Right?

I don't know. I'm just feeling it today.

Yarn forests (or waves, perhaps).

I've never been much of a photographer, but I have been so crazy about taking close up weaving and yarn photos lately. It all looks like something to dive or get lost in. Not a lot can go wrong at that short distance, I guess.

(This is the warp of recycled sweater yarn that I'm putting on the loom this afternoon.)

...and the blanket.

I was trying to tack several, good-sized pictures onto this post, but either the site or my computer wasn't being very agreeable, so I had to settle on this one tiny picture. This is the blanket that appeared from the same warp as the sleeping mat below (which is delightful to sleep on). I am continually surprised and pleased at the variety of looks you can get out of a warp -- these things look nothing alike. This one's cotton, mostly chenille, with the green stripes being something more cord like (I don't know what you'd call it).

So, this blanket is a little short because, amazingly, I broke the loom while I was weaving it and had to cut it off -- the screws that connect the gear-looking crank thing to the beam completely sheared off! Fortunately, it was fixable (because it was not my loom either, yikes). It's a very nice loom, but it has seen a couple decades of serious action.

This did, however, make me feel like I was some sort of crafting powerhouse. Meaning, it made a big cracking noise and the crowd went wild.

I'm weaving to move into a yurt.

Well, I wish -- wouldn't this sleeping mat look good in a yurt? Maybe weaving it is the first step in making that move a reality.

Um, anyhow...this was my very first double weave project (it was kind of exhausting)! It's woven out of cotton rug warp and stuffed with that green foam that you stuff into things. I haven't tried sleeping on it yet, but the cat seemed into before I even finished sewing up the open side. (Yes, just a weak excuse to talk about my cat. He's handsome.)

I used the same warp to weave a cotton chenille blanket that I'll post as soon as I put the binding on -- it's interesting how completely different they look.

Sweet tune to stitch to.

Dyed warp experiment #3.

Dyed warp experiment #2.

Dyed warp experiment #1.

So, I took that dyed warp off my loom a couple of weeks ago, but only just got around to washing the pieces yesterday. The whole thing was a big experiment, the pattern is a variation on "Simplified Damask" out of Marguerite Porter Davison's green book and I used several different yarns in the weft -- I will reveal them in order of appearance (when they're all up #1 will be at the top, #7 at the bottom, hopefully it will be obvious)....

1. 100% cotton, recycled from a sweater -- beige

2. cotton chenille -- grey

3. rainbow-dyed wool

4. wool -- turquoise and black

5. recycled cotton (navy), linen (turquoise), bamboo (grey)

6. 100% acrylic -- beige and black

7. cotton carpet warp (plain weave) -- blue

In the end, I think I liked the plain weave best. I felt like the pattern detracted from the warp and vice versa. Now, what am I going to do with all these pieces?

Humble Beginnings.

I don't think it's a great stretch to relate this 5th grade class photo with my dealings in the fiber and fashion realms. I won't insult anyone with that obvious explanation...and why wouldn't I share this sweater with the world?

Now, who's going to crochet me a new one?

Goodnight.

Breakfasts I Have Loved (and set my coffee on).

I am known, by many of my companions, as one who loves breakfast to a fault. Putting your most cherished event at the very beginning of the day could be viewed as a flaw, leaving you little to look forward to post-meal. Lately, I've been remedying this oversight by eating breakfast on several occasions throughout the day, regardless of the hour.

I tend to be inevitably dissatisfied, in the long run, with any work that is representational (too literal?), though that never keeps me from returning to it. This past week, I started working on these quilted coasters of those breakfast classics: the egg and the toast. They are offering up some amusement, so I'll allow this overwhelming novelty in my studio (for now). I'm gearing up for the Bloomington Handmade Market, so they'll surely make an appearance there and probably on my Etsy page in the nearer future.