Summer!

Hello! The last couple months have been full of events, ranging from volunteering at the library and writing a blog for my school's science project, to taking my first college class!
  Because of being out and about so much, I have not gotten much weaving done, as the big looms have remained firmly planted in the studio while I flit from one place to another. Due to this, I thought that I had not done many "crafty" things that were worth writing about, but it turns out that I have amassed quite a little collection. "Little" being the keyword.

Firstly, I have been working on these little cross-stitch necklaces:

These were extremely convenient       "to-go" crafts because I could just throw them into my backpack on my way out of the door.

Another project I got to work on was a knit pair of fingerless gloves with cables!

I have been knitting for over ten years now, but I had never knit with cables before! It turns out that they are a lot less difficult to make than I had imagined, and this beautiful pattern from my mom convinced me that I should give them a try.

Finally, I did manage to get a few inches of weaving done on the sewing thread warp, and I started weaving the placemats!

I am hoping to finish the sewing thread warp by the end of this month, but I still have about twelve hours worth of weaving left on it. We shall see!

A bit more fun

I don't have time to write a whole post, but I thought you might want to see what I have been up to!

Spinning, and spinning... and spinning!

Hi! I'm sorry for disappearing! Long story short, I let someone who doesn't understand how much work and love goes into crafting get under my skin. (You might have guessed that from the end of  my last post.) I guess the universe decided that I needed a lesson in letting go!
I did  learn from last time that weaving and frustration don't mix well, so I decided to have some fun spinning.
I have been spending a lot of time on the porch lately due to the lovely weather, and I found a new friend in my wool. Yes, I mean literally IN my wool.

I was visited by a baby praying mantis!

This little guy would not stay away from my roving, and he was just so cute!

We had a nice chat, and then I brought him over to a wild verbena bush where he could make a home.

Can you find the tiny mantis? Nope, I can't either.

After that adventure I did some more solar dyeing and spinning.

I have been trying to get a dark blue, but that is proving more difficult than I thought.

Attempt #1 is on the left, and #2 is on the right. Maybe the third try will be the charm?

I also tried throwing a bunch of colors into a jar to see how they would blend together.

Fun!

And lastly, I finished spinning and plying the "pink lemonade" roving that I dyed a few weeks ago.

Loom-ing Deadlines

A bit more progress on the shawl from yesterday.

I will be dreaming about weaving tri-shawls tonight, probably because that was what I was doing every spare moment I had today! As I said earlier, I was making the blue shawl for a friend, and I planed to give it to her in a week or two. The keyword in that sentence is planned. As it so turns out, I got to spend some time with her this evening on a school field trip to the opera. What does that have to do with the shawl you ask? Well, being the crazy weaver I am, I thought "Hey, this is a chance for me to give her the (at that time unfinished) shawl even earlier!".

And so, the weaveathon began!

To satisfy my ever present curiosity I decided to take progress photos after every hour of work. Yes, there was a timer next to the loom, and yes I recorded every bit of time I got to weave today.

Hour one: I was a bit slow starting out, (mainly due to the early hour)

but near the end I gained momentum.

Hour two: I AM A LIGHTNING FAST WEAVER!

(or at least I like to think I am)

Hour three: All done weaving!

Hour four: The edges have been crocheted, the ends have been sewn in,

and the shawl is DONE!

Ten minutes later saw the shawl all wrapped up, and twenty minutes after that It was time to go! Am I great at cutting it close or what? :-)
I am exhausted.

Why do I spend so much time on crafts? Part of it is genetic, some of it crazy, but in the end...

...I do it because that is simply what I love to do.

Birds, Birthdays, and Triangles

Yesterday was my birthday!

I asked for my own camera, :-)

...finished this shawl,

...and got the perfect fortune from a fortune cookie.

(If only I knew which project they were talking about!)

Today, I started this shawl,

...and while I was walking the dog,

...I decided to try taking some sunset pictures.

I think they turned out well!