Happy Halloween from the Peaveys

I was inspired by Kathy’s entry this day for Halloween. We were pulling out our orange and black anyway. So, I decided with a black dog and an orange bandana there was a picture in the making. Well, I was wrong, but here are our attempts…

Just to prove he can sit like a good dog if there’s food involved and I’m on the other side of the camera! (You also get to see the bandana!)

Hiking with Friends!

Sunday, we went to the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area for another long wear the dog out hike.  This time we went with a friend who has a Weimaraner, named Otto.  Last summer, Shadow got to meet Otto on his first playdate.  That really wore Shadow out so we were hopeful this time would be also!
The leaves at this elevation are at peak or very nearly.  This time I focused less on the digital macro and more on the canopy above.  At times I felt like I was looking at stained glass.  With some of the trees, I did have a feel of a cathedral.In general, hikes in SC are all about the destination.  There can be prettiest along the way, but there’s a set of falls or a breathtaking view at the end that one is going for.  This hike was different in that it followed the Middle Tyger River which meant there were many falls to see and hear. While this is all beautiful, the main objective is wearing out the dogs.  So does this face look worn out???So we resorted to throwing sticks into the water. The river generally washed away sticks we threw in, so then it became just find any old stick.  Otto won first prize in fishing out a tree and bringing it back to us to “throw in” again!  Can you imagine the jaws and the neck he must have???Otto and Shadow were still chasing each other at the end of the 5 hours, but we weren’t in the car more than 10 minutes before Shadow snuggles in… Score two big ones for the humans!

Tapestry Blues

For those who don't follow Debbie Herd's Blogsite:  There was a tapestry exhibition in Adelaide, Australia from June to July sponsored by the Hand Spinners and Weavers Guild of SA.  Tapestry weavers from Australia and New Zealand created 47 tapestries that may be seen at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41841907@N04/

Other blogsites I follow who also participated are:

Katie at YarnGarden
Ruth Lathlean

Enjoy!

Leclerc Warping – Part 1

Okay – I’ve gotten to start warping the Leclerc and I thought I would blog for my own journaling sake, but also to solicit all the tips I can get.  It’s working so far, but I am certain I am not working in a conventional way.  So, I apologize upfront to any and all that I might shock or offend ;-)

First off, I’ve chosen a “simple” warping project.  On one of my walks with Shadow I came across a large pile of bamboo that had been cleared from someone’s yard.  James was kind enough to go with the trailer and help me bring it home.  Then he also started with taking off branches.  It’s been slow going.  They are rather tough, so we do a few here and there.  With all the rain, I did get the leaves cleared off of them.

 

 

 

 

 

I can hear you now – what does that have to do with warping a loom???  My plan is to make an outdoor wall hanging or rug for the front porch.  With the introduction of the loom, I knew this could be a good means of getting the job done.  So the warp I bought was a thin nylon with a number of colors from the bamboo.  My intent is to have warp every 3 inches along the length to let the bamboo shine through.So I got all the instructions I could find – including those online. 

I started filling up the warping board.  Shadow was fascinated with the spool flying around in the basket!  He wasn’t always this calm – of course it wasn’t moving while I took the picture!  We still made it! I did use the rattle I had made.  Tommye Scanlin shows on her website using the reed as her rattle.  Once I had everything spread, I realized at that moment her great wisdom.  I had the bar from the top apron through the loops.  I wanted to start from there to let gravity help me through the heddles and the reed, but how was I going to to attach it to the bar on the loom and keep the warp spread in the rattle???  I resorted to putting a “cap” of painter’s tape over the nails around each group.  So I was able to pull without losing all the work I had just done.What I’ve done is place 4 warps in a group and spaced those groups out every 3 inches.  My thought is to have the two outside warps in one harness and the two inside in the other.  I have bamboo blinds that are warped this way. 

Now hopefully this weekend we’ll get to the heddles and reed!

Hiking to and past Winding Stair Falls

Last Sunday we took our first major hike with Shadow.  We decided to go some place remote yet familiar, so he had room to roam, learn and explore.  We hiked this trail last June, so it was good to see how things were changing for the fall.  I took a number of pictures with my camera and thought I’d share a few.  What’s amazing is that we got so caught up in the pictures and Shadow that we missed the side trail to the falls and added about an hour to the hike.  We came home tired, but I also know that many of the pictures would not have been made since they came from the trail beyond the falls. 

Enjoy the leaves…

the fungus…

the nuts….

and the water!

Shadow did great on the hike – especially at the rest areas!

Accessories for the Leclerc Tapestry Loom

Weekend before last, I did go pick up my new-to-me Leclerc 45” Tissart loom.  This is my first loom with treadles and a reed, etc.  This also means that I am without many other things like a warping board, a rattle, and lease sticks.  So this weekend, I did a little woodworking.  I’m proud to say I did all this for under $45.

First step was to cut all the boards to length.  That involved cutting the molding for the spacers as I wind the warp, the boards for the warping board, and the dowel rods for the warping board.

 

I, of course, had supervision for all of this.  Isn’t he a good boy?  Shadow didn’t like the noise, but he likes the smell of sawdust!

Once cut, I did lay out all the spacers for winding the warp so that I could spray them with lacquer.  Unlike most of you, the warp will likely be on the loom a long time and I wanted to make sure that the wood was sealed to prevent any discoloration of the warp.  Two coats on each side and those are finished!  I now have 14 in all.

Between coats, I started on the warping board.  I’ve decided I really didn’t need to have more than a 10 yard capacity –

remember I’m a weekend tapestry weaver!   I decided the warping board would be a square and the passage from one side to the other would be about a yard.  With the dowel pins in the middle of the side board, that meant the length of the sides needed to be 39”.   Shadow agreed.

 

 

From there, I marked off the positions of the dowel pins.  (Yes that’s actually James’ hand.  He decided I needed a line straight up the middle of the board – so I let him do it!) 

   Of course, with the marks in place, the dowel pin holes could then be drilled.  The dowel rod was just over 3/4”, so that told us which bit to use.

 

A little wood glue was put on the ends of the dowel pins and they were pressed into the holes in the board.  Shadow was quite fascinated by the “sticks” and wanted very much to “help” with them! 

With the dowel pins in place, the sides of the square can be assembled into the warping board.

   The vertical pieces sat on top of the horizontal pieces.  The end of the vertical was lined up with the side of the horizontal and the two were squared up with a speed square. 

A little wood glue had been spread in between the two pieces and they were joined with a finish nailer.  Three nails would be sufficient, but I put in 5 like Purina logo!  (I don’t know why – it just felt right!)  And here’s the warping board resting from all it’s work! 

 

With that complete, I started on the rattle.  I marked off 2 dents/inch on the centerline of a 48” long board.  With that I began tapping in the finish nails.  Sounds simple enough, but after about 2 feet, the board started splitting on both sides!

 

James fortunately had a piece of alder that he was willing to give me.  With a new set of marks we headed back to the drill press to put in the 91 holes for the rattle!   The nails were then tapped into their respective holes.  That’s 91 nails – quite a line up!

 

 

 

It was a productive day and now I’m ready to think about warping.  Especially since I have the Shadow seal of approval!