Author Archives: Jean

Family

It’s been a week…

Posted on by Jean

Not in that it’s been a week since I last posted.  It’s been that kind of week…  My father-in-law died suddenly of a heart attack a year ago.  You might remember my husband’s family is filled with Texas A&M Aggies.  If you haven’t gone to that school or love someone who did, you won’t get it.  It’s an Aggie thing.  It is a deep love for their Alma Mater.  One of their many traditions is Aggie Muster where they honor all the Ags that passed away during the previous year.  My father-in-law was one of the honorees at College Station this year.  With the ceremony looming, today is his birthday and the anniversary of his death is on Tuesday…. well… it’s been a week.

He was an amazing man.  The line at his wake went outside and around the building where people stood for hours in the Laredo heat to wish us all their condolences and share their stories of him with us.  For four hours we stood and shook hands, hugged, cried and laughed as we listened to story after story about how he touched someone’s life. He was stubborn… oh was he stubborn… lol, but he’d do anything for anyone and he was well known to be fair and honest.  He was always watching out for those less fortunate than himself and he was a big believer in second chances.  I put together his display for Aggie Muster, so it was a big trip down memory lane.  Pretty therapeutic actually.  I was able to watch the live stream of the ceremony and it was beautiful.  I’m sure my father-in-law was smiling down at his beloved family and Texas A&M.   It was a good thing, I think, for my family to share their love of my father-in-law with people that visited the reflections display.  My favorite picture of the day was one my husband took of three Cadets looking at the display.  I couldn’t help but think how much my father-in-law would have loved to have met them and they would have gotten such a kick out of talking to him about his old Corps days.

In the fiber front I’ve been spinning.  A lot.  Like almost every day.  I’ve been playing around with different fiber preps.  My new favorite is taking perfectly good combed top and making it into fauxlags (not really rolags because they aren’t carded).  I just pull off a piece of the top, put it on to one of the hand cards as if I was going to card it, but I take two dowels, one on top, one underneath and roll it off.  I have to tell you, it’s a DREAM to spin.  It is so fun and gratifying to pull that fauxlag out of it’s tube form into a roving.  It’s like watching a cheese pull on lasagna.  Besides using perfectly good top, this method is great for top that you’ve dyed and, ehem, got a little webby….  ðŸ˜‰  for these I did card a little, so I guess technically they are real rolags, not fauxlags.  You don’t even need to use a handcard to do this.  You could just spread the fiber out and roll it between the two dowels, but I think the handcard makes it easier to get it into a tight little roll.  After I roll it off the hand card, I squeeze my fingers around the fiber around the dowels and twist in the direction it was rolled.  It tightens everything up nicely.

I plan on weaving today.  Hoping my back will cooperate and I can enjoy getting several towels done on the Dorothy’s Dozen warp that I shared the other day.

Family, Weaving

Well, hello there….

Posted on by Jean

It’s been ages… six years! …. so long that I don’t even know where to begin… I wonder if anyone even has my blog on their feeds anymore… I guess we’ll see.

My boys are grown now.  The baby is about to graduate High School next month.  That doesn’t even seem possible.  He’s now the tallest in the house.  My oldest is getting married next month and is under contract for a house in the Denver area.  Daniel had one year left of college where he’s studying Software Engineering.  We’re enjoying life since Dan retired from the Army four years ago.  He works from home now to make up for all those years he was gone.  This was us after Easter Vigil Mass on Sunday.   We’ve changed a lot, no?

I’ve been weaving, spinning and dyeing far more than knitting these days.  Not a lot of use for wool sweaters here in Central Texas.  I have knit several cowls and pairs of socks though.  Love the That Nice Stitch Cowl and the Auto Pilot Cowl for mindless knitting.  I go to a knitting group sometimes about an hour North of us at Homestead Heritage near Waco.  It’s a great group and most of us weave or spin as well as knit, so there’s always lots of inspiration and people that get my love of fiber.  Always a good thing.

Like I said, though, mostly I’ve been weaving, spinning and dyeing.   This is my latest weaving project:    Dorothy’s Dozen Dishtowels 

It’s a fun one with lots of color and treadling possibilities.

I put a 14 yard warp on the loom.  I should get around 13-14 towels out of it.  

I’m still very into gardening and nature.  I’ll start sharing what we’ve done with our yard since moving in shortly before I stopped blogging.  I think you’ll be amazed at the transformation.  

Just a little post to see if anyone is still out there….  say hello if you are!

Weaving

I’ll build it myself

Posted on by Jean

So I’ve wanted a warping mill for a while, but I couldn’t spend that much money on something I knew I could make myself for a whole lot less (about $50, including the hacksaw and some blades, and it’s oak).  I had to figure it out as I went and I still haven’t made the stretcher bars that hold the dowels for the cross.  I’ll post that as soon as I’m done.  The wind is blowing like crazy here in Central Texas today, so I can’t work on it since I have to do it outside.

Here’s what I bought from Home Depot (not sure if I’ll use all the nuts and bolts, but it’s what I thought I needed when I was figuring it out in my head and shopping):

2 – 1x2x8 oak

1 – Jr. Hacksaw and blades

1- #10-24 threaded rod (I think it was 36″)

8 – #10 wing nuts

8 – 1/4 x 2″ hex bolts

8 – 1/4″ wing nuts

5 – 1″x36″ oak dowels

2 – 5/8″x36″ oak dowels

I bought a 12×12 cutting board from Ross next door to the Home Depot for the base, but you can easily use any square of wood.

Here are the measurments that I used:

From the 1″ dowel:  Leave one at 36″.  Cut two to 31″ and two to 32 1/2″

From the threaded rod: cut eight 1 3/4″ pieces.

From the 1×2:  cut two pieces at 26″ and two pieces at  22″ (what’s left will make the braces that hold the rods that you wind the cross on – I haven’t gotten that far yet.  I’m not good at explaining things so I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.  With those and the measurements, you should have no trouble.

I drilled a 1 3/4″ hole in each end of the four outside rods (use a piece of tape to mark this measurement on your drill bit).  Make sure it’s enough to go through your “spoke” pieces.  I used gorilla glue to keep them in there.

With a piece of the 1×2 I made the part that the axel will set in.  I screwed one side into the base, but left one side loose so that I can take the whole thing apart for storage.

Doesn’t need the washer in there.  Mine just wasn’t sitting straight so I threw it in there to help.  I will say… that with this set up, the side that isn’t screwed into the base makes the axel sit a bit crooked… So you might want to just keep it as one piece and screw the whole thing down.

When I was drilling the holes in the center of the “spoke” pieces… I screwed up.  On the top one (one of the long ones) you only have to drill your hole about half way through.  I didn’t think about it enough and drilled all the way through.  Easy enough to fix my adding this little scrap on top. If the axel comes all the way through, the bottom sets on the base pieces and doesn’t turn as freely.  Having a stop for the axel holds the whole thing up a bit so that it spins without a drag.

See… because I added that part on the top (or if you don’t drill all the way through the top piece) it hold the bottom of the winding unit off the base… 

And here it is so far…  the shorter dowels go with the shorter 1×2 pieces and the longer dowels go with the longer 1×2 pieces.  This allows you to fold the spinning portion to flatten for storage.

Animals and Nature, Family, Gardening, Weaving

Nobody here but us chickens….

Posted on by Jean

It’s been almost nine months since I last posted.  Wow.  It’s been so long that not only are the hens in the last post all grown up, one (the Silver Wyandotte) is no longer with us and one (the Plymouth Barred Rock) is molting.  I went outside one morning in September and knew instantly that something was wrong with one of the dark birds.  Sylvie died sometime in the very early morning, probably from a blocked egg.  What a way to go.  She was perfectly fine the night before, but she’d been passing weird eggs since she started laying.  Anyway, I know she’s “just” a chicken, but I was sad.  I had to make a decision.  If I kept only the two birds and something happened over the winter to one of them… you can’t have just one hen.  So I called the hatchery and ordered another Silver Wyandotte (and you can’t have just one chick) and a Gold Wyandotte.  I went and picked them up the day they were hatched (Sep 29th).  About a month ago I was able to start putting them in with the older girls, but only at night.  As of the last couple of weeks they are finally together full time.  Shelly (the Buff Orpington) is still a little mean to them, but they’re just working out the pecking order.

I haven’t been doing a lot of knitting, but I am weaving again.  I found a Schacht Mighty Wolf for sale in Austin and I’m loving it.  Here is my first project still on the loom:

It’s the pinwheel towel kit from Yarn Barn in Kansas.

The biggest thing that’s happened since the last post is that Jeremy graduated from college!

He’s living the dream this winter as Snow Patrol in Breckenridge.  He gets paid to do what he loves most, snowboard and ski.  Not sure what he’ll be doing once this little break is over, but he deserves it after five long years in the Army and then college.

I’ve been woodworking a lot.  Dan and I built two pergolas last summer.  The city changed the power lines last month and they now go RIGHT over one of our pergolas.  Argh!  Thankfully we have shade cloth over the top of it, but the bird poop is going to have to be cleaned off occasionally now.  Very annoying.

I also built a new coop and run for the girls.  Pictures below.  I wanted something cuter and I wanted something that was easier to move around.  We have a good routine, the girls and I.  In the morning I let them out and they follow me to the run for their morning treat (scratch or spinach leaves or whatever…)  about an hour before sundown I go out and let them run around the yard for a while.  I sweep out the coop and dump the poo into the compost bin (takes all of two minutes).  Just before the sun disappears they all meander to the coop, up the ramp and put themselves to bed.  I pull up the ramp, say goodnight and that’s it until the next morning.  Every couple of days I roll the run to another part of the yard for them to scratch and fertilize.  When I move it I take a couple of minutes to hose down where they were and you’d never know they were there, but we’re going to have some beautiful grass this year.

So, that’s what I’ve been up to….

It’s winter (even here in Central Texas) so the pics aren’t so pretty, but…

I have plastic over the window because I still have to build shutters.  When the girls are in the coop, they try to fly out the window.  Ding bats.  The slanted roof lifts.  The ramp is right under it and so is an nest box they’ll probably never use.  They use the one in the run.  I say they, when I mean Shelly.  Priscilla has been molting for months now and the young ones haven’t started laying yet.

Under the eaves is a three inch gap for ventilation.  Right now they are stuffed with newspaper because it’s getting in the 20s at night.  There’s also two vents on the backside and one on the other side where the double doors are (you’ll see below).  You can’t see it from this angle, but just under the window is a little door that I can open in the summer for more ventilation.  I’ll probably leave the ramp down as well, but it makes me nervous because that fence is up against a large drainage ditch where all kinds of snakes and such live….

Inside the coop.  They all go up the ramp, jump on the roost bar and stay put for the night til I go let them out in the morning.  See the vent over the door?  There are two more on the back.  It’s important, even in cold weather, to provide ventilation:


Looking down through the run from the nest door on the end.  I have a plastic tarp over one side because this was a very cold, windy day.  In nasty weather I leave the run against the coop so they can go up inside the warmer coop if they want to.  Usually though, it’s somewhere else in the yard.  You can just make out the chicks in the very back.  This was when they were still staying clear of big bad Shelly.

The first pergola we built after we had the side deck put in.  Much prettier in nicer weather when the tarps are gone and the cushions are on the furniture….

The second pergola… almost cost us our marriage.  Oy vey… this one was tough for some reason… but we made it through and are still happily married! lol.  Lesson number one.  Don’t build in Central Texas in August.  Period.  Oh yea… I built the table one afternoon too!

Animals and Nature

Meet the ladies….

Posted on by Jean

So the “girls” have grown a lot.  I just grabbed the purse camera for this shot, so it’s not the greatest.  They look like grown ladies now though.  I have to tell you…. they are so much fun.  It’s very cheap entertainment watching them. 

They definitely have their own personalities.  Priscilla, the Barred Rock, is the nicest of the group and the first to run to me.  I realize she just equates me with food, but since my boys are all at the age now where they think they don’t need me…. I’ll take it.

Shelly, the Buff Orpington, thinks she rules not only the roost, but pretty much the whole backyard.  Sylvie, the Silver Wyandotte, is sort of in the middle, but much more like Shelly.

We should be seeing eggs in about another month to two months.  Can’t wait for that day.  My bet is on Priscilla.  She’s a week older than the other two and she’s just nice like that.  🙂

Animals and Nature

Meet the girls….

Posted on by Jean

Our three little henlettes (we hope they’re hens anyway…)

Priscilla (2.5 weeks), Shelly (1.5 weeks) and Sylvie (1.5 weeks)

Priscilla is a Plymouth Barred Rock.  She’s named after Priscilla Mullins Alden who came to Plymouth on the Mayflower (my 9th ggrandmother).

Shelly is a Buff Orpington.  Joseph named her.  I have no idea why he picked Shelly.  Maybe it’s a girl in his class that he has a crush on.

Sylvie is a Silver Wyandotte.  I don’t think I need to explain her name.  She’s gonna be a beaut.  Look at that face.  She’s the whole reason I bought when I did.  I was going to hold out for a Rhode Island Red instead of the Buff, but I really wanted a Silver Wyandotte, so….

About a month ago I saw this segment on Central Texas Gardener:

I thought, “hmmmm…” so I started researching. Backyard chickens are taking the nation by storm. How can you lose? Fresh eggs and the best manure your garden can ask for!  In this day of green and sustainable living, cities across the country are changing their laws to allow people to have a few hens in urban neighborhoods.

I looked up the fowl ordinance for Harker Heights.  The rule is you have to be 250 feet from your neighbors house, but you can ask for an exception for 75 feet and over.  So that’s what I did.  We’re lucky in that we’re on a 1/2 acre lot.  I forwarded the link for the video and the ordinances for several surrounding cities (most are 8 hens/ 50ft) to our City Manager, Mayor and City Council Members.  I got permission to have three hens!   

Dan was harder to convince than the city.  lol.  He came around.  He always does.  He had to admit they’re pretty entertaining.  Throw a feather in with them and they’re hilarious. 

Right now they are in the laundry room in a mega huge Rubbermaid bin.  We need to get crackin’ on the hen house and coop.  In about six months we’ll have fresh eggs for breakfast and more manure than my compost pile will hold.

Knitting

Keeping Records… or not.

Posted on by Jean

This is Noah in a sweater I knit for him before he was born last year.  It was while we were buying the house and getting ready to move so I kept ZERO records.  I have no idea what pattern I used (anyone recognize it?) or what yarn I used.

Update:  My friend Manise found the pattern. It’s free on Ravelry.  The Classic Elite Provence Cabled Sweater.

His mom just sent this to me and I’d been thinking about it while sewing a quilt for another baby due in April (actually, two).

It really bugs me that I didn’t even enter it on Ravelry like I usually do when I first start a project.

Weaving

Remember Those Towels?

Posted on by Jean

I finally finished up my first floor loom project.  They’ve been off the loom since before we moved last Summer, but I finally finished the ends and washed them.  The reason I held on so long is because, for some weird reason, I didn’t weave the ends in while I wove.  I haven’t gotten any idea why I did this because I know better.  I blame it on the stress of the move we were about to make and the high I was on from buying our house.  I asked for some help on the Warped Weavers forum on Ravelry and a few people said to just wash them. They’d full enough that when I just snipped off the ends, they’d be fine.  They were right.  I guess time will tell, but they really look melded together.  Yeah.

I blogged all about them here and here, but finally finished them up.   A little wrinkled but the feel is fabulous!  I LOVE these towels.  After washing they have softened up incredibly.  LOVE it!

8/2 Cotton/Linen 4-Shaft Twill Towels.  The towel on the far right is my own pattern you can find here.

Draft can be found on the Webs website.  The pattern is free when you buy the yarn.

Weaving

Success

Posted on by Jean

Okay… so my selvedges need a little work, but not bad for my first attempt, eh?  I used Peaches & Cream for this.  I wouldn’t recommend it.  It started pilling really early and made it difficult to get a good shed after a while because all the threads wanted to stick together.  That’s why the piece is so short.  I got tired of fighting it.

I wove the above piece with the backstrap loom anchored around me feet.  I had a hard time with that. It’s like a juggling act keeping things just right being “tied” to the loom at the waist and feet.  Felt a little like a contortionist at times. 

Here’s what I love about backstrap weaving.   It’s eaaasy.  It’s cheap.  It’s portable.  It’s easy.  Did I mention that it’s easy? Also, did I mention that it’s cheap?  This would be a fabulous way to introduce kids to weaving.  I think I spent mmaaaybe five bucks on it.

So after I took the little sample piece off, I warped the loom for the backstrap pattern that Laverne Waddington showed in the videos and Weavezine Episodes which I believe are gone of the net now.  If you give this a try, be sure to watch all the videos.  I didn’t and couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t get the shed open on a wider project.  Then I watched the videos again and saw the way to open a wider warp.  No problems after that.

Here’s everything ready to go.  I used a pillowcase for my temporary backstrap. See how portable it is?  It would all easily fit into a bag (which I think is my next project).  I may try the feet thing again after I get better.  I like it better that way because you can sit anywhere and do it and don’t need to anchor it on anything else.  I think it’ll be easier when I’m used to the movements and all.

This time I used Sinfonia that I bought at Hobby Lobby (Varigated Blues and Royal Blue) with a 40% coupon.  Dan bought a skein and I bought a skein so we could use two coupons.  Hey.  Every little bit helps. lol.  This yarn was easier to work with than the Peaches & Cream.  It is a little thinner than what Laverne uses I think, so my backstrap ended up not being as wide, but it beats the pillowcase out of the ball park.

This time I decided to try anchoring to my dining room chair as suggested by a member of the  Backstrap Forum at Weavolution.

Not an attractive picture, but I wanted you to see the full set up and how easy it is:

Once I got all set up and comfy, I finished the weaving of the backstrap in about an hour and a half.  I had a hard time with the end warp threads loosening up so I’ll be more careful in the future.  I’m really pleased though and I can see really getting addicted to this.

Backstrap Weaving, Weaving

Backstrap Weaving

Posted on by Jean
IMG_0164

So I came across Laverne Waddington‘s Backstrap Weaving article on Weavezine.  I’d wanted to give this a shot for some years now and she made it seem so simple, I had to try.  Guess what.  After spending bits and pieces of my day yesterday with dowels, cotton yarn and my dremel I produced my own loom!

I couldn’t find a convenient place to anchor the end not attached to me, so I added another dowel to that end, rolled it and put the rope around my feet.  I like this way because I think it’s even more portable and I can sit on my sofa with me feet up on my coffee table.

After only a few minutes I, this is what I accomplished:

I think this would be a great way to teach kids to weave.  Cheap and easy.  I’m going to see if my nieces want to learn.   After I finish this little practice strap, I’m going to weave my backstrap following Laverne’s pattern.