My Kind of Therapy

I’m not sure what to name her? She’s lovely isn’t she? She is an 18 inch, 8 shaft table loom from the Mountain Loom Company. They are no longer made. This girl came from a fellow Ravelry member who was generous enough to entrust her to my care.

She also comes with a pique double beam warp frame. You know, in case we want to get all fancy. I doubt we’ll do much of that right away.

She just arrived today. I’m letting her catch her breath, but I already have Cottolin warp measured and ready to make towels.

Has the World Shifted on its Axis?

Something is certainly amiss. Aside from the obvious fact that we’ve had summer before spring, my home and work worlds have also swapped places. You see, I’m busy doing things at home that feel an awful lot like work: taxes, landscaping, cleaning. 

Yet, at work I’m doing fun things like spinning my first yarn on a great wheel, holding newborn lambs in my lap and learning to weave overshot. It’s all so very strange, I’m starting to think maybe I shouldn’t have eaten those mushrooms I found in the backyard.

Or maybe I should go look for more?

This, I like.

At what point does it become an addiction? I feel it coming, and I am perfectly okay with it, I just want to be prepared. Maybe get one of those little dorm refrigerators for the loom room.

The alpaca shawl is off the loom; and fabulous, if I do say so myself. I saw a fellow reenactor with a similar shawl, the collar was tacked down and the ends of the shawl tacked together to make sleeves. It helped the shawl fit perfectly and kept it in place. I think I will try that and possibly shorten the fringe so I don’t set myself ablaze around the campfire.

The Weaver’s Apprentice

I did it! Few things have made me more proud.

Making cloth is a very complicated process. There was a reason it would take an apprentice years to master the craft. They must learn to design a draft, calculate the project, measure the warp, sley the reed, thread the heddles, and tie up the treadles all before they even begin. Then there is the actual act of weaving, and learning to keep even tension and an even beat. I am a long way from becoming a master, but I’m making one of the most beautiful alpaca shawls you have ever seen and I couldn’t be more pleased with myself.

Calling All Weavers

So, last summer, I dragged home a heap of counterbalance loom parts that I found stored inside a shed. I painstakingly reassembled and refurbished it.

It has sat there, unused, ever since. See, I warped it and tied it up the best I could, based on what I could find on the internet, but I still cannot get a shed. I mean, none. Something is seriously askew.

The lamms are only attached on one side, unlike several I’ve seen online. Where on earth do I go to get more information on tying up a counterbalance loom? If I can’t get this figured out, I’m going to have to cut my losses and write up a craigslist ad titled, Counterbalance Loom ISO Smarter Loom Owner.

Time Well Spent

I finished another doll quilt top for the upstairs hallway. I am ahead of schedule on this one, so I hope to get it, and the one for last month, quilted by the end of the month.

I also warped the jack loom and practiced a little twill. I think I’d like to make a twill shawl with the yarn I just received from the mill. In my practice piece I was working with cotton, then switched to the alpaca blend for the last several rows. I cannot wait to wrap myself up in some of this yarn.

I have conceded that, yes, I’m going to sell some of it. I just need to determine how much, and for how much. I think I might try a quick scarf first, you know, just to test it out. In case I change my mind and decide to hoard it all again. 

Hello, My Name is Christine and I am a Fiber Fanatic

Do you hear that dripping sound? It is the block of ice I put around my heart, melting. I mean, how could it not? Look at her.

Even in her rough condition, Aibileen is incredibly cute. She had some health issues that we believe she suffered with for quite some time before being rescued. She’s better now, but the long-term infection left her fiber in a rough state. That stripe on her nose is actually where the hair has worn away from rubbing on a feeder.

You can see that there is really no sheen to her fiber at all and she generally looks like she needs a day or two at the salon for a hot oil treatment. It is particularly noticeable if you compare her to Thelma, who has had about nine months of good health and nutrition.

But, I tell you, nobody does sheen better than Minnie. Her fleece also looks as if it has been frosted, like those 1990s hairstyles we all used to wear. They are all classified as heavy-wooled llamas, but Minnie adds the word extra in front of that. She’ll produce a great deal of fiber every year.

I’m looking forward to shearing. Llama fiber is generally not as fine as alpaca fiber and therefore not quite as soft. They also don’t have as much crimp. Crimp is what makes a yarn stretchy. Luckily, I happen to have some super-crimpy sheep and I can combine the two to make a very nice yarn. In fact, I just received a batch of my mill spun yarn this week from Fluery Sheep and Wool. That is Sophia, the sheep, mixed with Dino and Peter, the alpacas on the left in a 50/50 blend. On the right is Blanche, the sheep, and Sammy, the alpaca, in about a 70/30 blend.

I know that in business you are supposed to sell your products. I mean that is kind of the whole point, but after knitting up some sample swatches, I want to keep every inch of it. It is so incredibly soft. Knitters, if you have ever used Cascade Eco-Duo, this yarn is that soft.

I calculated it, I have enough fingering weight yarn here to make 80 pairs of socks. I need 8o pairs of socks, right? That’s not unreasonable, everyone could use 80 pairs of socks. I mean, it’s not like at my age my feet are suddenly going to grow. I should keep it. Right?

So I Made These Mittens…

These super-bright, colorful mittens to use while I’m out shooting photos. I wanted them colorful to remind me to look for color and not just composition.

I used a pattern that included a small slit in the fabric right where the index finger on my right hand is, to make using the camera easy. I thought I would model if for you and take a picture to show you how it works… anyone noticing a flaw in my thought process? Because I sure as heck didn’t until I actually put the mitten on and grabbed the camera. Yeah. Houston, we have a problem. Uh, I can’t take a picture of the hand that is taking the picture. You’re just going to have to believe me that it is there.

Sometimes I even scare myself.

A Little Quilt

It was all good, I was rolling right along with my progress until the border. Then all Hell broke loose. I don’t even want to discuss how many do-overs were involved, or how I ended up one-inch short on the border fabric. Just know that by the end of the night there was wine involved, and I concluded that Operating While Intoxicated could include my sewing machine, so I went to bed. 

But it’s done. Er, well, the top is done. I’ll quilt it next week.

Keeping the Momentum Going

I’d like to take this time to point out that, not only have I cleaned up and organized my office, I also finished my January knitting project when it is only half-way through the month. I finished the Vancouver Fog mitts two nights ago. I think they coordinate well with the neck warmer I made awhile back. Not an exact match, but only a knitter would notice the difference.



I also started knitting a pair of Norwegian Fisherman mittens. They are HUGE. They will eventually be thrown in the wash and intentionally shrunken to make nice air-tight/water-tight mittens; supposedly Norwegian fisherman wore these mitts on the ships in the 1800s. They’re going to have to shrink bunches or I’ll be donating them to some guy in the NBA.

I also started in on a quilting project late yesterday afternoon. I was fading fast, getting tired, and surfing the web when I noticed Kathleen Tracy’s blog post. She is doing a monthly challenge from her book, Prairie Children and Their Quilts. This month’s quilt is a mourning quilt. It seemed like a sign, right? I’ve decided to play along, and in true pioneering spirit, force myself to only use my scraps and stash; my scraps were the next area of my workspace needing a major cleaning and sorting anyway. I don’t keep large pieces of fabric, so the borders and binding might have to get creative as the year goes on.



I quickly chose fabrics, started cutting, and before the night was over had four blocks assembled. I hope to finish the top this evening. I like small quilts, I plan to cover the walls in the upstairs hall with them. I’m not sure I’ll get each one layered and quilted each month, but I’d be happy to at least get the tops made.

AND… the news you’ve been waiting for….

the mint/teal mohair will be going to live with WhiteStone! Shoot me an e-mail with your snail mail, please. 

And, in case you were curious, the kid STILL has not asked why I’m wanting random numbers. I’d love to know what he’s thinking.

Quilts and Another Giveaway

I received a giant box in the mail. I recently placed an order for some livestock supplies and I thought to myself, “Good grief that’s an awfully big box, how many syringes did I buy?”  But it wasn’t syringes, it was quilts!  The quilts I had sent home with Michelle after quilt retreat. She worked her long-arm magic on them and made them beau-ti-ful. I’d kill for that kind of talent. Okay, not kill, but armwrestle. Okay, with my weenie arms maybe not armwrestle either, but you know what I mean. The girl is crazy talented. Part of me doesn’t want to give you her website address because I want to keep her all to myself, but that’s not very nice so here it is www.michelles-quilts.com.

This is a full-size quilt I made for my guest room and is now my very-most favorite. The quilting she did reminds me of the old-fashioned feather quilting. It is exquisite. I can’t even describe how happy I am with this quilt.



Certain individuals around here like to claim this bed as her own, instead of using the one I provided her with.



So I made another quilt to cover the first, in order to protect it from her fur-flingin’ little body. I told Michelle it was just a quilt for the cat so she could do whatever she wanted for the quilting. It looks like a cat’s tail, don’t you think? I love it!



This next one is a throw-size that I’m afraid to admit how long ago I made. It was never my favorite. The concept was that it would be brick paths through a garden. I’m still not sure that’s what it really looks like, but now that Michelle has worked her magic,  I like it so much better.



Look at this awesome pattern. Cool, eh?



I’m going to be hand-sewing binding on until March.

Today’s giveaway is for the quilters out there. Tell me what your favorite quilt block is and why, I’ll draw a winner 24-hours from now for these two great books, Quick and Easy Projects for the Weekend Quilter and Machine Quilting: The Basics and Beyond.



Yesterday's winning number was 5, csndyrn send me an e-mail with your snail-mail address to frontporchindiana (at) live (dot) com and I’ll whisk your prize off to you.

I’m making headway on getting my office cleaned up and I’m starting to see the surface of my desk in spots. At least one more giveaway coming so stay tuned.

Why, Oh Why Didn’t I Get That Flu Shot?

I’m down with the plague. I’ve had to resort to stuffing tissues up my nose in order to post this without drowning my keyboard. I can barely put two words together, so this is going to be random, I’m sure.

May I present, the quilt I made for my brother for Christmas. I carefully chose each fabric to match the paint colors in his condo. Now he’s moving. It’s a good thing I like that guy or else I’d think he’s been trying to annoy me lately.



Another, smaller quilt I made during that retreat back in November. My friend, Michelle, did a fabulous job quilting it with her new long arm quilting machine. She has talent I’ll never have and I’m okay with that. I’ll just mail all my tops to her from now on.


While I’ve been sick, I’ve been sitting on the couch knitting. I’d have two hats to show you, except I got half-way with two before ripping them out. Together that qualifies as one, and then there is this one, which I made with my very-first homespun yarn.



I’m not even sure I can knit today. We’ll have to wait and see if my head explodes.

But It Looks Better on Me

I knit a cowl/scarf to give as a Christmas gift.



The colors look better on me. I’m keeping it.

Oh, PLEASE! Like you’ve never done that yourself!

Crafting in the Hollow

Deep inside the Enchanted Forest is a very special place. A place where magic happens.

Where the trolls who live under the bridge and other woodland creatures come out to play.

It is a place where a few lucky crafters from across the country meet to make special things. Sometimes, if  not watched closely, the trolls might curl up and take a nap in the quilt blocks.

Or the bunnies might try to run off with a drink.

If you are one of the lucky crafters to meet in the hollow, you really have to keep your eyes peeled. Or else you could run into a cold, hungry monkey from Texas.

Or a reindeer with a nose that lights up from Minnesota.

The food is fabulous. It is never a dull moment. The projects are  incredibly inspiring. My only complaint is that is is always over too soon.  *sigh*

Cleansing of Wool

So I’m reading The Domestic Manufacturer’s Assistant and Family Directory in the Arts of Weaving and Dying. The book was first published in 1817. It is an interesting read for anyone interested in history and or spinning or weaving. It is nice to have this reference for any demonstration I may perform in the future. There was one section though I fear may not be popular with the public. Let me quote…

“In the first place fill the kettle two thirds full of water and one third of urine, that which is old if you can get it.  You will then heat this liquor as warm as you can bear your hand in for one or 2 seconds without scalding. Then put 5 or 6 pounds of wool loosely into it and keep it turning round for 6 or 8 minutes, or perhaps longer. You may ascertain when it has been in long enough by often squeezing it with your hand, if the grease starts,  and the wool appears loose and clear, it has been a sufficient time.”

Yeah, um, I think I’m going to stick with Dawn dish soap.

It even goes further and says…

“never throw away the liquor, in time of cleansing; unless it should stand for two or three months in the summer without being used.”

Oh, Hell no.

Oh for Crying Out Loud!

Q: How many triangle rulers can a quilter buy before she FINALLY gets the right one for her project?

A: More than 7.

Back to the store I go…

Get ‘em While They’re Hot

I’m doing some spring cleaning. Yes, I’m fully aware it’s darn near winter, I’m a tad bit behind.

Anyhoo, In an attempt to further organize myself and make way for this new venture that I’m undertaking I need to clear a few things out. I’m ebaying the remains of my rubber stamping and scrapbooking business. If you are interested you can peruse the goods here.

Some of you already noticed the link to my etsy store over there on the right as well. Yes, I know it’s empty. Geez, ya’ll are brutal today. I’m working on it.

I’m not much of a self-promoter so consider that your official notice.

Hmm, I guess I need to work on that as well if this is going to work. Ugh, the to-do list never gets smaller.

The Loom Room

I have a new friend. I met her on Craigslist. We plan to make beautiful things together.

She is a 45” Loomcraft 4-shaft, 6-treadle jack loom. She came as a package deal with a bench, warping board, 2 extra reeds, 4 sets of lease sticks, a set of warp sticks, 2 boat shuttles, two rug shuttles, two ski shuttles, about 20 bobbins, a bobbin winder, threading hooks, two huge boxes of yarn and a box of weaving books and other miscellaneous things. It was basically everything a beginner would need; a weaving studio in a box.

In anticipation of her arrival I’ve been cleaning out the spare bedroom we’ve been using for storage and pawning all our crap family heirlooms off on my daughter. It is her turn to be the “keeper of the stuff.” I figure it is similar to a right of passage in our family of packrats.

I neatly organized my stash of rug fabric and clean fleeces.

I put my first rug up on the wall for inspiration. I’ll need some sturdier shelves eventually but the plastic ones I already had will work for now.

I saw a great idea to put a chalk board behind the warping board. That will be next on my list of things to do.

The best part is the room is conveniently located across the hall from my sewing room, Sheville. Certain individuals think if I continue to annex any more property I may have to incorporate Sheville as a city. I told him to go back to watching ESPN and not worry about it.

Spinning Yarns

I love volunteering at Billie Creek Village. I only wish I could do it full-time, year-round. The village is currently for sale though and it is anyone’s guess if it will even re-open next year so I’m trying to make the most of the last hurrah the Covered Bridge Festival brings.

I learned quickly last year to sit down as much as possible. There is such a flurry of activity that you don’t realize how exhausted you really are until you drive home. Since Friday I’ve spun six skeins of yarn and have two more bobbins full of singles. I don’t think that’s too bad given all the interruptions.

I love how the spinning wheel has the power to mesmerize people. Most people really are drawn to it like bugs to a zapper. The men tend to look at the wheel and the mechanics of it, the women look at the yarn. Not that I’m being all stereotypical or anything, it just seems that’s how the different brains work. Interesting.

Even the bus loads of school children this year have been engaged. I’ve not wanted to shoot a single child so far.  (Hey, no judging, you have NO idea.)  There are, however, children all across Central Indiana right now with wads of raw wool in their pockets. Their mother’s will be thrilled when they find that in the wash, tee hee!  Some of them have actually shown some serious interest in learning the craft. I feel like a spider spinning a web to catch unsuspecting victims. Mwah, ha, ha…

I also managed to fix up the old Kromski Symphony wheel that belongs to the village and start using it. It had seen better days, as in it was rusted so much it wouldn’t spin. (Now I can bring my cherry Matchless home and e-mail Schacht and prove to them the whirl they sent me is absolutely NOT cherry.)

It has been a great, productive festival so far. Today it is freezing cold and poring down rain though. I’ll be staying home since the wagon rides that bring the visitors to me at the farmhouse won’t be running. As much as I’d like the day off to rest, believe it or not I’d rather be there in front of the fire in my costume spinning yarn and sipping cider. Even if nobody else ever showed up.

The Covered Wagons are Loaded

The kid and I are bugging out to Old Settlers Days in Salem, Indiana for the weekend. Other than the food and clothing, we’re packed and ready to go. There’s barely enough room left for us. I think I might need a bigger covered wagon.

(Yes, that is a vintage army cot and modern sleeping bags. It’s going to be in the 40’s at night. I draw the line in authenticity at freezing to death. We’ll just cover them with civil war era quilts so no one can see them.)

Which reminds me that I forgot to show you my finished quilt. Uh, it is crammed in there somewhere. I’ll have to wait to get a shot of it once we get our camp set up.

I’ll be working on hand piecing another quilt while I’m there.

One of the gals in my quilt guild started working on the Civil War Tribute block of the month pattern. She finished six months worth of blocks, by hand even, then threw in the towel and donated the kit to our annual auction.

I nearly had to break a woman’s arm to get her to stop bidding against me.

Hey, no judging. It belonged to ME. When the flag barer goes down in the battlefield, men fight for the honor of carrying it on. I saw a quilter going down. I had to do something.

I totally get why she chose to pass the torch, though. Month seven is a humdinger of a block set. It was time to bring in the reinforcements. It will take me a while to finish this one (it’s humungous). I figured the Civil War spanned four years and my progress on this quilt will do the same.