Roy and a giveaway......no, NOT Roy.

Not getting a whole lot done, flitting around like a bird on the wing.

These are more towels, off my  mistake crazy warp.    I am liking the white ones the best.  From my notes (yes, I really took notes) I discovered that I put FOURTEEN yards on the Baby Wolf, so it looks like I will be weaving just a few more of these.  Like TEN more.

Roy is  presently sacked out on the couch next to me.
We took an 8 a.m. walk this morning, and it was a good, long one.  His fave.

We call him the 'schmoozer', cause he loves everyone.  He is happy to see anybody, and he always gets a positive  response.

He doesn't have a mean bone in his body.
But at my daughter's the other day, her cat, Wully, was not impressed.

So, I have an idea, that there could be some great text under these two pictures.
But what???

#1

#2

Play along, and tell me what captions you would put under the two previous photos.......#1, and # 2.

On Sunday, I will decide which one I like the best, and that lucky reader will get one of my crazy blue OR white dish towels.  Your choice.
C'mon, play along.
Take a chance.
Like Roy.
He likes to lie live on the edge.
Right, Roy??

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New Bags!

I'm pretty challenged when it comes to 3D projects. But today I whipped up these super easy bags! Jeni's Lined Drawstring Bag ~ already loaded with my knitting project.

And Monica's Pick-A-Pocket Purse ~ just an adorable little bag! You should hop over to her blog - she was totally my inspiration today!

. . .Cindy

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A little rant and some color.

Reading a few of my favorite blogs, I see I am not the only one who had a less than stellar day.
I know.
They happen.
I didn't want to whine, but truth is, I have a head cold superimposed over my constant, daily headache.
I couldn't do acupuncture, because I can't stop coughing and sneezing and blowing my nose.  Tough to do with needles in your hands.

Thanks to my mother.  Who, while on one of her Sunday trips to the Salvation Army, decided that she did not need the hand sanitizer offered by my daughter AFTER standing in a circle praying and holding hands.  Gasp.
No, said she.  That boy that was holding my hand is a NICE LITTLE BOY.
Translated:  dirty little boy who wipes his nose with the back of his hand.
Ah, well.   Why gripe about it???   Really.  She got it.  I got it.
Thanks you sweet young preacher wannabe.

So to celebrate the actual DAY of Mother's Day, DH said, "I'm cooking dinner".
Oh, I LOVE when he cooks, especially when I am sick.
  I am so over cooking, I can hardly stand it.  Most of the time.  Unless I get some fever to make some vegetarian dish, or some scrumptious dessert.

So, what do you think he made for dinner????  
Are you ready??????
HAM.  
HAM?????
Really?????

So Mother's Day found me stir frying some tofu and other stuff.  That is not a blurry picture.
That is steam.

 Why am I telling you all this?
Because I am squinting with this miserable head pain, and because I can.

And because I feel like bashing said mother for this cold, and said DH for his HAM. ( which did smell good, though I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole)

We're having tofu for Father's DAY, and to be honest, I can HARDLY wait.  He's gonna love it.


I have met so many wonderful people through my love of weaving.  One of them is an amazing weaver, Cait Throop, who lives even more north in New York that I do.

She makes some awesome scarves, which she sells on Etsy.  I was inspired to try out her warp dominant scarves in novelty yarns.  So I went through my stash, and had some fun.

You can see Cait's lovely things on Etsy, you can find a link on her blog http://barefootweavercait.blogspot.com/

I didn't get to the studio until 10am, when  my head finally let up a little bit.  I wasn't very motivated to
'produce', so this is what I did.

I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I was wondering if I made up warps like this, if they would sell as kits??

When Consuela cleans, she tosses scatter rugs out on the porch for ME to take home and throw in the wash.
But our little guy, Next, claimed this one for his very own.
He looks so sweet and comfortable, I couldn't take it away from him.
And you can't either, L, so forget it.

I think he likes it here..........ya think?

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Let it rain.

Rainy Monday, Rainy Tuesday, but that's OK, cause we got lots to do at the studio.

These are the new sock rugs/bath mats.  They are bright and colorful, and no two are just alike.
Washable.  Thick.

L is working on a BIG STACK of these.

We had a little issue with the lady that does the 'looping'.........you know this is a cottage industry of sorts, right?
I figured out some time ago, that I could not do it ALL.  Nope, not even me.

Anyhow, the looper lady decided to make some creative decisions, i.e, she separated the colors into different colorways, and looped them together in combinations that SHE liked.
And I didn't.
Ouch.
But now she knows what I want, which is all the colors mixed up.
Crazy mixed up.
No pattern, totally random.  I think she's got it.

L also fixed the treadles on the new loom, attaching them with hinges, and now the loom works like a charm.
(Origin: Probably related to the fact that one of the meanings of the word "charm" is "magic spell", so if something "works like a charm" it works as well as magic. Whether magic actually works or not appears to have no bearing on the meaning of the idiom, with the assumption being that charms do, in fact, work very well.    from theenglishclub.com)

Does it appear that L is working hard, and I am just jaunting around taking pictures.
That is totally not true. (she says, all indignant)

And while we are hard at work, the 'ladies' are kicking back.
I am convinced that they are way smarter than we are.

Except for when Sydney sprawls on the rug, while I am trying to tie fringe.
I have warned her about the risk she takes, of having her tail tied into the rug, but she doesn't care.
So maybe she's not that smart, after all.

And here are some of the looper rugs/bath mats, in black and white.  They remind me of birch bark.

All in all, it has been a very productive week so far......with Consuela cleaning in the background......that story is coming up.

And just in case you think I've been resting on my laurels, here is the order I've been working on.
Finished, and shipped today.  A 12' runner.
I liked it, but by the time it was done, I was ready for something different.
So before I left for the day, I started this.
A study in beige/whites.

 But honestly, it can wait until tomorrow.

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Retro Flowers

I kind of got obsessed with making these Retro Flowers. So every 45 minutes I could grab the past few days, resulted in a new flower!

They're together and I'm thinking about how to quilt. Hmmm...

Do you do this? As you're sewing the last block, you're thinking about your next project...

Off to Kansas City this week for Quilt Market. If you're there - I'm the starry-eyed one with the big smile on my face!  . . . Cindy

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Getting together.

On Saturday, after kayaking, we had a little family get together........kind of an early Mother's Day.  I am accused of being 'unsentimental', since I think we can celebrate LIFE in general, and there is no particular need to do it on a particular date or day, just because everyone else is doing it.

You know what I mean, right?

Mother's day on Wednesday, Christmas on the 19th,  it just doesn't matter all that much to me.

I just love being with my daughters and their families.  It doesn't get any better.

Roy likes it, too.

It means MORE people loving him up.
He's shameless.

I love watching the girls play, in their little dresses, with their hair flying.

They can make a forest out of a grove of trees.
We should all have that talent, yes?

Roy is the perfect guest.
He doesn't bark.
He loves everybody.

A sunny afternoon, lying in the grass.    Wahoo.

I can see taking a snooze here, but not with this group.

The following clip is self explanatory.  I have no idea who the screamer is.

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Beavers and Birds

I told you that I was taking the day off yesterday, and that is exactly what I did.

L and I went kayaking on a lovely little pond in the Adirondacks.

My commentary will likely have nothing to do with the pictures, but then again, they may.

The weather was outstanding......just about perfect.

I have made a promise to myself, that I will kayak or hike at least once a week.   All work and no play is making me feel DULL.

My knee makes it a challenge to get in and out of the kayak, but once I'm in, I love it.  All that weaving makes for lots of upper body strength.

I was hoping to see loons, but this is the time of year they are nesting, and hatching eggs, so we were very quiet, so as not to disturb them.

But I do love herons.

There was evidence of a lively bunch of beavers in residence.

Anybody home???

Seriously, I wouldn't bother them.  They have very sharp teeth.  And they are also having babies right about now.

So paddle along with me, and check it out.
I am loving the quiet.

I know I need to do this more often.  It is incredibly inspiring.

There are plenty of ponds in the Adirondacks.
It's just important that there is access, without carrying your kayak too far.

I appreciate creature comforts, as well as the next person.  But sometimes I wonder if we aren't just a little TOO connected.

What would be wrong with a week or two without all of it.
No cell, no TV, no internet, no NOISE, no problems.

Sounds good to me.

Whenever I am out here, I feel myself reconnecting to some place deep inside me.

A place that centers me, calms me, so that when the wind comes up, and the waters get rough, I am still ok.

If there is one thing I have learned in my life, it's that I have to take care of my own serenity.

OTHERWISE, stuff gets all dammed up.
Not good.

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