Specs

I went for an eye exam yesterday. It had been seven years since my last one... oh, my! My eyes are fine, but my prescription has changed quite a bit. I must have tried on a dozen different frames, narrowing the choice down to these two. I was going to go with the frame on the right, because it was less expensive, but the frame on the left is a mottled blue and purple. It just made me smile!

It will take about a week to get my new glasses, because of my prescription. I sure hope I made the right choice!

As soon as I got home, I finished up the Ice Drop I had started the previous evening. Yes, I chose another hand-dyed thread from Marilee Rockley aka Yarnplayer. This one is size 20 Candy Mint.

I finished weaving another band. I stopped at 26" only because I must have made a mistake in warping the loom. When I got this far, I couldn't get the warp threads smooth enough to weave through. So, I snipped the warp, tied a knot, and called it a day.

This band was an experiment in how tightly to weave. By the time I finished, the band was about 1/3 wider than at the beginning. I wonder if that caused the warp to be uneven? In any case, I need to do some more reading, watch some more videos, and do some more experimenting.

Before bed, I finished another Ice Drop in Candy Mint. I think I'll be keeping this one!

Variety is the spice of life!

I try to keep that saying in mind when I become distracted and flit from one activity to another. 😉

The big news for yesterday was that I finally finished round 8 of Renulek's Wiosna 2017! Round 9 looks much more complicated, and interesting. I'm looking forward to the challenge!

I only finished one Ice Drop yesterday. I'm still working with the sample skein of Afternoon Garden by Marilee Rockley. If you've never tried hand-dyed thread, I highly recommend it! There's something about the hand-dying process that makes the thread smoother and nicer to work with.

I started another band on the box loom that Dad made. As you can see, I still seem to pull to the right.  I think that might be why my right side edge is a bit wavy. I wound a longer warp this time. I'll be interested to see if my calculations are correct for the finished length. I'm hoping for a 60" band... no particular reason, just a number I pulled out of the air! I also tried Mom's idea of stretching rubber bands across the two rows of nail heads to keep the warp from popping off when I get close to the end.

Yesterday was sewing class. The girls had hoped to finish the aprons they're making, but making pockets for the aprons turned out to be a bit more time consuming than we had hoped. Next week we'll move on to the straps, and then their aprons will be finished!

Dad's box loom

With everything back to "normal" yesterday, and my new interest in weaving bands, I decided to clean up Dad's box loom.

Mom and I were talking yesterday, trying to remember how long ago Dad made this loom. Dad's been gone for ten years, so I'm guessing it might be 20 years ago.

Haha! I just noticed the can of Pledge in the background, proof that I did a little cleaning yesterday, the key word being little!

I watched several YouTube videos on band weaving and box looms yesterday morning, just to make sure I had a good understanding of what I was trying to achieve.

The result was a pretty little 16" length of band. I learned quite a bit from weaving this piece. I now know how to watch for unwanted floats. There's quite a bit of shrinkage when weaving a warp faced band, and now I have a better idea of how to measure my warp to get the length I want in a finished piece.

I didn't follow a pattern, instead I just warped the loom in a way that pleased me. Believe it or not, that helped me understand written patterns better! It didn't take long before I realized I would like more black in the center to set off the blue. I guess there's always a surprise in weaving!

It's going to take me a while to develop an even tension, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. After all, this is only my second band! Sophia's band looked very pretty, but I did it all wrong. I didn't pull the weft threads snugly, so the warp pattern didn't show. Now I know!

I have long admired the beautiful tatting on Lilas Lace, so when Lilas published her first book, I just had to have it!

When I ordered the book, I asked if I could have it autographed. Imagine my surprise when I read that Lilas has been following my blog for years!

This really is a lovely book, written in French and English. There are doilies, collars, earrings, necklaces, bracelets... all beautifully illustrated, with explanations of the techniques introduced. I am very pleased with my purchase!

Over the weekend, I forgot to post a picture of my beautiful blue shuttles from Rita Richmond of Shuttle by Design. I know I've said it before... I LOVE Rita's shuttles! They are light weight, beautifully decorated, hold a ton of thread, and are a joy to use.

Rita makes her own wood and acrylic shuttles, and she also decorates Moonlit shuttles for those who like hooks. I like the Moonlit shuttles for tatting on the go. I don't have to worry about dropping a crochet hook. However, the shuttles that Rita makes are simply marvelous!

They're so marvelous, that when I saw these cheerful yellow ones, I ordered them as well! 😊

Yes, I did have a fun-filled day, and I even managed to tat another Ice Drop! I wonder what today will bring?