Family Court -- You've gotta love it!

I have learned to expect the unexpected when it come to practicing Family Law. Today was no exception.

As I waited my turn to go through the metal detector on my way into the Fresno County Courthouse this afternoon, three deputies stepped forward and moved toward a tall, bald man standing near the front of the line. When he realized the deputies were heading for him, the man suddenly tried to jump over the metal detector and run. The deputies didn't take kindly to his attempted imitation of an Olympic hurdler and started after him. But before he was able to make his escape, Baldy was tackled. Immediately the fight was on! You could almost see the fur flying! No wait ---- it wasn't fur, it was hair flying --- in fact, huge clumps of hair were landing every which way as the would be escape artist fought the deputies and screamed at the top of his lungs for "Sweet Jesus" to come and save him. Apparently, "Sweet Jesus" decided not to intervene. The man was finally handcuffed and led away, leaving many puzzled bystanders, (me included) staring down at numerous piles of human hair scattered all over the lobby of the courthouse.

The mystery was solved when I got to the Family Law Department. It turns out that our bald bad guy had apparently decided to visit his children at their school earlier that morning. Normally this would have been fine except for the fact that a pesky little restraining order had been issued barring him from being within 100 yards of the children or their school unless the visit was supervised. The school officials were not amused by his presence and called the cops, who arrived just in time to see Baldy driving out of the parking lot. He ignored the red lights and siren and spent the next hour in a high speed pursuit all over Fresno. Somewhere along the way, he managed to shake his pursuers.

But does our bad guy find a place to lie low for a few days? On no....you see, there was a settlement conference set for 1:30 p.m. in the family court. No way would he allow his soon to be ex-wife gain a possible advantage so he decided he had to attend that conference.

But how to disguise himself? Hey, what if he was bald! That should work, right? Apparently our hapless felon thought so because he bought a razor at a nearby convenience store and shaved his head, stuffing the leftover locks into his pants pockets. Needless to say, his disguise didn't work and all the hair fell of his pockets and scattered onto the lobby floor in the ensuing melee.

People never cease to amaze me!

On a positive note, I was able to do a little sewing on Easter Sunday, I sewed bust darts into the dress. I also was able to cut out a collar from ultra suede, sew it into place and add top stitching. I took this picture and uploaded it. For some reason, the dress looks more green than blue in this picture. But since I'm at work, and I don't what to drive home and take another picture, here it is. Hopefully, I'll set in the sleeves later this week.

Happy Easter!

Daffodils and Easter just seem to go together.

More on the Blue Dress

It has been a busy two days. Spring has definitely arrived in Central California and we are experiencing unseasonably warm weather. Today it was 86 degrees Fahrenheit. On the plus side, my perennials are gorgeous this year. My irises, roses, pansies, and allium are all in full bloom.

I decided I had better plant the garden if I wanted fresh vegetables this summer. So I rototilled the soil, raked and leveled the loose soil, went to the garden store and bought flats of veggies, returned home and planted them, put in drip lines, fertilized and watered. Hopefully, we will have tomatoes, corn, potatoes, squash, beans, peppers, radishes, cucumbers, strawberries and lettuce in a couple of months.

In between working on the garden, I worked on the dress. I basted the dress together and sewed up the front and side seams. Since I want a zipper in the front, I measured the zipper and marked its in the dress front.

The pattern calls for a pleated sleeve. Now that the shoulder and side seams had been stitched up, I measured the arm hole, calculated the width of the pleats, and pinned them into place. If all goes well, I will be able to baste them into place tomorrow.

A Blue Dress

We are back in California. I have been working in the Sublime vest but decided to work on another project I started last December. My favorite hide-away in California is my fiber arts shed. Actually, it is one of those trailers that you see at construction sites. Five years ago, I drove by an auction and saw the trailer had been marked as an auction item. I bid $2500 on it and was surprised when I was the high bidder. The former owner agreed to deliver it to my property. Once it arrived, I moved all of my fiber arts and crafts into it (much to the delight of my husband and boys -- suddenly we had closet space and a kitchen table again!)

The trailer is 700 square feet divided into three rooms, all paneled and carpeted. It has both heat and air conditioning. I have outfitted it with my sewing machines, knitting machines, steam iron and ironing board, looms, blocking boards, craft books, entertainment center, and even an easy chair.

The trailer allows me a place to work undisturbed and not worry about putting the project away so my family can use the kitchen table for such mundane pursuits as eating. It allows me a place where I can work on a variety of projects and not feel rushed.
Such was the case now. In December, I had knitted fabric for a dress pattern that I particularly like and have previously made before. The dress, once it is made up, looks good in court and can be worn with a variety of the blazers I own. The dress pattern is an adaptation of a dress designed by Manon Salois. I have modified the pattern by adding a gathered waist and longer sleeves. I have also modified the hem to allow a slit up the back. I knitted the material on a knitting machine from a Superwash Merino Wool from Silk City.

The pattern for the knit is a stockinette stitch but is knitted alternating the stitches between two cones of yarn --- knit one stitch from one cone, then next from the next cone, then another stitch from the original cone, and so on. This gives the end product a little more weight without sacrificing drape or the look of the finished product.

I backed the fabric with an iron on interfacing then pinned on the pattern. I marked the pattern by basting the pattern outline with contrasting yarn. Once completed, I cut out the outline of the pattern and serged the edges. I did the same for the other pieces of the pattern, including the sleeves, the back and the other front.

The pattern calls for a zipper front and suede panels. I have found a near perfect match in suede. If all goes well, I will start to assemble the dress this weekend.

Spy Cams and Spinning

My husband had a surprise for me. He knows that I miss our home in Washington (pictured above) when we are in California so he decided to bring Washington to me whenever I wanted. Last week Dan repeatedly went to and from the computer store. When we loaded up the pickup truck, he placed a several, large mysterious boxes in the back seat. Since Dan enjoys ham radio and police scanners as a hobby, I didn't think too much of it. Unbeknownst to me, while I was at The Weaver's School, he was outside our house in the rain mounting cameras and crawling around in the attic stringing cable. On Wednesday night, Dan borrowed my laptop computer. Then, on Thursday morning, while I was in the middle of the ferry crossing between Mukilteo and Clinton, he telephoned me on my cell phone and told me to get onto the Internet. Thoroughly mystified, I dutifully plugged in the air card, connected to the Internet and followed his instructions. And suddenly, this popped onto my computer screen....

It's our yard. Eight color cameras are aimed at various points. I can see our side yard, the front yard, the woods in front of the house, our caretaker's house, the garage, the garden shed and the front door. Dan informed me that several of the cameras have "night vision" so I can see the critters that walk through our yard at night. So now, even when I am in California, I can visit our house any time I like.

Now that I completed The Weaver's School, I decided to paint our fences on Saturday. The forecast was for clear skies and a crisp temperature. Anticipating a dry day, I arose early on Saturday morning to, you guessed it......rain. And not the light drizzly stuff either, this was a full fledged downpour. When it became clear that the rain had absolutely no intention of letting up any time soon, I decided to head over to the Allyn Knit Shop and join their Saturday knitting session. I added 10 more rows to my vest, then headed home.

It was still raining so I decided to set up my spinning wheel by the front window and work on some sock yarn. Saturday is normally the day I try to set aside as my spinning day. Unfortunately, I don't always get to spin as much as I would like because of the demands of my family, my home and my profession.

I have two spinning wheels -- A Schacht Matchless double treadle and a Schacht-Reeves 30" Saxony. Both wheels are wonderfully balanced and a dream to spin on. The Matchless is in Washington and the Saxony is in California so I have access to a spinning wheel where ever I am.

The Matchless is also equipped with a "Woolee Winder" . The WooLee Winder is a custom flyer designed by Robert Lee. It has no hooks on the flyer arm, instead it uses two eyelets. One is stationary and the other moves automatically as the yarn winds onto the bobbin. This moving action winds the yarn onto the bobbin over its entire length evenly in much the same way as a deep sea fishing reel. This allows the spinner to keep spinning without having to stop and move the yarn up or down the hooks. My Woolee Winder was a birthday present to me from my sons two years ago and I enjoy spinning with it.

I had previously knitted my father a pair of boot socks from a Merino-Alpaca blend I had carded on my drum carder, then spun as a fairly thick single. The Alpaca was a variety of grays and blacks with some white mixed in, the merino was white. Although the socks do not match exactly in pattern, the socks are warm and soft. I had my father try on the first one at Christmas and he said that it was warm and cozy.

My new fiber was sent to me by a friend in Washington State. This top is a merino/icelandic blend that she purchased from a local breeder. It is a blend of reds, whites, blacks and greys. I am spinning it fairly thin as I do want ply it x2. I wanted a fairly thick yarn that I could felt into a pair of slippers/booties.

I spent the afternoon sipping hot chocolate, stoking the fireplace and watching the rain. Oh yes, I was able to spin three bobbins full of yarn and plied two of them. I laid a strand of two ply across the remaining bobbin for the picture. As you can see, the resulting yarn is maroon with grey highlights. I think it will make a lovely pair of felted slippers/booties. I can hardly wait to finish the yarn and start knitting.

All Good Things Must Come To An End....

All to soon Friday arrived. It was hard to believe the week had gone by so quickly. Patty Huffer was busy working on a sewing machine when I arrived. We chatted briefly. Afterward, I went into the loom room to work on my sample.

At 10:00 a.m., Madelyn called us into the classroom and started the day with a discussion of fibers. She covered characteristics of different fibers -- wool, acrylics, bamboo, silk and exotic fiber. Next she showed us how to calculate amount of fiber by its weight. She answered questions about different weaving techniques, including rep weaving, tapestry, rigid heddle and drawlooms. She also briefly introduced available gadgets such as scales, fringe twisters, swifts, ball winders, bobbin winders, and a host of other goodies which, as Madelyn put it, adds up to the "Ka-ching" factor.

While Madelyn was talking to the class, Patty was busy at the looms, cutting off the week's samples and washing them. Once they had been washed, Patty carried them into the classroom and hung them on a drying rack.

It was fun to come into the room as the various samples were placed on the rack. Here Carol is examining the double weave fabric after it has been shrunk in the wash (on purpose, of course).

Maggie examined the color blocks. After the samples were dried, they were cut apart. Each student received the samples they had woven.

Jane surprised us all with an absolutely delicious gingerbread cake she had made. As if that wasn't enough, she topped it off with fresh whipped cream with crushed ginger mixed in. While we are all busy gaining ten pounds eating the cake, Madelyn bound all of our handouts and notes together in one handy binder. Huck was on hand supervising as always.

As the day drew to a close, we gathered one last time for a group photo. What a wonderful week we had together!

Wrapping (Warping?) Up Loose Ends

"March -- comes in like a lion, out like a lamb."

Boy, they weren't kidding. March, 2007 in the Pacific Northwest began with 6-12" of snow across the North Sound on March 1st. The next 20 days alternated with heavy rain and strong winds. Trees toppled, power outages abounded and flood warning were issued. This Thursday morning dawned to grey skies, and cold, driving winds as yet another low pressure area swept across Puget Sound. But neither rain, nor, sleet nor dark of night could keep our intrepid weavers from their posts.

By now, the class was now ready to warp the practice loom. Our random color choices had been previously alternated between warm colors and cool colors as we had wound our warp. After tying the cross and removing it from the board, Madelyn placed a reed on the table and we each took a turn sleying the reed with the warp with our color.

The sleyed reed was transferred to the loom. Madelyn explained that we were now going to thread the heddles via a draft. A quick lesson from Madelyn revealed that the hieroglyphics (runes?) at the beginning of all weaving patterns is actually the order for threading, tie-up and treadling.We watched as Madelyn divided the heddles and demonstrated the use of a sley hook. (I discovered weaving sometimes brings back memories of a Bruce Springstein concert I attended in my wilder days --- I have to resist the urge to jump up and yell "Speak English, please! I want to understand your message". There are soooo many new terms to learn.) As my tired brain tried to grasp the "simplicity" of the pattern, I thanked my lucky stars I was born in the 20th century. If I had to rely on my skills at warping a loom to clothe my family, they would be running around naked.

We were instructed to tread the heddles with our color. I quickly discovered that this seemingly innocuous activity requires a strong lighting source and good eyesight. Patience also is a plus. The warp threads seemed to develop a mind of their own when it came my turn to thread. The first two threads cleverly switched places when I was concentrating on threading the first heddle. As I untangled these errant fibers, two other warp threads quickly wrapped themselves around each other in a tangle reminiscent of a Gordian Knot. The next three threads seemed to behave themselves but then I ran out of heddles the right side of shaft #2 and had to slide extras over from left side. When I got to the end of my color, I should have been on shaft #2. But my last color was shaft #3 (&#?/%)! I slid the heddles one by one looking for an explanation--- and found it in the eighth heddle. The ninth thread had sneaked into the heddle with the eighth thread. I pulled #8, #9, #10 , #11, and #12 back out and tried again, trying to ignore that voice in the back of my head reminding me that the towel pattern I wanted to weave as the first project after I returned home called for 132 warp ends! If I had this much trouble with 12.......... All told, it took me 15 minutes to thread 12 warp threads. I sincerely hope it gets easier with practice.

Madelyn demonstrates front to back warping in class. The threads are stretched at the front of the loom to help separate them and keep them tight.........

.......then are tied up and the back beam and wound a few turns. Madelyn uses very smooth, sanded sticks to keep the threads from having much contact on the back beam. (Given that wool is prone to felting when given half a chance, this is a prudent step.)

Once the end of the warp reaches the front beam of the loom, the warp thread are divided into small groups and tried onto the front. An even tension across all the ties is the key to success. The treadles were tried up according to the pattern and a random pre-filled bobbin was placed in the shuttle.

Now, the truly amazing result. There was no (none, nada, zip!) planning as to color choices, positioning of the colors on the warp, weft colors, etc. This was practice. And yet, when the twill pattern began to emerge from the warp, it was beautiful.

Power Weaving

By Wednesday morning, I had accepted that the Port Townsend/Keystone ferry route was not going to be a viable option if I wanted to get to class before lunch, so I substituted the two ferry crossing route in its place. This meant I had to leave the house one hour earlier each day....but wonder of wonders, I pulled into Madelyn's driveway right on time.

Because of my hip replacement effects my ability to treadle for any length of time, particularly when I have to lift multiple shafts, Madelyn assigned me to a 32 shaft Louet Megado (pronounced "Me-gah-do). However, if one prices the loom (they run more than $10,000), the more correct pronunciation is "Mega-dough". Price aside, the loom was exciting to use. A computer controls the pattern and lifts the shafts in the order that has been inputted into the program. The treadle is a large, power assisted pedal that can be pushed down with ease. This allowed me to weave without having to take a break every ten minutes to give my hip a rest. Without this assistance, I would not have the ability to use a large floor loom for very long.

Suzie Liles was an invaluable teacher as I learned the program. She explained the computer program, helped me set up a pattern, and let me weave. Madelyn uses temples which help slow the breaking of the floating selvages ----although I managed to break, not one, but BOTH edges within 15 minutes.

Temples do their job very effectively but must be treated with respect. You see, temples have tines which are wicked sharp! In fact, the tines are nearly as sharp as felting needles.
I chose a twill pattern. The loom was pre-warped with black 10/2 cotton warp. I had fun choosing different weft colors and seeing how they inter played with the warp. I also realized that my obsessive nature demanded straight selvage edges.
The rest of the class was also having a great time with their weaving samples.

This is Margaret.......

....and Torrey. She is explaining the method to weave a color block pattern to Mary.......

........Shirley is working on a color gamp sample......

......while Audra works on a houndstooth pattern .......

.....and Madelyn discusses how to weave a black and white double weave pattern to Marilyn.....

.....while Huck continues to supervise it all.

Once again, the time went by quickly and it was time to head for the ferry. I headed out and decided to check and see if the Keystone/Port Townsend ferry was running. I was delighted to see it pull into port on schedule. A quick crossing and I headed home for the day.