I can finally show you what I made for Christmas presents…sort of. USPS has lost one of the packages I mailed on December 18, and I am in the process of re-making those gifts, but since that family doesn’t read my blog I’m not worried about revealing what they will get…hopefully in a few weeks. In mid-December I shared my early efforts with weaving rag placemats. After having what I considered to be success, I decided to weave placemats for my sister, my niece, and my nephew. For my sister’s placemats I used some really beautiful fabric that our oldest sister had, which I saved when I cleaned ..read more

I knew what was coming up on my to-do list and knew that I’d better get my bead bags for January cut out and sewn before I started my next project. With more duplicate fabrics than I usually like to use, I got them done. While that was going on I had a professional painter working in my kitchen. My cupboards had been painted many times since the house was built in 1948. They definitely needed a refresh, and this was not a task I wanted to undertake, especially because I wanted to replace all the hardware. I hired a painter I’d used before and was very happy with, and early January was when he ..read more

At the end of every calendar year I have to do a bunch of administrivia for my weaving business. I sort of hate it. I dread it. Until I get started, it’s always a HUGE deal. Once I’m in the process, it’s not so bad. It takes probably a total of about 8 hours, all told. But because it only happens once a year, I don’t seem able to remember that it’s just not all that bad. So I got that done in preparation for my accountant guy. I also like to work a jigsaw puzzle this time of year. It’s an indoor activity that has a high degree of inherent reward and gratification – what more can you ask? I’ve ..read more

If you’ve ever tried to leave a comment on my blog before, you know how easy it was. That was a good thing. And a bad thing. Good for you; bad, in the end, for me. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had ‘moderation’ in effect for my comments. That meant I would get an email telling me someone had left a comment and I’d have to go to a specific place to approve your comment. No big deal. Until. Starting a few weeks ago, spam bots found my blog and started leaving comments. They built up over time, ending up being 5-dozen-plus a day. That meant 60+ emails and 60+ times I had to go somewhere t ..read more

It’s now December 17th and I’m still making Christmas presents. Several left to make, nothing is wrapped, packages have to be mailed out of state. Everything I ordered online has arrived, so there’s that. Of course I can’t show you any of what I’m making because it would ruin the surprises. So instead you’re getting a variety of other things, many Christmas related but not gift- or making-related. There are 3 wonderful teenagers in my neighborhood. We have actual conversations when they’re hanging out in the street after the school bus drops them off; I love it! A few weeks ago one of them ask ..read more

I’ve not often taken a video of myself doing anything…or even many stills, for that matter…and with good reason. It took 25 tries to get this 90-second video. That’s not an exaggeration – I looked at my phone and counted them all. Sigh. This is me weaving two complete circles on a towel warp. The draft is from Susan Poague. She and I became acquainted online several years ago, and I was a *tiny* voice making comments as she developed this draft. I first wove it in 2016, and I’ve used it several times since then. So I have no idea why I was struggling to get the treadling order into my brain ..read more

Life. How did my life get so busy in my retirement? Or perhaps the appropriate question is how did I ever find time to work, especially knowing that I rarely worked *only* 40 hours/week? I don’t have the answer, but I do know that I am indeed busy. For the most part I am busy doing things that I enjoy: gardening, reading, spending time with family (including four-legged), dancing, and weaving. But somehow the days just fly by. This is what Jack looked like on the afternoon of October 30. Poor little guy had dental surgery – 13 teeth had to be removed. This after he had 14 removed a few years ..read more

I have been busy. I have 2 shows coming up and find myself a bit stressed over them, so I’ve been creating. The first show is just one day. I haven’t done it before, but I’m hoping it works for me. I know from the indoor show I did last year that I need to have a few big pieces along with my many smaller pieces. Way back in July I showed you the jacket I made using a nubbly cream cotton and several inclusions of browns and blues. I’ll have that at the show. I am deciding – I may sell the red one I made for myself as well, because the reality is my social life is such that I have occasion to w ..read more

Days and weeks seem to fly by. I know it’s not just me, but I find it troubling nonetheless. And yes, the older I get the quicker the clock and the calendar seem to tick. It takes longer to accomplish things than it used to. I have less patience or motivation for doing things that annoy me, that I simply don’t like to do, or that I find rather useless. I want to spend my time doing things that bring me joy. So I do things like housekeeping even less than before. Don’t like my dust bunnies? Don’t look at them. In keeping with that, I realized that although it’s not a huge time demand, I no long ..read more

I THOUGHT I’d get another post done in August, but I guess not. A day late and a dollar short – could describe much of my life. Anyway, you won’t see any weaving in this post. I’ve done some but don’t have pix yet, and if I waited for that, who knows when I’d get to the laptop to post? So what have I been doing that’s fun? Well, my daughter lost her 13-year old Tibetan Terrier some months ago and was waiting to get another TT. Then suddenly, instead of a 2-month old, she got TWO 5-month old sisters. They had out-of-town overnight plans, so I’m sharing some puppy sitting with my son. I’m here f ..read more