Yarn Users Club

OK, so I haven't been very faithful about writing new blogs, sorry but time goes faster when one is old. Ha ha. The meetings with weavers and others have not been well attended but those who do
come bring great projects to share. This Wednesday at one we will meet at our condo in the
Villas at Riverbend. Our address is 204 Stonebend Dr. and it is just north of Panera, Home Depot, Rite Rug, then turn left at Goddard School. You will see the condos just ahead on the right. Go right around the circle to "one-o-clock" and turn into drive. Park in front of the garage. If you have questions call 740-549-4016. If you are allergic to cats there may be a problem since we have two. Hope to see you here, Elaine

Is it Spring?

Good morning, what a beautiful day it is to be. I have enoyed the snow(of course, I am inside most of the time)but warm is nice. I have had to cancel a couple of the YUC meetings because of the tricky parking at Panera,s but yesterday was fine. Lee and Carol C. came and we had a good time talking and doing a little knitting, crocheting and weaving. We were each doing something different. Doreen even showed up outside, her sister had her out trying her driving skills. This was the first time she had been behind the wheel for over a year. I look forward to being the passenger again.

My life has changed so much since we no longer have the shop. Doreen and I are busy but it is different. She is doing a lot of her exercises and becoming more in-dependent all the time. She is doing more knitting than ever but mainly she is trying to find a job. This is high on her list. I have done weaving but the afghan is slowly getting done. I get distracted with the daily stuff and being the only driver. It is fun to go with Doreen when she goes for pt and I have decided to get a new doctor at the same place. Are you aware of the OSU Medical facility in Lewis Center? It is in the same area as the new Kroger, off route 23. They have all types of services for one,s health.

The YUC meetings during the day will be on Wednesdays instead of Tuesday. There was a conflict with another group. We will meet 1 to 3 on the first and third Wed. The evening meetings are still the second and fourth Wed. at 6 to 8. I would love to see any "yarn user" there. The more the merrier.

I would love to hear from you and know what you are working on. My email address is: dgrener@insight.rr.com. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you. Looms are still available on ebay but prices are still up. We are hopeful that new ones will be for sale in the near future but prices are not known yet or even where to get them. Just rumours. Keep watching for more news.

Well, it is time to do a little work here and get ready to go to Bible study. I haven't been able to go for the past year and look forward to being able to again. Also, this evening I will being playing bridge. I hope I remember how. I follow the hands in the paper and maybe that will be enough. But always remember to smile. Others need our smiles to give them evidence that they matter. We all need to know that we are worth someone's notice, a smile does it. Love to all of you and God Bless Us All. Elaine

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