WEAVERS UNITED "YUC" MEETINGS

HELLO AGAIN, I KNOW THAT IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I LAST WROTE ON MY BLOG BUT LIFE HAPPENS AND TIME FLIES. LAST NIGHT A FEW OF US, DEDICATEPMPD YARN USERS MET AT PANERA HERE IN LEWIS CENTER IN SPITE O SNOW AND COLD. GINA ASTOUNDED US WITH HER COLLECTION OF PIECES FOR A LACEY SHAWL, CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR 2011. REBBECA'S STASH OF PIECES THAT SHE HASN'T YET DECIDED WHAT TO DO WITH. DANNA IS JUST BEGINNING TO WEAVE AND WE WORKED ON HER BEING A BIT LOOSER AND PAT WHO SAT THERE AND CROCHETED A GREAT SCARF FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS. SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? MORE MEETINGS, OF COURSE. REMEMBER THAT THIS INCLUDES ANY OF YOU WHO KNIT AND CROCHET AS WELL AS THOSE OF US WHO WEAVE, WE ARE NOT EXCLUSIVE AS TO HOW YOU USE THE YARN. YOU COULD EVEN TAT OR WHATEVER.

WE ARE NOW KNOWN AS THE YARN USERS CLUB AND WE WILL HEAD THE BLOG AS THE YUC MEETINGS. THAT IS WHAT PANERA KNOWS US AS. I HAVE A SCHEDULE FOR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY AS FOLLOWS:
EVENINGS WILL BE 2ND AND 4TH WEDNESDAYS 6-8 PM EXCEPT 2/23 5-7 PM
DAYTIMES WILL BE 1ST AND 3RD TUESDAYS 1-3 PM
HOPEFULLY YOU WILL BE ABLE TO JOIN US.

SOME OF YOU ARE STILL TRYING TO GET LOOMS. DOREEN HAS BEEN ABLE TO GET A COUPLE ON EBAY AND I WILL HAVE THEM AT THE MEETINGS FOR SALE. I ALSO HAVE A FEW OF THE LONG NEEDLES FOR YOU.

I HAVE HAD REQUESTS FOR COPIES OF THE TEXTURE PATTERNS AND WHEN WE GET OUR COPIER SET UP I WILL PRINT SOME OFF. IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ON WEAVING A PARTICULAR ITEM PLEASE LET ME KNOW BEFORE THE MEETING DATE SO THAT I MIGHT HAVE IT WITH ME.

YOU CAN CONTACT ME THROUGH MY BLOG AND I WILL TRY TO GET BACK TO YOU WITHIN A DAY OR TWO. REMEMBER TO KEEP SMILING, THE WORLD NEEDS OUR LOVE AND WE BEST SHOW IT BY OUR CONCERN FOR OTHERS. SEE YOU AT THE "YUC" MEETINGS. ELAINE

Here I am again, at last

Yes, I am still here and still doing some weaving. It was a great thing to be doing at Riverside for eight hours while Doreen was having back surgery two weeks ago. Much better than trying to read. She is now in Rehab and hopefully walking again by the end of the summer. I am looking forward to having her back(pun) in the shop.

So what am I weaving? Not a great deal, too busy, but I did start a couple of afghans. One uses the four by six loom, five colors of yarn, and several textural patterns. The other has four by four pieces surrounded by two by six pieces. This makes a pattern that has a quilt look. Quite nice.

The most satisfying creation was inspired by a shawl that won 'best of show' in the Handwoven May/June 2010 issue. It is called Spanish Moss Shawl and is very lovely. The square pieces are joined by crochet. I used a skein of Jojoland Tokyo, a lovely yarn, which I joined my way since I do not crochet. I did it more loosely than normal and the shawl drapes softly and looks great.

My supply of looms is low but I have two of the bakelite four by four looms which sell for $75. Doreen is bidding on more looms for me and the molded plastic four by four looms will sell here for $60. We still are able to get a limited number of the rectangle looms and all three sizes sell for $45 each. The textural pattern books also sell for $45. For a time I had trouble with the way the price has gone up but then I thought of the money women have invested in all the sizes of needles they 'need' and decided that looms were not all that pricey. A weaver could get along with just one size loom though havin all five is nice. I know..

I would love to see you and your woven items. Come in and sit and share. Keep a smile on your face and love in your heart. God Bless Us All. Elaine

Spring

The weather this week is supposed to be very "spring like" and I can go for that. I really like the snow but enough is enough. Tomorrow is St. Patty's Day and I want to get some pansies for the store. They are my favorite flower. Doreen usually puts them in the ground at the condo but they will be in pots out here. Speaking of Doreen, she is making progress slowly but we are encouraged that within the month she will be up and going. It has been a long, hard struggle with more than a few set-backs. Would like to have her here for our second year anniversary in April.

Did you see the new issue of PieceWork? There is an afghan on the cover with a four-by-four Weave-it loom. What a surprise! Inside there was an article by Robin Hansen
that told the story of the looms and also gave the directions for warping and weaving and some info on the looms themselves. She told of speaking to Licia Conforti who brought the looms back into use but has now got out of the business, Buxton Brooks, which she had started. It is too bad that she is not providing the looms any more because I am running out. You can still get them through ebay but the price has gone through the roof since the magazine came out. I hope that within a couple weeks they will come down to a reasonable price. I no longer have any two-by-two looms to sell, just my own that you can use here at the shop if you need a few to complete a pattern. They go very fast.

I am trying to finish a cover for a laptop computer. It is very pretty but one of my "weavers" brought hers in the other day and I was blown away. It is extra-ordinary in color and interest. She even wove in some silver thread to add some more sparkle. I would like to take a picture of it to show you. I will not be putting pictures on the blog until Doreen is back in the shop to do it for me..

Time to get busy, the plants need to be watered and the trash needs to be taken out, and I may leave the door open for a while if it is warm enough. Be of good cheer and keep smiling, the world needs our smiling faces. As always, Elaine

It has been soooo long

I know, I know, January is almost gone and I have not given you any advice. Before I go further, I am truly sorry but things have been a little complicated around here. Doreen has had a lot of trouble with her right knee and can not have surgery until the 12th of February therefore I have not been able to do all the things I normally do here at the shop. We have had so many good friends help me out with their coming in and giving knitting advice when neither Linda nor Lynne are working. They have made it all possible for the store to keep open during this period of time. My family have been very helpful with careing for Doreen while I am at the shop. Hopefully a month from now will find us back on track at home and in the shop.

I have been doing some weaving with the acrylic yarn we carry and I have a baby afghan done enough for you to see how it weaves. I am also using it for a piece of cloth that could be used as a placemat or even to be made into a purse. It is fine to weave with and the textural pattern, sunken diamond, is very pretty. I am going to use it for a rubic cube purse. It is a neat pattern. Will have it pictured on the next blog.

My thoughts of late are centered on Doreen and her pain and inability to get around. It would be great if she could get up and work on the computer or even be able to knit, it just isn't happening. The pain and frustrations are so bad that she even does not sleep well which of course, leads to more of the same. Keep us in your prayers and thoughts. I still keep smiling and hoping that the days go swiftly. Come in to visit and show me what you are weaving. Love to you all, Elaine

A snowy Christmas? Maybe!

How fast time flies when one is having fun. An old saying but I find it very true in my life. This month has been made even more busy since Doreen has experienced trouble with her "good" knee. She will have replacement surgery in January and then she will have two artificial knees, just like her mother. At least it doesn't keep us from doing knitting and weaving. And now to the weaving. As some of you are aware I really enjoy doing purses when I can felt the product. There are several that I feel are unique and some of you wanted to do a purse of your own. Therefore, in January I will be holding a class or two to teach you how to put your woven pieces together to create your purses. I will have the patterns for you and will help you assemble them. If you can get into the shop early in the month I can help you select the yarn and pattern you will use. I hope to have the samples for you to see. Most of the purses will require thirty-two to forty pieces woven of 100% wool.

I plan to be in Cincinnati over Christmas weekend and on Saturday will even be by myself in the hotel until David's family get there in the evening. Hopefully I should be able to work on the purses. Doreen is not going because she can not ride in a car that far so she will be by herself though Denise and family and friends will keep her out of trouble. A different kind of vacation for each of us.

If you want to see a recent picture of me go to google at a tangled tale llc on this weeknews.com. This appeared just last week as you can see. It was totally unexpected and much appreciated. Free publicity is always good.

Well, the end of the year is close at hand and we can only pray that 2010 will bring some good news for those who need jobs and health care. May those who have been given the power to bring this about be wise in doing so. We pray also for those who are in other countries trying to end strife there. Are we as a country able to do this, only time will tell. I really doubt if there will ever be peace among the nations of that area of the world during my lifetime but can continue to pray for those who are serving there. And though we know that the poor and needy will aleays be among us, we also know that it is within our power to help alleviate their need. So as we do for our family and friends here at the Christmas season let us also give to those who are without the necessities that we take for granted. Love all of God's creation and those who dwell therein. Pray for peace and keep smiling. A smile is a simple way to pass God's love to others. Elaine :)

Almost Christmas!!!

What a beautiful December morning, the sun is shining and the air is crisp. I really do like this time of the year and look forward to the snow falling outside the window and the fire glowing in the fireplace. I can wax poetic about the winter weather but also realize that there are many who are not as fortunate. Thankfully we live in a community that has many groups who are trying to help these folks. As knitters, etc. we are able to see that some of the needs are met. We have sent off the scarves and more are still coming in. We were gifted with some knitted table skirts used last year by Starbucks and though they did not fit into our scheme of decorating they have made lovely afghans by taking out the elastic strips that held them in gathers.

Wonderful news: I now have three lovely Bakelite four-by-four looms on hand. They are a little more expensive than the other vintage looms. We are selling them for $45.00 and the others go for $30. We also have a good supply of two-by-two and the new rectangular looms. The books of textual patterns are still not coming but I can provide you with some copies of the patterns for your four-by-four looms. These are from the old booklets and loom kits.


The first picture is of the purse I had been working on for a couple of weeks and was pictured in the last blog. It is now felted and grommets added to allow for the braided handle. It is a nice size and easy to carry. Do you like it?

The next two pictures are of another purse made using the Paint Box yarn. I have used it before for felting and like the soft finish it acquires from felting.
I have planned to line it and hopefully will dig out my sewing machine and proceed to do so this week. My sewing machine was a Christmas present from my husband the year Doreen was born so you know how old it is. Hopefully it stills works, haven't tried it since I moved down this way.


One of our customers brought in an afghan that was in her family to show us. It is lovely and has held up quite well. What a great heirloom to find and I am glad that she brought it to share with us. I really like the idea of you sharing your projects with me just as I share mine with you.









Do not allow yourself to get too tired or frustrated this month. Share your love and give only what you are comfortable doing of material things. Hey, bake some cookies and take to the neighbors or shut ins. But always, remember to smile. Elaine