Yesterday a parcel arrived in the mail.  When I got home from the dentist, it was waiting in the mailbox and I sat down to open it and discovered this lovely bit of sunshine in the form of two tatted doilies. Now, I never did grasp the 'secret' of tatting - I could never get the knots to set properly - but I am familiar enough with the technique to appreciate the delicacy and consistency of these lovely textiles. There was also a note with them.  A note that definitely warmed the cockles of my heart. In many ways, sitting down here at the desktop letting my thoughts ramble a ..read more

  The Larsen books. These are the five books by Jack Lenor Larsen (with others) that Allison had in her collection.  I feel sad that so few 'new' weavers are aware of his contribution to the textile world and community.  What can I say?  The books are gorgeous and if someone is looking for inspiration, they would not go amiss in having these books. The two with Mildred Constantine are truly 'coffee table' books.  Large format, wonderful photographs.  Material Wealth is fabulous.  For all those people who say 'commercially' produced fabrics are poor ..read more

  This was not the book I was going to write about here, today.  I was, in fact, going to talk about Jack Lenor Larsen - a contemporary of Mariette Rouseau-Vermette. I've told stories about my (brief) encounters with both, I think in my memoir A Thread Runs Through It.  I've certainly talked about each at one time or another, possibly even here. But neither were particularly on my mind when I logged into my public library website looking for a new book by Kate Heartfield, due out in September, according to the announcement I saw on Facebook a few minutes ago.  (If you lik ..read more

  I'm over the halfway mark on the current warp so it is time to get the next warp designed.  This warp will be two shades of beige and the fine linen from Lithuania will be woven on it.  I think the two cones of linen will finish off one warp, although I may run out.  In that case I have some other fairly fine linen I can switch to using, or I could complete the rest of the warp with one of the 2/16 cotton yarns I'm trying to use up.  If that is the case, I will adjust the tie up so that there are fewer interlacements.   The linen is finer than the 2 ..read more

  Yesterday the auction for the copy of Handloom Weaving Technology closed so last night I listed another copy.  (Allison had 3 copies in her collection.) Not all of the books are getting bids, and eBay automatically re-lists them.  Right now I'm letting the listings stand without change in hopes that word will reach that one person who wants that book. The challenge these days is that the cost of shipping has increased exponentially, especially to the US (given Mr. Trump pulled the US out of the postal agreement - just in case you want to know who to blame for that huge incre ..read more

  The guild auction begins to 'end' today as the first lot of books I listed reach the time to count up and see what has sold and what is left.  I think I took 5 days to list all the books so each day will see the final count for that day's listings.  eBay says they will automatically re-list anything that doesn't sell, so the auction will continue for at least another 7 days beyond this current offering. I'm really hoping the above two books find good homes.  And I'd like to remind US bidders that the prices you see for the upset price is *Canadian* dollars and therefo ..read more

  Blurb is offering 20% off of books on April 21 and 22, 2024 if you use the coupon code "FLASHAPRIL" Books have been on my mind more than usual the past few weeks as I sorted, inventoried, put values on, then listed the guild books for auction on eBay. As I looked at Allison's carefully collected library, I thought about why she would choose the books she did.  Some of the books are 'old', some I remember when they were first published.  Some I own - or used to.  Over the years I've culled my library on several occasions as I ran out of space to keep them.  ..read more

  Selling sets, only, of these two titles There are two more copies of Allen Fannin's book Handloom Weaving Technology.  I'm just waiting for a few days to see if the one copy sells or if I look elsewhere to sell those. There are a few more gems in the last batch of books I've just uploaded, so I hope they can find new homes. eBay automatically re-lists any titles that do not sell, so I will likely leave those up for one more round.  Whatever doesn't sell, I'll have to try somewhere else.   I either have most of the books Allison had, or already sold mine as bo ..read more

  There are some 'treasures' in amongst Allison's books.  Like this little handbook.  While I am not really a spinner, even *I* know about Mabel Ross and the contributions she made to the world of hand spinning.  This little coil back book is in good condition and if I were so inclined to take spinning seriously, I'd likely buy this one for myself. Likewise, if I were still dyeing, I'd probably buy this one for myself, as well.  I seem to recall that dyers consider this book very useful.  This copy is really in 'like new' condition, although I've been 'conserv ..read more

  If you love books and you love fine textiles, you will absolutely *love* this book.  Plus it was signed by Mr. Larsen to Allison when he was in town for the ANWG conference in 1997. I was given a copy in celebration of achieving the master certificate from the Guild of Canadian Weavers by my mentors.  I confess I have never actually read it - yet.  Every time I open it, I become entranced by the astounding textiles that Jack Lenor Larsen chose to profile for this delicious publication. There is one copy listed in the guild eBay auction.  But, there are other books ..read more