Upcoming Weekend around Our Old House

We were looking at a three day weekend that we HAD planned to help our kids with a special task... but now it's been delayed until next week.  I will blog about THAT next week then when it happens.  Let's just say they are frustrated and irritated and anxious and excited--- all rolled into one big ball of emotions! But I can't say till it's done and happened. 

Instead, we are avoiding the busy campgrounds and staying home this holiday weekend.  We will go out to dinner on Saturday, heading up to our friends Sharon and Fred's house. And the plans for the rest of the weekend???? 

OUR OLD HOUSE PROJECTS! 

I already started one yesterday afternoon.  When Steveio got home from work, I had him set up the ladder on the front of the house.  I don't care to go up on a ladder unless he is home, just in case.

I took out my green paint (solid colored stain really so it don't chip and peel like paint does)  and did up every other square on the front fascia....  They are kind of  "gridded" sections with a texture that trapped dirt and looked darker than the smoother sections between.  So I decided to make them dark green as a feature instead of just looking like grubby and dirty white sections!  I have five more sections to do.  I ran outta time and had to get supper going, so I will finish it later this afternoon when Steve comes home to do the ladder again.  See the one grid to the right above the 227 number?  That is what I mean about looking grubbier than the smooth sections....

We already have some dark green trim here and there on the front of the house, that I did last year, including the sides of the front steps.  But I wanted a bit more for contrast.   I think it will look good when it gets finished. Once the flowers and hostas all come up in the front flower bed.  Add the two big white cement planters on the front stoop with green ivy plants and red geraniums---- ahhhh we think it will look great!

Next, we might put a "pediment" up on the top gable end for an added feature. 

I was going through my photos this morning and found something I forgot to put on my blog the other day... with the grandtots...  were these fun little wiener doggies!  My mom bought each of her great grandkids one of these in Florida and I brought them back to Wisconsin for them, and they took the wiener doggies all home.  But the wiener doggies are soooo cute and adorable, that I saw them up here at Walmart and bought two more just to keep at our house. 

 Set a cooked hot dog on the green grid.... 

(note the little doggie dish at the left end for catsup!)

Now set the wiener doggie down on top and push downwards

which cuts the hot dog up into small bite sized pieces to dip in the doggie dish of catsup!

 How cute is that????

plus.. it's a no choking hazard for the toddlers on the hot dogs 

because the hot dogs are now cut up into small bites.

The other thing I forgot to mention the other day on my blog was my helper Chelsea in my Loom Room.  I love it when the grandtots want to come in the Loom Room and play with my machines.  She was helping with the weaving of this big heavy looper rug! She pulls the chains of looped fabric through the open shed of the loom---- while pressing down hard on the appropriate treadle with her foot.  (this loom there are only 2 treadles, so it's easy for them to understand)  and then she can weave a new row of the rug. 

Once I help with setting the chain into the exact right place, making a good corner,

she pulls back on the beater with all her might --- BAM BAM to pound it into place! 

Pounding hard and making a racket is right up any grandtot's alley....

I finished weaving up that rug yesterday and added the header to the end ... the headers get folded over three times, clipped into place, and then hemmed on the sewing machine.  I also started a new rug in rich jewel tones in a twill pattern on the other loom.  Might work on that one today a bit.  I do a little at a time and come back again and again throughout the day. Easier on my body that way.

But I think first on the "to do" list this morning is to give two doggers a bath!  They are always up to their doggie shenanigans and full of fun and mischief in the backyard. The white portions of their fur can get pretty grubby.  So I will toss each one in the laundry sink for a soak and scrub.  

Here they are hanging out with Steveio, they are hoping for some treats....  Notice Finney's new begging routine? 

He figures by draping himself over our feet, we can't get away from him.  It's his "stake my claim" position and he has to be just a tiny bit closer to us than Duke's position.  It means we are HIS.  LOL

SEE???

I did do some sewing yesterday too... I am working on a new quilt.  These are the blocks I have started that grandtot Chelsea helped with over last weekend.   I am going to set them apart with rows of black sashing so they really POP out.  This is the fabric I bought while on vacation in Florida, and will always think of my Mom and Auntie Lois helping me find it when we were down there.

 Kinda hard to photograph, but they are purples and lilacs and pinks.. not blues....

The morning sun is streaming in on the front porch as I type this.  The temps are in the high 40's this morning, but soon to get to 70 or more. Steve was here sipping coffee for a while, but now has left for work.  I snapped this one before he left....

Now that we finally got some spring time weather in Wisconsin, and the danger of frost has passed---- I planted some little pansies with "Happy Faces" as my Mom says....  into colored bamboo pots for the little rack by the back door.  Being all cement between the garage and the house, it's nice to have a splash of color to greet us as we go in the back door.

I also bought 18 tomato plants that need to get planted along the west side of the garage, so I think that will just about fill up our weekend around the house.  If not, I am sure Steveio can add to the "to do" list around Our Old House!

Fibery Day with Rugs and Socks and Yarn

I have been sorely neglecting my fibery blog readers here.... it's been SO busy around here with working on the house projects and 2 new grandsons and doing our open houses.  I heartfully apologize!  Thanks for hanging in there with me and waiting for something -anything- relating to fibery creations!

First of all, because of selling some of my looms, I had projects on them that had to get woven and cut off quick.   I didn't do much finishing of fringes until the other day, during our boring rainy Open House.

I started beefing up the fringed areas on these two rugs, so the fringes were colorful and thicker.  (the warp was natural white... not a good color to have as just all plain fringes on a colorful rug)

I beef up each section with doubled over strands of other colors to match the rug....  using a wide eyed needle.  Once the colors are added, I then tie the knot with one huge overhand which includes the original warp threads and the newly added colored threads.    So instead of all white fringes, they now blend in and match the header and the rug.

This woven rug is called a "3 end block weave" pattern, similar to double binding technique.  Here is the rug.. it's reversible and has the opposite pattern on the back side. I call it my "Ticked Denim" design, because the light areas are a heavy cream and blue striped mattress ticking, and the darker block blue sections are denim fabric.  I have done a number of these rugs, and am finally at the end of the fabric of mattress ticking.  It was a HUGE roll given to me by friends Norma and Jim Burkett of Beloit, WI.

The next set of fringes I worked on was for this rug... which is made with blocks of black/tan  and blocks of green/white.  Kinda wild, eh?  I added threads of green and black to the cream warp.

I also used this same fabric combination in a plain weave striped rug.  

They would make a cool pair! 

The above rugs were all cut off the bigger Newcomb Studio loom, right before I sold it to Ellen Houseward from Illinois.  When she bought the loom, she also got the rest of the warp that was wound on there, so I am hoping to see some pics soon of more rugs she made on that lovely loom!  

Speaking of Ellen, she sent ME a box this week.  Oh me oh my, it was like Christmas in May!  The box was chock full of sock yarns that she said would never get around to using!   Some were custom dyed and others were fancy commercial brands I can never, ever afford to buy.  It's hard to make a pair of $20 socks for sale when the yarn costs $15.99 a skein!  

I already started cranking some last night and got a pair of socks done and another pair underway.  See the pretty socks on the right side?  ooooooohh laaa laaaah!

 THANK YOU, ELLEN!!!!

A few weeks ago, I had cut off my last two Birch Tree Rugs from the Union loom before Rosie took the loom out the door and back to Missouri with her.  I finally got around to hemming the ends up.  Instead of tying knots, on these two rugs I did a hemmed edge. 

These Birch Tree Rugs take a while to make. 

 They are recycling at it's finest!  

Commercially-made factory socks leave behind a loop of knit material when the toes are stitched and the excess is cut free.  These loops normally end up in landfills!   But--- smart weavers soon learned we could loop them together to make very interesting thick and thirsty rugs!  My good weaving buddy Barb Barnett sells them by the pound. She hauls huge bales from the factory over to her NE Iowa Weaving Loom Museum in Plainfield, Iowa. She then bags them up and sells them via mail to weavers around the country.  Here is her website:

http://www.barnettsheepwool.com/

It's a messy process to prepare these loopers, so I chain them up outside.  I prefer the double loop thickness like in the photos, but some weavers like the single looping chain, making for a thinner rug.  I set the loom at 8epi and weave them up in no time flat.  The prep work takes the longest.



One of the last blankets I cut off the big LeClerc Nilart loom, before it went to it's new home with Lisa, is finally getting it's fringes twisted.  I am also "beefing up" the warp threads with another piece of the bumpy boucle yarn doubled over in the header area.  The photo of the basket shows the fringes on the left are already twisted, but the bottom tassels below the knots are not trimmed yet. I will do those after washing.

When I say "twisting fringes" I use this little device, made by LeClerc.  

• Clamp on the sections of yarns, 
• twist them up in one direction,  
• knot the end,  
• let it twist back onto itself like a little rope! 

Okay, this blog is long enough.  Time here to get off the computer.  Today is bill paying day, then finish up these socks and clean up the livingroom.  I am trying to keep the house "show worthy" in case we get more calls for private showings.  

This afternoon I am going to help my friend Rosie with her GoDaddy website.  We both changed over from the Office Live program for our websites to have GoDaddy host us instead.   We will work toegether over the phone and finish up all the business parts of changing over the domain and starting the new site on her nameserver.  

Here is mine I got up and running already

(just started it, I need to add more fiber stuff)  ....  

www.kareninthewoods.com     

I have our house for sale on the first page for now.  But I will add more of my rugs, socks, and other fibery things.   I have the About Me page done, and will hope to get it up and running with all of my things soon. 

I also sell my items on Etsy:  

http://kareninthewoods.etsy.com/

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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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