Storm's a Brewin'

Golden behind the house

Hello Blogfellows,

I am afraid I have little new in the way of textiles to show this week as all of my  Rep projects, except for the two pieces I shared last edition, are still on the looms at the studio. However, I thought I'd better drop a line in case it is a while before I can send out another entry. This little town is positioned to get a terrific a storm over the next 48 hours. Hurricane Sandy is slated to hit only about two hours southeast of us and we are expecting a fast eight inches of rain from the north. Our local emergency management team has issued a 'state of emergency' for the area and we are not to drive cars in town today, school's canceled etc..... Power outage seems to be a given, it will just be a matter of length of time. Current estimates range from two days to two weeks. I have accumulated all the suggested items to withstand the power outage and I am up on a hill outside of the flood zone. Unfortunately, Vavstuga is right on the river, so we will be closely watching the water levels the next couple of days and hope there is not the devastating repeat of the flood that hit a little over a year ago.

Going-

Going-

Gone - almost

Since I have no textiles, I thought I'd throw out this set of pictures of one of my favorite tree's fall transformation from the last week. I would guess it is indicative of how all the trees will look once the coming winds and rain have their way.

No better spot for this job!

Here is the view  from the threading project I worked on for a couple of days last week. What a terrific spot to get to work. I wish I had a loom out here in the dining room. The threading is for a lovely 8/2 cotton tablecloth that will be a project for a class later this year. It's a 100 cm, so a bit larger than normal.

This little guy flew into the studio when the door got left open for a couple of minutes. I guess he felt all the warmth and magic coming from within and thought he'd like to join us. The yellow sign on the shop across the river reads, "Gifts of Nature". How fitting.

Have a wonderful end to October and keep the east coast in your thoughts this week. Our neighbors are in for a rough ride.

October in New England

The street where I am living

Greetings Blog Fellows,

Happy Fall from New England. I'm sorry it's been so long between posts, but my computer doesn't always want to connect to the Internet when I have time to compose.

16/1 linen table cloth in 10 shaft satin

It has been a wonderful few weeks here, aside from a bit of a lingering cold. A class has come and gone and while they were here for Basics, I had the fantastic opportunity of weaving a 16/1, 2300 end, linen tablecloth. It is still on the loom, so I'll try to remember to show it when finished. I think it is a true heirloom piece. If not an heirloom, it offered a lot of learning experience and I don't think I cried once.

A side trip to the Ben and Jerry's Factory, Vermont

Gloucester, Mass

The "Cottages" of Newport, RI

Gary came out to visit for a week. We traveled all around northern New England. It rained nearly the entire week and we were both a bit sick with various stages of my cold, but we had a blast anyway. We experienced many new places, listened to music on the wharf, attended Halloween dinner theater in Salem, and tried several new craft brews. What more could one want?

An odd little cabin at Weirs Beach, NH

Honey-Comb Rep in cotton and linen

Rep in cotton with mini-string weft

This past week, after Gary left, I was kept busy for several days beaming and threading looms for the upcoming Rep class at Vavstuga. But, I was rewarded for my efforts with getting to weave two beautiful runners from the selection of projects and a Saturday trip to the NY Sheep and Wool Fest. in Rhinebeck, NY. I have heard of this event for years and jumped at the chance to get to attend.

Susan hard at scutching flax

the Zinzendorfs

Becky, Susan and I had a three hour seminar on raising flax and producing linen with hands-on practice.  We had to leave Shelburne Falls at 5:30 AM to drive the 2.5 hours for the class. When we finished the session we unanimously decided to get off the fair grounds as quickly as possible. It was a perfect fall day and there had to be 1/4 to 1/2 million people attending the Festival. Elbow to elbow people and strollers. Luckily, the interesting Zinzendorfs, who wrote, The Big Book of Flax,  made it worth the trip to hear their stories of understanding how to grow and use flax in the United States. After dismissing the idea of eating at the bursting town of Rhinebeck, we finished our drive home following a delicious, uncommon lunch at the "Fork in the Road" diner outside of town.

Fall at the Bridge of Flowers

A new group comes today for the Rep weaving class. The week will fly by for me as I work to be helpful around the studio. I hope you are all having a terrific, magical fall! Get out and take a walk before the snow flies.