A New Home for Yarn

First offload all of the yarn from the super cheap bookcase and put it on the treadmill
(which often does double-duty as a storage unit. More often than it's used for walking, in fact).

Then bring in the china cabinet from the garage where we put it after rescuing it at long last from the storage unit. Its first home that I know about was my grandmother's living room in San Antonio. (I don't really remember what she had in it specifically, but it was used in the traditional way. I do remember what was in my grandmother Nina's china cabinet, because my favorite thing to do at her house when I was a child was to take out the little china figures and animals she kept there . . . I remember some little china dogs and perhaps a shepherdess, women in kimono with fans, I think, and some others . . . and have some imaginative play time with them. I don't think I ever broke any, amazingly enough. She also kept peppermint sticks in there.)

Transfer all of the yarn to its new home! 

(OK, well . . . almost all the yarn. There is still some on a couple of shelves in the laundry room.)

Admire.

Rest on laurels.

The Louet David Loom

It seemed serendipitous that I was musing about how a lot of the weaving drafts I was looking at in books required at least 8 shafts, (and I, alas, had only four) at the same time that I wandered into the basement of Lakeside Fibers during a spring sale. The store's owner(s) had decided to divest themselves of all weaving equipment and supplies and their demo looms were for sale. 

Kismet, right?

And so, the Louet David, in cherry, an 8-shaft, 10 treadle sinking-shed loom, joined the Harrisville in the sunroom. V-e-r-y tight quarters, but I made them fit, I think. Sort of.

The Harrisville Loom

Up into the light at last, with a warp that was meant to be a baby blanket for the child now graduated from college. I had to buy a new handle for the beams, and make a new bar for connecting the warp beam to the castle, but that was about it ...
This is a four shaft Harrisville Designs loom that I built from a kit. It has four treadles with direct tie-up, but if I ever felt the need I can evidently buy a conversion to make it six treadles.

I replaced many, many broken warp threads, but felt I owed it to the weaving gods to try to finish it.

Tied onto the the warp beam, but the replacement of so many threads caused this waterfall of tangled warp when finally ready. I cut off the last six inches or so... I didn't have enough weft for weaving the whole length anyway.

Started weaving and finished within two days. It's a waffle weave, though the waffle-ly part would be deeper with more shafts. The baby seemed pleased with it, though...

Crazy Quilts and the Contemporary Crafter

I saved this article by Gayle Worland from the Sunday paper on March 1, because there were a few things that really resonated with me in the interview with Beverly Gordon (professor of textiles and apparel design at UW-Madison and the curator of this exhibit, "A Fairyland of Fabrics: The Victorian Crazy Quilt" )

She compares the craft of these women to present day scrapbooking (and that segues into other paper and fabric crafts), citing an emphasis on creativity, invention, and play, and the importance of "abundance" and "collecting" of material as part of what fuels the craft(s). There's also the intriguing aspect of collective motifs - themes or subjects that appeal to many of us who do the same kind of art and craft that are reflective of our time and cultures and interests.

I quite like this quote the article ends with:

"There's a sense that there's infinite possibilities with materials and making beautiful things ... It's about making something with little bits, the fascination of combinations, because essentially they are a collage."

Zetti Ornaments

Ornament for a ZettiZoo exchange ~

Sewn taffeta body (stamped with Stampers Anonymous text stamp U1-722), domino face (stamped with Zettiology 0101E face), alcohol marker coloring.

ArtGirlz crown. Collar beads are a modified "gift tie-on" from Target Christmas season '07.

Didn't find any more in this year's selection... but I did collect some glass chandelier drops there this year, so didn't feel so bad then...).