Where do I start?

And when do I get to stop?

Things here at OTTT are really getting busy. I think that I have never been so busy. Ever. It starts with the family. They always come first. Sort of. Then work and school and then getting product ready to sell. Sales have started to pick up a bit at market, but I need to weave more. What I really need is a few more hours in my day.




Here are a couple of picts from the Art Trek opening last weekend. My scarves and temari balls are cleverly displayed in the center of the room. There were 4 other artists and around 50 people that came and went that evening. As Maria, the Fredericton Arts Alliance director said of the opening "It wasn't an opening, it was a party!" Everyone had a great time and we, my family and I, left at about 9:30. Half an hour after the "opening" was suppose to end. Apparently there were some people were there much later. Basically, a good time was had by all. I even sold a scarf.

Last week I also put another warp on a loom at the college. More merino shawls. These turned out darker then I intended. You know that when you are tired, you get...well, lets just say, the brain cells don't fire as well as they could. In any case, I made this warp up (including a colapsing warping mill, but I'm NOT going to talk about that, just know that that is a BAD thing). So I go to dye this thing. For those of you who have been with me for a while, you have seen me dye a warp before. Plastic wrap, vinegar soaked warp down, apply dye, wrap warp, steam, rinse, repeat. It works great. If you don't forget a step. Like the vinegar. Sigh. So what happened was I decided to dye in the dye kitchen at the college, cause I could. Dedicated dye kitchen. I'm in heaven! But I digress. Warp made up. I decided to skip the vinegar soak part because I thought that I would spray the vinegar on with a spray bottle after I soaked up the excess dye. Less waste of vinegar. Seemed like a good idea at the time. I should have known better than to mess with established procedure. Live and learn.
So plastic wrap is down, warp is on it, dyes applied. Pooh. I forgot my rack for steaming at home. Steaming is not something that is taught now at the college and so they have no steaming racks. I live a few minutes away from the college and so home I jaunt to pick up my rack while my warp sits for its 30 minutes. All is right with the world. I get back and set up the pot, ready to steam. Wrap up my warp put it in the pot. Turn on the heat.....and then think %$#@%^&!!!! Forgot the vinegar. Have you ever tried to get wet plastic wrap to stick to itself? Add dyes and 312 inches (over 8.5 yards people) of warp. Wet, dye soaked warp. Not a pretty sight. Didn't sound very nice either.
I took three deep breaths, looked at my options, and dumped the whole thing in a pot with the correct amount of VINEGAR and just enough water to cover the yarn and called it a rainbow pot. Let it cook an hour and sit for two days to cool down and clear. The result is a beautiful (but very dark) warp. I am going to miss this yarn when it is all gone. And there was a lot of it. In any case, the shawl that is on the loom is a plain weave that is 28 inches wide. After the first shawl, I will cut it off, and re-sley it for a twill. I have it threaded in a rose path. I am going to do some experimenting with an 8 harness that I can use, but it was in use by a student when I was ready to warp, so went back to a good old standby on a 4 harness.

Sorry. I just realized that I am rambling. I guess that is what happens when I have three people talking at and around me while I am trying to share with all of you. Add sleep deprivation , and you have a recipe for a babblefest.

Oh, yeah. I also wove off my first chenille scarves of the season. They were fringed and washed and ready for the table this weekend. The two were a burgundy and dark chocolate colour and weave. I have three more chenille scarves on my loom at home that are tans and browns. The colours remind me of a seal. The kind with flippers.

And today at market I sold two scarves. Both pink off of the same warp! Who could have known. And to think that I was so tired this morning that I almost didn't go to market. Small soggy girl in the early hours of the morning contributed to that decision. I packed the car last night so felt that I had to go. Glad that I did.

And then, this afternoon, after market, I taught a dyeing workshop to 9 people. Most of them are coming back for stage 2 in two weeks. More about that when Karen sends me pictures. Let's just say that a good time was had by all!

Till then....