Taking a breath.

In the studio, I have two chairs, across from each other, and when friends come, it is 

often where we sit with a cuppa tea for a visit.

Willie has never gotten up in this chair.....ever, until just a few days ago, when suddenly

he decided that it looked like a good place for a nap.

Since that day, he has been in it almost every day.

Sometimes I wish I knew what went on in his head, although I guess it isn't 

that hard to figure out.

It's his house, and everyone else sits in that chair, so...............

To answer a question about the Megado, a loom that I sold a few months ago, here's the story.

When my husband died three years ago, I sold my AVL.  They say you shouldn't make any big decsions for a year after a life changing event like losing your spouse, but I made it anyway.

It seemed like the right thing to do, and then once it was gone, I missed it.

So the following year, I ordered the Louet Megado.  At first I had the mechanical dobby with it, but found that I wasn't fond of the need to change the pick with one leg while treadling with the other, so I saved some money and when I could I ordered the electronic dobby for it.

I loved it.  Loved having 16 harnesses, loved what I could do with it.  But as the months went on, I found that every time I wove on it, my right shoulder was on fire the next day.

I realized that I was slightly raising my shoulders to throw the shuttle.   So I tried changing the height of my stool, I tried a bunch of other things.  The bottom line was that my body was just not made for that loom.  When I raised the height of my stool, it solved the shoulder issue, but it brought my legs up so high, I couldn't treadle.

I think it just has something to do with not just my height, but the length of my legs, and the length of my torso.  So I tried not weaving on it for days, then weeks, then weaving on it again.....and sure enough, it was the culprit.

So I decided to put it up for sale, send it out on the world wide web so to speak, and let the universe decide.

And it did.  A retired vet from PA came with her husband, and took it home.

So now I have the 8 harness David, and soon I will have an 8 harness Baby Wolf, and then I have my three looms that I use for weaving workshops.

The big news is that in addition to being a Louet dealer, now I am a Schacht dealer, too.

Which is why I am getting a new Baby Wolf.  It will be the designated towel loom, and it will leave the Louet David available for yardage.

Louet news:   next year Louet is coming out with a 12 harness David!!!!   It also might have the availability of an electronic dobby for the David 8 and the David 12.  

Since I try to limit my time weaving, to keep my shoulder from firing up again, I sometimes 

wind warps on my warping mill.   I find I can do it without it causing a problem. 

That being said, I don't weave a whole warp in one day.  I spread it out over 2 or 3 days.  I get a lot more done that way, without more pain.

A good friend and fellow weaver, who started out as my student many years ago, has a bit of a crush on Willie.

He is ok with that.

I try to eat a pretty clean diet, and most of the time I do well.  This is tofu, bok choy, and rice, 

with a lot of garlic.

I love dishes that I make up as I go.

But I confess, I love carbs.   Bread, naan, bagels.....toast!!!  of any kind.

That is my weakness.  Going to at least TRY to be a little better.

You notice that I did not say I was going to give them up.

I'm far more realistic than that.

Quiet post Christmas day here.  Very, very cold morning.  Dogs don't stay out for more than

a couple of minutes.  That's telling.

Did some weaving, made some soup, taking a break with the crossword,

Loving the post holiday lull.  

It's welcome.

Hope yours was a good one.

Checking in.

Hard to know where to start, when I haven't written a post since September.  Wow, I am 

pretty pathetic at this, clearly.

I've been experiencing more intense headaches, the worst in August and September and October, a bit better since then, but still a little nastier than I would like.

As I have often said in the past, I would commit to a #3 on a scale of 1-10, for the rest of my life, gladly.  But I don't have that choice, and sometimes, my headache just takes over.

Period.

I do the best I can.

Just a few photos of what I've been up to.

I used this round stone from an antique grinder, to make my "bird charcuterie board".

Can I just tell you, I load it up with black oil sunflower seed every day, and it is CLEAN by mid afternoon.

Sometimes I look out there and there are a happy group of mourning doves, enjoying

their new dining digs.

I put the rod in the seed cone on top, to keep it in place, but the rod fell right through it onto

the ground, so I fudged up the pots underneath it, to keep the rod where it belongs.

One day I had a huge raven taking over the menu, but he hasn't been back

after that one day.

Since the Megado is gone, I have done some rearranging.  I don't know if it's Feng Shui or not, but I know when it feels good to me.

And this feels good.

I made more room here too, just by moving my ironing board to the inside porch, 

just beyond a door, but not here, where it had become just a "surface" to collect whatever I decided to throw on it.

My next project is giving this triangle loom a go.  I've never used one, and I've 

always kind of wanted to, so when I got a real deal on this one, I grabbed it.

If I don't like it I will pass it on.

This antique quilt, which by the way is in pristine condition, was an 

early gift from my oldest daughter.

We happened apon it one day when we went to a local book/antique shop, and 

I fell in love with it.

Hand quilted, it was someone's treasure, and now it's mne.

The guild show was in November, and I did very well.  No complaints.  I took 114 towels, and came home with only 5.

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and now here it is almost Christmas.

Here's a photo of me, my oldest daughter, and my son in law hamming it up

for a photo.

I am always relieved when Christmas is over, it always seems so stressful working up to it.

But watching the kids with their gifts is usually worth it.

I recently went back through my blog looking for something in particular that one of my daughters asked me about.  While I was doing it, I was reminded of how great a collection of memories my blog is, and I experienced such a wave of gratitude that I started it, and kept up with it for  so long.

It is a treasure of photos and rememberances, of all the things that I love, and mostly, all the people that I have loved.

I came across posts about trekking across the country with my husband to fetch a loom, 

and Lois and I and her sister unloading a tractor trailer of sock waste in my driveway.

Some of it made me laugh, some brought tears, but it's all there.

My daughter asked me, " will your blog always be there?"   

I told her that unless Blogger goes away, I think it will be.

That makes me very happy.

Changes

Years ago I bought this bookcase.  Bill was going to paint it, way back then, and never did.

So it has been in my living room for years, unpainted.   I kind of got used to it.  But suddenly I decided that it was time.   So my handyman took it home with him, sanded it, and stained it with the same green stain that I used on my picket fence in the back yard.   I had a half gallon of it left over, and I wasn't about to buy something else.

I love the way it turned out.

This was the chicken coop.and for a while, after I cleaned it up, it was a play house for

my grands.  But they live a ways away, and don't get up here that much.  So I decided to 

do a little renovation.

The window used to be the cupboard door in my pantry (which is now the downstairs bathroom).

I found the windows on FB marketplace.

New plywood floor.

The wood on the walls came from my neighbor's little sawmill.

Everything else came from my house.

My youngest daughter asked me what it was for.  I said, it's just for me.

It's a place to write, a place to meditate, just a little retreat.

I left the ceiling the way it was.  I love the tin roof, and one day when it rained,

I went out there and sat.  I was so glad that I had not put a wood ceiling up.

The sound of the rain was incredible.

I had to buy latches, but the windows are great, and they open .

There's a great view of my perennial garden.

Through that door, there is another small room, that was my original chicken coop.

It's just another place to retreat to.   The hammock chair was $12.99 at Ollie's.

New floor and woodwalls in here as well.

And sitting in the hammock chair, this is your view.

This project just made me happy. Maybe it doesn't make a lot of sense to

anyone else, but it made total sense to me.  It just felt good.

And after 6 weeks of PT, my shoulder is much improved, and I'm weaving again.

I am SO grateful.   Weaving is what I do.

Classes coming up.  They are always stimulating and fun, and I always 

appreciate the little extra income.

And I get to do it in my beautiful home.  

How blessed am I???

August

I am not a fan of AC,  but I have given in and turned it on this month.  It has been horrific, hot and humid.  So walking has to be done earlier than I would like, and then it's advisable to stay in the cool house all day.

These are the peacock feathers that I was given by the people who fetched the Megado.

They have a flock of them, and apparently they drop their feathers often.

I love them.

Since the Megado has gone, I have been weaving on the 4 harness Baby Wolf, and I've actually been enjoying it.  Simple, uncomplicated, organic.

These are some of the towels I have done.

For over 20 years I have been collecting Handwoven magazine.   I like to look through them  on occasion, and I often see a reference to a draft or a project in a particular issue.  Then I have to go through my stash to find that issue.

I have done it a NUMBER of times over the years, and I finally said ENOUGH.

I had them all laid out on my sewing table, and I organized them into years.  Then I ordered these handy magazine organizers.  They weren't cheap, but they are awesome.

I am quite proud of myself, and looking for an issue will be so easy from now on.

The grands are pretty busy, but now and again, they come to visit. It's always a little hectic, but always a good time.   Here's my youngest, intent on weaving.   He really did well for a 5 year old.

Lots of my perennials are looking kind of dried up and raggedy.  Too much heat, and crazy storms as well.  

But these little morning glories seem to manage it all.

I only planted one color, but sometimes you never know what you're going to get.

I am trying to use my "inside" time well, organizing, downsizing, and generally trying to live a simpler life.

When I do get outside, I immediately have a stalker.

I have been moderate in my weaving, since I am trying to make my shoulder happy.

So I did some playing with  paper.

It's not perfect, but it's a good start.  I want to make a village.

I have a few really good friends, some are weavers, others aren't.

They are all very interesting people, and that's what I love about them.

But this particular oddity really says it all.

Can I just say that  friends who let this cleome have her way, all summer long, while people step around her to get to the house..................well, folks, that's my kind of people.

Change

Every now and again, I am surprised to see how long it's been since I've posted, and then I frequently ask myself if I should let this blog go, or keep on.

I started it in 2007...that's amazing.   Hard to believe I have been blogging for that long.

I have mostly loved every minute of it.  Someone might ask why........it does seem strange, sharing your thoughts and parts of your life with mostly strangers.

But over these many years, many of those strangers have become friends.  I may not have met them all in person, although some I have, but I have had conversations with them outside of my blog, and it feels like I know them.

And often, I read comments from those who say they are happy to see a new post, that they look forward to it, and that never fails to make me smile.

So here I am, again.

My blog has certainly aged, like I have.   I may not be as vibrant, or as busy, or as interesting, as I was years ago.  I honestly have no idea how many people even read it.

Then I ask myself, does it matter?

I remember a professor in college saying that he was often discouraged, looking out at his classroom, at a bunch of bored, totally uninterested, college students.......but then there was that one student in the back of the room, rapt, listening, hanging on his every word, wanting all of what he was saying.  And he said that was enough.  That one person.   That made him keep doing what he did, keep coming back.

So I guess if there is one person that I am writing to, it surely can be enough.

This has been an interesting month.   Struggling through the heat and humidity, and now suddenly the nights are cool and lovely, the AC off at night and the window open.  Sweet reprieve.

The Megado is gone.  After anguishing for the last year about that loom, I finally let it go.

I loved it.  I loved what it could do.   It amazed me at every turn.

But the truth of it was that ergonomically it did not fit my body, and every time I wove on it, my shoulder felt like it was on fire for days, then weeks, after.

I decided to list it, and let the universe decide the outcome.  And the universe did.

A lady called me from York, PA, and wanted the loom.

She and her husband came on Monday, a 6 hour trip, I oriented her that evening, to the loom, they stayed overnight, and Tuesday morning, we disassemble the loom, and it went out the door, and is now in PA.

The relief I feel is quite impressive.  I think I spent way too much time and energy trying to "make it work", because I really wanted to keep the loom.

Then I thought about how many times I have tried to "simplify" my studio, and thus, my life.  I always seem to manage to complicate it again.

So let's try this one more time. Yes?

I keep going back to that adage.......just do the best you can do every day.

I do try.

More and more in this crazy world, I am comforted by my little corner of it.

I love my house, I love my gardens.  I love this little hamlet I live in.

There is satisfaction in knowing every road, shopping 3 miles down the road.  Even though I live in a very rural area, just 3 miles away there is a grocery store, a credit union,  a gas station, a drug store, a liquor store, a dollar store, a hardware store, a Verizon store,  Subway, and the town clerk.  If I don't want to, I don't have to go far at all.

A couple more miles, there's the  library, a used furniture store that I love, my bank, and an outpatient lab.

I ask myself, what more do I need?

I have decided that as long as I am on my feet, and have my wits about me, I am staying right here, exactly where I want to be, and to be honest, where I belong.  Doing what I love, not being a burden to anyone, living my life, and letting others live theirs.  It really is a simple thing.  It's life.   And I am not going to try to manipulate it, to please anyone but myself.

Well, there, that's a morning rant.

Off to PT again today, braving the heat and the nasty air quality from the fires in Canada.

Maybe the smoke they send our way is what we deserve.

You know what they say about karma.

:)

Bye June

It's been a strange month of horrific heat and then rain.

I have been taking a 30 day self inflicted break from weaving, in an effort to let my shoulder

recover from whatever ails it.

It's been interesting finding things to do, when I really just want to weave.

I had a stash of skeins wound, and a couple of warps wound that needed dyeing, so last week, every day, I tackled that.

I got it all done.

I had the idea to make tote bags out of the egg towels,  and my friend "Ellen" was kind enough to whip me up a prototype!!!!

I love it.

She's got me inspired, so I will be making more.

I've been trying to keep up with weeding the perennial garden, and the little garden by 

my back door.  And cleaning, there's always cleaning.

It's perspective, I find.  Once again.

I wonder if you only stop working on your "perspective" when you are dead.

My cilantro is encouraging me to perhaps grow more herbs and veggies next year.

I occasionally take a walk around my little 1.2 acres

Years ago, my mom bought me 4 trees, and this is one of them.

It makes me so happy, just to see it.

I know that my mother would love it.

While I can't weave, because the repetitive motion sets my shoulder on fire, 

I am still able to do a bit of sewing.

Tatiana, my part time apprentice, comes about once a week, and these are 

some of her weaving.

I love putting them together.

The warp is rose milk, and the weft of these first two is banana pearl.  The drape, the softness, the incredible lightness of the fabric is a amazing.

This last one is ALL rose milk, hand dyed, and it is the loveliest of all, and it is already sold.

My toes have finally recovered from the light fixture smashing down on them,

and Willie and I have done some walking.  Naya stays home, because even though she

thinks she wants to go, when we get out there, she can't go far.  Then she can't jump back into the car, because she is tired, and winded.  I usually take her for a stroll around the property, and she is very happy with that.

Willie LOVES his walks.  I have to use my left arm to hold the leash, but it works.

The last several days have been hard.  Bill died on the 25th of June, and his birthday was yesterday.  So the memories hit hard, and the tears came too.   

It's ok.

It's ok to grieve, and to cry, and  to miss someone.

But with that comes a whole lot of remembering, and cherishing all the time we had together.

A reminder maybe, that change is a constant, and the moving on is the only choice.