Textile Tuesday, on Wednesday

Yesterday's textile Tuesday featured Deborah Jarchow, whose book 

is a lot of fun for anyone wanting to explore a whole lot of weaving and other textile ideas. It's a great tasting event, and she turns out to be a cheerful weaver in person, too. It's in the collection of our local library, and you might want to see if you can borrow it locally.

She creates large exhibit pieces such as these wrapped tubes

And wearable art like these

Since she's in the middle of building a house which will contain her studio, she hasn't a studio right now, so she used a virtual background which shows a fraction of her yarns and looms. 

She loves the rigid heddle, as well as floor looms, has rhs in all sizes and has a book coming out at the end of the year on approaches to the rigid heddle loom. 

It's a simple device, portable and, she points out, great to try, to see if you like weaving before embarking on a floor loom, if you ever do. I love the rigid heddle concept, even carved myself a small one from plastic, a la Sarah Swett, except she used wood.

I was given my loom by the embroiderers guild, nobody needing to use it. But if ever anyone does, I'll lend it out gladly.

Here's the loom

The slotted part is the rigid heddle. Warp strands are threaded through those slots to maintain even spacing, and the heddle is raised and lowered to change the shed.  The green slip is my notes reminding me how to warp it.

And here's one of the wall hanging experiments I made on it. I tried all kinds of weaving ideas here.

Many of the threads donated, thank you K!

While I was pulling out the rh loom I brought out my handheld signed Hokel and my lovely American made metal potholder loom on which I've made a lot of things that were not potholders. It's versatile.

Anyway watching her definitely revived my interest in weaving again. I notice how often the people on this series are just so happy. They're serious workers, but far from solemn, a great promotion for the pleasure of working in textiles.

 

Today's a new day

The week has reshaped itself suddenly. We are apparently in the path of what's left of Ida, with large amounts of rain tomorrow and Thursday, probably meaning flooding, since the waterways are still at capacity from  Henri. Tomorrow and Thursday are my worrying appointments. 

One called to postpone, the chimney dryer/ vent people. Till next week. The other, the routine doctor visit, I thought I'd better postpone because flooding possible. Next appointment December 21! I took it.

The reason the dryer vent appointment, required by township suddenly, and now by HOA, is a worry, is  that the dryer at the condo, the one that took me 18 months to find and install, is nonvented. 

So there's nothing to check the pressure of as in the vented ones. My fear is of a hassle from the HOA if they don't understand it's perfectly safe. 

I'm trying not to trigger a problem by bringing it up ahead of time. But I know what it's like to be defending against the HOA. On another issue where they sprang an impossible demand on me, I got the township to defend me! Which they gallantly did.

And another good thing: Gary Nextdoor says he will come over with me to help smooth it out if necessary. It's almost always easier when there's a man around at times like this. 

Even if there's no man present but you're known to have one in your life. I'm known to be widowed, and low income, it's open season. Much experience of this. And he offered, so that should help. He's a good peacemaker, too.

So, floods bad, help with dryer vent  folk and postponement good.

He's also going to help me lift and divide the compacted iris soon Another good.

Went to the farm for peaches and tomatoes and ran into a friend I haven't seen for many years, on the same mission. Huge good.

 We used to play music together, and our paths separated when she switched to baroque viola, which is different groups and teachers. So good to see JoLin again. It must be well over fifteen years, my caregiving having stopped my social life pretty much. But we knew each other despite masks.

And her low, measured voice still calms me. Such a brave woman, a refugee from the Red Guard in China, starting over with her father and brother, learning English, completely dignified. And defying her cultural norms, staying single by choice.

So seeing her was a gift.

And I thought this was a day for ice cream which I rarely eat, but you know, peaches.

I made chickpea fritter things, eggs, slightly mashed chickpeas, onions, parsley. Enough for tomorrow, too.

I checked Textiles Tuesday,  and the speaker was Joan Berner, with very little to show, no studio images, just chatting. Nice but not too visual. 

She's a weaver and nuno felter. This is felting by wet rolling silk fabric and roving for ages  to create fabric. You make clothing and wall art from nuno, and it's lovely. I added in here  some images from her website to do her more justice. 

She's a retired engineer, and the other serious nuno felter I know was a physicist before switching. There seem to be a lot of science folks in weaving, too. Must be the math.

So this was a much better day.