Clouds...

There are some clouds rolling by tonite and I had 

to go out and take some pics they were so beautiful.

And then I had to talk to my girls....

Said a quick hello (this is Queenie and Buzz) 

and was chased back inside by the mosquitoes!

Bubblegum pink

Just finished up a couple of rugs that are too fun!

These are almost too sweet!  Some little girl would love them,  I bet!
These two rugs were made from a single bed blanket.

Some more pink happened when I put some beach towels together and came up with this one!

Weaving today.  Trying to weave off the rest of this warp and get a blue warp on.

Hoping to get a few denim rugs done before this weekend.   They are such favorites and I have only 4 on hand.   We'll see what I get done!

Another step in the right direction

Yesterday my house looked like this!

Or close to this ~ this is a picture from last fall... the new roof was put on after that, too.  Just look at the siding, will ya?

Now it looks like this...

No more siding!  My son and I ( or to be truthfully honest~ with an assist from me)  removed the siding from the front of the house last night after he finished his work day.  Worked until after dark, but it got done!  Wish I had the energy reserves of the young....

We still need to remove the window from the garage - it's on the far left  -it's a little high to be of much use anyway... And then we will be ready for the contractor to come and do the install.

Trying to put as much sweat equity in as I can!

Words to ponder

Today I attended a seminar put on by the NorthEast South Dakota tourism and business development groups. 
The seminar was on the ABCD's of Great Hospitality.

Great guest speaker Pat McGil kept us all smiling, laughing, and sometimes crying with laughter.

In a handout there was the quote "I was once worthless until the day I decided to be worth more"

That statement is me.  I didn't always think that I was worthless.   I made the mistake of believing someone else, instead of believing me.  All to keep someone else happy, when I should have been concerned with my own happiness.

I asked Pat, "I know my worth, how do I convince everyone else that I am worth more?"  I have been struggling since I reclaimed my life to find my place in this community.  The mold is hard to break in small towns.  Once you have been labeled, it  is nearly impossible to alter that perception in others minds.

 Her answer was to live my worth, and eventually others will see it.

The challenge now, is to be strong enough to live that life while others are learning and meeting the new to them, me...

Purple themed rug made from ladies dress twill pants. The coordinators of a church rummage sale graciously allowed me to come at the end of their day and take whatever I thought I could use.  They had a ton of ladies dress pants, so I decided to experiment.

I treated the prep the same as for denim.  And it worked!  This rug is a little more flexible than a denim rug would be, and I think a little bit lighter.

Nice rug!

Purple tablerunner

Tablecloths make into great tablerunners!  

This one was a purple and tan plaid one

that I wove on a purple themed warp. 

Cuter than a bugs ear!

Burple... oh, excuse me!

Finally some purple burple pictures...

A rug made from some floral curtains.  These had some gawdawful purple flowers on them, but I knew they would make a great rug!

A rug made from denim.  Found two different purple jeans and mixed them up with some white and gray ones, too.  This rug made it's own zigzaggy pattern on the loom.










I've still got more rugs on the loom.  Maybe I'll show you them later!

Doing my dangest to get a buncha rugs made before the big festival...  Just keep weaving, just keep weaving.... said to myself ala Dory, from Finding Nemo...

I survived

So the graduation weekend is over.  Pictured is my goofball of a son acting all happy and relieved! The bugger graduated with highest honors and had a great turnout at his reception with many wonderful sentiments about him that were shared.   Makes a mother proud....

I am back at my loom.  I have a full 6 hours of time carved out today to produce rugs.  I'm watching the shop today and will be here all day.  Last week was interesting.  After having a slow 4 months, I sold 6 rugs in one week, plus a couple of table runners.  Not sure if this is the season and sales will keep semi steady, or maybe it was just a coincidence.

I'm conflicted when it comes to sales right now.  I'm trying to build up inventory for the big craft fair in two weeks.  I want  to have as many rugs there as possible, but I won't pass up a sale NOW.   Helps with the cash flow, ya know?

Sometime in the next week I have to set up my new canopy and get my display system all figured out.  It's been wet and stormy the last couple of days, I hope it quits soon....

No time to take a breath!

First and Last

It's graduation day for my youngest child.  In some ways it feels like just yesterday when he was standing on the front steps waiting for his bus ride to the first day of school.

But then there are the days that if feels like it's taken forever to get to this point.

Here he is getting in his car to head to his last day of school.

My hope for him is that he has many more exciting "firsts"....  Remembers and is proud of his "lasts".... and doesn't forget to live and love life every day!

Escape

Weaving is an escape for me in many ways.

I am forcing myself to stay away from the loom this weekend.

My son graduates from high school Sunday, and I have things to do before then! 

I have been finding myself at my loom more and more lately.  I go when I am overwhelmed with projects at home.

I go when I don't know what to do next.

I go when I am frustrated or hurt by the people around me.

I escape the questions of my financial situation, my lack of a decent job, and the worries that go with those questions.

I sure have made a lot of rugs lately!  I'm trying to think positively....

If I didn't have my loom, who knows what I would do to "escape" once in awhile!

sigh....  so much to do.  so little ambition....

Why is it when you have so many things to do, you just can't figure out where to start?

A funny

I never saw a purple cow;
I never hope to see one;
but I can tell you anyhow;
I'd rather see than be one!




I've been working on purple rugs today.  Feeling a little punchy!

Purple

I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.... ~Alice Walker, The Color Purple, 1982

I've just put on a purple themed warp.  Two rugs into it I have a purple chenille bedspread rug and this denim jean rug.  Can you believe I found two different purple jeans?  I mixed them with a gray pair and a couple of white jeans, too.

My warp is set up in stripes of purple, gray and natural.  

Here is the chenille bedspread rug.  It's a nice muted purple.  


I find the chenille rugs to be a comfy, homey rug.  They work in bedrooms and bathrooms really well.  Or anywhere else, for that matter!

where did this come from?

Not sure what got me started on this today.... I am finishing the sheetrock in my entryway.  All that was left was the stairway walls.  Of course all kinds of angles, etc.  Trying to use up leftover bits.  Irritating and frustrating.

Not sure if it's the job I'm doing, or my attitude that is the pits!?!

I've been putting it off for awhile - needs to get done.  Just not in the mood....

Pluggin' away

I've been finishing up more tablerunners-  I think this will be the last for awhile.  At least until I become overrun with tablecloths again!

I've gathered up a good amount of them for the next craft fair that I'm doing, so I will return to concentrating on rugs.

Busy time for me right now.  Son is graduating next Sunday and there are alot of different activities leading up to that that a person gets to attend. 
Today was the Sr. Girls and Mothers Tea.

Still have his Senior year to scrapbook and must gather up supplies for his reception.  I should probably put some thought into my wardrobe, too.  I seem to have grown out of my dress clothes .... lol - not really, makes me want to cry....

Check another thing off the list!

I've got this mental list of things that need to be done before graduation day.  Scrapbook, meal plan, wardrobe for that day, gift for the son, etc.

Got the gift done!

This is a t-shirt memory quilt that I made for him.  He requested this instead of a denim quilt like I made for his sisters.  He periodically over the last few years brought me t-shirts and said, "this is for the quilt"....

I think it turned out nicely.  It's got a nice mix of school, church and 4-H shirts.  Plus there is a random, "you know you're a slacker when..." shirt that is kinda funny, and another shirt he got on an electric company trip. 

I'm thankful for a good friend who let me use her pressing machine and long arm quilt machine to get this done!  She even used her fancy schmancy sewing machine to stitch his name and graduation date in a corner for me!

Hope he likes it!

Running out of time

My son graduates from high school in less than two weeks.

This is what I'm doing today.

I am doing catchup work on his scrapbook.  I want it up-to-date for his graduation reception.  Gives the guests something to look at.  I'm glad we have his 4-H record book, that is current and has pictures of since he was about 8.  I might have to dig out his before high school book, (if I can just find it!), so people can look at his cute little kid time.

I got behind with his book because I don't remember when  I've had a single evening that I could just sit and relax and have fun with his book.  Originally I had planned for him to do his own book like his sisters did theirs.  Didn't pan out.  Wonder why? :)

This morning I found all the assorted clippings and pictures I had on hand and sorted them.  I've started printing photos off the computer and actually have a couple pages put together.


Only about 10 more pages to figure out!  Now that I've started, I shouldn't have a problem getting it done in time.

Starting is always the hardest part.

Some of the latest table runners....

I make these table runners from tablecloths that have been discarded due to holes or stains.  I just cut that part out and re'New them into something usable again!

Please visit my facebook page~  There you will find individual pictures, sizes and prices.... if you are interested, that is! :) 

There's a link, right over there  ----->

Brrr....

Cold weather rugs.... wool and acrylic blankets renewed....

Lazy?

Have I been a slacker today?  Or did I take a well deserved day off?

Spent the day yesterday running about town doin' the city wide rummage day.  Came home with a bunch of jeans (colored ones, too!) and some other random textiles.  I am really set for weaving supplies now.

Tomorrow I will spend the day weaving tablerunners.  The loom is all set up with about a 1/2 of a runner already woven.  Will be able to kick a**, so I should get alot accomplished.

I still haven't gotten pictures of the last batch of rugs taken.  They are mostly blanket rugs, so they are nice rich colors.  I am waiting for some good light to try and get those colors shown off to the best of my abilities!  Hopefully tomorrow brings some cooperative weather.

I did get a couple of rugs worth of weft prepped for the next colorway of rugs.  If I can stay ahead of myself, I won't have to stop and catch up.  Does that make sense?  I'm talking about just me here!

day of my birth

Inside every older person is a younger person - wondering what the hell happened.  ~ Cora Harvey Armstrong
  
It was my birthday today.

It is the 18th anniversary of my 27th birthday.  I tell people when they ask my age, I am 27.  That is what I feel like inside.

Wish my body agreed.                                                                                                            

Thundercloud Rugs

Finished rugs ~  Black denim jeans on a black and charcoal warp.

I thought they have the colors of the thunderclouds, so that is what I'm going to call them!

I hurt myself

I worked so hard today, I hurt myself.... After weaving for 4 hours I had to stop short of finishing the current warp because my forearm hurt.  I spent the day weaving without a shuttle.

Apparently reaching into the shed innumerable times will eventually cause a kind of warp burn!  My forearm shows exactly where I make contact with the upper warp when I reach in to grab the weft that I'm throwing through the shed.

I was only about 1/2 a rug from being done and able to take the last of the rugs off, but I just couldn't do it!  Instead I spent the rest of the day tying fringe.  I'm caught up with that, so I can start anew tomorrow when I get those rugs off the loom.

Next warp ~  another batch of table runners.  And then,  watch out!  A completely new colorway (for me)!

Gloomy

This big ol' pile of black denim strips suits my mood lately.

It's dark-

It's tangled up-

It's messy-

It's being reincarnated.