Spring definitely here, in time for summer!

 Yesterday brought the first violets

And neighbor's flowering almond

And squirrels busily eating my Japanese maple leaf buds

Today temps in the 80sf.

And a complete Sock One of Pair Nine of the Sock Ministry. Socks 5-8 have been well received.

Leaving me in need of a different form to work on while I get my second sock wind.

Anyone who was around here during the Great Paper Bead Caper will recognize that rolling up paper has got me again. 

This time it's tubes for weaving into a couple of things I need, including a bathroom basket for bottles and a bedroom wpb. That sentence has some weird rhythm going.

Here's some great YouTube enabling ideas

These are based on using newspaper which I don't have. But I do have a few old magazines and a catalog or two. I might use paper bills rather than recycle,. We'll see.

Anyway here's the action

Materials all set up

First tube rolled on the stick thing. Then, a cup of tea later

Caution: one tube is a gateway to frenzy. Like paper beads, which I made by the hundred, there's no stopping place until your fingers refuse to go on. 

This is a cool idea for working with kids. I've taught beadmaking to all ages. Kids tend to be more adept, nimble fingers, but adults, with constant encouragement and supervision and patient demonstration, can do it, too.

Then I rested my hands and watched an excellent Textiles and Tea, with Tommye Scanlin, tapestry weaver, my wheelhouse.

She was an art teacher who came to weaving by making frame looms with her students, later moving to the rigid heddle and always teaching while creating wonderful tapestry art.

Here are paintings, which nowadays she creates as part of her tapestry design process

And she weaves tapestry journals, daily weaving about her day. Each year she adds a new warp to the previous year's output and continues

She's a wonderful artist, and generous in her acknowledgement of her influences, including Archie  Brennan and Susan Martin Maffei, longtime partners in life and art.

Here's her new book, intro written by Rebecca Mezoff, herself a brilliant tapestry artist.

And she publishes daily observations on social media.  She's also a lot of fun.  And now I'm feeling like doing a bit of weaving. Good thing I started the paper tube prep.

Let's not get used to the tragedy of Ukraine but continue to help resist.