What is happening today

Looking at my inventory I decided I definitely need to weave more dish towels. Lots more. So I got busy winding a warp. My usual thing to do is to have a natural colored cotton warp and use a natural colored cotton weft. For a bit of color I weave a one inch stripe at either end. Not very exciting but here is the thing. My customers like it. I have tried to do things differently and people will come to me at shows looking for dish towels and see the new ones and say they like what I had before. Do what works, right?

Cold weather is moving in. 37 degrees for a high today with 16 degrees for tonight. Tomorrow we are supposed to have 28 degrees for a high with night time temperature of 13! Winter finally made it to the south. I don't mind the cold but some snow to go with it sure would be nice. I can always hope, right?

Until next time,

Linda
www.pineridgehandwovens.com/

Getting closer to Christmas

With Christmas being just a few days away, no weaving is being done at the studio. The presents are wrapped and under the tree and some baking has been done. The studio and house are clean so now we can relax. The weaving will start again after the first of the year. Now we wait for family to gather. Some snow would be nice, too, but not likely. Wouldn't it be nice to spend Christmas at a quaint little town where it always snows on Christmas just like in the movies?

Merry Christmas everyone and a prosperous new year!

Until next time,

Linda
www.pineridgehandwovens.com/

Time to clean

Weaving is messy. Really messy. Wether it be fuzzies from the weaving process or scraps of yarn from trimming fringes. Over time, when I am in production mode, it gets pretty messy at the studio. Today was cleaning day. The studio looks so much better! I should have taken before and after pictures. Hmmm, then again maybe not. I really wouldn't want anyone to see the mess. It sure feels good to have it all cleaned up. Now I am ready to start weaving again sometime after Christmas. I am looking forward to it.

My faithful farm dog is seven years old. I don't really want to think of a time when he won't be with me anymore. I love him. It's that simple. He is the best livestock guardian dog ever! Truth is, he will probably only live to be ten years old. Big dogs just don't live that long.

 I had been thinking, off and on, about getting a puppy for Max to train. Mostly off because I don't like thinking about not having him anymore. Then in October I met someone whose Great Pyrenees was going to have puppies. Puppies? Hmmm. Then a couple of weeks ago I got a message that the puppies had been born and did I want one. Now I HAD to think about what to do. I decided yes. Want to see what he looks like?

Meet Beau. Isn't he adorable and big? My Max was the runt of the litter and he weighs 130 pounds. I thought He was big! This pup could be even larger. With Max as his trainer he, too, will be a wonderful farm dog. I can't wait to meet him. It will probably be another six weeks before I can bring him home. I hope Max likes him!

Until next time,

Linda
www.pineridgehandwovens.com/

Candle light tours

One of the things I really like to do is participate in living history, This month I participated in the candle light tours at the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, Tn. I demonstrated tape loom weaving for the public. Another woman was in the cabin I was in was demonstrating spinning. We did it for two nights. Many people were interested in what we were doing and what we had to say about it. Others not so much. They were more interested in having their pictures taken in front of the Christmas tree or fireplace. There was so much happening at the museum. A living nativity, petting zoo, sassafrass tea tasting, lots of music and blacksmithing. There were more things going on but I didn't get to see much of it since I was stationed in a cabin.

Another candle light tour I was involved in was at Wilderness Road State Park in Ewing, Va. There is a reconstructed fort there representing 1775. It was pretty cold and windy. We were all standing around a firepit singing songs that would have been sung in the 18th century when it started to snow! It was so beautiful. It was so nice to be with friends one last time this year. It will be spring before we will see each other again. Such a magical night!

Until next time,

Linda
www.pineridgehandwovens.com/

December

This is my third attempt at writing something for the blog. The other two simply vanished! So, let's try this again. Here goes!

December is such a busy month. Parties, concerts, baking. You get the idea and I am sure it is the same for you. So why did I choose this time to start a website? I have wanted to do it for a couple of years now but what I wanted to do just wasn't available to me until now. I wanted to be able to use the square reader to take payments. Until recently square wasn't available for websites. Now it is. They have made it so easy to take payments. Yay! So with my personal web genius, aka our son, we created something we like. 

The other thing I am working on this month is clearing things out of the studio. Really, do I need all this stuff? Some went to family, some was donated to the Appalachian Arts Craft Center and some to other weavers. I am even giving some of my things to a new re enactor and to a historic site's clothes closet. It sure feels good to get rid of the clutter and I love seeing more space at the studio. When I get done giving away and cleaning I will get back to production mode. I have several ideas of what projects I want to weave in the coming year. Besides that there is the new to me Berga/Savonia loom that is waiting for a warp. 

These are two examples of the rugs I have on the website. These are thick and plush. I with you could feel these under your feet! They are so soft.

Well, that is all I have for today. If you have the time please take a look at our website.

www.pineridgehandwovens.com/

Linda

I did it!

Okay. Maybe I should say we did it. With a lot of help from a book I bought and a wonderful son I now have a website! It is a work in progress while I figure out how this all works. Hopefully it will generate some sales during off show season. Let's hope so anyway. Here is link.  https://www.pineridgehandwovens.com/

Necessity is the mother of invention!

With one craft show behind me I need to concentrate on the next one in the fall. Now I am in production mode. Yesterday I warped the Lervad loom for with a scarf warp. One problem I have had since the first time I warped this loom was where to put the raddle. Because of the curving lines of the loom there is no good place to set it. I have three raddles but none of them will sit on the beater bar. I walked around the studio looking for some inspiration. Then I saw it! A walker! It worked just fine.

In this picture you can see the curving lines of the loom. I like to put the raddle in front of the loom but there just isn't a good spot for one.

It may be hard to see but the raddle is between the loom and the walker. It was easy to tie the raddle to the walker because of a horizontal bar to rest the raddle one. When the warp was in place I took the wooden top piece of the beater bar and placed it on top of the raddle to keep the warp from lifting out. This set up worked very well. I was undecided as to what to do with the walker now that I don't need it any more. Guess I will keep it handy for the next warp.

Until next time,
Linda

Scary!

When Fiona first came she was afraid of me. She was brave enough to come close to sniff me but if she saw my hand she would run away. I started giving her a couple of horse treats. She loves them and she lost all fear of me. I would actually say she became a big pest. She nibbles on my clothes and sniffs my pocket for treats. She wouldn't leave me alone! What a contrast in just a few days of her being here. She is now so fearless that she is not afraid of the leaf blower when it is on and will try to nibble on it.

The other day I gave her a treat and she made a funny noise. She immediately went down and rolled over. She was not breathing! I rolled her back on her tummy and I massaged her throat and whacked her on her back several times. I even briskly rubbed her sides.After a couple of minutes I stopped and watched her. She stayed in the position I had put her but she was still making a few weird sounds. I offered her water but she didn't want any. She then stood up and walked around. Whew! I was sure she was going to die right before my eyes! I kept going back to the farm to check on her and she seemed fine. She was even eating hay. Whew! Life on the farm is never dull!

Until next time,
Linda

Meet Fiona

Recently I had the opportunity to buy a Leichester Longwool sheep. I tried to talk myself out of it. I had a few reasons to say no. I did find a couple who were interested in buying one. On the way they asked why I was not getting one so I told them. Around here no one wants to shear one sheep. They want a minimum of 25 sheep. I will never own more than one! They had a solution for that problem. I can take the sheep to their farm when they get their sheep sheared. Hmmm. I still thought, no, but when I got to the place that was selling them I was asked, are you sure you don't want one? Okay I caved in and told the owners to catch me one too.

Meet Fiona. She is nine weeks old. Isn't she sweet? Introducing her to my livestock guarding dog sure wasn't fun but they became friends in short order.

Until next time,
Linda

What has been happening around here

We sure have been busy around here. While I was trying to recover from surgery we were renovating our kitchen.  Actually the cabinets and appliances were ordered in June but the demolition of the kitchen finally was under way in October. I won't bore you with the details but if you have ever renovated a kitchen you may already understand.  Back ordered cabinets, appliances that don't work or have been dented in transit, etc. Lots of things delayed the start of it all but I am so happy to say that it is done! Bye bye 1970's kitchen. Hello new beautiful kitchen.

Last month we took a vacation. We went to Chippokes State Park in Virginia. It is a beautiful park. There is a mansion there and a really nice museum. Lots of hiking trails too. It is very close to other historic places of interest. We have been there before and looked forward to getting back there. My husband found that they had a weaving loom that needed a bit of help. When I saw it I just had to fix it! They were very nice to let us have a go at it. It is a Union loom made in Booneville, N.Y. After a bit of a clean up and two trips to a hardware store it is now presentable for display.

Having had back surgery had made me rethink my studio and all I have in it. I decided that I own too much. Now really, did I need all these looms and spinning wheels? After carefully considering each wheel and loom I chose the ones that should go. I sold two looms and one spinning wheel.  I had half a room that was now empty. I was thinking........this is nice! Then it happened.  A friend told me about a Swedish countermarche loom for sale. It was made by the Berga Savonia company. I thought hmmm that might be nice to weave on. I had been wanting to try out that kind of loom but this one had a five foot weaving width! It is really big! The price was good so I decided to contact the seller. It was still available!  It was a bit of a puzzle to put it together but I love puzzles. I still have a few treadles to tie up but then it will be ready for a warp. If I like this loom I once again will rethink what I own. I may have a couple of other looms for sale.

I like tape looms.  They are portable, interesting to look at and perfect for living history. I recently saw one in person that is a copy of one at the Landis Valley Museum. What makes this one different is that it is a floor loom with two treadles. I had seen pictures of some but never saw one in person. I am hoping my husband will make me one to use at Wilderness Road State Park where I volunteer. I like to give the public something different to see when they visit. I don't want what I do to be the same from year to year.

Until next time,
Linda

Going home!

Tomorrow is my last day in the rehab center after back surgery. I have been here 28 days. Long enough, don't you think? Looking back I have come a long way. I have gone from having to have a person on either side of me to help me walk to being able to walk by myself using a hiking stick. I feel pretty good about that! I still have a long way to go but I believe I will get there.

Next I will be waiting to see what I won't be able to do ever again. I am pretty sure I won't be picking up bales of hay with one hand anymore and maybe no more picking up goats. I always considered myself strong. Guess we all have to face, sometime, that our bodies are getting older and someday we have to stop doing things that our bodies just can't do anymore. It is hard to think about giving up things. I just hope weaving isn't one of those things! So for now I will concentrate on getting better. As for the future? That remains to be seen.

So, to my weaving friends, keep posting pictures. I enjoy seeing the projects you are working on! Hoping that soon I will be able to see those projects in person!

Until next time,
Linda

I escaped!

Well only for a little while. My occupational therapist was teaching me how to get in and out of the car without twisting and only using one hand. Evidently I did well because she mentioned to my husband that we should go for a drive! After signing me out we went out for ice cream. I didn't want to go too far so we went to a place not far from here. Driving on bumpy roads after back surgery is awful! I found that out when I had a doctor's appointment a few days ago. It was pretty warm out today and I have to say it sure felt good to be out in the fresh air for a while. Something I haven't done in a few weeks now.

Having shoulder surgery then back surgery a few weeks later really has given me some insight to people who are handicapped. These days people can be distracted with their phones or whatever is on their minds that they don't take the time to notice their surroundings. I have been in stores and other places where handicapped people are treated like they are invisible.  I am not just talking about me. I have seen things in stores that made me want to go talk to people who will come up behind someone in a walker and zip around them startling the handicapped person.  I have seen many other things too that I won't go into here. My point is this. Please think about the handicapped and how your actions might affect them. Okay getting off my soap box now.

The temperatures here were in the mid 60's today! What happened to winter? 

Until next time,

Linda

what is new around here

I have been thinking about what to write here for weeks. Okay, more like months. The truth is I haven't woven in a long time. It all started with a pain in my shoulder.

Two cortisone shots, exercises done at home and an MRI later I find out I need surgery. Among other things I was told my bicep needed to be reattached! It wouldn't have been so bad had it been my left shoulder but you see, I am right handed! My arm needed to be in a sling post surgery for a month. then I was told I can't use it for four months. That will be the end of March!

Then about five weeks post op I find I have a herniated disk. If you have ever experienced this then you know how awful the pain can be especially when it travels down a leg! More surgery. How can one person fall apart so quickly? Suddenly I feel old. Very very old! 

I am now at a rehab center trying to get some strength in my left leg and to learn to get by with my restrictions. On the good side I have one good arm and one good leg, right? The hard part is feeling so helpless at times. Have you ever gotten into a recliner ( just have to get out of the wheel chair for a while) and then realize the lever is on the wrong side? Then to top it off I have to ask someone to make it recline and then to come back to help me sit back up! Now I know how a beached whale feels!

I am not telling you this so that you will feel sorry for me. Not at all! I just wanted you all to know where I have disappeared to and that I won't have any weaving to show for a while. 

So until you hear from me again I will be here in rehab exercising and progressing every day, reading, doing crossword puzzles and keeping up with other weavers either through their blogs or on facebook. If I can't weave at least I can see the beautiful work of other weavers! Right? I may be down for a while but all this is temporary! So I will focus on the good and try to keep a good sense of humor. ( I am trying to picture myself with one Popeye arm. :)

Until next time.

Linda