Spring and ribbon, what could be better? This scarf was made entirely of that hand dyed silk ribbon that appeared several posts back. It is the blue and purple colorway and made the lightest weight scarf. It would make a good accent with a jacket or for one of you skinny girls, a belt. It was made on a loom powered by people-power, no electricity involved.

Last night the planet celebrated an hour without the use of electricity. I wish that had been better planned and advertised. There were many places where no one had even heard it was going on. I am a diehard liberal and will leave you with this wonderful quote from Wendell Berry - one our nations greatest thinkers. "The most alarming sign of the state of our society now is that our leaders have the courage to sacrifice the lives of young people in war but have not the courage to tell us that we must be less greedy and wasteful."

When was the last time you slept on embroidered pillowcases? Spring is just the time for a sweet indulgence like hand embroidered pillowcases. None of this made in China stuff please, just the real old fashioned thing. Embroidery seems to be undergoing a kind of Renaissance like some of the other fiber arts: knitting and crocheting especially come to mind. I think it is a response to how out of control our world feels. So many things that were common and predictable have all but ceased to exist. No wonder more people are taking time for guilty pleasures that are life affirming! Forsake that mall and pick up that embroidery hoop you got from your grandmother. Make something sweet for your family to remind them that the important things in life are the most basic ones and can't be bought in any store.

More weaving pictures soon......

Grace is that funny divine gift that means you have been spared even when you did not deserve it. We had fires here yesterday. Thousands of acres burned and several homes were lost. Mine was not among them. The animals and I are still here on the plains with the looms and quantities of yarn. What to take when the sheriff comes and tells you to evacuate? The looms are too big and the yarn can be replaced. I just got ready to take the animals, but mercifully we were spared. The fires raged less than a mile from our home, the sky was dark for hours from the smoke long before sunset. This morning the acrid smell is everywhere. Still, we are grateful to be enjoying the sunlight and flowers. My husband planed these daffodils before he left for Iraq and they are just coming into bloom.

However you spend your day, be grateful.

Frisbee -- who rolls her eyes at yet another shawl, at least it's not another cat!

We can't get enough blue around here. These two projects were created from the same warp. 28"wide and 9 yards long is enough for a vest with leno lace and beads and pretty tame stripes.

This is the shawl from the same warp but the weft was all different colors of blue and purple. You can see a couple of the leno stripes with beads in this. The teal fringe is hand dyed silk (you knew I'd find a way to work that in). This shawl was made in two panels and comes to a V in the back. the fringe on the ends is double twisted with a sprinkling of glass beads.

This shawl is really in homage to Jane Thornley http://www.janethornley.com who is a knitting guru spreading the love of color around the world. I recently happened on her site and bought her book and one of her patterns. They are fantastic and even someone like me who does not knit at an advanced level can create some beautiful things. I'm working on her cowled caplet and will photograph it when it gets finished. If you love color and texture be sure to check out her site.

Too much ribbon? Nah. Like many fiber fanatics I have fallen in love with that wonderful 100% silk ribbon that is popular in knitting. I had to have some, but I hate what most places are charging for it, so I did what anyone with a superiority complex and lots of dye in the house would do, I made my own. I ordered blank silk ribbon from Dharma http://www.dharmatrading.com and then just spent most of the day dyeing silk ribbon until I felt like there MIGHT be enough for me to play with. My friends are laughing at this -- Is 80 yards enough to play with? Maybe. Might need more! Whatever your fiber muse calls for -- follow it!

A red letter day in the small conservative town I live in. I was able to get in and out of Walmart without using any of their plastic bags. OK, for those of you who live in a liberal world where most people take their own bags to the grocery store you might be thinking that we are still back there with segregated schooling. You would be not far from right. This past week our local Albertsons offered (grudgingly) for sale reusable grocery bags. They cost a dollar. On the same day I went into GNC and there, on the counter was another bag for sale. Recycling has hit my hometown, now if they would just consider recycling plastic, paper and glass. You have to take what you can get. Today I made my pilgrimage to Walmart and took my two bags. I stopped at the door to get the obligatory blue spot so that they would KNOW my bags were not stolen or smuggled in, but were there legitimately. For the first time in my life I was able to get out of that store without a horde of those awful plastic bags that do nothing but multiply under the sink and line the roadsides. A small victory, but one I will gladly take.

On to weaving and other fiber related projects. This weekend I worked on this small green silk purse. It was one of those clearance items at Hobby Lobby, originally $14 something marked down to $2.40. It had the leafy pattern printed and you just embroider on top and you are done. Well, of course it needed some beads and a bobble of Bali Silver but it is coming along nicely.















On the eight harness loom I'm working on a shawl that will be different shades of blue. To add some interest I'm putting in a couple of panels of Leno and some Danish Medallions. Leno is a hand manipulated mock-lace and this bit has some beads added in for good measure. Can you ever have enough beads in the world?? The Danish Medallions are going to be three rows in this area and another row later on for visual interest.

Studio

Artist's studios fascinate me. I love to see where people work, the kind of atmosphere it has and how much clutter they work with or through. Because I create visually, I need to be able to see all those cones of yarn, or the skiens in a basket. Color is the great motivator and texture is a close second. So today I thought you might like to see where I work. This long narrow room is part of our recycled house, it was built on after the house was moved from town five years ago. There are tall ceilings, and ceiling fans and good light from large east facing windows. For years I have bugged my husband about building a studio on our property but I have to admit that this is probably better than a stand alone building because it is always right HERE. There is never an excuse about going to work, because I am already at work here in the light filled room right off the kitchen. The kitchen is important too because weaving requires lots of cups of tea.




A rare picture of the two cats together. They are not best buddies even though they look almost exactly alike. George is the one looking at the camera and Murphy the Manx is checking to see if George got a treat he didn't know about.

This is the other end of the room where I sit and listen to music as I work on the rigid heddle loom.