Almost.

Finally.   The Reed Ideal  is together, and the warp is on.

Ain't she pretty???

She's almost purring.

No, not you, Miss Puss.

And if Sydney catches you in her box, you're in trouble.

I wanted to weave a couple of rugs on this loom........but that didn't happen today.

Unfortunately, there were issues.  The reed is really rusty, and the one I used to replace it wasn't as wide, affecting the shed.  So I have to clean the old one, or get a new one.
I did manage to weave a little.

 These are going to be thick and thirsty bath mats.
I love them.

We found that the treadles had some problems.......we need to take them off, flip the piece of wood they are attached to, and re-attach them with some new hinges.

So we're almost there.  Total cost $375 with all the improvements.  Not bad, not bad at all.   Especially since this loom will be a workhorse.

Meanwhile, L took these off the loom.

These colors rock.   

Stacks of these are on our list of things to do.

 Oh, just for the record, I don't mind if you comment anonymously, not at all.  It just makes it impossible to answer your questions.

And even though my cats are immune to all the threads that make up their world, we found out from the first Ideal, that the expanse of warp on the back makes a GREAT scratching pad.......so, as a deterrent.......a little blue denim.

Tomorrow.......a day off.
Really.

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in the garden today...

I couldn't help adding some quilts to the beauty today! Have a beautiful weekend! ...Cindy

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All work and no play.

Yup, that's what it was today.  Work.
We had a mission.
The Reed Ideal that I just rescued, was ready for some warp.
250 spools of rug warp, to be exact.

We put 50 brand new spools on for each of the five sections that we wound.  This way we never had knots in the warp.  It also meant that we didn't have to worry about a spool running out.

The tension box had to be jerry rigged, to accommodate  the width of the sections we were winding.

We also had to have something square over the back beam, which is round; someplace to clamp the tension box.
We did 500 turns, the beam is one yard around.  But as it gets bigger and bigger, every turn puts more than a yard around.  The total ends up being about 750 yards.

And now, because seeing is believing........here is a short video.....actually, two of them.







So NOW do you think we're crazy???

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Making a Dresden Fan block

I've had some questions about how I made my Dresden Fan blocks. In fact, some friends are going to make them on retreat this Summer. You'll get to see more!

The fan blades are cut with a 15 degree ruler. My strip set was cut as follows: white 2 1/2", navy 1 1/4", print 3 3/4". This allows you to get enough blades from one strip set and makes a 13" finished block.

After sewing your strips together as pictured, cut the blades with the ruler, flipping it back and forth. This will give you 12 blades for one block and 12 blades for the second one. I was able to get exactly 24 blades from a strip.

Repeat, cutting 24 blades from a 6 1/2" white strip.

Sew the blades together, alternating the pieced blades and the solid blades. Trim them into octagons following these directions and then into squares following these directions.

The 2 white squares are 5" and cut once diagonally. These are for the corners and a bit oversized. You can square them up after sewing them to the block.

You get a small Dresden and a large Dresden from each strip set. My blocks are 13" finished, but you can easily change the size by adjusting the width of your strips. Just remember if you make them larger you will probably need more than one strip set to get 24 blades. 

*Note: If you use Fat Quarters, you'll need at least two 20" strips, but you may not get enough blades because there is more waste. You'll likely need 3 strip sets.

Finally, you'll need an octagon for the center. Heres how to draw one:

Draw a square the size of your finished octagon. I made mine 2 1/2". Draw a line from corner to corner in both directions to find the center.

Use a compass and place the point on one corner and the pencil at the center point.

Turn the compass and make a mark on each adjacent side. Repeat from the other three corners. You'll have 2 marks on each side.

Connect the marks at each corner. Voila!

I then cut my octagon out of a double layer of freezer paper to use as a template. 

Press the template to the fabric, shiny side down. Cut out the octagon leaving 1/4" seam allowance. Use some starch on the seam allowance and turn it under. Press well.

Now it's ready to appliqué to the center!

I just love this block and I want to be clear that it is not my design. Geta from Geta's Quilt Studio created this unique Dresden. Thank you, Geta! 

Let me know if you have any questions. You can email me {cindy@hyacinthquiltdesigns.com} or leave a comment. I try to answer directly, but if you don't have an email address associated with your comment, I'll answer your question under your comment. You'll just have to check back! ...Cindy

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Little of this/that

My morning was busy.  I was the designated shipper.   And business was brisk.

I love the sound of that.

OK, here is my newest brain cramp.

Sock monkeys.  What do you think???  I just need to hire a designated seamstress, to sew them together.

I had a bunch of stuff to get done today, and I felt spread a little thin.

I read recently, that you can choose your age, or your age will choose you.

I'm choosing mine.  How about you ???

I made myself a cuppa tea, and wandered through the studio, and took a couple of pictures.

I stopped occasionally to give love to needy cats.
Oh, Lord, they're all  SO needy.

Then when I went out to the barn, Next glommed onto me as soon as I went out the door.
We need a designated cat petter here.
Apply within.

OK, I found my 8 shaft pattern book, so I retied the treadles the way they are supposed to be tied.  You can see the pattern before the treadle change...it is in front of the black line......
Then you can see the new pattern, above the black line, with the new treadle tie up.
It still looks a little wild.

We're getting the studio in tip top shape, cleaning out and organizing.  And spring cleaning is in order.

I can't wait to get back to the loom.

Weaving makes me happy, cleaning.......not so much.

And by the way, to the person who commented asking me to tell them about the production wheel.......um.....that's really hard to do, when you pop up anonymous.   Gotta sign in as someone, peeps.

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Dancing without music. what?

Today was a long day.  We got so much done.

First off, we did the "looper dance".    Basically the looper dance means that we drag a bunch of empty boxes out of the barn, put them on a white tarp, then bring several full boxes of loopers out, and mix the colors up.   Then we make up 10 lb bags of them.  We were out there all morning.  

It was very warm outside, but we are happy to put it behind us for a while.

SOOOOO, that means a LOOPER SALE.  For all you weavers who want to make some rugs, or if you have a Hip to Be Square looper loom, you can use them for potholders.

First off, the best deal.  We have separated the loopers from the 'kids socks'.  They are half the size, but still make great looper rugs, and on the potholder loom, you just chain two of them together to make one.  The 10 lb bags are $19.95 until they are gone.
I will admit to being too exhausted to put them on my web site tonight.....you can just email me.

Regular loopers are also on sale, reduced from their regular $39.95, to $29.95, through May and June, if you just mention my blog.

OK, enough product promotion.  Shameless, that's what it is.

I want to show you my towels......not so you'll buy them, just because I love them, and want to share them with you.
M's and O's.   They move me.

And turquoise is one of my favorite colors.

We took the old table off the porch, when I bought the patio set.  In fact, we used that table today, to weigh the  bags of loopers.  L was headed to the burn pile with the drawer, when I caught her, and rescued it.
Repurposing.  
I love it.

I have 26 towels in the shop, I am intent on having 100.
I'll do it.
You know I will.

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Blocks...

Due to some crazy May weather (90s in May!), after a Saturday morning outdoor yoga class and getting a few tomato plants in the ground, I retired to my air-conditioned sewing room. Not in the mood for a big project, I decided to tackle a few blocks on my to-do list.

First up was Carolyn's block for our Redbird Quilting Bee. These "Good Fortune" fabrics from Kate Spain are just gorgeous and Carolyn chose a fun and easy block - Ruby, Pearl and Opal free at Moda Bake Shop.

I've had the templates and pattern for the "Retro Flowers" quilt for a couple of weeks. For my first attempt I used Kona aqua for a background and a light print for the flower. Didn't love this one, so I switched to something totally different.

White background with a floral print from "Hello Pilgrim". Better, so...

I pulled some coordinates for 8 more blocks. Just a note on the pattern: The curve was easy to piece and it's trimmed down to size, so you don't have to worry about stretching out of shape. Love that! I also changed up the center strip a bit so that there's less bulky seam in the middle.

And finally, 2 more blocks for the Dresden Fan quilt. I decided to change the white centers to navy - it looks more striking to me.

There have been several requests for more info on this block, so that's coming up later this week! ...Cindy

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