Reunited…

They’re Back!

My daughter has returned from points north, and my husband from points east, or would that be west, depending on which direction you fly?  Half way around the world, that could be either direction…

Anyway, with my family reunited, and the holiday season upon us, it is hard to get any meaningful work  accomplished in the studio, though the to-do list continues to grow with or without me.  And opportunities keep popping up, like, “Can you write an article and have it to us by the first of the year?”  What was I suppose to do, say no?  It was only a teeny short article… (Actually it still is, I haven’t written it yet, course I only found out about it two days ago…)

And this is such a great time of year to visit relatives, and friends, my neighbor/friend’s solstice celebration was last night, and it was the perfect night for a bonfire, no wind, the flickering sparks flew straight up to the heavens.  There were songs and poetry, and readings and burning of stuff that just clogs up the pathways to serenity.  We have theater tickets tonight, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.

So this means that work in my studio comes to a halt, and that life gets in the way, and I don’t ever want to make it sound like I’m complaining. I am thrilled to have a family and friends that I love that get in the way of what I also love.  I worked on a secret project all month, secret because the recipient reads this blog.  And I tried to keep up with cooking and cleaning and laundry which doesn’t seem to care what season it is.  And now that my family is home, it is time to focus on them.

HOWEVER…

My home from college daughter is back and how I’ve missed her and her terrific presence in my studio.  Once she slept for four days straight, she wandered in bored, and I’ve been throwing projects at her as fast as she can knock them off.  First up was the annual Christmas epistle.  Yeah, I know, I write one of them.  I have 147 people on my Christmas/Holiday card list, and honestly, I would so much rather get a newsy letter, all about the family escapades, then a manufactured card with a printed name that tells me that the person or persons are alive and not much else.  So I write my annual look back at the year, and report in to anyone who cares to read it.  With pictures…  And it was a great year…  So Bri and I sat up licking and stuffing and sticking stamps and labels on 147 letters and out they went Thursday morning.  For those of you who aren’t on my actual postal list, you can read the letter here.

Brianna also finished winding all the skeins into balls, and while I started winding the warp bundles for the gradient fabric on the AVL warping wheel, she reworked the new Tools of the Trade 15″ loom I bought on eBay last month, resetting the shaft height, (It was woefully incorrect) and replacing the apron cords.  A good wood oiling and the loom looks and functions like it was brand new…

As I wound warp bundles, Brianna took the thrums and wound them into quills for my color and inspiration classes.

Brianna jumped onto my computer and finished scanning all my dress patterns into Photoshop Bridge to organize them by pattern type, so I could see at a glance all 376 patterns.  Wow.

Meanwhile, I began to sley the bundles for the gradient fabric.  I’m pleased so far, but I won’t really know until I start weaving how successful it will be, I still have to add the supplemental floats, and experiment with wefts. (And finish threading…)  (And finish beaming…)  (And actually finish sleying…)

And of course, in the back of my head I have visions of sugar plums what I want to make for the Convergence Fashion Show entries, and since I have to write this article, I might be able to kill two birds with one stone, (those poor birds…) without breaking the rule that entries cannot have been published.  I have a plan…

Actually, one of the ideas I had was to take some of the scarves I still have from the batch I ran a few months ago.  Other than the fact that they have very long floats, which would have to be tacked down, I think there is enough yardage between the four scarves I have, to create one knock out dress.  I played around with the dress form, and I’m thinking this could look pretty great on a runway.  And I could use another summer weight handwoven dress…

So, I’m off to the theater, with part of my family, and I most likely won’t post before Christmas, so no matter what you celebrate (I just read about a group who celebrates the birth of Sir Issac Newton (Newtonmas) on December 25, with all kinds of science based gifts and food), I hope your days are bright and full of yarn and creativity, and that the new year brings good health and lots and lots of projects!

Happy weaving/sewing/knitting/felting/creating!