Thursday, January 09, 2014

We Love Babies

Had a fun day, and it’s about time, too. Leslie, the flesh and blood one, came over and we made earrings and repaired jewelry this afternoon and listened to Outlaw Country. (pronounced outlaaaaawwwww)

I had resigned my heart to sadness, that Brownie had succumbed to the frozen sleep. Boo Boo was sighted on Tuesday at the end of a culvert that must have been her shelter. She was hungry but otherwise, none the worse for wear. She’s been coming to the porch to eat. 

But Brownie. Where was my Brown Baby? (And why do I do this to myself? No more bunnies!) And tonight, there he was, in the back yard. I think I squealed just a little bit. He’s on the back porch with Boo Boo, munching on oats and pellets. The worst of the cold has moved back north and tomorrow should reach 45º. One day, was it Monday?, the high was 0º and the low was -11º. As Rainman would say, "Very cold. Very cold. Yes, very cold."


So. Jewelry and Bunnies. And Weaving. I love the Kromski Harp rigid heddle loom. It’s a thing of beauty and well-designed and a joy to work on.

 My woven fabric from handspun wool filled to 11" wide and about 2.5 yards long. I want to make a medieval hood from it, perhaps lined with linen.


This is the harp in action. In the upper left, you can see a bag of chenille yarn, scraps that I have been toting around forfuckingever. This little bit on the loom is enough for a small pillow or bag. 

Corky loves the cold weather. We've had about 8" of snow and the first day he bulldozed a slug trail right through it that the other two dogs are still using. He's doing great, as well he ought with what his meds cost. What a pretty face.


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a lovely piece of fabric! The tracking makes it look more than "just plain weave", how is the hand of it? I am so delighted for you!
Nancy NeverSwept

FUZZARELLY said...

Nancy, it has a nice hand and more drape than one would think. As to the tracking, is that a result of the yarns, warp and weft, both being spun Z and plied S? Or is it due to the fact that they are different sizes, one being more tightly spun and thinner?

Anonymous said...

Tracking is the result of unresolved twist energy, so the dreaded "unbalanced" yarn is what does that. Personally, I like tracking, and do it a lot on purpose when I weave with handspun, many times taking it to extremes and using singles for maximum effect. In mill-spun yarns I check to make sure that any unbalance won't obscure what else I'm doing. A loose sett emphasizes it; a tight sett minimizes.
Fun and games!

k said...

Ooh, I get to learn more about stuff? Good.
I worry about the bunnies outside. I was seeing their tracks, and they were doing okay, but then we got that 30 inches of snow and stayed butt cold for days on end (what am I complaining about don't I remember that winter when it was sub-zero for a month?). I'm trying to figure out where would be safe to feed them. There's a cat that comes around too, and I don't want to lure them into a trap.

k said...

I'm trying to psych myself up for making a warping board. I'm going to have to come to some sort of a decision here soon, since I bought the warp thread today. I think right now it's the dowels for the pegs that I can't make my head do. Plus, buying some sort of saw to cut them down.
In the meantime, i'm gathering up clamps. I could do the "wrap around chair legs"thing, but I'm getting a little old for that.

FUZZARELLY said...

Wish I could help you, K, but I bet YouTube has more info. I ordered the Kromski partly because if one flips it over, there is a warping board. I mean, there are holes and pegs were supplied, so one can make any length warp.

Good luck and stay warm.