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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

All Done

I came to the end of the "Lady in Red" warp.

The End

I pulled over 14’ (4.3m) of vibrant red weaving from the loom! I love it!

Before wet finishing.

I then spent a considerable amount of time sitting and twisting fringe while I listened to an online energy healing talk. Interestingly, much of what I listened to had to do with the Root Chakra which is commonly represented by the colour red.

Distraction Helped

The yardage is in the washer for the first stage of wet finishing now. Obviously there is more than enough to make the simple vest I have planned, even though I will have to seam it because my fabric is only 13.5" (40cm) wide prewashing.

Fringe Twisted

Adding Up

The work on the "Lady In Red" warp is starting to add up.

Adding up on the cloth beam.

I've added in a fun, novelty, heart motif, trim. I have no idea how it will affect the woven fabric once washed. If it puckers or distorts too much I can still remove it.

Heart motif trim

 I've also added in a few narrow strips of calico.

  Calico

They should add a bit of interest to the vest.

  Calico close up

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

A Bit At a Time

I was up and at the weaving early this morning. Hopefully I'll make significant progress today even though I can't weave continuously for long periods of time because of my back.

6:48, July 29, 2014

I'll weave a bit, do housework a bit, weave a bit, do laundry a bit, weave a bit, --- well, you get the idea.

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Friday, July 25, 2014

The Race Is On

2:55, July 25, 2014

A little more done today.

Four reds

I decided to enter the finished vest in the Chilliwack Exhibition so now I need to work diligently on the cloth so I can have it ready in time.

Warp at rest

Immersed in Red

Needing a little quiet time to myself, I spent more time than usual weaving yesterday.

12:24, July 24, 2014

And I remembered to take photos before I rolled each finished section forward.

1:30

In the above section I played with creating a slit opening in the fabric and introducing the occasional shot of eyelash novelty yarn.

7:50, July 24, 2014

This section shows the inclusion of a strip of red satin material (running through the darker section) and, closer to the fell line, a shot of 1/4" red ribbon.

Detail - Lady In Red

Here's a little close up look to illustrate that all that red, red, red, is not boring. Lots of texture going on there, and slight variations in tint and tone to make a single hued fabric sing with interest. 

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Weaving Wearable Art

My intention with this vibrant red warp is to make myself some "wearable art". I'm participating in a Ravelry based weaving challenge through the "Weaving in the Saori Way" forum. The weave-along is intended to get participants weaving a "Placemat Vest", or something wearable inspired by that pattern.

This is my beginning:

6:45 am Thursday

True to my "Type Four" energy (based on Carol Tuttle's "Dressing Your Truth", I have chosen a "Bold and Striking" red for my vest. It should be cheery in the gloomy days of winter.

Quote from a participant in a recent Saori Conference, "Kenzo talked about the concept of “decorating your body with wearable art, expressing how you feel inside”. That pretty much sums up what I'm attempting with this piece.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Party Came to an End

The moebius cowl I named "Having a Party" is now complete.

"Having a  Party" is complete

 So now it is time for "The Lady In Red" to get "dressed".

 

 So far she is being cooperative and behaving like a true lady. Let's hope she keeps her sweet nature as I wind her on tomorrow.

One Step Closer

Monday, July 21, 2014

Lady in Red

I'm about 3/4 of the way finished weaving the "Having a Party" moebius cowl so when a new weave-a-long challenge came up on the "Weaving in the Saori Way" forum on Ravelry I was excited to jump on board.

Next warp

If all goes as planned this will become a vest titled "Lady in Red". 

Sunday, July 20, 2014

The Party Continues

I've been so busy with other things lately that my weaving has been neglected. Still, with a minute or two here and a minute or two there I've got the weaving of  the "Having a Party" möbius cowl about 1/2 done.



I think I'd like to do something RED as my next project.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

A Sink With No Water

New sink and faucet.



Hook up is in progress. Hopefully I'll have running water when it's time to make supper.

25 Years Later

When we first moved into our home 25 years ago we knew the countertops just had to go. They were a repulsive "celery" yellow. For years I chopped directly on the countertop trying to ruin them but with limited success. I also tried the "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" tactic and attempted to decorate around them. For a while the kitchen was painted yellow. Then during the sponge painting era we went with a mottled blue but kept a yellow accent in a floral wallpaper border in an attempt to harmonize with the very ugly but nearly indestructible countertops. Yes. I did say sponge painting. It was tres chic back then I think. Maybe? Anyway, at the time I liked it.

But years went by. Years and years actually, we're figuring nearly 20, and sponge painted walls were beyond dated and into the laughable category.

Here's the best photo I could find that showed both the countertop and at the same time (behind me) the sponge painted walls, a bit of the floral wallpaper border, and above that the white wallpaper with a tiny blue flower. Look I'm so embarrassed I wore a mask! LOL

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Still we avoided making any redecorating decisions. Every time we thought about making changes it would start with countertops (because they just had to go, remember?), but maybe we'd replace the cabinets at the same time? Of course the cabinets needed to be the wonderful organizing kind with the fancy schmancy self closing operation. And if we were going to do that we'd go for an updated sink. Oh and while we're at it perhaps remove an exterior door to make room for more cabinets. How about a work island? There would be room for one if we decided to knock out a couple of walls --- and create a real dining room ---  and on and on it went. Soon enough we'd realize that we didn't have the budget for all that and we'd stare glumly at the dated, sponge painted walls and try to forget how hideous that countertop was.

Finally, not too long ago, I admitted that we were not likely to commit to an entire kitchen renovation any time soon but the actual countertops were not that big of an investment and we could do that much right now. I made an impulsive decision, grabbed hold of a corner of the worn wallpaper, and tore a good sized chunk out of it. There! Damage done and we were now committed!

So here we are. The Hideous Celery Yellow Countertops and backsplash are gone. Sweet!

Countertop installed

Still lots of work to do! The walls are in the process of being painted. This is the colour scheme we are working with.



 Then once the walls are completely painted I'll reevaluate where I'm going with the table and chairs. You may recall that I'm working on painting the chairs red?



The idea was for the red to be a splash of interest in an otherwise beige world, though I'd also add an item or two of red on the other side of the kitchen to provide balance. The chair painting is not going well. I'm having a horrid time with drips, even when applying very thin layers of paint --- LOTS of layers too! It will take a minimum of FIVE coats of paint just to cover the white primer on this first chair and each coat takes several hours to do. If I decide to continue I will definitely be having the primer tinted!

The plan for today is to stay out of my husband's way as he installs the kitchen sink. Although new it is not really an update. It looks very much like the one that was removed to make way for the counters. I'm okay with that. The size and style of the previous sink worked well so 'meh, good enough. I will be getting a new faucet though. The old one was awful. We haven't chosen the faucet yet but we know the general idea of what we are after.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Soon, Very Soon!

The counters are coming! The counters are coming.



The installation guy should be here within the hour.



It's been a big job just getting the old countertops off and the wall behind the counter prepped for the installation.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Back With a New Look

So obviously I've been having problems posting lately and my blog was all but abandoned for quite some time. I'm giving Blogger another chance after installing a new browser. Perhaps now it will allow me to post photographs?


Ok, YES! Blogger is letting me post pictures from Flickr using the GoogleChrome browser. We are back in business!

Many, MANY changes happening in my life right now -- all good I'd say, though some are causing me to be frantically busy at times. I'll give you a short run down on them over the next few days, as time allows. The biggest change I'd say has been in my personal appearance. Not that I look hugely different or anything, but because this change in my appearance has had a profound effect on how I feel. I'm feeling more confident, happy, and calm.

The changes started with the haircut pictured above. Going for the asymmetrical look was an idea I was mulling over. I took the idea to my very talented hairdresser, Jenn Grasslin, and she did a superb job. I've had the haircut for a few months now. I'm gradually working on growing the left side into a angled bob while keeping the right side short. I LOVE the look. I love it so much, and it feels so ME! Jenn is very talented at blending the two sides so that it all works and doesn't look odd.  (If you live in or near Chilliwack and would like her to work her magic for you shoot me an email (my email address is on my profile page) and I'll get you her booking phone number. 

But I didn't stop at just the haircut. About a month ago, through a post on a weaving forum, I was introduced to "Dressing Your Truth", a very interesting energy profiling system. Initially I did the FREE week long, short daily email profiling, but after enjoying that very much and seeing the benefits, I committed to the full program. I feel it was money well spent! I feel so much better now that I am "dressing my truth". I have a better understanding of what colours look good on me, what to look for in the style lines of my clothing, and how to accessorize as a "Type Four, bold striking" person. If you could use a little boost, give it a try. The initial profiling is free, so no risk there.

I'll be back soon to tell you of some of the other changes going on in my life. After about 20 years we are finally redecorating our kitchen! Not a full on reno. We aren't ready for that sort of financial commitment, but we are finally replacing the ugly countertops that we said HAD TO GO, way back in 1989 when we moved here!