School days :)

OK- so going back to school... FUN!
(But first let's start with a gratuitous puppy picture of my doggies snoozing on the passenger seat of my car.)
Really, this is great. At this age, I am not partying, not dating and not hooking up. I have a regular sleep schedule, a lovely bed, I eat real food regularly and enjoy all sorts of other things younger college students don't. It makes the work load so much easier! Easier might have something to do with the intense project load I kept up with in work too... but I am having fun. (Except for the random moaning and whinging about expository essays. Essays at 35 years old! Give me something to analyze or a design presentation any day. Ok, enough whining.)
My program is called Arts and Religious Practice. (Evergreen doesn't do many individual classes. We take one program all quarter and get credits in multiple disciplines.) The Arts bit is in both Printmaking and Fine Metals studios with two very organized and focused instructors.
Printmaking So far we have focused on relief printmaking from woodcuts and intaglio from copper engraving. Here is a picture of one of my burins (engraving tool) plus some scrap copper for practicing. The close up of the practice piece and tip of the burin shows you how much more practice I need! These things make itsy teensy little scratches, but they all show up in the printing. The bottom picture is a print of a sample plate about the same size as this plate. Circles are hard! (I may just be stealing hubby's magnifier Ott-lite for that, but don't tell him.) We are just getting to the hard line etching now and aquatint is soon. Somehow, we are already past mid-term! Lots of bits & pieces in the portfolio for that one.
Metals The fine metals studio is non-ferrous stuff, nothing with iron, no steel. We work with mostly copper and brass and silver solder and fun stuff like that. I don't have any pictures of my samples in there yet, but soon. My current project is a copper spindle whorl- I have high hopes for it turning out nice & shiny. And usable.
So I guess since I am making things I will have to start taking pictures of them for here, now that I am past the simple, sampled not very attractive stuff, that is. Maybe I will post a picture of my first project from metals, a nameplate. Or not. This program is lots of work, lots of fun!
There is not much quilt-y or weaver-y. But I have a plan for that too. Maybe I will post pictures of that too. (Hey- Anything can happen! I posted in less than 2 months this time!)

Oops- I seem to have wandered off

Well... so much for good intentions about posting more often. (Now I must wonder how long the next break will be!) And seriously, I have no good reason. Except that I haven't been doing anything. At least not stitch-y anythings.
I have been doing a few things in a half-assed fashion. Like I started learning to spin, but realized I wasn't going to spend the time required to practice. Not right now. I will come back to that.
And since I have nothing pretty to share, how about a quick recounting of my life, because if I don't have a good excuse, I can at least make an attempt at a whine, no?

In the past month or so:
I moved my real estate license to a new firm. I am now at Abbey Realty, a locally owned company. It is a big change not to be part of RE/MAX after 8 years. But really, I have been progressing on a different track for my business anyway. And it gets me the best of both worlds, as they say. So big change #1!

#2 change is Zaboo. I found this sweet year old pug boy in a parking lot 2 weeks ago. But nobody has claimed him, after much posting and searching for his family myself. So I have a second pug! He is sweet and loving. But he is unaltered and has a few habits we are addressing. As you can imagine, Lilly thinks he is uncouth. Perhaps that will change after a certain surgery next week. But he gets on just fine with Bandit cat. Also, he is very nervous of large dogs, is very submissive and doesn't seem to understand doggy language/politeness real well, so we are working on the social bit.

And the Biggest Bit of Chaos: I am going to school! It all started back in March or April when I decided I really did want to go to school and needed to figure out how. I have been looking into it for a while. So I was able to decide that Evergreen State College is a good place, and I went in and was told, "Great! You have a week to get your application in." Panic! But I did it, and I muddled through the paperwork and had to write a "personal essay". And I got in. And I got financial awards to pay for it. And I am taking 16 credit hours!
Evergreen has this fantastic system, where we don't take individual classes, but one Program where we get credits in multiple disciplines. My program is called Arts & Religious Practice. We are looking at the objects and practices of medieval European Christianity, Judaism and Islam. And we make art. Fine metal work and wood cutting for intaglio printmaking to be precise. So that may be the pictures I have for posting in the near future. I am incredibly excited about it. Also nervous, fluttery, wide eyed, twitchy. But excited! And classes start in about 24 hours.
Not really sure how work will happen, but I will fit it in somehow.

Anyway, that is the main update. Other things since my last post:
Camping with my sister's kids and lots of family. Ocean with my aunt and her two grandkids. Fairgrounds weaving display showing kids the how-to. Lots of video game time. Some lawn mowing. Some walks with dogs. Work.
But no fiber work, no sewing.
Perhaps this was a transitional year.

First off!

First it was on....

And I have my first off-the-loom!
Just abit more work to do, cleanup of a couple spots on the selvage where the last thread wasn't picked up and then the fringe. And washing of course. But I get to have show & tell at guild this month!

How many looms does a new weaver need?

I think that is a question probably asked of all weavers...
But it is a useless question! Because the people who might know the answer don't care to answer it.
Instead, I shall simply show off my emerging studio. Yay for extra buildings.

(Yes, I do admit some good old fashioned rich-white-american guilt about using a whole building for weaving when I am such a rank beginner. But it goes away pretty quickly.)

First off, let me introduce you to the newest acquisition This is probably the last loom for me for a loooong time. (No more space see?) This charming piece of modern engineering is a Bergman Countermarche. Bergman is a well known and respected builder from the Pacific Northwest and I was basically gifted this loom. With tools!

And the under side of the Bergman.
It has 6 treadles, 4 shafts, string heddles and enclosed castle storage. And I am really curious to see how long ago this loom was dressed! There is old newsprint between the warp. (I will do a whole post on the discovery process.)

Here is a loom I am learning on. It is not owned by me. It is owned by my Guild. Lovely little 8 shaft Mountain Loom.

I have some 5/2 cotton dressed on 4 shafts here, and I am going to do a nice 2/2 twill for a lightweight scarf. The warp is a nice dark nubby green and that teal is mercerized so will shimmer a bit as is comes together.

I am making the scarf for a beginner weaver series my guildmates at the Olympia Weavers Guild have created just for us newbies! My guild is amazing... that is yet another post.

The tool case: aka old unused audio/video shelves. Perfect for showing off how often I dust. And a nice selection of tools, shuttles, bungee cords and the other accoutrment of weavers.

Please note the cheerful orange of the drill/electric bobbin winder.

I also now have 4 kinds of clamps to use for various things. Tools stores are fun!

Also note the lack of dryway...

I have such hopes to have the rest of the insulation and drywall in this room this spring. Because it is blasted COLD in the winter. Patience.

And that brings us to the wall o' fiber!

Thanks to a great many generous weavers and garage sales, I am totally stocked!

It is a good choice to take photos of your stash, as it makes it clear what your color preferences are. I can't wait to see how that changes as I start making things from a plan!

I did not introduce the Rigid Heddle Loom or the frame loom or the warping board, but they live in there too. I expect great things from them all!

Can't live without

I just need to tell everyone about these totally geeky half gloves. I think they are made for knitters.
I use them for everything!
I have arthritis in my hands and arms from various things like waitressing and keyboarding. And sometimes, especially if the barometer changes dramatically I get all achey and doing small motor skills things hurts.
But since I got these little nylon gloves, no more pain! (And I have been playing lots & lots of video games so I have definitely stress-tested them.)
Thanks, just had to share.
PS- Yes, they are turned inside out. I think it is counter productive to have the extra pressure of seams on my wrists.

I wandered away a bit...

oops.
It has been FOUR MONTHS since I posted!?!?
oops
I really haven't been doing much though... just workworkwork. I haven't even finished those baby quilts.
BUT
I am heading off for a weekend of sewing next weekend. And I just started the Weaving Basics course through my guild. Today was discussing loom types etc. We got a warp off the board and lots of time to discuss all 7 ways 5 different weavers do things lol
I swear I have been doing something creative in the past few monts...
I took a class about beading on fabric with Larkin Van Horn. Also, I am taking over the website for the quilt guild and helping with our auction. (Mark Lipinsky is going to be our auctioneer! He is also doing a seminar and a two day class. But I bet the auction is hilarious!)
I have been to the ocean twice.
My mom came to visit me over my birthday & Thanksgiving. Wish she lived closer :(
Not exactly creative... but engrossing: online gaming. Dungeons & Dragons online to be precise :)
But that's it.
Pretty pathetic. Oh well.
I will try to get at least one post a month up here. Promise! (with pictures)
(oops)

And I sewed, finally

Here is the latest installment of what has become my once-a-month blog.
But this time I SEWED! (Yes, I did shop too, but that is surprisingly less important.)
Thanks to all my wonderful Canadian friends for having me back to the Retreat at the lake. I especially loved meeting new friends. And the A/C was quite a change. And I loved that I sewed and sewed. And learned things, like staying up until 3 am does NOT make me more productive.

My stated goal for this retreat was "piece 3 baby quilt tops". I didn't achieve it- but I did piece the majority of 2 tops and I am quite happy about it.

The first shot is sideways (note the feet). It will have a free form tree in very dark brown appliqued over the geometric design. I may add a bit of the red to the tree- wispy branches perhaps? And probably the red as an inner piping border. Then probably a thin dark brown border with dark brown finish.
Number 2 is this sailboat quilt- you can see that I will be adding the dark blue/stars as an inner border. I get get to use Y seams too, because I had not planned to keep the outer parts of the nine-patches there. But once I saw it together, I decided they need to stay. Then a nice thick border of that Waves fabric! (Isn't it great stuff! I got it from the clearance rack at the delightful Fourth Corner Quilts in Bellingham.)
Number 3 baby quilt will be 5 turtles in batik. I have all the fabric. I have an actual pattern (shocking thought, I know) and I WILL sew in my studio regularly.
All three of these are for boys already born.

I did take more photos of retreat... but I think I will save them for a different post! Maybe one finished this month!
Many, many, many thanks to my friends at retreat for helping me with the design bits.

she shops, She SCORES!

Have you noticed a certain theme to my summer- a certain shop-iness?
I have...
Oh well.
I am good at it! Look at my new stash of weaving finds!
It was an estate sale, and no one had an idea of what went with what. Or even what they were. It was a bot of a treasure hunt.

A spool rack, a niddy noddy, spool winder, a pair of carders, some interesting prints of old looms and a set of lease sticks. And at a different sale later in the day, I got there just as they were putting out a nice selection of quilting rulers.


Of course, there was a lovely basket full of shuttles: stick & boat & rag, plus spools and a nice tangle of string heddles. And a nice big basket. Oh- there is a tapestry beater in there too.

But look at this- THE BOX OF THE UNKNOWNS

What the heck are these things???
The upper right is some sort of shuttle with a tweezers type end... but for what specifically?
Bottom left is a pair of things for... something?
Upper left- no idea.
Bottom right- hubby thinks it is a sewing type thingy?
Any ideas?

I am covered in Dirt

I am covered in dirt. And I am rather happy about it.
This has been an INCREDIBLY busy summer for me. For example, I got home at 8 pm last night, and it was one of the earliest nights this month.
So today, when I had nothing scheduled (and could have slept in), of course I woke up at 5:30 am. Which allowed me to do lovely things like think. And surf around online. And look at blogs and Facebook and update Twitter and follow newslinks and all those lovely things that simply are not a high enough priority in the busy-busy work day.
When it became a decent hour, I mowed. Not the grass- it is in that happy state of summer-slow-growth. But the dandelions were putting out seed puffs. And there were a couple corners of the yard the blackberry brambles are encroaching on. And a corner or two where the grass has seed heads and is actually 4 feet high or laying on the ground.
Anyway, the mowing progressed into weeding some flower beds, then into a trip to the garden store! So I am $90 poorer, but plant richer :)
Here is project #1:
Lavender is now planted all along the front walk, with a nice mounding type of strawberry as ground cover (thanks Jewel- I will be returning the bucket they came in). We 5 different types of lavender & some chives too. And I picked up a couple bright red Astilbe to try in that spot next to the front steps which is always a problem.
We couldn't stop with just one project of course!
Project #2 is for the back yard.
We have a little triangle of grass, kind of beteween the garden house and studio that is a waste of a perfectly good garden spot. It gets full sun, is visible from the house and patio and is well contained between sidewalks.
We grabbed 2 types of coreopsis (one of my all time favorite plants after our trip to the National Botanical Gardens in Wales) a hebe (never planted one of these before), a lovely gray-greened foliage primrose with tiny yellow-white flowers, and something that is like a heather with large bell flowers that is new to this area. Oh- and one echinacea. I will move the existing irises to be a mid height plant I think. And that shrub thing (a privet I think) will be a nice backdrop, until I decide it needs to live somewhere else.
I think that is a good variety of heights and foliage and flowers... hopefully it will fill in this bit of space and inspire me to more time in the yard.
While I didn't spend the day sewing, as I had hoped, at least my day is filled with pretty things. And maybe sewing will happen this week.
Maybe.

Acquiring yes. Actualizing no.

I am going to blame work this time.
Too much of it and very little down time. Which I seem to need in order to be creative and make stuff. I have tried to sew/knit/visualize/think after doing a 10 to 12 hour stint of client stuff and I just get nowhere.
But I do find I can relax while running around looking for treasures.
Hence the ironing board leaning in my living room.
I was at Goodwill (retail therapy) and lo and behold! an extra wide ironing board, of the variety Costco was charging around $50 for a couple years ago. So I bought it. (And something else... maybe a shirt? hmm...) So it is in my living room, awaiting the day I will actually go out to my studio again.

The other bit of acquiring a lovely gift!
My charming, sweet, wonderful thoughtful sister sent me a 17 pound box of crafty things! 17 pounds weighs a lot. It was chock full of thoughtful things she has decided she doesn't need since she hasn't used them in two years. (Shocking attitude, I know, but I love her anyway.)
Oodles of Christmassy fabrics, patterns, hard plastic pattern templates, knitting needles, thread and all sorts of other things.

Yay! Good sister!
She claims to be sending more box(es) as she sorts and rids. I will have to send her some money to at least cover the cost of the postage. And I do think some of these interesting items may be rehomed during my guild's raffles. Sister thinks this is a fantastic idea, (actually, she doesn't care. She just wanted them out of her apartment.)
I also get a knitting machine!
It was Grandma's. But sister lives in land of Sunlight where knitted things are not practical. Or something like that, I wasn't really paying attention to the reasoning, but was immediately having delusions of making things. When I get it I will be sure to post pictures of all the interesting bits and pieces, as I have never used one before.

So there you go- my craftiness so far this summer.
One day I hope to use some of these wonderful things. Until then, I suppose I will think of it as summer harvest :)