Letter to a rooster.

Dear Bart,

I worry about you and your girls in this bitter cold.

But what you don't know, is that someone ELSE worries about you, too.
Even though that someone professes to NOT LIKE YOU.

Imagine that, Bart?  Not liking you, with your silky, shiny black plumage, your antics, your incredible, repetitive CROWING?
I know, I know, hard to believe.
But you have to admit, Bart, that you do kind of appear suddenly, and scare the living crap out of whoever might be gathering the eggs in YOUR coop.
And you are a tad formidable, with your "death stare", when someone looks like they might get too close to your HENS.

But yes, someone else does worry about you in this cold.

 
Worries about your flashy, red comb getting frost bite.


So while you are spreading the straw in the hen house...........

and in the chicken run....

and while you are doing your JOB, being a bit of a PAIN..........supervising all goings on around you......
causing certain people DISTRESS..............

Just remember, Black Bart, that a certain someone whose name I will not mention, who does not like you, has nagged and nagged me until TODAY, I went and bought you a RED LIGHT BULB, to keep the frost off your little head.
I'm sure the girls will like it, too.
So Bart,  when you see that certain someone, please  crow really LOUD for her, so she'll know you're not an ungrateful rooster.

Heaven forbid.

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Sunshine

I got to the studio this morning, and it was cold, and gray.    Kind of depressing.

But then the sun came out.

Not for just a minute, but for the WHOLE DAY.

It lights up the floors, and there is a golden glow everywhere.

I don't think you can ever have too many windows.
Cause when the sun shines, you want to let it in.
As much as possible.

 This front room used to be my retail shop, and then I realized that it had so much more to offer.  Retail got moved.
New windows, new glass door, and some rearranging, and now it is my favorite place to weave.
Wow, never thought I would say that.

I got a lot done today, when I wasn't looking out at the sun.

I could take winter a lot better, if only the sun would shine like this.

Per several email requests,  thhe egg muffin recipe is HERE 
I get creative with mine.....and you can, too.  They are delish.

 I guess my girls don't know that chickens SLOW DOWN production in the winter.
I am loving the eggs, but collection is ongoing all day, so the eggs don't freeze.

SUNDAY is February 1st, that means in FOUR weeks, the worst of winter is over.
Pretty much.
I hope.

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Cracker

A friend invited me over for a sewing day on Monday. I didn't have a project ready to piece {well, I actually did, but I wasn't in the mood for it}. So I went to my 2015 project list and decided to start on a traditional block called Cracker.

It was block I had pinned on Pinterest and there's a great tutorial at Simple Girl, Simple Life.

I used my typical method of choosing fabrics for a quilt - so I thought I'd walk you through it today.

I started with a line called Wildwood by Elizabeth Olwen. I love her art and had purchased her earlier line Grey Abbey. So I added some of those. I also found that she is designing some fabric for JoAnn's, so off I went and found a couple of additional prints. Also scored a backing with a coupon!

Then I pulled some fabrics from my stash to add to the mix. I was looking for similar colors and a similar feel. I didn't want the pieces that I was adding to dilute the look of the original designs. So my additions tend to be very basic and geometric. Dots, stripes, tone-on-tones.

And here is how they all looked together...

I made a few blocks to be sure my measurements were correct and that I liked the size and scale...

And it turned into a productive day! Fun too!!

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A cold wintry day.

AVL warped, Happy Light turned on.

 Snow storm apparently decided to avoid the northeast.

Someone said these are too pretty to be dish towels.
But I say, why shouldn't we have beautiful textiles in our daily lives?  Makes me feel good to make them, and makes me feel good to use them.

 It was very cold out today, but no snow to speak of.  Everyone got ready for the big blizzard, but not this time.  It's really ok with me.

I proved something to myself today, something that I knew perfectly well, but kind of wanted to ignore.
Yup, the old carrying eggs in your jacket pocket trick........not wise.
Do I need to say more???

 Lois is on vacay.  
Sydney wants to know what the hell is going on.
I told her, "I got this."
I am currently flitting from loom to loom......fiesta rugs, mobius shawls, mohair throws, and cotton dishtowels.
These two are sold already.

 

 Since the girls are laying their little selves silly, despite the cold, I made some more egg muffins.

 
These have zucchini, red pepper, onions and cheese.  They make a great breakfast.

I'm just amusing myself, counting the days until spring.  Staying warm.

How about you?

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Looms.

"Keep the looms you love, and get rid of the rest."  
That was the advice of a weaver friend who died before she could do all the weaving she wanted to do.
That will be me, I fear.
I will never get all the weaving done that is in my head.

Today though, I realized that I DO have the looms I love.   On occasion, I am guilty of lusting after a computerized AVL.
But somehow, I always resist.
I think that I resist because deep down, I am happy with what I have, and I know it.


 For throws and baby blankets, I love my 4 harness, 46" wide, Schacht.

Outfitted with  Leclerc sectional rakes, because I like theirs BETTER.

My favorite rug loom of all, the Union Custom, made in Boonville, NY, the "cadillac" of the Union loom line.
The tray on top has been repaired, but otherwise, this loom is the bomb.

When the Union Custom is 'BUSY', there is always the Union 36, to pick up the slack.  Usually, we use it for placemats, sweet bottom chair pads, table runners.

My older, maple Schacht, also 4 harness, but only 36".   This is a sweet loom.
I use it for mobius shawls mostly.

And my very own AVL, a mechanical dobby, 40" wide, 16 harness.

I use it mostly for towels, this is a new warp, ready to go.

 I have more looms.

An 8 harness Ashford table loom
A band loom.
A 7 ft wide Toika, 8 harness.
A Leclerc compact loom, 4 harness, 24" wide
A Schacht baby wolf.
A Reed Ideal, 2 harness, 36" wide.

Isn't that enough, you ask???

Well, yes, actually, I think it is.  Just perfect.

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Fiesta Rugs

Hey, it's January in New York.  It's cold, icy, did I say COLD?
Frigid.

So I decided to take some of the fabric I bought while I was in Georgia, and make some bright, sunshine-y, happy rugs.

 Here's the warp.

 Bright and colorful, that's what I'm talking about.

What do you think???
I am loving it.
It makes me want to make some guacamole.
Drink some Corona.

I want them to be JOYFUL.  

 I am trying to decide on regular size rugs........29"x45"  OR porch rugs........8' of 9' long.

Or maybe both.

Let's make some quesadillas!!!

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Flowering Snowball Quilt finish!

I finished my Flowering Snowball quilt this week! You may remember that I started hand quilting it and then changed my mind. I'm so glad I did. I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

You may also remember that I was struggling with the thread basting stitches getting caught up in the foot. Well, one of you geniuses suggested I remove the basting stitches as I prepared to quilt each section. That helped tremendously! Such a simple solution. Why didn't I think of it?

I really loved the straight lines in the background that I was hand quilting and was able to do it by machine with no problem. I did these straight lines with my free-motion foot (drew them with a disappearing marker first), sneaking along the seam between the lines. They turned out really well. I was worried about how straight they would be - but not too bad. And, really, I don't think my hand quilted lines would have been perfectly straight either.

Here's a full shot in the soft afternoon light. Such a great pattern!

You can learn more about the pattern, the templates and making the quilt in my earlier post!

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I'm back.

OK, my mini trip south is over.
Back to the frozen north, and my regular routine.

I will miss my friend, Linda, and our daily walks, even in the rain.

When we left the hotel this morning, at 6:40am, in Allentown, PA, I was sideswiped by a tractor trailer.  We were both stopped at the traffic light, and unlike most trucks that make huge and wide turns, he just cranked left, and practically ripped the back of my car off.
It was scary, and noisy, but didn't do as much damage as I thought.
I tried to catch him, honking my horn, but he stepped on the gas.  He had no intention of stopping.
I had to stop, to investigate the noise coming from the back of my car.  The metal that he ripped off, was bent into the tire, so we had to bend it back before we could proceed.
While it is upsetting, we weren't hurt.  It's just a car, after all.

First order of business, when we got home, was to get Bart from the vet's.  He was apparently not very cooperative while he was there, and crowed so much they were happy to see him go.

He was very quiet in the car on the way back to the studio.  When he got there though, he was a happy boy.
It must have been a nightmare, no wonder he wasn't cooperative.
Home with his girls now, back to normal.

I have a huge list of things to do.

But first, I need to do some weaving.

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