International shipping and pigs.

I am at a loss to figure out why business is booming at Crazy as a Loom.
Aren't we in a recession??
Not complaining, just wondering.

Have a red and green warp on the spool rack, for Christmas placemats.  But first, we have to have time to weave off the log cabin placemats.
There's never enough time.

It was a rainy, gray day, and the pellet stove took the chill off.
Nicely.

In fact, it was putting a certain someone to sleep.

I was working on a fabric rug, but kept getting interrupted.
Answering the phone, writing up orders, shipping, CUSTOMS paperwork, etc, etc.
Like I said, I am not complaining.
But a secretary would be nice.

I couldn't resist these shots.
Pigs.
Front pigs,
Back.

Does it get any cuter??

Lois was busy out in "shipping".  I think she needs more space.

I'm sorry, did we wake you up???

There's work to be done, girl.   No time for a photo shoot.

Sydney says:  Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.

No one could ever hate you Syd.  That's a fact.

What is up.

I was trying to figure out what was bothering me tonight.
Then it came to me.
I am tired out with all the misery in the world.

The newspapers, the internet, the radio, the 6 o'clock news.

Sorry if my photos don't match my blather.  This is what sustains me.
This place, these looms, all the color, it keeps me from taking the bridge.

It makes me wonder if the world was always such an awful place.   I fear that it was.   We just didn't have the means to find out about it all.

I can't take harsh words, bad moods, shows of temper.  I have no tolerance for pettiness, selfishness, nonsense.

Give me a sunny window, and my loom.

The beater hitting the fell line, packing in the fabric.  Weaving the afternoon away.  Zoning out.

So simple.

It just doesn't get any better for me.

I know that no matter what else happens in my life, I am blessed to have this amazing place to work in, and the opportunity to weave my passion.

But sometimes, life is hard, right Syd??
I see you, Syd.

Don't touch my tea, girl.  That WOULD be bad news.

Cleaning day

Every now and again, we are inspired to clean the studio.
We have our reasons.

Luckily, we get visitors, and that brightens our day.

Every time this little one comes in the door, she looks for Sydney.
She says "Sydney" quite well, too.

She is a pickle.
But an adorable one.

We hauled out several bags of Solmate sock loopers, already chained together, and made kits.   If you get my newsletter, you know that these kits, usually $47.50, are on sale for $24.95.   If you have a loom, you can weave a generous 2'x3' rug.

It makes more sense to have them all packed up in kits, rather than have them stashed in the closet.
Besides, they make a great Christmas gift.
And we need the room.

We worked all day.   Even though we are different, L and I, we get a lot done together.   I push her,  and she holds me back.    Somehow, we complement each other, and accomplish more than most.

THE PLACE LOOKS GREAT!!!

 When the studio gets really disorganized, and cluttered, it makes me feel a little crazier than usual.

When it gets looking good again, it makes me feel calm, and peaceful, and hopeful.

Guess cleaning it up is a good thing.

Sunday soup.

You know I don't take a lot of days off, and it only happens when I PLAN it.

So I did.

It's been a busy day, but a good one.

First off, my granddaughter and I took Roy for a 4 miler.    She didn't complain one bit.

In fact, she explained that she usually always felt better after she exercised.

Out of the mouths of babes.

She told me that sometimes, when she is not having a good day, she runs around the block once, and she immediately feels better.

Sometimes I think she is smarter than most adults.

After we got back from our walk, we made whole wheat, banana, chocolate chip muffins.  We found a recipe online, and then fooled around with it a bit.

Teaching her bad habits probably, although I have a feeling she would have come up with this herself.

While my daughter was making lunch, I made some leek potato soup.  It is the easiest comfort food I know.
I have posted about it before, but if you want the recipe, it is HERE
Check it out for exact measurements.  But it is a breeze to make.
I just threw the leeks sliced thin and a big onion chopped into the pot, sauteed them in some EVO, added chicken stock to cover (even though I don't eat meat, I am not adverse to chicken stock) add sliced potatoes with the peels, cook them til they are tender, mash them right in the pot, add some heavy cream, salt and pepper.
YUM.   Great soup.

By the time we finished lunch, the muffins were done.  We ate them hot with the chocolate melting in our mouths.  

I am going to start a sweater for her tonight, and watch the Good Wife, and start a new book.
While I know there is plenty of work waiting for me at the studio tomorrow, I am staying right here in this day.
And it's just fine.

Ole One Eye

There has been a little bird at the feeder of late, with one eye.

Today I got a shot of him.  You can see the right eye is not right.

Glassy.

I wonder what happened.  Did he fly into a thorn???
Was he born that way??

 Easy to see that he is a regular at the feeder.

At least he has the one good eye, shiny and black.

I made some of the new rugs today, Chunky Solmate Sock rugs.  I couldn't help but think about the evolution of this rug.
In the beginning, the bumpy original gumball variety.  Bright and colorful, shed a little before the first wash.

Then the Walking on Sunshine variety, still colorful, but looking more like stained glass, not so bumpy, shed very little.

And now this one, the CHUNKY one.  Thicker, softer, just as colorful, and it does not shed ONE TINY BIT.

I love that we have found a better way to make it, that is is a better product than we started out with.

We done good.

TGIF

My two students from a couple of weeks ago, keep coming back to weave.

I love having them, they are both a lot of fun.  

They LOVE to weave, and you know how happy that makes me, right?

I love it when they 'get it'....and I love it more when they are HOOKED.
My job is done.  I have created two new weavers.  That is amazing.

As an aside, I have to tell you that P****, the lady above with the lovely blue and white rug, wants to come to Crazy as a Loom next summer, and work a day a week.
She loves to organize.
L told her that if she was bent on organizing, she would have to follow ME around.
Funny, L.

So in her spare time, P**** cleaned my pin dish, which was a mess.  She separated the T pins from the straight pins and the minutiae.
I think I am loving this already.

I told you, this week was crazy.   But in a good way.   Sales, students, new accounts, possibilities.
I am in awe.  How did this happen?  
I was just weaving a couple of rugs........

Now I am trying to keep enough socks sewn, to keep L busy.  You know how she is.  I need to keep her occupied.

I have decided that orders are on hold until December 1st.   I think that is the wisest thing I could do.   I will take orders, but not start them, until then.   We have this show to get ready for, and the Country Christmas Open House, and along with filling Christmas orders for shops that carry my products, that is enough.
Thank you very much.
It's raining tonight, sweet boy Roy might only get a short walk.  But he'll get one, that's a given.

the end of the day

This week has been the busiest in a while.  I have no idea what is going on.
The studio is a hubbub of activity, all the time.
I don't stop from the minute I get there, until I go home.

Then after a 4 miler with Roy, I am done like toast.
He is presently snoring under my arm as I type.  He waits all day for me to come home, and knowing how disappointed he would be if we didn't walk, is motivation to walk.
When I go to bed,  I read a few pages of my book, and can't keep my eyes open any longer.

I guess it makes me think about that saying, "be careful what you ask for".

But it's good.  I love being at the studio.  I love teaching people to weave.

I especially get excited about having ideas, brainstorming, and watching things evolve.  

Any time I feel like complaining, I remember how much it means to have a purpose, how important it is to have passion.

I found this article, and it spoke to me.

According to a recent survey, about 75% of the population do not know what their true passion is. Clearly, almost everyone seems to not be doing what they were meant to do. This is an eye-opener because doing what we really love is absolutely necessary if we want to be fully happy. Perhaps this is why there is so much unhappiness going on in our society, people just aren’t doing what they are here on Earth for. Finding your true passion isn’t as simple as it may seem. For some, yes it does come naturally, but most of the time, you have to ask yourself some questions to pinpoint exactly what you were born to do. Here are my 7 questions that can guide you to finding your ultimate passion:

What puts a smile on your face?
What do you find easy?
What sparks your creativity?
What would you do for free?
What do you like to talk about?
What makes you unafraid of failure?
What would you regret not having tried?

Do I know how lucky I am to be doing what I love????  To wake up every morning, and go someplace that makes my heart sing?  To have all the looms and fabric, and resources to do the work that moves me?

Oh, yeah.  I know.
I do.
That's why I feel that I can't waste one minute of this life.  It is too precious.
So if I am exhausted, it's ok.  It's all good.

Best laid plans.

I was just looking at my blog, thinking that it needs a face lift.
Which it isn't going to get.
I am exhausted.
Trying to get so much done in a day leaves me wasted.  Took my car in for an oil change early this morning, worked all day, stopped at the woodworker's, and dropped off Hip to Be Squares at the hospital gift shop.  I finally got home from the studio,  with 112 potholder looms in my car.  Took Roy for a 4 mile walk,  ate dinner, took my mother grocery shopping, went back to the studio to unload the looms, and with a plan to climb a ladder to spray bees in the peak of the house.
Which didn't happen.
I couldn't reach the bees, unless I climbed on the roof, and in spite of the fact, that I am usually up to a challenge, I decided against it.
I had a flash of my titanium knee all broken up, and that stopped me cold.
Live on, bees.


I am trying to figure something out.
I have some REALLY big rolls of fabric, that weigh 50-60 lbs each.   Cutting them into strips is troublesome to say the least.
My carpenter heard my tale of woe, and said he would try to make something....which he did.
Unfortunately, after he left, and I was cutting, the whole roll crashed.

The rod in the center flew back and hit me in  the jaw.

I know there is a way, but this needs work.

The new rug is a hit with everybody who sees it.
It is THICK, and it just plain ROCKS.

We need to make a STACK (like in 40-50) in the next several weeks.
There really isn't enough time in the day.
L will be working on the Walking on Sunshine, and the new Chunky WOS.
I will be plowing my way through this.

The sorting of the upholstery selvedge takes more time than the weaving does.

We are dividing up the stock we need for the show I decided to do in November.
Oh, I know.  I said I was not doing any shows.
So sue me.
I changed my mind.  Isn't that a woman's prerogative???
I swear, this is the last show.
Maybe.

As tired as I am tonight, I look at this picture, and I want to go back to the studio and work on this rug.
I know, I'm crayz.......yes, and crazy, too.
Goodnight all.