TGIF perfect

My life is getting back to normal.
I can feel it, ever so slowly.
I still have moments when I feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and generally not with it, but I am beginning to see progress in my daily routine.  I am beginning to get a rhythm, a new one, but a rhythm none the less.

The studio is pretty much a wreck.  We have managed to still produce, but L has been pretty much on her own in so many ways.
Can I just tell you that NOT ONCE in this whole past winter did I carry a bag of pellets into the house from the barn.
She carried them all, because of my head/neck surgery.
I probably owe her my first born, but I don't think that's possible.  Or desirable.
Maybe I could get her a kitten.

 Next week, we are going to be organizing after a long winter, room by room, and then maybe it will be time for Chica to do some cleaning.  The place needs some spiffing up.  And I am not in the mood, and L is too busy.

Today, I cranked up the commercial sewing machine.  I won't tell you that it was easy, since I have barely used it since acquiring it 2 years ago.   I got a little distracted by the headache, and it just sat there.
But today, I started using it again, and while I am experiencing some tension  issues, the machine, not my head,  I am positive that I can iron them out.
And you have to be impressed by what this sewing machine will stroll on through.
Amazing.


First I sew the sides of the bag together.....the straps have already been sewn on.
Then I make a template, this one is 4" square.......out of some cardboard.  I place it on both bottom
corners of the bag, both sides, and put a T pin on the inside corner........look closely, you can see it.

I used to just eyeball it, until I made a bag that was a little cockeyed, then I decided the template would work.

 

Then I sew from pin to pin, that makes the gusset to the bottom of the bag.
I only have about 22 of them to do.
oh, dear.

L has been busy reweaving a rug.  I made the mistake of including some knit fabric in a custom rug  that was otherwise 100% cotton.  I guess I liked the color or something.......I did it last year.
I guess I could probably blame a lot of things on my head last year, but for whatever reason, I made the choice, and it was a HUGE mistake.
The rug, a 12' runner, was finally laundered ( for a winter home in the south), and the knit material shrunk wildly, while the rest of it didn't.  SO..............the rug had a distinct wavy, bumpy look, that was not very attractive.
So we took it all apart, ditched the knit fabric, substituted a cotton fabric, and started over.
We aim to please.
Especially when we were at fault. (in this case, it was just me)
I think the customer should be happy, and that's the point, after all.

Last night, I went to a meeting of the Hudson Mohawk Weavers Guild, my first time.   It was really a lovely group of weavers, and I was amazed at how many people I knew there.  Guess I'll be joining when they start up in September.  Maybe I'll even be making some towels over the summer for their dish towel exchange.
Last night, the presentation was by Rabbit Goody, who owns and runs Thistle Hill Weavers, they specialize in historical textiles for movies and designers.  All the work they do is custom, and it is amazing.

If you go to her web site, in addition to lots of pictures of the fabrics they make,  there are three videos, under the About Us link.......I have never, ever seen a warping wheel as big as that, or a loom that goes that fast, so fast that I could not pick up the shuttle going back and forth.  I know it did, I just couldn't see it.
Worth the trip over.
I bought her book, even though some of it is quite basic.  I thought it would be nice to have, and especially since she was signing them.
I have to give her credit, she is a "quick thinker".  She signed mine, and when I got to the car, and flipped it open, it said.....quite appropriately, I might add, though she doesn't know me........

"Hilary......you don't have to be Crazy as a Loom(n), "
Rabbit Goody.
That's perfect, really.