One Lttle RV Thing and some Loom Room stuff

I have one little photo that I wanted to post about an RV item we bought a while back. I had taken a picture of it a few weeks ago and forgot all about it in my camera!   It seems like a small thing, but we bought one of these collapsible buckets.  It stores flat in the little case, and saves on storage in the RV. Very lightweight but handy.  I think it was on sale for $4.99.

As you can see, it's the right size for Steve's telescoping window squeegee, but also for his washing brush, or even just a bucket to hand wash something with a rag.
We have used it to soak sweet corn in before grilling.
We have used it to haul water for filling my canning kettle.
We have used it to haul apples picked off a tree on an abandoned farmstead.
We have used it to scoop up dog food from a broken bag in the storage compartment.  LOL

So that was a little handy hint for an easy RV accessory that has multiple uses.



I was down in my Loom Room today. Now that it is getting cooler, I feel more like cocooning and staying curled up in my studio and working on my fiber art.  This is the scene that greets me each morning when I come down the stairs:

I get a nice view out the two sets of patio doors, overlooking the woods and out to the river.  

(Steve's boat is parked in front of one of my doors...ack! )

There is another large loom that will weave 5ft wide blankets out of sight to the far right.

Here are my two Union looms... they are old, probably about 1940-1950 vintage.  

One on the right has been converted into a 4 harness loom, the one on the left is a 2 harness, but very old. 

I was busy today cutting fabric into strips, winding shuttles, and finishing up the threading of one of the looms.  It's a comfortable large room in the lower level of our home, and the fully carpeted floor, plus the warmth of the sunshine coming in make it a cozy place. 

I am working on a cotton runner in two patterned fabrics on my smaller Union loom.   The black/tan fabric almost looks like an animal print when woven, and with the green/white sections, I think I will call these rugs "Leopard in the Jungle"?  

I figure I have enough fabric  to weave about 12 ft worth of rugs from these prints, so I could do one long runner, or three shorter 4 ft long rugs?  Hmmmmmm will see when I get there, hey?

On the larger Union loom, I have two big thick Birch Tree Rugs already done on there, soon to be cut off and hemmed when the diluted glue along the header dries.  The glue is just to hold the last few rows of woven threads in place until I fold them under twice and sew the hem securely shut.

This next shot is taken from underneath the loom.  These rugs are very thick and heavy.  They are loops of knit fabric, made from the big factory sock machine waste that normally ends up in the landfills.  Weavers buy it up by the pound, and chain it into long sections to weave into thick rugs.  I find these rugs remind me of the bark on my birch trees, thus I call them my Birch Tree Rugs!

I randomly add a single color for accent, on this rug it's caramel/tan.  

On the one underneath it's an olive green color for accent. 

Here is how I chain them up to make a thick chain to weave into the rugs.

On nice days, I sit outside and make up chains and more chains of these "loopers" ... a chore best to be done outside as they are linty and make a mess in the house!  Once chained, I shake them off over the deck railing, and the lint falls to the woods below, covering the ground like snow!

On my third rug loom, a Newcomb Studio Loom, I am just starting up another rug with the strips of denim and mattress ticking.  This rug is being woven as a twill, with some shaftswitching in a 4 end block weave structure sett at about 5epi with doubled warp threads.  (that info provided for the weavers reading my blog)

 Later, the long pieces of yarns will be tied into fringes along the edge of the rug. 

The rug I will weave will be something like this one I already did...  the striped fabric is the same as what is used for old fashioned mattress ticking.  I got a big bolt of from Jim and Norma, and I accented it with strips of denim that I had some yardage of.

My friend Hilary at http://crazyasaloom.blogspot.com/  always puts pics in her blog of her wonderful dog, Roy and the cats that reside in her studio.  So, in reply, here is a picture of our collie, Duchess (a.k.a. Dumb Ducky) being a Loom Doggie and hanging out by a basket of chained loopers ... all prepared for another rug.  Both of our dogs seem to enjoy hanging out in my loom room.  Sometimes I lean over and scratch their backs or ears with the end of a shuttle.  What a life! 

I have been simmering up a pot of chili this afternoon, so time now to end this blog, hit Publish and eat!!!  Steve has horseshoe league tonight, so getting a hot belly of chili will be nice in this cold fall weather.  It's 51 degrees out now, and going to be colder once we get to the outdoor horseshoe pits.  Brrrrrrrrrr

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