Monday, March 31, 2014

Spring is in the Air

As I write that title, there is snow on the ground...no not like so many places this year, it is just the spring dusting that we get.  My daffodils have been blooming for a couple of weeks and I know that they get snowed on a couple of times each spring.  This was the second snow that I have been expecting.
The golden crocus just make me smile
There are also purple ones
The daffodils are my favorites
Snow covered crocus
Daffodil bent under the weight of the snow.
What a difference a day makes.  

I have enjoyed my spring bulbs so much this year.  I get a smile every time I walk out the front door.  I need to plant more so that I can enjoy them for a longer time each year.  If I put some in the front parking area, they will bloom later because they are farther away from the house.  I also need to consider the back yard.  I should spend more time back there and enjoy it.  Bulbs would brighten that area a lot.  I could even put a loom back there on nice days.  I remember how much I enjoyed sitting out on the deck in the mornings with my coffee right after I lost my job.  Such a beautiful way to start the day. 
I have been thinking of setting up a portable tapestry loom, I could use that as a traveling weaving, a way to take weaving with me instead of just knitting when I travel.  I could use that loom on the deck so nicely.  I have a great picture that I lifted from the internet of a Utah sunset...I even collected some yarns in the appropriate colors...I need to think about warping the Hokett loom.
Yes, I have been purchasing some small looms lately.  The Hokett was for a tapestry class, I didn't think I would get excited about tapestry, but at this small scale...it seems doable.  I also purchased a Schacht 15" Cricket...what a sweet little loom.  I am teaching a class in Rigid Heddle and it seemed like a good idea when a used one came available to me.  Unfortunately, now I want the floor stand.  I don't like the way the Cricket fits between me and the table.  My old Schacht RH weaves great that way, but the old one is longer in length and wider (20").  This little Cricket really needs a stand to weave comfortable...but does that make it less portable...does that matter?  I could use the stand at home and take it off for travel to class...that might be good.  Am I just justifying another purchase?

I even bought a 20" Schacht four shaft table loom.  That one was a great deal on line.  It is very old, the joints use doweled joins and it has the old metal plaque on it.  Unfortunately, it had not been used for a long time and had some water marks on it.  I cleaned everything, washed, sanded, oiled and waxed the wood, steel wooled all the heddles, and I need to remove rust from the reed (still looking for a product to do that).  But the loom is beautiful now, it just shines and the wood is as smooth as glass.  I will probably leave it at the studio for students to rent, but I don't think I will sale it to the school.  I have a private lesson student that will probably start on it next week.

My weaving has been slow...winter doldrums?  I know that last week when I was standing in the sunshine, I realized that I felt better and seemed to have more energy to do something.  Maybe that means I can weave off some warps that have been too long on my floor looms.                                                
I have been weaving some small pieces, samples for classes, scarves and such.  I took the loom up to the state capital for a legislature session that had non-profit groups, I got a cute new scarf out of it.  I just warped the PCH portable HD loom and used some HD shetland yarn we had here.  We had old colors, but the combination worked out well.  Pale blue for the ground and pin stripes of light orange, bright orange and fuschia. 
Finished Scarf

Can you see the loom at the lower left?
It was interesting to be weaving up there while the state congress was in session.  The loom attracted a lot of attention, but that is why I brought it up there.  There has to be something for the people to remember about us when there are some many people vying for attention.


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