Sewing Machine

These are the selvedges from Pendleton Mill
I am going to use that sewing machine to zig zag
down the middle of them.

I bought a sewing machine. It isn't really anything great but I wanted it to sew my strips of denim. I hated using my good sewing machine and over using it. So new machine. It is all metal, sounds like a train however it sews well and will take some heavy, thick fabrics.
Amy

Random Things

My husband's garden is looking good! We have eaten peas, red raspberries and now the broccoli is producing. We have had some for dinner and even enough for freezing. 

I started warping a cream color wool yarn that I got from Paradise Fibers www.paradisefibers.com and boy does it have a twist. It has so much twist that I am having a time of it just getting it warped and when I take it off the warping board it wants to twist unto itself. Since I am not an experienced weaver and I have never spun anything, I am not sure about this twist. It is twisted this much to add strength to the yarn? Or just to drive me crazy. With this wool I wanted to use some wool selvedges that a friend's daughter brought back from Pendleton Woolen Mills. I think I will try to sew a zig zag stitch down the center of the selvedges, to try to keep them from shedding.

Yesterday we went to Value Villiage and I found a potholder loom with the loops that never had been opened. I hope that my 8 year old grandson might like to weave. I am not sure that the 5 year old will be able to do it, but we will be giving it a try today.

Happy Weaving,

Fresh from the garden

 Potholder loom-a 'blast for the past"

It has never been opened!

Amy

I love prowling the yard after a rain, don't you?...everything looks like it just had a nice shower...so nice and clean....the flowers are so beautiful this year.....and look at my serviceberries....they are loaded....alas I have never tasted one because the birds get them before I do.....suppose I could net them, but I planted them for the birds in the first place.  

Next Project

My next project isn't one that I picked by myself. When my husband was 6 years old, his mother died of cancer. This was 59 years ago. I had three quilt tops that she had put together, I am assuming in the 1940's. One was just a crib size quilt of butterflies and my sister finished it off for me as a wall hanging. The other two are about full size bed quilt tops. One of them has a purple edging around it. I casually mentioned to my daughter that I had it and she asked to see. After looking at it she asked me to finish if off for her. This really isn't my "thing", yes I have completed a couple of quilts but it isn't my favorite thing to do. But I agreed to do it. Now my biggest problem is that in the 59 years and having been washed, it has some holes in the seam lines. So my first job will be sewing the seams over to reinforce it. I am pleased that she wants something old that was made by her great-grandmother, but still this job isn't something that I enter with joy.

 MIL quilt top

Vintage fabric-maybe some flour sacks

However it has holes everywhere in the seams.
I am planning to sew all the seams again.

Sister's hand made purse-great job

I love handmade cotton dishcloths

My husband's jean rugs are rolling around the beam

One finished header and a start of a new rug

Also I want to tell my oldest sister thanks for the dishcloths that she made. I took a picture of the ones that I haven't used yet. I had given her some cotton yarn that I wasn't going to use in weaving but was just right for knitting and she gave me back dishcloths. So a big thank you. I have also included a picture of a purse that she made and what an excellent job with nice thick sides. However, I am not sure about the white color, black would probably be better around this house.  So another big thank you Wilma.

Texture

Another Road Triip

My husband finished this rug made with wool fabric
and a linen warp. I wasn't too sure about his color
choice but when it was off the loom, it looks wonderful.

This is another wool fabric rug on linen warp.

If you are ever going across Idaho on I-90, you
really need to stop in Wallace, Idaho. This is a statue
which honors the miners.

Every time I am in Wallace, I can imagine
the women of the town coming down the street
with their long skirts on their way to the
store.

Wool warp, bought at Paradise Fibers.

Cotton and rayon, I think these would make a great shadow weave
scarf.

Cottolin for towels.

Just a little alpaca, maybe for a scarf.

Found some hemp-the large ball is %100 hemp and the small
balls are cotton, hemp and modal.

My husband and I took off Friday afternoon for Missoula, Montana. We stayed the night in Spokane and then continued on to Missoula on Saturday. On the way we stopped in at www.paradisefibers.com and bought some wool warp for some more wool rugs. Saturday we explored Missoula and found a large, local book store where we bought a couple of books, one on natural dyeing. We stayed in a great motel, it is only 1 year old, so everything looked new and they put out a yummy breakfast there. On Sunday we went to http:/mawsonline.org/conference. This conference was put on by the Montana Association of Weavers and Spinners (MAWS). The conference was themed "Carousel of Color." I wasn't planning to take any classes but to just see what was there at the vendors. So we bought some of that good stuff back with us. After buying a lot of fiber things we went to a local yarn shop and bought some more!
Amy

What a beautiful day here today...it has been so cold, wet, and dark and today I think spring/summer is upon us.   I mowed the lawns today which takes about an hour...as a Master Gardener it is my job to teach others to not have so much lawn..it requires water, and time and is such a waste....and it is the largest 'crop' we grow where we do not get a harvest off of it.....but living in the country, I do not know how I can eliminate a lot of it unless I have cows right by my house...so I mow a lot of lawn...if I lived in town I would have a little postage stamp sized lawn.   I moved the cows to the little back pasture area to get them out of their regular pasture because tomorrow the tree guys come and take down a tree...a big tree...maybe 200 feet tall...an elm that is in the pasture and is dead.   They say it will take all day.   My garden is growing and I am harvesting a lot of lettuce on Wednesday to put on some little sandwichs.   I am helping to cater a lunch for our annual yard tour and love using something from my garden.