10th Annual Jason Collingwood Workshop at Vavning Studio - Day Two

Whew... another day has passed and I am totally worn out!~  

But inside of me, my mind is buzzing with new patterns, more ideas and combinations and thinking thinking thinking... I should go unlock the studio and weave into the night?  

It's very hot and humid tonight down in Shopiere, WI so we are sitting in the motorhome with all the windows open and it's still 80 degrees outside!  Whew!   I am going to blog a bit, then do the dishes, maybe hop in the shower and perhaps get some shuteye.  Hard to do when a weaver's brain is buzzing!

Early this morning (I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and couldn't sleep)  so I boiled up a dozen of Melanie's farm fresh eggs.... she is Juanita's daughter.  Each morning I make a tray of deviled eggs for a bit of "breakfast on the run" for the fellow weavers.  A tray of brownies, a pile of donuts, a pot of coffee and a few deviled eggs and we are good to go till noon!

Fellow weaver, Linda's husband, being a "city boy" hadn't seen these country eggs from free ranging chickens.  So he had to come and see for himself!  Ahhhh freshness, golden and goodness.

We are parked right next to the side door of the studio, so I am able to slip right in and get to work....

After I got the eggs made, coffee and tea going, it was time to settle down for some early morning quiet weaving time for me me meeeee....   I got all cuddled into my little weaving corner and started figuring out my patterns, lifts, shuttle sequences and paid close attention to my selvages....  If you are a weaver, you understand each and every bit of that.  It takes a lot of concentration.

About 8 a.m. other weavers started trickling in... ready to start day two of the workshop.  After catching up a bit on their looms, checking their notes, and grabbing their pattern sheets... we all went up to the sanctuary at 9 a.m. to get our "lecture portion of the morning".  

It's by no means a dry boring lecture... no siree, not from Jason.  This lecture includes little quips and stories, and demos on his handy dandy display rack where he builds some of the patterns using thick ropes to show the correct placement of various rows of weft pattern yarns and the upright dowel sticks simulate the warp threads of the loom. He explains things very well, with a patience of a saint to get through our thick skulls.  LOL . 

So what does my hubby do when I am busy weaving in class???   Steve had a "date" all morning with fellow weaver Jim's wife, Norma!  They went out to an auction, a couple rummage sales, and then out to lunch!   He found me some wonderful treasures, including a metal plant trellis, a glass pyrex percolator coffee pot, some gas cans, and then ... then... a huge garbage bag full of teddy bears!   (it was an auction and he got them for a whole dollar???)

We wove at our looms the entire morning, only taking a lunch break and back to the studio.  Juanita asked us to all pose for the obligatory Class Photo....   We are all in our places with sun shiney faces....  

 We are at Juanita Hofstrom's studio in Shopiere, WI  called vavningstudio.com

Jason had woven a wool rug for Juanita so we got a nice pose for that, and we also posed with hubby Norm...  what a crew! But soon Jason cracked the whip and back we went in for the afternoon lecture and more ---- you guessed it ---- weaving!

I took a break and walked around.. snapping random pics of the folks at work.  Weaving, figuring, visiting and resting a bit.  Jason makes his rounds of all the workers at their looms, giving advice, helping with problems, admiring the good stuff and compliments on the completed pattern sections or good selvages.  He is very encouraging and from time to time he will sit down at someone's loom and demonstrate a tricky part or show an alternative or technique to help.

And of course, we help each other too.  Jim would get help from Jason, and then I would go and copy Jim!   LOL

Although it was getting hotter and sweltering outside, the lower level of this old church was nice and cool and comfortable.   Juanita hopped on John's loom for a while to give it a bit of attention.

Here is a close up of some of the work we are doing.  Ignore the loose strands hanging down.. those are needle woven in later to hide among the thickness of the rug sample.  For the experienced weavers reading this.. this is ALL done on PLAIN WEAVE.....  you can weave all these lovely patterns with just TWO harnesses!  Can you believe it?  (guess you gotta take the next class to learn how--- heh heh)

The room gets very quiet at times, as everyone is concentrating on the patterns they are working on.  Each person can work at their own pace, and try to do whatever they wish... but we are given plenty to choose from during the lecture portion.  We get back to the looms and try more and more ideas and patterns.  The techniques and tips help us make neat even edges and sharp crisp patterns.

Here is one section I worked on this afternoon.... it's a diamond shape, filled in with staggered dots... flanked by a background... not just any solid background.. noooo it's a background of vertical stripes with tiny lines through every third row to make them kinda like boxes stacked up one on top of each other.  Again... for the weavers reading this, it is all done on two harnesses.  Amazing, isn't it?

There are so many variations and patterns to try to emulate or adapt to your own as you work along the guidelines you learn throughout the three days.  Using Ipads and digital cameras, a weaver can record certain processes, or snap pics of the other weaver's progress for more ideas to take home.  Also, Jason has a large variety of samples on hand of various patterns we can all look at, photograph and use for future ideas once we get back home.

Each person works on their own loom with their own yarns... and chooses their own patterns and ideas to try or not try or rip out and re try! We wove on our looms up until 4 p.m.  Then it was time for taking a break.

My wandering husband came home from his long date with Norma.... and I found him relaxing in the lawn chair with a "beverage of choice" ... and manning the grill to make us supper.. yes, right in the parking lot at Vavning Studio!

 Yummmm steaks, a salad, and a bottle wine.  Life is pretty danged good, don'tcha think?

Oh, and one last shot... yesterday I mentioned how Juanita made each of us a special hostess gift to each participant to take home?  Well, here is mine!   Made to match my cobalt blue accents in my new kitchen!

It has grazing sheep all around it's perimeter, 

and one black sheep in the bunch too is on the back side!   

That is my own handwoven towel in the background.   

Oh, tomorrow I will snap a pic of the lovely shuttles Juanita makes... one of which spoke deeply to my heart.  Each year I buy one from her to go home with me.  I counted and I think I only found 8 in my batch... I am wondering if I left 2 at home, or perhaps some went missing?  I might have to buy a few more before I leave to complete my "set".   Again, I will snap a pic of them tomorrow because it's getting late... I am tired... and I think I might just fall asleep.

Yawnnnnnn  

dreaming of

 yarns

shuttles

looms

patterns

harnesses

selvages

colors

yawnnnnn

nighty night

10th Annual Jason Collingwood Workshop at Vavning Studio

I am here, reporting from Vavning Studio, located in Shopiere, WI  (just east of Beloit)  hostessed by Juanita Hofstrom.  For the tenth year now in a row, she had offered various classes by famous Great Britain weaver, Jason Collingwood. (son of the late Peter Collingwood).

This is the tenth year I have attended these wonderful weaving conferences.  The subject deals with weaving wool rugs...  shaft switching, twill, block weaves and plain weave rugs.  It's an intense three day workshop which we are all working our fannies off weaving, learning and discovering new things!  

But in between we are laughing, lunching, and loving the wonderful studio that Juanita Hofstrom has created in this tiny sleepy town of Shopiere, along the banks of Turtle Creek.

We got here later thursday evening after a nice ride down in our motorhome from Chilton.  The ride was pleasant with great weather and we were cruising along in style in the motorhome with the doggers along and toting our Tracker behind.

We got set up in the parking lot, and hauled in my loom and tools and set up my work area.  Because I help Juanita with kitchen chores...  (I am her "Kitchen Wench"  but she calls me her "Aide De Comp")    This is my Tools of the Trade table loom, clamped down onto a rolling bench with all my supplies ready to go.

Friday morning everyone assembled for our classes to start at 8 am with lecture at 9 upstairs in the sanctuary.  Jason starts each morning and afternoon session with a lecture, notes, examples and displays to show what we are going to work on next...

At some points during the lecture, the particpants are encouraged to take photos of the notes on the board before he wipes them off for the next segment.

Juanita's studio is situated in an old church, and the upstairs area works out perfect for the lectures.... and the looms and workshop and kitchen area is in the lower level.

Juanita's husband Norm was hanging out in the back.. he is a new weaver now too! 

Juanita had lovely hostess presents for each of us, and I will take a pic of mine for tomorrow's blog.
I am sooo tired after our first day of classes, I am not going to write much, but instead post some pics.

At some points during the morning and afternoon, while working on our looms... Jason will demonstrate various techniques on one or another's looms.  Here he is showing how to "twine" a section as a weft protector to start a rug.  The room was busy with the buzzing of little weaver bees, working on their samples.  I will take more pics tomorrow of some of our progress.   (my progress was little, as I ripped out THREE times before I got something done right...argghhhhh)

Tomorrow I promise to blog more and write more, 

but I am pooped out and going to bed....

yawnnnnnnnn

Wonderful Weekend Weather

It looks like SPRING is finally here!!!   Our weekend weather was up in the 70's and we didn't have any plans to go anywhere.   Soooo of course, we worked on some house projects!

I will back up a bit leading to the weekend....

Thursday I had gone quilt shop hopping with two friends, Paula and Linda.  We also attended the warehouse sale for Nancy's Notions (a PBS quilting show)  in Beaver Dam.  Besides loading up on sewing stuff, I saw this fantastic pedestal fan in the clearance area of the sewing room stuff.    I loved it at first sight, and hoisted it up and over to the holding area until I was ready to check it out.  It was all metal and very heavy.  Here are us three, shopping till we were dropping!

Part of the shopping marathon was to stop at various quilting stores around Wisconsin.  We hit some in Ripon, Oshkosh, and Appleton.  (plus stopping for lunch)   On Friday, I had one more shop to go to in Plymouth so they would stamp my "passport" for all 12 shops that I had gone to.  Then I am eligible for more prizes.   On the way back from Plymouth, I stopped at a rummage sale and saw these three pretty handpainted metal buckets.  I believe it's called "rosemalling".  They are stamped 1976 on the bottom and I have no idea how much later they were painted, but I really liked them.   I chose the creamy one as a trash can for in my Loom Room.

I bought it for a whole $2... but after getting it home, I was thinking about the other two buckets... and regretting that how I should have bought all three.  The rummage sale was 20 miles from home.  On Sunday, we got in the car and drove back down there.  The rummage sale sign was still out by the road for the rummage sale, but when we pulled in the barn yard, all the sheds and barn that had the sale stuff we closed.  I knocked on the door, but the people said they were not opening until 1pm.  I told them I just wanted the two buckets, but they said I had to come back at 1pm!   I said I drove 20 miles to get them.  No dice....

We went home and worked on some projects instead.  I figured I would just pass on the buckets and not drive another 40 miles round trip to get them.  About 2pm, Steve said we could go back and see.... and we did!   Can you imagine, 80 miles total from two different round trips to get some $2 buckets?????


But the nice part was ... on the way back home from the rummage sale, we stopped by a nursery.  Steve said he wanted to buy me a tree for an early Mother's Day present.  I could pick out whatever I wanted.  We walked around and found this wonderful "Weeping Cherry Tree" !!!   This is what it will look like when it's more mature in full bloom!

The tree is created by grafting on a weeping Japanese Higan cherry top onto a stronger sweet wild cherry rootstalk of a tree...   it needs to be trimmed back each spring of any sprouts that grow upwards and just leave the weeping branches that hang down.  It will be ready to bloom into full flowers in a week or so.  Some of the older ones at the nursery were already in bloom, but we bought a younger one to make transplanting it easier. It will bear ornamental fruit, but more to the liking of birds and not really edible like cherries we know.

Last night I picked up four curved pieces of the same cement trim we put around the flower beds... and will stain them today to put around the base of the tree.   I like to make things match.  I know, kinda obsessive, but at $1.88 each piece, I can manage to add four more to the yard.

Our lawns are greening up nicely.. though the grass is not quite long enough to cut yet.  Steve has the mower tuned up and ready to cut as soon as it does though.  He actually seems anxious to get in some lawn cutting???  

All alongside of the house I have wonderful bright colored tulips opening up... reds and yellows!  So pretty and springlike!   I spent a couple hours pulling out weeds around the tulips, and once they are done and spent, I will plant some of my coleus plants along the house where I am marking the empty spaces... so there won't be any tulip bulbs disturbed.   Then I will space some pots of white petunias in between on the areas setting where the tulip bulbs will be laying dormant till next spring.  I also did a little stencil paint job on my metal watering cans....

Saturday morning Steve rented a stump grinder to get rid of the three big tree stumps in the back yard.    He cut down the two big rotting trees last January before we moved the motorhome over to the yard.  A third tree had been cut down in the past but the large stump still remained.  He ground away at each of the stumps, section by section, and soon they were all gone--- reduced to a pile of sawdust.  He also did a stump for the neighbor lady, and also the three small ones up front where we cut out the overgrown cedars.   It's like a rototiller, but cuts with a big saw blade instead of rotating tines.

Yup.. that pile of sawdust WAS a big huge tree stump!

One day this week, the landscaper company is coming to level out the yard and lay a gravel parking pad for the motorhome.  The excess black dirt from the leveling we will have piled up on top of the sawdust piles leftover from the stumpgrinding.  I will make those into flower beds.  There are already some beds of perennials back there, like peonies, lilies and some kind of snow on the mountain variety.  I can split up some of those and move things around--- and maybe add some more?

It's still too early to plant flowers here yet, the danger of frost has not passed.  I have been carrying in and out my pots of coleus that I have been wintering over inside the house. They will harden off to get used to the spring temps after being in the warm sunny Loom Room all winter.

Steve also bought me a clematis vine to add to my pretty metal trellis he got me for Xmas out alongside the porch.  There are some clematis plants there already, so we will mix them with the new one and get a whole trellis full of blooms!


While I worked on some other yard projects, Steveio was cleaning and sorting stuff in his garage.  He is quite pleased with all of the space he has in there. It's extra deep so he can get things in and out of the workshop space to the left without having to move out the Tracker. Look how far the Tracker can pull forward in there!  

He has the peg boards arranged with tools and supplies, and he hauled a load to the city recycling area of things he didn't want around.  While he was gone, I touched up the back porch where I had been staining and added a new entry mat at the doorway to the kitchen...

Seeing as I had my solid colored green stain out and a brush already wet... I went to work on the sides of the front steps!  They had been plain grey concrete for 100 years.. and had some repair patching work done recently.  They looked splotchy and sad.  I spruced them up with new green solid colored stain (that won't chip or flake or peel like paint would)   and I spruced them up!   I added a little bit of green to the pillar blocks on the corners and on each side of the door... along with a little trim line along the porch between the siding and the cutout trellis work.  Now for a few pots of bright red geraniums???

We got most of our stuff done on Saturday...  (and then spent Sunday running around buying stupid buckets)  but one other project I wanted to get tackled was the icemaker installation!  

In our last home, we had an icemaker in the door of our fridge.  In our motorhome, we have an icemaker.  But in this house, the fridge that came with the home purchase didn't have one.  (I HATE FILLING TIPPY ICE CUBE TRAYS AND FINDING LEVEL SPOTS IN THE FREEZER)

We realized the Frigidaire fridge we have is already pre-wired and pre-cut with plugs covering the holes to add on an icemaker!  For $49 at Menards, this gal was gonna be made HAPPY!   We found the correct unit for our model and read the directions.  Between the two of us, we got it installed, tapped the fresh cold water line in the basement (no water softener taste for our drinking water at the sink or the icemaker).    The whole process took less than an hour....

 the end result????