Checking in.

This week is iffy for blogging......just wanted you to know.   Arrived in Maine last night, and will be here for a week.
Vacay.
No cell phone service, no cable TV.  But there is internet.  Satellite  internet, but it works.  There is just a limit to how much you can do.
Plus when you're in MAINE with FAMILY, you get distracted.  In a good way.
We were a bit concerned about the impact of Irene, as was everyone on the East coast, but so far, just rain, and wind, and nothing too serious.  There is a power outage, but the house we are renting has solar backup so we are good for 2-3 days.
I get this feeling, whenever I'm in Maine.  It's why I moved here years ago, and started my nursing career here.  I can't explain it.  I just love Maine.  All of it, from the lakes and ponds, to the ocean, through the small towns, and miles of woodlands.
Whenever I'm here, I feel like I've come home.  Never mind that I was born in New York and spent 99% of my life in New York State.  My heart tells me that when I cross that Maine line, everything is ok.
When I was younger, I had hoped that retirement would mean living in Maine again, but it didn't work out that way.
But it doesn't stop me from trying to get here as often as I can.
I have books, and knitting for those quiet times, the kayaks are ready, the water awaits.
Acadia is just a jaunt down the road.
Today, in between bouts of rain and wind, the sun came out.  What a temptation.
This is the view from the house.

Now that picture took a LONG time to upload.  So we won't be going there often.......but I'll keep in touch.
I am itching to get my kayak out on the water.

But I can wait until tomorrow.
As Scarlet said, 'tomorrow is another day'.

You asked for it.

Here's your Roy fix.

I know you needed it.

Every night after dinner, we go for a walk, and every night, he sacks out on the couch when we get home.  You would think it was 13 miles, instead of just 3.

Today was a good day at the studio, and a busy one.  There were customers there just about all day.
Is it a full moon??

The Walking on Sunshine Braided Rug Kit is ready!!!   And already flying out the door.  Not sure L can keep up with them. 

That's a good thing!

They are all weighed and packaged, enough to make a 2'x3' oval rug, or a larger round rug.

Three balls of strips, the ends sewn together so you can start braiding right away.  They  have rubber bands around them, to keep them from unraveling too fast.  This way you can braid them much easier.

The kit also includes some warp thread to sew your braided strips together.

Oh, yeah, and instructions.

And now, it's time for a little vacay.    Irene or no Irene.

Jinx says:  "Who's Irene?"

Success.

OK, I confessed about my mistake.........one part of a three piece rug TWENTY FREAKING INCHES too long.
Breathe.  Breathe.
Well, this morning, with MUCH trepidation, Lois and I decided to tackle the job of taking the 20" off, which is an issue, due to the HEM.
We wanted to take the fabric part of the rug out, and slide the hem up ( that's the  two inches of white on the end)
Good luck with that, right???

We tied the warp threads together at the end, so we could slide this piece of wood in it, to put some tension on it.
Then very slowly, and very carefully, we pulled the fabric out, one row at a time.
GENTLY.

Here it is, with a couple of inches done.

Here we have several inches done, and to be honest, it was getting scary.

Somehow, unweaving is not cool.

Here we are almost ready for the BIG MOVE.
The 2" of white needs to be up tight to the fabric.
Gulp.

But at this point, we need some tension........so a bag of cat food on the rug, and the wooden piece is hooked on the backs of the bar stools.
And you can see the header, moving up towards the rug.....one thread at a time.

It ain't pretty.

Sydney says:

HOLY CRAP.

The end is in sight........I have no idea how long this took, but let me just tell you that at lunch time we ate on the porch, because there was no moving this rig.

Looking  a little raggedy, but almost home.
If you look closely, you can see where I lashed the last two shots of fabric together with a red thread.
(that was L's idea, and it was a good one)

I told L we would have to do a happy dance if we pulled this off.

Sydney threw herself on the floor with joy.

Here it is.....all pinned.  Now just to pull the red thread out, and sew the hem on the machine......twice, for good measure.

Hallelujah.
I am SO proud of us.
I can't believe we really did it.
Wow.

Jinx is apparently not that impressed.
Pretty, but not impressed.
Or is she praying???

If only life were as simple as a bagel.

With peanut butter.

Lots of peanut butter.

I had this for lunch today, while worrying about the weaving mistake I was sure I made.  This custom order is for a BIG, BIG rug.   And suddenly, while weaving on Piece 2, I was sure I had made Piece 1 too long.  They were both on the loom, we just finished the first part, and wound it on the front beam, and continued on with the second piece.  So while I was stewing, eating my bagel, and trying to weave by myself while Lois was gone for lunch, I realized, once again, that IT IS WHAT IT IS.

If it was too long, I had choices.  A couple of them.
If I had measured correctly, we could just keep on weaving.
But whatever I had done, was done.  And the "dealing with it" was all that was left to do.

It brought to mind a book I read, a long time ago, in the midst of divorce and chaos.
I still refer to that book in my head sometimes, that's how much of an impact it had on me.

Control Theory: A New Explanation of How We Control Our Lives [Paperback]

William Glasser (Author)




Here's a review from Amazon:

I've learnt so much from this book. Its basic premise is that, while we can't control everything in life that happens to us, we can control our reactions to those events. Very often those reactions are self-destructive or damaging to ourself and others, unless we realise why we behaved in that way and that we have the power within ourselves to choose another course of action. 

I'm as sceptical as the anyone about the endless stream of self-help books on the market, with their overfacile cures for every known malady under the sun. This book doesn't pretend to be that, it just offers samples of typical behaviours we can all recognise, goes behind them to analyse the real underlying reason for them, and offers suggestions for alternatives. Eye-opening.

So back to the weaving.  Lois returned, we took both rugs off the loom and laid them side by side.
Unfortunately, I was spot on.  I had measured wrong.  One rug was 20" longer than the other.
Can I say S**T here????  Just wondering.

Oh the excitement.

The other night on the news, I saw a story about a man who walks all across the country.  The mayor of Albany paid for his motel room for the night he was there.
And today, he walked right by the studio in Kingsbury, N.Y.  So of course, we went out and took him a cold Gatorade.
It was the right thing to do.

"Ironman Grandpa" Al Slusser is currently walking from Key West to Northern Maine in tribute to American Veterans. At age 71, Al was the oldest documented man on record to walk across the United States from one coast to the other (2010). Now at age 72 he is walking all the way up the East coast!


You can read all about him on his website, www.c2cw.com

L called everyone in Kingsbury, so I am sure he had more chatting to do before he got on his way.

So far he had done over 1900 miles.   Wow, he's my hero.  There are three parts to his walking plan.
On the Part I  he did 3200 miles in 220 days.  That's an average of 14 miles per day.
Are ya' kidding me??????  


So you asked what I was doing with the dyed fabric.
It's what we will be doing for a WHILE.
Three sections 4' wide, each 14' long.
OMG.

On one hand, it should go faster since there is no  decision making about what colors go where.
But then, there is the boredom.
Ack!

It is the lovely mustard color with a green tinge, with slubs of blue randomly placed.
This was not my idea, just sayin'.

I think it is turning out the way it is supposed to, and that's really what it's all about.

Custom orders are a huge part of my business, but they are sometimes 'consuming'.

I did find time to put a *****SALE**** page up on my web site, cleaning out the studio to make room for new stuff.
So these are the first rugs on the sale page, they are now half price.
WOOT.  WOOT.

And the big excitement of the day.......PHOTOS TO COME...............the propane gas tanks got moved today, so you no longer sit and rock on the porch with them in plain view.
Now THAT makes my day.
I know, I know, that nothing says "country" like propane tanks, but really folks, I can do without it.

The Furminator.

One thing is true.  The internet is amazing.
We all know that.
Last night I sent out my newsletter, and featured a sale on the Solmate sock rugs.  So today, I was busy boxing them up, and doing the paperwork, shipping them out.
Everybody loves a sale.

Tonight I have to put other ones on the web site, that never made it there.
I love it when a plan comes together.

Someone, somewhere, is making music.
In Someone's time.

Have you been introduced to the
Furminator????

I believe I may be getting senile, because for the life of me, I can't remember blogging about this.
So, if I did already, please be nice, and act like you didn't notice my slip. OK?

Ah, the Furminator.  Recommended by my daughter, the kitty whisperer.

Expensive, yes.  Worth every penny.
Everyone likes it at Crazy as a Loom, everyone but Miss Puss.

Does that surprise you???

Everyone but her has been FURMINATED.

It is easy to use, they love it, and it removes all the hair that is unnecessary, which came to about a paper bag full.

Sydney actually looks quite svelte, and when we put her on the scale, she has lost TWO pounds.  Now some of that is FLUFF.  But she has also been doing a lot of chasing paper wads.
So you decide.

I am planning for fall, dear friends.
And it includes a whole lot of color.
September and October are my favorite months.