He's Missing!

Old Man Winter simply has gone AWOL this year. November wasn't day to day rain,

December was sunny and dry, there was no white Christmas and our New Year's storm

didn't happen for the first time since we've been here. I got up yesterday morning and when I went out to feed, it was a touch under 50 degrees F. Our waterfall amounts for this time of year are almost 6" less than what they should be. That's a big deficit, that's a a lot of moisture to make up. That's a lot of mud. I should have asked for snow for Christmas, lots of it.

Yesterday I moved the Julia loom from the back sun room to the main living area.

There isn't enough room in the studio proper but this space works quite well.

It get so cold out there and DH hates to heat it since there is no insulation in the walls or the ceiling (house eave space above). This was meant as a porch in the original plans

and for now I'm fine with it being a 3 season room. We had to take the door off to get Julia through but that was easy enough. It's kind of fun having such a cute little red loom in our family area but please excuse the wreck of a (post holiday & football game weekend), kitchen.

The sewing machines haven't been neglected either. In fact I had two of them set up for service. One for sewing and one for just top stitching. It was a pleasure, no a luxury to have two super machines to work on. During the summer I stumbled upon a real deal on this Pfaff 1171.

It's an older mechanical machine with just enough electronics to keep me quite happy. Needle up/down, low bobbin indicator and some fancy satin stitches.

Oh and one more thing, you can fill the bobbin from the needle thread. I never had this option, but now that I do, it's my favorite for sure.

I made some cargo jeans over the holiday week.

Took a lot of time designing pockets and top stitching but I'm very pleased with them. The fabric was heavenly to work with.

A bamboo/cotton blend. The bamboo gives the denim a fabulous drape. These will get a ton of wear and as you can see by the wrinkles, had to be removed for pictures! My only regret is that there wasn't more of this fabric available, but I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for similar blends.

Also up on the sewing front is this cowl tunic.

The pattern is the same one I used for my Mom's lovely black and white one. I've done mine longer and added a bit more shaping to the back with darts. When my Mom comes to visit again ( or maybe during my visit), I'll take some measurements and note them for future patterns for her.

This rendition is from a coral wool crepe, one of my favorite colors to wear. I wanted a little relief from the field of solid coral and did a cute cotton print on the under collar.

I can have just a bit peeking out or turn the collar in and show the whole piece. I loved this print and was thrilled to find a such a perfect use for it.

Going on Hey Baby Delta is this lovely mixed skein of wools and glitz for a bed shawl.

Long, wide and simple I'll let the beautiful yarns speak for themselves. The weft will be a soft darker green Nature's Palette fingering weight Merino.

In farm news, the stalls are as done as they are going to be until spring. Front guards are up, they each have a wall mounted salt block to play with and all three have gotten use to their individual spaces. Of course the weather has been so nice, we have not opened up that little sectioned off barn/paddock area since a couple of days after Christmas.

Dennett celebrated his birthday January 1st, that would be 19. Like a candle reaching the end of the wick, he is fading. He sleeps, we cuddle, he eats well. We'll soldier on until he tells us he truly has had enough. I'm preparing myself best I can.

Stella, Robin, Pogo and Smoochie provide us with lots of comic relief. Robin is hitting that bratty 9 month old teenager stage. No doubt it will last until about 18 months. He's such a cute little rogue and finally has surpassed his big sister in size and weight. She still gets the last word though....always.

Parting shot -Stella : Little Pictures have big ears AND eyes!

The Usual Mud Lament

For two weeks every day has started and ended the same. Snow or rain when I go out to feed: check. Mud everywhere: check. I mean boot sucking mud. Now it sometimes does clear up during the mid portion of the day only to decide to start precipitating 10 minutes before I head out the door in late afternoon. I'm beginning to feel like I have a big black cloud over me in more ways than one.

The weekend was fairly unproductive on all fronts, waiting for lab work for myself to come back and dreading the 6 month vet check up for Dennett. Mine is fine, Dennett's, well waiting on that now too, but there were some changes I knew about. He is beginning to lose muscle mass, one cataract has completely thickened so he only really has limited sight in the other eye, and he has slowed down, even on his much loved walks. I don't think we're going to pull any miracles like we did with his meds three years ago. He looks forward to his meals, he is pain free and he still has his dignity. He'll let me know when it's time and I'll be there for him. Other than love him up every single day, that's all I can do and that's really all that can be done. We can't make this good old dog young again.

On Saturday I tried out the pattern I had picked for the whopping expensive voile fabric and thank heavens I didn't feel so cocky and cut into it. So far, I just can't get a Burda pattern to work for me. This one needed a lot of adjusting before I even cut out the muslin.

Still it's wonky. Even though the waist had been shortened, the over all design was too long, so I cut one side to see if it improved it. The armholes are huge, and I could take tucks there but I don't think it's worth it especially for this fabulous fabric.It means the darts would have to be changed and basically, the whole pattern redrafted. I have another possible pattern waiting in the wings!

Note to self, princess seams are best when they tie into the shoulder, not the armholes. I don't know who they draft for but it isn't me. I don't think I will even bother with Burda in the future no matter how much I like the style.

Afterwards I scrapped everything and cut out my first fly front pant muslin. I'm not cutting the whole thing out, making a pair of shorts really since that's where all the fit magic (and fussiness) happens at the top. Today I'll start in on the construction, zippers, welt pockets and waistband. That should keep me busy! :)

On weaving, there has been a little on the silk scarf. It's quite fine and I'm pretty slow with the two shuttles but it grows a little every day. The warp is completed for the overshot and waiting to be wound on and threaded.

Parting shot: Handsome as ever

Bias Binding, How Do I Dislike Thee, Let Me Count the Ways

It is a mystery to me why I would have picked a pattern to actually make that relied so heavily on bias binding. A classic, "What was I thinking????" moment. And then to follow through on making said binding and applying it while squinting through bloodshot, red and irritated eyes, only the Universe will know for sure. I am begging a cold and flu addled brain. Now you all probably think that all's well that end's well and my complaining is much ado over nothing. Well, the binding came out absolutely horrible.

My kingdom for a good technique as a substitute. Love's labour was not lost. The garment, a poncho of good hard tweedy wool, was specifically slated for wear around the house and barn.

If it had come out well I would have worn it to town until the hay became embedded in it, or the first smelly slobber stain. You may not have seen it, but I would know it was there. I will say it is quite comfortable and just the right amount of warmth for over a turtleneck in the house. So even if it was a comedy of errors, it is still a wonderful and useful addition to my working wardrobe.

Since I am feeling much better, I managed some towel warp weaving.

This lovely yellow is towel two, the first was the soft jade green I used on one of the pillowcase hems. The pattern a simple triple 4 shaft bird's eye. I am quite happy with it and can see these doing fine service in the kitchen. There is a fair amount of tracking on this, mostly due to the fact that my fine reed was still tied up on the pillowcases when I wound, threaded and sleyed this warp. I believe most of it will disappear after it's first wash in hot water and then the hot dryer. The second color of silk is half wound onto a cone and hopefully I'll get that done and be working on the warping board this weekend. I am going to do a fancy pinwheel design using the eight shafts on the Delta. I've found three different drafts and need to sit down and look at all of them for differences in the tie-ups and how they affect the pattern. They are all so close on a quick inspection as far as the woven pattern

Fabric has been cut for a second pair of pants. I have sized the pattern down to a straight medium.

This fabric is a cotton/poly blend twill left over from the slipcover for the large sofa. I have some lovely pants fabrics ready to go, but since I am playing with sizing and also new smaller pockets and placement, I figured I would use this.

They will make fine sturdy pants even if they aren't the prettiest.

A quick note about what's coming up on this blog and Michelle's over at Boulderneigh.

We'll be doing posts tomorrow about some wonderful products that are local to each of us. Michelle had the idea and I have often thought about mentioning all together some of the wonderful stuff available locally to me in one place. If any of you would like to join in on your respective blogs and tell us about local to you fab products, please, do!

And of course, there will be the yarn drawing winners posted on Monday.

Finally, the parting shot. Stuck or Not? That is the Question. And it needs some explanation.

My man Dennett, now that he is about 18, hard of hearing and vision impaired (although not 3 legged which had been a requirement for being off leash on walks), has earned the right to be off leash in areas close to the house and under very close supervision. Face it, should he even see a squirrel, he can no longer out run me. Being still an independent cuss he takes off (really, imagine slowly wanders), towards the woods and into deeper snow. It looks like he's stuck, so I snap my photo and go to help him. Ah, he was just playing keep away! When he saw me come into range he plowed through that snow and into the woods trying to make a break for it, a very slow break but the spirit still burns bright. He also knows that there is less snow under trees! You go kiddo, I'm right behind you. And yes, I carried him back through the worst of it, while allowing him all the dignity he deserves. ;)

New and Improved

Besides still feeling like a bloated tick right now from taking the notion of "Make Merry" to heart, I have managed to accomplish an upgrade on the Julia loom.

One of the many wonderful gifts I received was a kit to turn Julia into a countermarche loom from her original counterbalance status.

Of course, I had to untie her, again, and unthread. And I forgot to put the cross back in, but rethreading proved easy and it is only a nine inch warp. Here are some pics of the finished upgrade showing the CM head and jacks that have replaced the bar and horses.

The upgrade took a bit of careful reading and certainly some measuring of the bundles of pre-cut Texsolv, but the one thing that was truly brilliant was the treadle tie method. Best of all, it worked perfectly and I have the best shed I've ever gotten on that loom. Basically you take the treadles off the bar at the back,

rest them on top of the rear support and do your tie-up. It grades the harnesses perfectly. I've fallen in love with this loom all over again.

The snooperviser/weaver in training had to do a thorough inspection to make sure all was up to his lofty standards.

The same weaving Santa who gifted the loom upgrade also included other thoughtful weaving gifts. A McMorran Yarn Balance and a wonderful sley hook from Vavstuga, there was a perfect German made hand drill too and all can be tucked in with shuttles and such into this very handy heavy canvas Boat Riggers Bag.

Not to be outdone Mrs. Claus, sent along a beautiful quilt that matches everything perfectly. It made snuggling in Christmas night extra special. It's beautiful!

The elf crew here also did themselves proud and the sewing room got a new addition.

A late 50's Singer Red S Featherweight 221. She may be small (they really are very small, almost toy sized), but oh what a sweet little machine she is.

Manufactured right around the time I was and I might add, in almost mint condition.

I would love to say we got lots of pics of the dogs and their stocking stuffers, but the truth is with 8 dogs and many toys, it was all we could do to keep the squabbling down. There is always "that" toy someone has and another wants and we needed to keep watchful eyes and ears tuned to negotiate delicate treaties between terrier clans. It's never easy and even Stella was vying for something other than a rubber ball. I can offer up these though.

Who wouldn't want this under their tree, or in our case, on the loom bench!

We capped off the day with roasted beef tenderloin, mashed, gravy, greens, tangerine mousse and a lovely bottle of wine.

While the holiday was bountiful in so many ways, the magic of it (and every day really) is this parting shot. Two good old friends, sharing a walk. Priceless.

Brushing Off the Dust

I never got a chance to thank you all for the lovely comments on my quickly sewn love seat covers. Thank you! I can't say I enjoyed making them, it was a gotta do situation.

But the help I received and the great comments certainly made up for any lacking enjoyment in the actual sewing. It did however spark a love of a craft I have too long avoided. Sewing. I was so impressed again with the older style machines, heavy metal heads, gears instead of computers and wondrous attachments in bright shiny metal.

I had to get me one! My Bernina, while it has always been a great quilting machine, just doesn't have the umph that a vintage machine does. Plus, the new computer machines just can't be serviced at home like an older one can. What fun is that I ask? To that end I bought myself an old 50's Singer 401A,

much like the machine I learned on ( A Singer 237) but with all the whistles and bells you wish you could have afforded at the time you settled on the no nonsense workhorse 237. Gene and I also found a lovely Husqvarna Viking 6020 to keep set up for the heavy strap goods he needs sewn once in a while for his business.

My Bernina hated them and it was quite the pain to be constantly changing out everything to black thread. He might lose that 6020 to me. It's a fine machine and has the free arm! :) But fear not little Bernina I still love you!

So, along with weaving a little sewing has gone on here. Stella has a wonderful new fleece coat which my Dad poo-pooed until he saw her rip it off of Pogo ( checking for size) and want it back on her. Plus we all agreed, she wears it well and it makes her more willing to venture out in the rain.

These pics were taken before some adjustments were made, but you get the idea.

I was also inspired to actually sew a garment. I haven't sewn anything wearable in something like 20 years, but a lot of it came back and this pattern was just right for getting my feet wet again. No sleeves (which I actually like to do) but I had to make bias binding and that has always been one of those sewing jobs I never looked forward to. It wasn't too bad though, so maybe the long break was a good thing! Gene couldn't believe I actually made something to wear and wore it, so insisted I get up from the loom and model. So here you go, a rare picture or two and yes, I felt it was public worthy and did a much needed run to town without changing.

The pattern on the fabric which I have saved for YEARS is called Bow Wow Chow Mein.

And finally, parting shots. Two Old Farts, Squeezed Cheek to Cheek.

The Goddess of Small Miracles

Small miracles happen every day. Outside your window, with each soaring bird, the chipmunk that catches your eye, a small flower that appears in a previously barren spot, found time, a project that engages both mind and body, a well chopped onion.

They are all around us if we only take the time to see, hear, feel and note them. Life erupts in the fine details and so often we fly right past them waiting for the big stuff. Yesterday was simply chock full of those little special details. Minutiae.

The warp is done and ready to be wound on.

It looks very much like the previous warp with the silk sari. I substituted a novelty yarn, Tahki Lucky, which happily was also 50% off. And it is strong, 100% nylon.

We had to do a little proactive loom preservation.

Princess Stella just couldn't resist the plastic tie knobs on the treadles. It's easy enough to add and subtract treadles on Hannah. They just sit on an individual cradle under the foot rest.

I know I'm just doing plain weave on this scarf, so really only need the two still tied up for tabby.

We also had our senior & baby combined vet appointment yesterday morning.

Dennett had blood drawn for another liver panel and I am happy (read delighted, overjoyed and grateful beyond words) to report that the milk thistle supplement has indeed made a difference. His panel is just about normal in that area. Now there are still anomalies, but they are holding just where they are. They fall into " it is what it is" category. He's all set until fall unless we have any changes.

Stella also had her first look see. I'm happy to report we have a healthy fit puppy. Good joints, no loose knees (luxating patella) which is common in many small breed dogs. She weighs a whopping 3.6 pounds, which while I thought her maybe a little skinny, Dr. Beth assured me she was at a perfect weight. Much better to have a fit puppy than a pudgy one for growing bones.

Stella handled herself well, relaxed with strangers picking her up, played when they initiated it, let Dr. Beth clip her teeny tiny toe nails and Vet Tech Nic take her temp all with a pleasant and winsome demeanor. She thought the wormer was just wonderful stuff. She'll go back in two week for her second puppy shot. The first shot was given by the breeder the day before she found her way home with me.

She is also doing great with her schedule and Uncle Smoochie is doing a grand job of entertainment every day. At the end of morning play time this is how they usually are.

I can pick her up and put her in the crate all sleepy and go out and do my outside chores without worry. I do so love small miracles.

It Might as Well Be Spring-April Colors

Well, it might as well be winter too. Sunday was warm, sunny spring like, leaves budding, mud drying, just a wonderful day. Then....( can you hear the music to Jaws)

Monday night the rain started, Tuesday wet snow mix and yesterday, let's just say if it wasn't for summer fire season, the 10 inches of snow were MOST unwelcome. Gene spent three quarters of the day out running from one disaster to another. A huge power line down on the Hyatt Lake access road, then a tree across Highway 66, and a local run off the road by an over sized truck load. Highway 66 is a narrow windy kind of scary road that has a length and weight limit. Big rigs are not allowed, but it doesn't stop them from trying to avoid the I 5 chain requirement or resulting slow down. I don't know what they are thinking. Really are they?

So we went from this.......

Lilac Bush

Arctic Willow

Daffodils

To this in a matter of hours.

This was the scene of the downed 13,000 volt power line. Pacific Power shut it down so the guys could direct traffic around it (and they could fix it). Not only was it snowy, it was windy. We had gusts up to 40mph. You only needed to stand outside to have snow packed onto your body. The horses had a condition we fondly refer to as snow ass. It means they have all had their heads in the shelter with their butts sticking out. All the horses had white bottoms like Cooper. There was one that enjoyed the weather and that was Dennett. He LOVES snow and insisted on his walk yesterday morning and enjoyed it thoroughly. I enjoyed it because he did. Today the wind is still blowing, a flurry or two, but the D man will have an interesting walk. A raccoon was around last night and another unidentified set of tracks. We'll have fun following them.

Happy Earth Day!