Cracklings

 Pattern weft: my 2 ply handspun cotton (spun from Easy To Spin Pima cotton top)
Warp: golden cottolin; crackle weave threading with summer winter treadling

My motto: I live life slowly.... (exceptional efforts exist on twin-sitting days). As the weather heats up, I slow down even further. But... I do find that small, steady efforts - even at a slow pace - yield results.

Band: blue pearl cotton pattern weft on golden cottolin warp;
crackle weave threading with summer winter treadling

I completed the finishing processes on my experimental woven samples: two narrow bands and two table runners. They are hemmed and washed. The table runners are not very long. Perhaps I should call them table loungers. The length looks good on my table.

Table runner: patterns wefts: blue pearl cotton and Heirloom 8 ply cotton in yellow;
golden cottolin warp; crackle weave threading with summer winter treadling

I feel very happy with the look and feel of the samples, especially the one I wove with my handspun cotton as weft. I feel encouraged to keep spinning cotton yarn and start planning next winter's weaving project: more cotton fabric, perhaps handspun weft with fine commercial cotton warp?

Table runner. Pattern weft: my handspun white Pima cotton 2 ply;
Warp: golden cottolin; crackle weave threading with summer winter treadling 

I haven't yet completed the finishing (sewing and washing) processes for the two main woven pieces from this project. I bought blanket binding for their edges, but forgot matching thread. I managed to find a small amount of almost matching thread in my thread box, located my magnifers and a torch, borrowed a screwdriver from my husband and set about figuring out how to adjust the bobbin tension on the sewing machine. Success! I sewed the binding on one end of the woven fabric and promptly ran out of thread. No more sewing until we make another trip to town. Once I have thread, I'll sew in the cool of the morning as it's getting too hot to sew in the shed under the tin roof.

Without air conditioning during tropical summers, we have a few cool hours in the morning to get energetic things done, as well as anything else that requires thinking. Then the increasing heat slows body and brain. We don't fight it. Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun.

Post by M in JaM

Photos by J in JaM   

Houston, do we have a Problem?

Take me to your leader....

Look who has landed: gorgeous harlequin beetles... but hard on hibiscus, right? I'm torn between doing the “right thing” to protect the hibiscus and doing nothing because the beetles look so dazzling. I guess that's one of the reasons I don't qualify as a gardener. I have to remind myself that I have other good qualities.

Avoiding the decision about the beetles, I cut the fabric from the loom. Now I look at the loom and know it's empty even though it's covered to protect it from dust and bat droppings. That's the way it shall remain until cool weather returns. The finishing process for the woven pieces has begun. I've threaded the treadle sewing machine, a Singer 328P, and begun sewing beside the cutting lines of each woven piece (six pieces, counting four samples). Each will be hemmed by hand and washed.

experimental band in commercial cotton and cottolin

This is my first unwashed but hemmed sample, a narrow band with four picks of crackle weave in the centre surrounded by plain weave. I squeezed this piece out of the very last of the warp, coaxing the shuttle through an ever-narrowing shed. I'm pleased with the result. Warp: cottolin. Weft: cottolin, pearl cotton and unmercerized cotton.

Kookaburra's fierce regard

A kookaburra has been coming regularly to the bird bath. He keeps a sharp eye on things. The little birds stay out of his way. Even snakes take heed. Is it too much to hope that the kookaburra might like to eat hibiscus beetles?  

Post by M in JaM
Photos by J in JaM

Queen's Birthday

We've enjoyed this public holiday at home, sitting in front of the morning fire, walking the dog, visiting via the phone, reading things of interest on the internet and working on creative projects. Well aware of global financial problems, threats of mining expansion nearby, concern over water sources and water quality, climate change... well, to avoid being overwhelmed, we purposely turn our minds regularly to finding contentment near at hand.

Leg warmers, knitted last year (NeedleFood hand-dyed yarn)

Last week I stretched my knitted sock sample (no pics as yet) onto a toddler foot and realised I have to knit to the future, not to the moment. The sock was too small for one twin but fit the other twin's foot perfectly – we all know that perfect fit would last for about five minutes. By the time I got home, knit the sock's mate, mailed it and it arrived... there's no way the socks would fit. The twins are growing and changing so fast. So, my mission remains to knit two pairs of larger toddler socks that can be worn this winter, that is... NOW! I am not a fast knitter. Keep your fingers crossed, would you?

Cottolin warp for new weaving project

In between knitting sessions, I've wound a warp for a new weaving project. Similar to the last project, it will use a crackle weave threading and summer winter treadling. The warp is 22/2 cottolin instead of the 5/2 cotton I used last time. The loom lives upstairs in the guest bedroom (you can see the mossie net over the bed in the background). With the heat of summer past, I can weave upstairs during the day quite comfortably. Instead of being too hot, the room in winter is warm and cosy.

May you and yours find contentment nearby, too.

post by M in JaM

photos by JaM

Breathing easier

All quiet at our place while we recuperate from respiratory virus running rampant in the region. I don't think I have ever experienced such extreme nasal incontinence before, ever. Could there be a conspiracy to inflate the value of tissue stocks?

Both of us are feeling better at last and wishing there was a short cut to full recovery. In the meantime brain function continues at below normal levels. I'm keeping this post brief as coherency remains a challenge.

Handwoven table runners in crackle weave

Before everything went downhill healthwise a couple of weeks ago, I put the finishing touches on some handwoven table runners that I started about two years ago, just before the twins were born. All cotton except one runner features handspun wool weft. Crackle weave threading, new to me, on 4 harnass loom. I must be feeling better because I'm starting to think about doing more crackle weave. There's something very satisfying about having my own handwoven runner on the table.

Post by M in JaM

Photo by J in JaM

Dragonflies and Crackle Weaves

Queensland dragonfly (100mm = 4inch wingspan)

Every night over the past few weeks, a pair of dragonflies (100mm = 4inch wingspan) have been entering the house just on dusk before we close doors and windows. They settle for the night on Chinese hanging Christmas decorations (foil) still strung from the ceiling. The dragonflies are pretty safe from geckoes there. And there's no wind inside. In the morning, after it warms up, they fly out one of the windows which we throw open as soon as we rise. I love sharing my home with dragonflies.

River Gum sheds the past

I also love to learn new things. I don't expect to be an expert or authority on any one thing, because I can't resist the lure of learning something new. DH gives me encouragement and reminds me that you often learn more from failure than from success. New creations don't always bring satisfaction. Often they bring inspiration for improvement.

Almost two years ago, before the twin grandsons were born and things got very busy for all concerned, I decided to learn to do a crackle weave with a summer & winter treadling on my 4-harness Gilmore loom. I'd never done a crackle weave threading. An issue of Handwoven (September/October 1994) got me started. I based my project on Dixie Thai's Buttercup Baby Blanket, p 83, in that issue. It took a lot of mental gymnastics on my slow brain's part as I wanted a narrower warp, but just how narrow should I make it and don't forget 18% shrinkage. I had to figure out how many pattern repeats I would need. And I'd be using a different weft. Did I have enough yarn? I made decisions and wound the warp, then the twins were born. One year later I got the warp out of storage, threaded and warped the loom, wove to the end of the warp, cut the fabric off the loom and carefully packed the roll of fabric away as hot weather arrived.

This year's cooling weather and diminishing numbers of eye flies* in the Shed have given me the chance to unpack the roll of woven fabric and set about finishing that fabric. I used our treadle sewing machine to zigzag lines of stitching beside cutting lines of the woven sections. Then I cut apart the sections and pinned the hems. As I refilled a bobbin for the sewing machine, the old leather treadle belt broke (again). No longer repairable, it had to be replaced. I felt incredibly lucky when I located a supplier in a town 45 minutes drive away. I was going to that town anyway for my free two-yearly eye exam (socialised medicine, what a blessing). In the meantime I handstitched the hems on my first newly woven cotton table runner, It's been washed and now lies on our table (photo above). There's more of these crackle pieces waiting to be hemmed and the new treadle belt waiting to be installed.

*eye flies: Queensland's eye, ear, nose and throat flies, small quick and in large numbers this time of year. They swarm about your head and dart into your eyes for a quick drink of eye moisture. We don't like'm at all! 

Post by M in JaM

Photos by J in JaM