appear the same purple color. No more disasters and the dyeing is done. Though photos would have been amusing, clean up and dye saving was more important. Lesson: always hold the pot up to the sun and look for holes. Amen and amen.

8,000 yards of chenille

I pulled this alpaca/silk scarf off the loom several weeks ago. I need to twist the fringe (ugly story) and wet finish it.
As I was cutting the warp off the loom I got distracted and cut about 1/3 shorter than I should have. This should be fun stuff to twist and to knot. Not!

Sorry, but Penelope should have been the final photo. Here she is with one of her 2 kids and a few chicks on her back. She is a conveyance at that moment.

Damn! Blogger won't let me rearrange the photos today.

I've wound off 8,ooo yards of chenille and have dyed 4,000 yards thus far. To the left is a photo from Handwoven, issue 132, of a shadow weave shawl. I'm using this pattern to make a chenille throw, approximately 60x80. It's really more of a blanket.

Here is an overall view, albeit a crappy picture.

These are the colors I am dyeing.

When the dyeing is complete, I'll wind the yardage onto spools. . .

40 freakin' spools, and hope I wind sufficient yardage onto each. My main problem is that my clock reel is not adjustable and I know that the hanks will have shrunk. I'm still unsure of how I will transfer the 200 yard hanks to the spools. Once that is complete, I will check myself into a mental hospital for about five years. Please write.

Spring overdrive

The table cloth has been off the loom for two weeks. I finally got it washed, hemmed and pressed. Overall I'm pleased. The center fold I'm not pleased with. Unlike wool, cotton is less forgiving. I had trouble finding a rhythm and when I did, I began to fret about the center fold. I can see I should have just woven. Where I thought the weft was too tight would have been just fine after wet finishing. Lessons learned.

At least the inconsistent tension appears to be a design element. Sort'a.

And now we know why it is recommended that there be a color change at the fold....lesson 2 learned!

The first six chicks of the season.

75 more will arrive in early June.

The seedlings are growing in the greenhouse. The garden has been enlarged to 100 x 40 and I'm waiting for the fence to go up so I can get the potatoes, peas, beans and lettuce in. However, Mr Fence Man is in the woods today cutting logs for the 2,000 mushroom plugs he just got. I ask you...priorities? The plugs can wait but my peas can't! They're vining in the greenhouse. My onions will be useless!

PROXIMIDADE

I received this award from Sharon. Thanks, Sharon! I love getting awards..........passing them on however, can be a bit difficult because my choices have been already honored!

This award is to acknowledge the following qualities: "this blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!"

I can't cut and paste! Got a new mouse and cannot get it to do it's job. Using the control C isn't working either. What a dilemma. I'll have to do this the old fashioned way or just let you find my blogger selections!

My picks are Charleen and Sara!

I'll write more this week if I have the chance. I've found a wee trick in advancing a doubleweave. I've woven perhaps four blankets, in wool, in doubleweave and never had a real problem with the fold. I'm finding it more difficult in cotton. I'm about 2/3 of the way through the warp and now decided to weight the fold. It has helped quite a bit. I didn't use the fishing line. I tried that only once, and though it works, it is too fiddly for me.

I had a difficult time finding the rhythm for this project. I finally did. If I stick with the piece, day after day, which I usually do, I can maintain the rhythm. However, it is planting season and the season of selling lambs and kids. So, I start weaving, the phone rings, make a deal, plant a seed and get back to weaving. Not a good plan.

I know there are some skipped threads, I just hope they are minor. I need to get heavier, longer shuttles. I've added weight by putting heavy nuts on either side of the bobbin, but I think longer would also help in NOT skipping warp threads. One of the three shuttles I'm using has a curved (curved UP!) point in the front and back and often snags the weft. Interestingly, my one heavy and long EFS (which I love) didn't want to cooperate with me for this project.

My blog-less friend Bev drove up from SC and dropped her dogs off while she visits Boston. On the way she stopped at Webs and picked up an order for me and of course, enhanced her stash! She'll drop by Pro-chem on the way back here tomorrow. Webs is having a great sale and I'll soon post a photo of what I ordered!

McGregor, My Dawg

My dawg, my trusty companion died peacefully yesterday afternoon. He rallied two weeks ago but decided his time had come. I will miss him desperately.

Greg followed me everywhere and was often underfoot. But he loved me and I him. He was my bud.