BLESSINGS

After completing a few rugs and a couple of wall hangings, I still had extra linen warp on the loom.  As I was unsure how much I had left, I did not want to start another rug, so I decided to remove the center two sections of warp and weave two matching pot holders at the same time on the remaining two sections of warp. 

Here are two potholders being woven at once, these are not identical, because the one on the left is being woven by three year old, Elsa, the the one on the right is being woven by six year old, Iris....my grandgirls.

One of the projects for our 'Nonnie Day, at their request, was for them to help me take these off the loom, which we did yesterday.   In the end, their 'pot holders' were destined to become rugs for their dolls.

One of the amazing things about these home-schooled girls is their insatiable desire for learning, in all its simple and 'old-fashioned' forms.   It is easy and for me, exciting, to find and offer 'lessons' for them on 'Nonnie Day'.  They find fascination in the smallest things, and are eager to learn by doing and by reading, and electronics is the farthest thing from their minds.  Not that they would not be interested in watching a video on weaving, for example, but the use of, say the computer, is nowhere near the top of their list of how to come to know.

...close up of Elsa's...

...close up of Iris'...

...the first of my completed pot holders...

Our second project for this Nonnie Day was to make Hot Cross Buns, something I have done for more years than I can count.  When they saw the eggs I had blown and subsequently drawn upon, they very much wanted to do the same...

 

 and as the recipe for Hot Cross Buns called for two eggs, I blew them out, (a bit beyond what a 3 and a 6 year old easily could do),

and the girls, with great focus, drew on them, too.

On to baking....

 

...kneading the dough...

...and rolling out the buns...

Both girls seem deeply interested in baking/cooking, and Elsa usually says to me, "Nonnie, can I help get the ingredients out?", while Iris is off reading until all is ready.

I believe that these girls are budding into great cooks and bakers!

...ready for the oven...

...just out of the oven...

There are many stories and legends behind Hot Cross Buns, among them: if eaten on Good Friday, good luck will be yours; if given to you by a friend you will have abundant blessings; if you hang one in your house your year will be blessed.

On top of it all, they taste mighty good.

 May your Easter season be filled with blessings, too!

THROUGH THE WINDOW

Here it is the 18th of March, and a new snow storm is upon us.  It is relatively gentle and quite lovely, however it has brought about three inches so far.  They prove to be a very treacherous three inches as our walkway, and the long driveway to my cabin were nothing but sheer ice, almost like skating ice, and now it is all covered with snow so one can't see the ice. Even stepping carefully, with ice spikes on my boots, I still wiped out! 

Generally after a brief lunch, I sit on the couch and read for about 15 minutes.  The couch has a nice view out the window, which I find myself constantly looking out, and today....

one by one

one by one...

and one by one

a parade of turkeys slowly marched by

they gathered near the top of this hill,

but never even walked in twos...

it was one by one, with great spaces in between, kind of like the 4th of July Parade.

Wish I could take advantage of this snow and go skiing, but although I have finished painting the two rooms, I have shelves to paint, floors to mop, rearrange, etc.  Far to go yet.  

But doesn't a new snowfall make the world pristine and beautiful?

CONFLICTED

Several years ago, using a warping board, I made about 20 sections (of twenty cream-colored wool yarns each) perhaps three to four yards long, on a warping board.  My intention was to warp my loom with these and proceed to weave.  However, and it is a  huge however, I forgot to make the necessary cross of threads, and thus was unable to warp the loom.  I was decidedly frustrated and annoyed thinking I had just wasted tons of good yarn.  This yarn has sat in a basket for years waiting for some inspiration.  Not long ago I decided to dye the long hanks in shades of burgundy and blue, and use them as the weft, that is the yarns that get woven, and did in fact make several items.  Just the other day, my waste not attitude still in high gear, and having some linen warp still on the loom, I thought a small wall hanging using these hanks might be nice.

This hanging measure about 18" x 24"...

this detail shows how I used snippets of the hanks to form rya knots to make flowers....

This past Saturday the Kickapoo Valley Reserve held an Art Show and Sale with 16 local artists, myself among them

...here is a photo of my 'booth' at the Reserve, showing woven lampshades, bags and rugs among other things.  It was a good day, the weather cooperated, and many people came out.  Bonus, I even made a few sales!!

I am so anxious to get back to the loom today, BUT there are two rooms in the house that have recently undergone re-plastering in many places and are demanding priming and painting.  And as we are living in the mess of everything that should be in those rooms being elsewhere in our living space, I am also anxious to get this done.  So, this week will be devoted to the house and not the workshop.  I know I will appreciate it once the work is done, but right now all I really want is to weave.

WEAVING AND WEAVING

I am back at the loom, and quite honestly, I can't imagine how I stayed away so long.  I am loving the colors, the textures, the solitude, the meditative rhythm as I look out the picture window in front of me at the winter vineyard.  

The fourth rug since I began....

...reclaimed wool, which began as old blankets, cut into thin strips and woven on a linen warp.

One can get lost in the repetition of warp--weft--warp--weft...

...going to inner places of healing.

Once I finished the above rug, I still had linen warp remaining on the loom, so I decided on a mixture of colors that would represent the rock outcroppings and ledges here in the Kickapoo.  Again I was using reclaimed wool blankets, but also used some of the wool rug yarns I have collected over the years.  I am really happy with how the colors turned out to look so much like the many ledges I have seen on my countless journeys through the Kickapoo Valley Reserve: hiking, skiing, snow shoeing.

Still something was niggling at me and the thought of another wall hanging emerged. I decided to make this into a wall hanging using the Friends of the Kickapoo Valley Reserve's logo as the central theme. 

The making and appliqueing of this logo was anything but easy.  I almost gave up, researched and drew a large Blue Heron to applique, but in the end went with the depiction of pines, ledges, and the river.

I am happy with the end result.

Still, I did not use up all the warp and my next project has begun!!

I'M WARPED

Finally, after summer, fall and a few winter months, I am back to weaving.  It's funny that I forgot how much I love to weave.  I warped my old Union Loom with a heavy duty rug linen, and despite some tension problems, am happy with the resulting rugs.

A while back I was shopping in a thrift store in Richland Center and came across five large rag balls, so neatly folded (they looked ironed) and 'balled' up, I was unable to resist.  I also loved the quiet color combinations of beige and reds.  When I was contemplating what to use as a weft, I noticed the color of the linen warp matched so well with the color in the rag balls, I decided to use them.

Despite the dull quality of the photo below, the color combination really turned out quite lovely.  As the rags were doubled, this made for a nice heavy duty rug.

As I still had plenty of warp left on the rug, I decided to use some of the wool rug yarn that has been hanging in my workshop for years...

It was difficult to decide on what colors to use, but I think this color combination worked out well.

This is quite a long rug, and once I have 'finished' it off, I think it will be quite nice.

And on another note, I spent some time yesterday making English Muffins.  We enjoyed them with farm fresh eggs and Organic Valley's turkey bacon for brunch.

Perhaps a bit of work for just six muffins, the next time I will double the recipe.

And an added treat to start my day today...Andy had to come and get hay and Iris, with whom I have never skied, came along.  We skied along Jug Creek and had lots of fun.  She is a great little skier.  It was slippery, but we figured this might be the last chance this winter to ski.   I so much look forward to skiing the entire loop with her next winter. 

A LONG WAYS TO GO YET

First of all....

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

...and second of all, I am still hopeless at the editing process of this new camera once transferred to my computer.  I seem to be able to operate the camera on a basic level, but getting it to the right place on my computer is baffling me.  To be honest, I have been so busy prepping for Valentine's Day, that I haven't confronted the Dummies book yet.  Next on my agenda.  So for now, at least I hope it is just 'for now', these photos are way less then I want them to be!!!!!

 

I  spent quite some time making Valentine cards, loosely using the "Tangle" technique of Zentangles.  This really was lots of fun, and makes for a striking card. 

Andy built the girls a 'work table' and their chairs were in need of pads.  I told the girls, much to their delight, that I had made valentines for their 'bottoms', and they were mystified, until they opened these.

We also have been doing lessons around the story of Little Red Riding Hood on Nonnie Day...

...their own Red Riding Hood capes.

The girls also received pendants I commissioned my niece to make, and as they are so perfectly beautiful, I did not photograph them.  Once I am able to do them justice, I will post a photo of them.  For Iris she made an enamel iris and for Elsa Mae, an enamel May flower, both set in sterling silver.  Quite honestly, they are gorgeous!!

On another note, our local library is fund raising for a much needed expansion.  We will be having a silent auction in conjunction with the Lion's Club pancake supper (proceeds to go to the expansion project)...we are actively soliciting donations....

and as I have finally found time to get back to weaving

here is a wallhanging I am donating to the auction.  It is a woven background, with branches and owls appliqued. 

I am also spending this afternoon completing the warping of one of my floor looms.  I am warping with a heavy duty linen warp and hope to weave a couple of new rugs in the next couple of weeks.

It feels good to be back at the loom!!

STILL A LOT TO LEARN

I finally got the new camera out of the box!  Have been doing some studying, and some tentative photo taking.  This morning I decided to put them on the computer, only to find out that the UBS cord for my new camera was 'available separately' and I did not have it, I was a bit miffed to say the least.  Thankfully, my old cord fits and works.  

However, as all this was going on, my computer had gone back out for additional clean-up and repair, as when I got it back, things just were not working properly.  I find, at this point anyway, that I can not edit my photos, at least not as I usually did.  So the pictures on this posting are totally unedited.  I will study the manual and the book for Dummies some more, but for now, I am happy to have gotten this far.

A FEW DAYS OF WORKING WITH BREAD

Last week when my girls were here eating/cleaning me out of pesto bread sticks we decided that the next Nonnie day we would make bread sticks.  I had dough rising and ready...

Tiny rolling pins rolled out the dough, little hands applied the pesto then rolled the dough into bread sticks....

...a little left over dough just right for individual pizzas for lunch...

The bread sticks.

These girls are great in the kitchen, attentive, serious, and I know they are going to be great cooks!!!  A Nonnie's delight.

On another note, a small group of friends expressed some interest in a Bread Baking 101 gathering, and knowing it would be great fun, I bought the ingredients, set up four stations, and yesterday we made bread.

Our plan was to make sour dough baguettes, and I had prepped a quart of sour dough starter for each, had 7 grain bread flour and unbleached bread flour at the ready...(and some wine, of course)

Each at her own station,  mixing and stirring the initial sour dough ferment.

After mixing, and kneading the dough is now ready for rising.  Clean, wet dish towels will cover the bowls while rising.

As I had prepared ahead of time, bread at each of its stages for them to see, we had two warm, crusty loaves to eat along with the cheese, wine and dessert these lovely ladies brought along.

I really cannot remember when I last had such fun.  I kind of wish it hadn't happened yet, as I'd like to experience it again.  Guess I'll hunt up another interested group!