That Just Won't Do!

Deciding on a maiden warp is serious business. It needs to be simple enough that you can get to know your new loom and complicated enough to see the possibilities for future warps. I'm telling you right now, you probably shouldn't grab a pre-made warp meant for a test run on a structure, which is what I did to David. I can also tell you honeycomb may never touch another loom at my house.



The structure did not allow me to enjoy my new loom at all so after a mere 10 inches I cut the whole thing off and rethreaded and sleyed for a fun variation on M's & O's. We are both very happy campers now.



The David is a capable weaving loom, quiet, easy to thread and tie up, great shed and a sliding beater. The beater was a bugger to get adjusted well. Just a smidgen off and it works but feels sticky. Once you have it though it is very nice to use. So post honeycomb, I am loving my new little loom and I think this warp will be awfully pretty as runners and placemats!

rehomed and recovering dogs need lots of sleep

Thank you each and everyone for your comments on Mandy, she is so coming out of her shell, starting to really hang with the gang and giving us much joy! OMG, watching dachshunds run is quite entertaining! To anyone thinking of adopting, don't let age distract you from need. Mandy is about 8 and lively and sweet and with just enough terrier type personality to fit in with our rambunctious household. She is eating regular dog food and dog biscuits now. House trained too!

Precious little has come out of the sewing salon. Today I need to do some cutting for fall. I did finish up this last Webster.





 Could be a favorite for fall. It looks pretty sweet with a navy cardigan and a pair of slim jeans too!

I did find myself in downtown Ashland Thursday. The Web-sters sends out little newsletters weekly featuring new yarns or patterns. It's an evil thing I tell you. ;-) One shawl caught my eye and made it onto the must have list.



I wasn't particularly thrilled with the yarn used so went rogue and purchased some of my favorite Shepherd's Wool Yarn for the project. A nice value too. I'm about 4 inches into the project. Good simple knitting on bigger needles. My kind of project these days.

After the horrible clear cut next door our wildlife all but disappeared, but this late summer, Momma Raccoon has got another batch of 3 kits and just as cute and fractious as last years nursery. I've spied a fox a few occasions and some of the bird population has returned to our little neck of the woods. The hummers have been active and plentiful this summer after a slow start. The deer have been almost nonexistent.  Their numbers appear to way down.  It has been awfully smokey though, enough to make my eyes water and my throat feel scratchy. I have not ridden at all this summer but the boys are experienced pasture pets and go with the flow.

To all the people experiencing hurricanes and floods and fires along with those who have lost loved ones on the USS John McCain,  thoughts and prayers (and donations) are heading out. If you are wanting to help with disaster relief for Hurricane Harvey victims there are some good options listed here for both people and animals. There is so much need right now, please give what you can where you can. You'll feel better for it, I promise. :-)

Parting shots: Pensive and not so much so.

 

Arrivals!

Well, last week was kind of magical, like I imagine Platform 9 3/4 must be at Kings Crossing. Runamuck welcomed a new member, Miss Mandy.



 Children aren't the only things abandoned in the growing drug crisis. Mandy was living in a car before being abandoned at the home of one of my veterinarian's technicians. There is always help at Runamuck for those who need it and I brought her home last Tuesday.



She is wonderful sweet little mini dachshund, about 8 years old and sadly with a mouthful of neglected teeth. Yesterday I brought her back to the vet for a full dental. Took 2 plus hours and she lost 23 teeth. Money well spent and in a couple of days she will feel like a new dog. Imagine having a mouthful of infected gums and teeth for heavens know how long?

But that wasn't the only arrival last week. A new mattress made it to our door. Not too long ago we got a Tempur-pedic one. While comfortable and easy on pressure points and joints, memory foam sleeps hot. I just couldn't stand it any longer as I sleep hot too. We opted for a natural latex mattress and it came Thursday morning via Fedex. So far so good, it sleeps MUCH cooler and is just as forgiving of pressure points as MF

There was one more arrival on Thursday, a Louet David made it to my door via The Web-ster's. Gene went down and picked all the boxes up and we got them in the house just as a thunderstorm with torrential rain broke out. Whew! We needed the rain badly and even so a couple of small fires broke out the next day and the fire crews jumped on them.

Friday morning looked like Christmas around here, with boxes and wrappers and instructions.



 I have to say, the packaging by Louet is impressive and look, that big awkward box has its own handles.



Freakin brilliant! I spent Friday and Saturday putting him together.



Instructions were very good although I had a bit of a challenge as I installed both a friction brake and a second back beam since the instructions treated these as add ons.



 Louet includes the tools you will need to handle the various screws and bolts and unlike the gawd awful cheap things you might find in something from China, these tools were useful and well made. I never opted for anything additional even though I have a number of ratchet tools around here had I gone searching. Sunday the first warp was wound on,



Monday threading, yesterday I started sleying the reed.




 I hope to be weaving today while little Mandy recovers from that major bit of dental surgery. She is getting some pretty heavy duty pain killers for the next couple of days. Surprisingly she was hungry this morning and ate all her breakfast. A good thing since antibiotics really should be given with some food.

The seasons are changing and no longer is my morning feed accompanied by early dawn. It's dark now but there are still treasures to be seen for those who look. This amazing spider is on her web by one of the outside corners of the barn.



She greets me every morning in my headlamp. Come daylight, she is no where to be found but the web is well placed for catching things.

Only one make made it out of the sewing salon, a Cashmerette Webster in this fab Moda cotton.



 So fun and bright. The last piece of ordered fabric arrived, a flannel for fall with jars of lightening bugs.



 As a child summering at my grandparents home in PA I can remember catching fireflies in mason jars in the field at the side of the house. I also remember hours spent by the creek and the pond, catching frogs and dragonflies. They would spend some time with me, but always released before bedtime. Jars are no place for nature to live but they certainly aid in sparking wonder at the world around us. At least I hope they still do.

Parting shots: The new girl.

Acceptance.

Some Like it Hot

I am not one of them. In fact I don't really like temps over 70 and I'm just fine with crisp high 50's days. But even summer lovers have been a bit baked this past week of triple digits. We've lived here about 17 years and I can only remember once when it hit 100 and that might have been last year.
We were 102 on Wednesday. Good grief if I wanted to live in the western deserts I would have moved there! We survived though. A well insulated house is a thing of beauty. On the hottest day the downstairs hit 72 after an all day bake. The whole house fan was able to cool it down to outside temps PDQ at night and the new 8000BTU window A/C kept the master at a bearable 63 degrees on average. I was disappointed though, that the unit did not come with an"Arctic Blast" setting. Dang!

It was certainly a workable haven in the sewing salon and I got a few fun makes out. Bight orange Moda fabric morphed into an Indygo Junction Asymmetrical Tunic



complete with hot pink trim and bits of graphic fabrics.



I finally went ahead and drafted an armhole and sleeve for the Sew House Seven Mississippi Ave top/dress.



I love this pattern and have made a good number of them up for summer and "under" wear.
Why not a sleeve? Why not a fun back panel?



It would seem all of my favorite patterns have V necks this year.

I had thought about working on a wool jacket but considering the temps, I nixed it. I do have a need for a lightweight barn jacket. I can't go out in those high temps and intense sun without some covering on my arms, shoulders and neck. Maybe something will pop when I hit the cutting table tomorrow. I certainly have some fun new fabrics to pick from.



That light teal Japanese print canvas is calling to me to be an outer layer. We'll see what becomes of it. Some fun prints and great mid weight linen solids.



I took some pics of the garden but honestly, they were crappy. Too late in the day and now after all that heat it is looking a bit tattered. Even the lemon balms have bolted. I need to see what is available for fall blooming perennials and slip some in this year. I will say the new succulents are doing fabulous. Look at the comparison from when they were put in at the beginning of June.

June

August

Last week was Beautification Day for my Mom and I. Basically, we get our hair cut. I bring her over to Ashland for a truly nice haircut with my wonderful stylist Melinda. I let her go first and popped across the alley to Paddintgon Station for a time wasting browse. Of course I found two beautiful mugs I just had to have



 and the boxes will certainly not go to waste either. I have the fox by this artist. You can see more of Vicki Sawyer's stuff here.

Congress is on recess and so am I as far as "Did that just happen" stuff. Come September though we'll reconvene. I will say it is a disturbing to hear all the talk about hindering the freedom of the press and thank god we still have a free press. Support newspapers and good honest reporting where ever you find it!

On a personal note, my Dad would have been 80 today. We will mark his birthday this year by hanging out the prayer flag I finally finished and spreading his ashes.

And yes, I added that little missing bell!

It's time. I still choke up and puddle when I think of something we did or for a moment wish we could have done, but there will always be that lifetime of memories to unpack and examine as needed.  I miss you Dad, so, so much.

Parting shot: Nothing like a good gnaw.