This morning I walked Roy early, to beat the humidity. On the way home, I saw some people in their garage apparently preparing for a garage sale.
I stopped to ask them when the sale was going to start, and I saw this right inside the door.
It is a sewing/craft table, a higher end kind than they sell in Joann's Fabric Stores.
It has a drawer, and a bottom shelf, and even an ironing board that you can attach to the side of it, or to the wall.
And it is HUGE, giving me plenty of space to cut rolls of fabric.
For $25. Originally priced at $250.
Heart be still. I ran home, and went right back with the money. It fit in the back of my car, and off to the studio I went.
I love a find like this.
I am alone at the studio all week. L took a vacay. I bet she misses us.
So I had my lunch with Next on the porch, he liked the company.
My new fave salad dressing.
And a lot of romaine, to make me think I am having a BIG lunch.
It doesn't really work, by the way.
But I got a lot done today, shipped out some orders, worked on a couple of projects.
Played with monkeys.
Then I went home and made some mushroom soup.
The good news is that I feel better every day, more like my old self. Or maybe my 'new' self.
Either way, it's all good.
Can I just say, "OUCH"?
I think I just did the impossible. I was sewing a dress for my granddaughter, and somehow, I sewed right through my finger. I am not sure if the needle broke when it sewed into my fingernail, or if it broke when I pulled my finger back.
But I was quick to yell to DH, "Get the pliers." He answered, "I'm on the phone."
And I replied, "I don't care, get the blankety blank pliers."
When he finally found them, and saw the needle sticking straight up out of my nail, he hestitated.
I thought, oh great, I'm gonna have to go to the ER.
Then he rallied, and yanked it out. And I immediately soaked it in peroxide.
But damn, that hurts.
And I didn't think to get a photo. Honest, it never crossed my mind. You might not have enjoyed it anyway.
I have not had a good time with sewing machines today.
You may remember I bought this sewing machine a couple of years ago.....about a month after I cracked my head on a rock. Ultimately, I didn't spend much time with it.
Today, I tried to get it up and running, and the top thread broke about 100 times.
I finally quit, and said enough.
I didn't think my little Bernina would give me any grief when I got home.
The beach in Maine is always a favorite of mine.
And Roy's.
See him smile?
One place we like to go is on the rustic side.
Paper towels hanging over the tables, condiments in a bucket.
Fisherman's Catch. Wells Beach, Me
Definitely not fancy.
We go for the food, which is excellent, and required a Corona.Just sayin.
This was hands down the BEST clam chowder I have had anywhere.
And I LOVE my clam chowda.
These were the fish (haddock) tacos at Fisherman's Catch, and I could have them once a week.
They were that good.
When Roy wasn't walking on the beach, or sniffing out the nature trail, he liked this position.
It's one of his favorites.
I wish I had a Corona right now, this finger is thumping.
Sorry for my absence. Sometimes the days just fly right by, and I lose track of them.
And I got away for a couple of days, went on a little jaunt.
The weather was beautiful.
I like this next photo, which I took of a shop window. Everything reflected from across the street, and it just looked cool to me.
We went to a landmark in Wiscasset, Maine.
In the summer, the line is way down the street. This time of year it wasn't so bad.
I've always wanted to try the lobster roll, but tell me.........is this a bit over the top??? You can get it with mayo or butter on the side.
I tried it, but I have to admit, I'm just not a lobsta girl.
It might surprise you to know that I strike up conversations with perfect strangers???
There were these guys, and they had TWO cats on leashes.....here is one, check out his polydactyl toes.......the other cat was black, and was being carried at this point, cause he was afraid of Roy.
Truth is, Roy was petrified.
Ack.
Two cats on leashes?
I love to explore back roads in new places.
It's amazing what you find.
As we came up over this hill, we got a glimpse of this beauty.
When it came into full view, it did not disappoint.
I would love to go inside and check it out. I think I could live here.
There is nothing like barns attached to the house. It's one of the many things I love about Maine.
OK, so I was wrong. The big rug is actually ok, not what I would want for myself, but it's ok. I have to hem the ends yet, they are just pinned, but I was really anxious to see what it was going to look like, and I wanted to measure it.
Measuring a custom rug is always a tense moment.....it isn't easy to get the length exact.
All you weavers know what I'm talking about.
It's 48"x102", and it's going to California. I guess the colors work, kinda.
Not the best photo, with my iPhone.
We add 20% to the desired length. That sounds like a lot, but it's not. The threads go up and over the weft, which has to be accounted for. And the warp is stretched tight while we are weaving, so when the tension is taken off, the warp relaxes, and the rug shrinks. When we put the rug down on the floor, we are always amazed that it has shrunk 20%.
It also depends on how tight you crank the tension up and how hard you beat the rug. Every weaver is different. But we've found that 20% works for us.
We've got a list of things to be done at the studio that will keep us busy for a while. But it's all good.
Being able to do the things I want to do is such a gift, even if I have to take breaks to get them done.
Right now I have some rhubarb crisp in the oven. I have been very good lately about eating a healthy diet, but a girl has to draw the line when it comes to rhubarb, don't ya think??
After all.
Sometimes orders are totally fun, and sometimes they just boggle the mind.
Like this one.
I have the fabric samples approved by the customer, and I can't quite wrap my head around their choices.
L says I often am not wild about color combinations I am asked to make a rug out of. And then sometimes, when all is said and done, they turn out to be ok.
We'll see.
The jury is still out on this one.
Tell me truly, do these colors go together?
There is a "freeze warning" for tonight, and today it was only in the 40's, with a chilly wind.
Roy doesn't care, he loves walking between the river and the canal.
The Hudson is lovely here, and it is generally pretty quiet in the middle of the week.
On the weekends, when it is warm, not so much.......there are usually "too many" people jumping off the dam, littering the area, and generally being rowdy.
On weekends, I like to walk EARLY in the morning, before they all roll out of bed.
You know what I am grateful for???? That my surgery was SEVEN weeks ago.......BEHIND me.
Instead of in front of me.
Hallelujah.
My mother was on one of her rants yesterday, repeating a litany of complaints I have heard over and over. I sat there politely listening, as she listed them. Mind you, she was in no distress as she launched into her monologue.
Finally, when she took a breath, I said: "Say one positive thing."
She said, "What?" I said, "Just say ONE POSITIVE THING, because everything you are saying is NEGATIVE, so say just ONE positive thing."
She thought for a second, then looked me straight in the eye, and said, "I love you, Hilary."
The road home.
It's cold, but the lilacs are finally out.
And my mother loves me.
Here's a link, to another blog post, that my BFF sent me today.
It reminds me, that in spite of the infirmities of age, and the changes in personality, my mother is the same woman that has been in my corner, my whole life.
My life is getting back to normal.
I can feel it, ever so slowly.
I still have moments when I feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and generally not with it, but I am beginning to see progress in my daily routine. I am beginning to get a rhythm, a new one, but a rhythm none the less.
The studio is pretty much a wreck. We have managed to still produce, but L has been pretty much on her own in so many ways.
Can I just tell you that NOT ONCE in this whole past winter did I carry a bag of pellets into the house from the barn.
She carried them all, because of my head/neck surgery.
I probably owe her my first born, but I don't think that's possible. Or desirable.
Maybe I could get her a kitten.
Next week, we are going to be organizing after a long winter, room by room, and then maybe it will be time for Chica to do some cleaning. The place needs some spiffing up. And I am not in the mood, and L is too busy.
Today, I cranked up the commercial sewing machine. I won't tell you that it was easy, since I have barely used it since acquiring it 2 years ago. I got a little distracted by the headache, and it just sat there.
But today, I started using it again, and while I am experiencing some tension issues, the machine, not my head, I am positive that I can iron them out.
And you have to be impressed by what this sewing machine will stroll on through.
Amazing.
First I sew the sides of the bag together.....the straps have already been sewn on.
Then I make a template, this one is 4" square.......out of some cardboard. I place it on both bottom
corners of the bag, both sides, and put a T pin on the inside corner........look closely, you can see it.
I used to just eyeball it, until I made a bag that was a little cockeyed, then I decided the template would work.
Then I sew from pin to pin, that makes the gusset to the bottom of the bag.
I only have about 22 of them to do.
oh, dear.
L has been busy reweaving a rug. I made the mistake of including some knit fabric in a custom rug that was otherwise 100% cotton. I guess I liked the color or something.......I did it last year.
I guess I could probably blame a lot of things on my head last year, but for whatever reason, I made the choice, and it was a HUGE mistake.
The rug, a 12' runner, was finally laundered ( for a winter home in the south), and the knit material shrunk wildly, while the rest of it didn't. SO..............the rug had a distinct wavy, bumpy look, that was not very attractive.
So we took it all apart, ditched the knit fabric, substituted a cotton fabric, and started over.
We aim to please.
Especially when we were at fault. (in this case, it was just me)
I think the customer should be happy, and that's the point, after all.
Last night, I went to a meeting of the Hudson Mohawk Weavers Guild, my first time. It was really a lovely group of weavers, and I was amazed at how many people I knew there. Guess I'll be joining when they start up in September. Maybe I'll even be making some towels over the summer for their dish towel exchange.
Last night, the presentation was by Rabbit Goody, who owns and runs Thistle Hill Weavers, they specialize in historical textiles for movies and designers. All the work they do is custom, and it is amazing.
If you go to her web site, in addition to lots of pictures of the fabrics they make, there are three videos, under the About Us link.......I have never, ever seen a warping wheel as big as that, or a loom that goes that fast, so fast that I could not pick up the shuttle going back and forth. I know it did, I just couldn't see it.
Worth the trip over.
I bought her book, even though some of it is quite basic. I thought it would be nice to have, and especially since she was signing them.
I have to give her credit, she is a "quick thinker". She signed mine, and when I got to the car, and flipped it open, it said.....quite appropriately, I might add, though she doesn't know me........
"Hilary......you don't have to be Crazy as a Loom(n), "
Rabbit Goody.
That's perfect, really.
Finished the first project on the AVL. Not entirely sure about it.
But here it is anyway.
It's a baby blanket, made out of I Love This Cotton from Hobby Lobby.
It turned out to be extremely soft, and quite thick.
I couldn't figure out how to zoom in and save it to show you the detail. Maybe I am just challenged tonight, but I took a short cut with a screen shot on my phone.
You can see the pinwheels better.
Waiting on my sectional beam from AVL to put on the next warp.
The other day I was walking Roy, and I saw this item on the curb with a FREE sign.
I have no idea what to do with it, but I went back with DH's truck, and picked it up anyway.
It seems to be talking to me about what it wants to be in its next life, but I just have no idea what it is saying.
I guess the Toika isn't going anywhere. Fate has spoken. There has been no interest generated from any of my ads, so I guess it is meant to stay right where it is.
I am a believer that nothing is a mistake, so in that frame of mind, L and I are going to make some 4'x6' rugs.
Here is one we just took off the loom this week.
It makes me think of watercolors.
By popular demand, I will be selling kits of WHOLE socks SEWN together, in 5 lb bags, enough to make your very own CHUNKY rug.
They will be $39.95, and no, they are not on my web site yet, but you can email me.
It's been a busy week, but it's all good.
I had a smasher today, you know what I mean. But it didn't really bother me.
