Another cold day

I have been using my blog to see what March has been like for the last couple of years.  Perusing 2012, 2013, and 2014, it appears that March can go either way.  It might be lovely, and it might be just plain NASTY.
So I guess I will just have to wait and see like everyone else. 
I guess I will just have to count down to April, a much safer destination.

I feel bad counting the days until spring, but I am.  I think it is the super frigid temps that really get to me.  I don't mind the snow so much.

On the subject of Bart, it's not good.
I can't get in the coop, or the run, without him trying to "get me".  And he is serious.
I have read all the literature about changing his ways, but no, I am not going to carry him around to prove I am boss, and I am not going to beat him.
I could fix the coop so I can lock him out when I go in.  But that doesn't seem right.

I may have to admit, reluctantly, that my friend Karen has been right all along.  The fact of the matter is that I love hearing him crow, but unfortunately, the good experience stops there.

I see that a rooster is helpful, if you free range your chickens, but I have no intention of doing that.
So Bart may have to go.
I hate it, but I really want to be able to enjoy my chickie girls, and I can't get near them with him trying to protect them every second.

I managed to finish a Fiesta runner today, 10.5 ft long.  But I think I need to give it a rest, getting a sharp pain in the bicep of my right arm.  Too much weaving???   Say it ain't so.

I gave up weaving for today, and  I came home and made some potato leek soup (recipe in the recipe link at the top of the page)
The last time I made it was for my mother, a few days before she died. 
Making it always makes me think of her, she loved it so much.

A big salad, a glass of wine, and soup.  Oh, and toasted English muffin bread.

I am going to look at February and March as an opportunity to get things done.
I have to keep from thinking about the weather.
And how much I don't like it, because it doesn't help to hate winter.
Not one bit.

Little of this, little of that.

Cleaning the basement this past weekend, with the help of daughter #1, I finally unearthed this trunk, that has been residing behind the furnace for way too long.
It definitely has character, and I have a plan for it.

Of course, first off it has to be stripped.

But I think it will make a perfect coffee table.

And I can store my knitting inside.

 In a box, behind the paint stash, there were these dishes.  The newspaper they were wrapped in was dated 1991.

They aren't worth much  monetarily, but I like them.

On a business note, I told you that I sold the HTBS looper loom last summer, so I no longer have them.   But as circumstance would have it, I still have the LOOPERS.   I am taking a different approach to them though.  Lois and I are done with spending all our time handling them. So we aren't sorting them, mixing the colors up, NOPE, none of that.   I am sending them out to my "looper lady" to be cleaned of all the strings and such, and when they come back, we are packing them in 5 lb bags just the way they are, and selling them for $29.95.   As soon as I have 100 lbs, I am sending out a newsletter, to let all the looper lovers on my contact list know that I have them, and to let them know what colors are predominant in this batch.
And I will mention it briefly here.....as in I currently have 10 bags 5 lbs each, predominantly bright blue/turquoise.
And that's all I have to say about that.

There's nothing like a couple of warm loaves of English muffin bread on a cold wintry day.

Now for a message from Sydney.


"I don't like change.  At. All."

"I'm talking to you, Lois."

Letter to a rooster.

Dear Bart,

I worry about you and your girls in this bitter cold.

But what you don't know, is that someone ELSE worries about you, too.
Even though that someone professes to NOT LIKE YOU.

Imagine that, Bart?  Not liking you, with your silky, shiny black plumage, your antics, your incredible, repetitive CROWING?
I know, I know, hard to believe.
But you have to admit, Bart, that you do kind of appear suddenly, and scare the living crap out of whoever might be gathering the eggs in YOUR coop.
And you are a tad formidable, with your "death stare", when someone looks like they might get too close to your HENS.

But yes, someone else does worry about you in this cold.

 
Worries about your flashy, red comb getting frost bite.


So while you are spreading the straw in the hen house...........

and in the chicken run....

and while you are doing your JOB, being a bit of a PAIN..........supervising all goings on around you......
causing certain people DISTRESS..............

Just remember, Black Bart, that a certain someone whose name I will not mention, who does not like you, has nagged and nagged me until TODAY, I went and bought you a RED LIGHT BULB, to keep the frost off your little head.
I'm sure the girls will like it, too.
So Bart,  when you see that certain someone, please  crow really LOUD for her, so she'll know you're not an ungrateful rooster.

Heaven forbid.

Sunshine

I got to the studio this morning, and it was cold, and gray.    Kind of depressing.

But then the sun came out.

Not for just a minute, but for the WHOLE DAY.

It lights up the floors, and there is a golden glow everywhere.

I don't think you can ever have too many windows.
Cause when the sun shines, you want to let it in.
As much as possible.

 This front room used to be my retail shop, and then I realized that it had so much more to offer.  Retail got moved.
New windows, new glass door, and some rearranging, and now it is my favorite place to weave.
Wow, never thought I would say that.

I got a lot done today, when I wasn't looking out at the sun.

I could take winter a lot better, if only the sun would shine like this.

Per several email requests,  thhe egg muffin recipe is HERE 
I get creative with mine.....and you can, too.  They are delish.

 I guess my girls don't know that chickens SLOW DOWN production in the winter.
I am loving the eggs, but collection is ongoing all day, so the eggs don't freeze.

SUNDAY is February 1st, that means in FOUR weeks, the worst of winter is over.
Pretty much.
I hope.

A cold wintry day.

AVL warped, Happy Light turned on.

 Snow storm apparently decided to avoid the northeast.

Someone said these are too pretty to be dish towels.
But I say, why shouldn't we have beautiful textiles in our daily lives?  Makes me feel good to make them, and makes me feel good to use them.

 It was very cold out today, but no snow to speak of.  Everyone got ready for the big blizzard, but not this time.  It's really ok with me.

I proved something to myself today, something that I knew perfectly well, but kind of wanted to ignore.
Yup, the old carrying eggs in your jacket pocket trick........not wise.
Do I need to say more???

 Lois is on vacay.  
Sydney wants to know what the hell is going on.
I told her, "I got this."
I am currently flitting from loom to loom......fiesta rugs, mobius shawls, mohair throws, and cotton dishtowels.
These two are sold already.

 

 Since the girls are laying their little selves silly, despite the cold, I made some more egg muffins.

 
These have zucchini, red pepper, onions and cheese.  They make a great breakfast.

I'm just amusing myself, counting the days until spring.  Staying warm.

How about you?

Looms.

"Keep the looms you love, and get rid of the rest."  
That was the advice of a weaver friend who died before she could do all the weaving she wanted to do.
That will be me, I fear.
I will never get all the weaving done that is in my head.

Today though, I realized that I DO have the looms I love.   On occasion, I am guilty of lusting after a computerized AVL.
But somehow, I always resist.
I think that I resist because deep down, I am happy with what I have, and I know it.


 For throws and baby blankets, I love my 4 harness, 46" wide, Schacht.

Outfitted with  Leclerc sectional rakes, because I like theirs BETTER.

My favorite rug loom of all, the Union Custom, made in Boonville, NY, the "cadillac" of the Union loom line.
The tray on top has been repaired, but otherwise, this loom is the bomb.

When the Union Custom is 'BUSY', there is always the Union 36, to pick up the slack.  Usually, we use it for placemats, sweet bottom chair pads, table runners.

My older, maple Schacht, also 4 harness, but only 36".   This is a sweet loom.
I use it for mobius shawls mostly.

And my very own AVL, a mechanical dobby, 40" wide, 16 harness.

I use it mostly for towels, this is a new warp, ready to go.

 I have more looms.

An 8 harness Ashford table loom
A band loom.
A 7 ft wide Toika, 8 harness.
A Leclerc compact loom, 4 harness, 24" wide
A Schacht baby wolf.
A Reed Ideal, 2 harness, 36" wide.

Isn't that enough, you ask???

Well, yes, actually, I think it is.  Just perfect.

Fiesta Rugs

Hey, it's January in New York.  It's cold, icy, did I say COLD?
Frigid.

So I decided to take some of the fabric I bought while I was in Georgia, and make some bright, sunshine-y, happy rugs.

 Here's the warp.

 Bright and colorful, that's what I'm talking about.

What do you think???
I am loving it.
It makes me want to make some guacamole.
Drink some Corona.

I want them to be JOYFUL.  

 I am trying to decide on regular size rugs........29"x45"  OR porch rugs........8' of 9' long.

Or maybe both.

Let's make some quesadillas!!!

I'm back.

OK, my mini trip south is over.
Back to the frozen north, and my regular routine.

I will miss my friend, Linda, and our daily walks, even in the rain.

When we left the hotel this morning, at 6:40am, in Allentown, PA, I was sideswiped by a tractor trailer.  We were both stopped at the traffic light, and unlike most trucks that make huge and wide turns, he just cranked left, and practically ripped the back of my car off.
It was scary, and noisy, but didn't do as much damage as I thought.
I tried to catch him, honking my horn, but he stepped on the gas.  He had no intention of stopping.
I had to stop, to investigate the noise coming from the back of my car.  The metal that he ripped off, was bent into the tire, so we had to bend it back before we could proceed.
While it is upsetting, we weren't hurt.  It's just a car, after all.

First order of business, when we got home, was to get Bart from the vet's.  He was apparently not very cooperative while he was there, and crowed so much they were happy to see him go.

He was very quiet in the car on the way back to the studio.  When he got there though, he was a happy boy.
It must have been a nightmare, no wonder he wasn't cooperative.
Home with his girls now, back to normal.

I have a huge list of things to do.

But first, I need to do some weaving.