I Live For Weekends!

This past weekend was another great one!

I had Saturday off from the shop, so that was my day to "play".

The hub had plans to work in the back yard. We've got a large area in the back of the yard that we've mulched several times while waiting to get perennials planted back there. The mulch doesn't last very long and the weeds start coming through. It looks like this is the year that we are going to tackle the back of the yard (and by "we", you all know that my husband does the majority of the work, right?)

Wilson got right to it on Saturday. The plan was to relocate the edging and move it back a little bit, so the area isn't quite so large that we will be planting. Even though we had some downpours on Saturday, he worked right through them and even got the sod down.

I worked a little bit on my weaving sampler - I have to tell you, I love the boat shuttle. What a difference it makes.

I also did some spinning too - I'll get some photos of my yarn that I'm in the process of spinning soon. I'm spinning a sweaters' worth, so the photos all look the same after a while!

Sunday was Wilson's birthday. I worked during the day, but the younger daughter came over for dinner. I hope Wilson had a good day and enjoyed the banana cream pie!

This week is going to be long one. I work everyday up until Memorial Day - we're closed that day due to the holiday.

And I'll leave you with a photo of my first bloom of the season!

Warped once again!

Even though I had most of the loom warped over the weekend, I put off beaming the warp until I had a roll of brown paper that I had ordered. It arrived, (40 lbs of it - hello, I'll never, ever use all of this paper) so this morning before heading into the shop, I finally finished up with the warping!

In years past, when I would think about maybe taking up weaving, the thought of warping is what always made me change my mind. I figured that I would love the weaving part, but absolutely hate the warping. I have to tell you, I LOVE to warp! I'm very surprised, but I love the entire process! Direct warping is fun, and then using the warping board and warping front to back is a blast!

The above is for a sample piece from the book, Learning to Weave by Deborah Chandler. I have to tell you, this is a fantastic book. Great instructions and photos and very in-depth. Next step - actual weaving!

I'll leave you with a photo of my assistants! I don't know how I could get anything done in the morning without all of their help - especially Koby!

Weekend progress!

We had fantastic weather this past weekend. I worked at the shop on Saturday, so all my weekend activity had to happen on Sunday and Monday morning.

The hubster got the fish out in the pond bright and early on Saturday morning. It's quite an undertaking and I know his back was hurting by Saturday night. We have 2 koi that are quite large and all the fish have to be transported from the basement wintering tanks upstairs to the pond outside in a huge plastic bag filled with water. HEAVY! They have to float in the pond until the water temp in the bag adjusts to the pond water temp.

Now that they are in the pond, we begin the Heron Watch. I'm hoping that because we got the fish in so much later than we usually do that the heron gave up on our little pond.


Sunday was spent out in the yard doing, well, yard stuff! We made a quick run to 2 garden centers and then got to work in the back yard. I got some vegies planted in the garden, Wilson helped me relocate a rose bush and then we planted 3 lilac bushes.

I did manage to get my warp chains done on Sunday morning while Wilson was still sleeping. (Please ignore the back cushion on my chair - it's my dogs' favorite napping place and it is showing tons of wear. New furniture is not in the game plan anytime soon, so I have learned to turn a blind eye to my mangled furniture.) I'm using a warping board this time.

And Monday morning, before heading in to the shop, I started warping the Baby Wolf! I'm almost done. One thing I do know - I need new glasses and/or better light!

Rain, Rain, Rain

Today is Day 3 of rain and cold weather. I'm OK with that though, because it means it is still SWEATER weather! I've been wearing my handspun/handknit sweater quite a bit lately. Even though it is a simple pattern, it is so satisfying wearing something that you both spun the yarn for and then knit it all up!

Since I enjoyed spinning for the sweater last summer, I started a new sweater spinning project at home.


This is a blend of coopworth and mohair. I picked up one bump of it at Shepherd's Harvest last year and then ordered more about 2 months ago when I decided that it would be nice for a sweater. I've already spun up 3 bobbins full and have those plied off. When we get a brighter day, I'll take photos of the yarn so far.

Cute pup photo for the day - My dogs follow me everywhere at home. When I'm up in the spinning studio, I have a little dog bed for Josie (the frenchie). Koby usually lays on the loveseat when we are upstairs, so having one bed upstairs for the pups usually works out just fine. This day though, they both decided that they were going to use the dog bed.......

It's a Pug-spill!

Oh, and the post from the other day? I now have a Schacht Baby Wolf Loom! It's actually going to be a shop model , but I have it at home for now so I can play with it and figure it out. I've got some of it set up already, but my goal is to get this baby warped by then end of the weekend. Warping Board, here I come!

Three Words - O M G!

Great Weekend!

This past weekend was a great one!

I worked long days on both Thursday and Friday at the shop (Friday was SP-IT Nite and I think we had the largest group yet!), so it was good not to have to run into the shop to open on Saturday.

Since I didn't have to be at the shop until 2 on Saturday, my husband drove me to the Textile Center so I could check out the weaving wares there. I have a rigid heddle loom at the shop, an Ashford Knitters Loom 20", and I've warped and woven on that 3 times now. I have a Schacht Baby Wolf loom coming in to the shop in the next couple of days though, so I wanted to check out the actual size of the loom.

Sunday was another great day! My youngest daughter joined my husband and myself for a run to Shepherd's Harvest. Even though we were only there for probably 2 hours (maybe less), I had a good time. It was fun hearing my daughter's take on the festival - she has gone with me before but it had been several years ago. On the drive home we stopped off at Gertens and Wilson got me some Lilac bushes!

All in all a great weekend! Thanks Wilson and Dani for making Sunday a great Mother's Day! (Tiffany - I hope you had a great one too! We miss you!)

Soccer Girl!

I got to speak to my granddaughters the other day. I don't get to see them nearly as much as I would like, but it is fun to talk to them on the phone. (Kylie doesn't seem to be a chatty phone talker though!)

Kylie is playing soccer this year and Saturday was her first soccer tournament! When I spoke with her on Friday, she was super excited about it and told me that she was a "great" soccer player. My daughter posted some photos on facebook of Kylie in action and I snagged a few for the blog.

And here's one of Corrine watching big sister! It was a cold morning!

On a fibery note - I brought the Ashford Knitters Loom into the shop. I have my 3rd scarf project on the loom and hope to finish it up this week.