Snow day productivity

 Had another snow day where I couldn't get to work.  

So I worked...   at home~

Finished, tagged and priced 16 tablerunners.

Finalized the hems on the last of the specialty width rugs (28 inch wide)   I've got one 90 inch long, and seven 45-46 inch long ones ... plus 4 random color/fiber rugs from this warping.

And the cutest little helper while I was measuring and taking pictures...

All for now.

JULIE

PS.  Hope not too many more snow days.  I've missed 3 full days in the last 2 weeks.  Paycheck is gonna be light.

Special request

 So about a year ago...  I got a request for a denim rug with dimensions of 28 x 90.   Yes, I can make them that size, but I don't usually.  My normal width has become 24 inches wide.  

So after explaining that I didn't know when I would get to it, the "order" was made with the understanding that time was not an issue :)

2022 did not bode well for timeliness in regards to production of rugs.  I just plain didn't have time to weave as much as I wanted to.

But I finally got moved on to the 28 inch wide rugs.  I put about half the length of warp as my usual run and got busy.  

Here is the finished "special order" rug -

This rug left today, we'll hold our breath it arrives safely and is all that she hoped for!

Now I'm working on finishing up that warp so I can move on to greens and browns.

Some of the already finished rugs.  As you can see, I had a product tester while I was trying for photos :)

Pretty sure the rest of the batch will be denim.  Those are in progress.

So is ONE YEAR too long for a customer to wait for a special order?   I feel it is, that's why I take on so few of them.  

All for now,
JULIE

Winter blues

 Seems like I'm forever doing blues.

Blue jean rugs are a staple.

Popular with my buyers.

Easy to source materials.

Durable.

Good thing I like 'em.

This time around I happened to also be doing the blues on the table runner warp.

Photos just don't work that well in the winter.  The light is flat if it's a sunny day.

And if the sun's not shining, it is just too dang dark to get a good photo.

The runner shown is from a vintage table cloth.  It had a pattern that I 'managed' so it ended up with a pattern of it's own in it's new life.

The blues are done on the table runner warp - I'm doing a short run of mug rugs. 

As much as I really don't like making them, (too piddly)

I had many requests for them last year after I was out of them.

The Union Loom tho, is rewarped in blues for a special order.  I needed a width of 28 inches,

so I'm doing a run of those, too.  Just getting started on that. 

The winter blues are knocking on my mental door, too.   This time of year is a challenge for me.

All for now,

JULIE

Finally some finishes

 re'New x 2.  This rug is a mix of recycled denim jeans, 

and a denim jean rug that needed refreshing.

Here's a cute little rug made from a terry cloth tablecloth.

 A striped rug made from assorted bed sheets.

Many more rugs in the blue colorway also finished up,   Photos of each are on my facebook page.

Since this batch the blue warp has been woven off with a couple of longer runner style denim rugs and one other random one of a kind rug.

I also finished the blue tablerunner warp.  Those are being fringe tied now.  

One loom is being warped for 28 inch wide blue rugs, and the other is doing tandem mug rugs,

All for now,

JULIE

Winter

 So winter is officially here.

We had a very mild and lingering fall.  Until it wasn't.

The day of my mother's memorial services it was very blizzardy and cold, but we got both my dad and mom interred in their final resting place.  There had been an ice storm and some snow, so everything was covered in almost an inch of ice and a bit of snow with a stiff wind.  

After that the weather moderated a bit, but last week we got another ice storm that turned into a wet snow event that shut down roadways and work.  I only made it to work on two days last week.  Roads and interstates were closed and the weather was miserable.

Pictured after that storm is a view going out our drive.  All the pine trees are very heavy with ice and wet snow and a huge mature deciduous tree that went down during the night.  It had three different trunks and they all went different directions. 

Daughter Leah took these photos.  She braved the cold to see what the aftermath was.  This is a cow that was out finding a bite to eat.  The rest of the herd was down along the trees staying out of the wind.

The next morning she went out to talk to the horses and see how they were doing.  The snow was knee deep on the flats and many drifts around sheltered spots that caught the blowing snow. 

The son in law gets to fight the drifts and cold and machinery to take care of the animals.

So now this week, we are on another winter weather event.  We are now in the deep freeze.  it was actual -19 degrees F yesterday with wind chills in the -40 or worse.  Today it is only -12, but the wind is still blowing.  The interstate has been closed for the most part of 2 days, and there is no travel advised.  

The heavy snow and ice from last week is still hanging on all the trees and buildings, so the trees continue to break from the strain of the weight and the wind.

This morning my shower drain was frozen, but I was able to get it going again with only a little work.  We are burning copious amount of firewood to help the electric heat keep up with this inefficient house, but my bedroom is as far away from the heat source as you can get.   Makes it hard to get out from under the covers in the morning!

As far as weaving goes, I'm trying to put in some time, but it seems I get to do all the ending details in regards to my parents' life.  I just received notice that I am "in" at a large vendor show in March.  I've got some weaving to do!  Not only to get inventory to sell, but also to make a dent in the stash of salvaged materials that have piled up ~ literally ~ in my weaving space.

My biggest joy these days....   Mr Jhett with Santa.  He was maybe kinda ok with standing next to him, but it was a big no with the sitting on his lap!  Love my little cowboy :)

All for now,
JULIE

Unmoored

 My apologies for the lack of posts this past year.  

The final decline and passing of my father this summer had taken al ot of time away from my time at my weaving activities.

I always had in the back of my mind, if not immediate thoughts, were of my mother and how I could help her.

Yesterday was a hard day. My mother has joined my dad in heaven after only about 3 months apart.  Her health has always been a little iffy - breathing and heart issues as well as kidney function lately.  We had been working on getting her breathing back to normal the last month or so, so she could go visit the grandkids in Canada, but she had a quick decline that would have needed a ventilator, but she made the decision to receive comfort care instead.  Her condition made it very hard for the doctors to keep her comfortable without impacting her ability to breath/get oxygenated and maintain her blood pressure.  So it was one or the other.  She was aware and her spicy self thru the pain and struggle and when she realized she couldn't handle the struggle until my brother and her sister got there, she made the decision to let go.  After the pain was relieved, she was able to rest peacefully and quietly slipped away.  My sister and I, along with my 3 kids were there with her.  My brother didn't get there in time, and neither did my sister, but we are glad her suffering was over. 

This picture is of my parents and one of my girls at one of the last events that dad was able to attend.

We will miss them both, but are happy that they are together again in their new heavenly home. 

I will probably be a little unmoored for awhile as we navigate thru final arrangements and the new day to day without them in it.

All for now,

JULIE

An Apprentice

 Yesterday I had the pleasure of being the supervisor of the young man.  Mom and Dad were weaning calves...

I don't do bunches of production work on weaving during the summer, but there wasn't much I could do with a busy little guy needing most of my attention.

What to do, but grab some denim strips and start cleaning the strings off!

I don't usually do this as a separate step, I usually just grab a 'dirty' strip, clean it off and sew it to the previous one at the sewing machine.

I figured this was something I could do with a busy little guy underfoot.

Jhett had a ball unloading the clean strip tote and carrying the strips around.

Mom came in to check on us and take a bathroom break and found us being productive.  Thus the photos.

I have 3 vendor events left for the year. I have enough inventory, but  I feel like I didn't weave enough this summer.... some colors and size choices are slim.   I'm making it a goal for this winter to weave up as much as possible so that I won't feel the need to weave much at all next summer.  Ya know, get enough inventory for all the shows I normally do. 

 Maybe I can enjoy some riding and fun stuff next summer then?\

All for now, 
JULIE