Molas

I spent some time this weekend and made three pillows from molas that I found at the Goodwill store. I think they came out looking very nice. Molas come from the kuna people of South America. I have seen some before at the Goodwill but this is the first time I bought and made something from them. I have also worked on the rugs that my husband made. He just finished two more and we will now tie on with rug warp to do some jean rugs. This will be the first time we have done any jean rugs but with 10 boxes of jeans in my basement, we need to get with it.

These are two of the three that I made, I just added black fabric on the back. I did have to make my own
pillow forms because these were not standard size. I looked them up on etsy and one person called
them, "soft art." I like that.

Amy

Remembering our Mom

One of these photos shows a very large comfrey plant..more than 4 feet tall....almost in bloom.   Our Mom grew this stuff and swore by it as a fix for what ails you.  She originally ordered it thru the mail when she read that it was grown, dried and used for animal feed...it does grow fast and indeed can be cut down about 3 times during the growing season....but after she got it growing she read the description again and didn't know what one word meant....looked it up and it meant 'hairy' and the cows didn't like hairy food......but we grow it to honor our Mom...think Gail for sure and maybe Amy.....I can remember going to her house once and when I walked in there was a big green blob of something on her elbow....she had made a poulice of comfrey for an elbow that hurt.......I am not sure she ever ate it but I have read in the last few years that is is now considered a carcinegene.....yikes.........................other photo show my multiplying onion and indeed it is multiplying.

I tried to capture the color of this new iris and this photo does not do it justice....It is blooming for the first time and I hope it multiplies because it really is pretty...heard one person call it 'root beer'.

 I am rich in radishes...I planted so many and took this basket to the food bank yesterday...and have shared them with many...and there are more to come...but when they are out something else will go in...this is called succession planting and takes good advantage of your soil to produce good food for you.

Rugs and a View

My husband finished two more rugs, these are made of wool. The first one he calls, "Snakes on the Plains" but he hasn't named his pink and black one. The warp is made of linen, he had some tension issues and by the time he had finished the second one, he had a lot of things hanging off the back of the loom. He cut these two off the warp and is going to try to adjust the tension. I think since these are thin rugs that I need to use some steam and an iron to see if I can "full" the wool. I have been reading about shaft shifting in an old, "Weaver's Journal" from 1984. Why can't I use a simple shaft shifter on my little counterbalanced loom? Just something to think about. I am also including a shot of an area in our back yard. It is the only area that makes me forget that I live in a "desert" area.

Amy

Towels
I have started a new warp of towels, however I had some problems. Do you think I will ever be able to warp without saying I had a little problem? The good news is that I was using some yarn that I had and got from somewhere where I didn't pay much for it, because I whacked it off and probably will only get about 2 towels out of this warp. But I like the pattern so I got some more yarn and will just tie on to this warp. I bought the yarn from www.paradisefibers.com I like their service and they are very fast since they are close. The pattern of the towels is just like the old ticking. The new color will be a white and peacock blue. I think that my sett is too loose on the loom now so I bought some yarn that will be okay for a twill at the sett of 18. Since I have now spent some money on this yarn I will have to be more successful in my warping. Stress!

Yes that is a stick shuttle-I had trouble with my shed, but
I think I have that taken care of and I am going to use
a boat shuttle for the rest

This is a mistake that I am going to fix after I finish these
towels. These will be for me because the sett is wrong and
of course there is that mistake!

Amy

With everything there is a season and indeed it is the growing one now.....Our lilacs are so beautiful this year and so fragrant...notice others are the same..and thinking the weather has been just right for them.   I have quite a few iris that my friend Lavonne gave and they are beginning to bloom...I think we all had those old purple ones but these are so special...ruffled and varigated....lovely....and if I am successful posting here I will put one of a honeysuckle bush...not vine..but bush...the birds planted it for me...

Happy Mother's Day

Flowers from my son

My new book

Linen thread for warp-making some wool rugs next

I hope everyone had a happy one. Mine started out with my husband and I going out for breakfast. We rarely go out for breakfast, it is a little heavy. At the restaurant they were giving out roses to mothers, so I got a rose to add to the vase that my son had sent me. I received a hanging plant from my other son. My daughter is just recovering from a nasty viral thing, she thought that she might have had whooping cough since she was exposed to it in her job. But tests showed that she didn't have it, but was still sick anyway. She has been released by her doctor and will be going back to work tomorrow,  but she did miss a week's work. So I got a nice call from her. I prefer that she keep any of her germs to herself, thank you. On my weaving front my husband has finished 3 rag rugs. While he is weaving I am kept busy sewing fabric together. A lot of sewing, trimming and rolling for a rug. So I am a little behind on my weaving, but I am ready to beam it on the loom and start. I ordered 4 rolls of linen warp and a new book. I was showing my grandson the new book and showed him that the scarves were made of tencel, which comes from wood, chitin which comes from shrimp and crabs shells and that one of the scarves was made of dog hair. He than asked about his shirt and I said it was cotton. I then asked him where cotton came from, I expected him to not know or say it was from a plant, instead he said, "Mississippi." I love second graders, he is now at the age that I taught for years. 

Spring....I love it....but it does involve work.....I have been outside this morning chopping out raspberries...hated to do it, but it is becoming a jungle and I can't find homes for the little guys....Took some photos this morning and love seeing my peony in bloom...this is a 'different' kind of peony and of course I cannot remember the name...but leaves are fern-like....and blooms are beautiful right now...backdrop is traveling onions....they have a small bulb, green stems and tiny onions on the top of the stems...all parts are edible..and indeed they are traveling if you don't watch out for them...they will take over the garden....yikes!

Did you plant your radishes too close?...take a cue from author Willi Galloway who was one of our speakers at our March Workshops.   Take a pair of scissors and snip off the tops to thin...do not try to pull as it will disturb the roots of the ones you want to keep.  Wash them and store them in a plastic bag and when you make your next grilled cheese sandwich, pile some on for a great crunch and a bit of a spicy bite.

I have been outside this morning and it is lovely and I am way behind in planting.   I bought a package of burpless cucumbers for $1.89 and when I opened it I had to look carefully to find them, so I counted....9 seeds!...Wow!   I am keeping track of how many they produce.

This is a very ugly piece of border fabric that I am cutting
for a rug. I think I will have to add some black to make it big enough.

For the green thumb people, this is an orchid that my husband has growing
right now. Our neighbor gave it to us because she could not
get it to bloom. It has bloomed several times for us.

My husband warped the Hammett rug loom and put
another ugly piece of fabric on it. This was
a tie-dyed sheet that my daughter left here
when she moved. That is what happens to things
left here.

This is what I am starting now. These will just be some
simple dish towels.