Can't see the woods for the trees

The news from Maurers Lane...

The big wind storm last week dropped a few trees around our house, one of which ripped the electrical service right off the house. We decided we’ve had enough of trees falling around the house and the next day we had a logger in to remove some trees. Here they are yarded in front of Pam’s place. The cherry picker came on Wednesday and took them away.

Logger’ll be back next winter to log the whole property – lots of pines will go. In the meantime the Great Chicken Project continues. The BIG tree was finally taken down and removed.



GONE!

So, now the chicken house can be moved into place, because the one-day old cheeps arrive on June 17th! We’re getting 3 of each of the following (all hens except for one of the Silver Lace Wyandottes, which will be a rooster)

Meanwhile, the goats are having a great time munching their way through all the pine branches, and the sap’s running like mad out of the maple trees.

Happy Spring!

Goats & Weaving

Blog – what a clunky word. This is my first experience with blogging; I’ll not bore you with my naiveté about blogging, except to say I’m beginning it makes me feel old. When I was young I was somewhat disdainful of older people who did not “get” my rapture with the computer, even though at that time it was only a mainframe that I had to travel 30 miles to play on. They just didn’t see the point, had only read about them and were not interested in using one, if they had any idea what the use of such a piece of equipment might be. Well, thinking back to those folks, I decided that I would give blogging a try, so that my old gray head didn’t seem to be quite so ossified.

So… the two primary loves in my life at the moment (other than my husband and son) – goats and weaving. Here are photos taken early this morning of my three angora boys (well, they used to be boys anyways – don’t tell them that they’re not anymore). Peanut is wearing a moustache from eating white pine tree needles and bark. He gets covered with pitch and then any dirt that comes along sticks to him. He often looks like Inspector Clouseau. Wilbur is taking a momentary break from trying to taste the camera and Sweet Bill Goat is just coming out of the barn for another big day in Bill Goat Land. Perhaps you can see in the background that snow is still hiding in the woods. We have promises of spring, but reminders of winter.

Next are photos of what just came off my loom and what is being threaded currently. The first is a short three-yard warp of 16/2 Bockens linen that I wove into hand towels. I haven’t cut the towels apart and hemmed them yet, but I’m very happy with the weight, drape, and sheen of the linen. It is a 2-point twill weave in M and W threading, with a natural color warp and a royal blue weft.

Second is my weaving guild homework for a class in double weave. I’ve warped on four yards of 8/2 cotton, one color for the top layer and a darker color for the bottom. Each layer is sett at 18 threads per inch, making for 36 thread per inch crowding into my 12 dent reed. We’ll se how that works! I’ve got instructions to weave a sampler of several double weave techniques. Some of these are as follows. To weave them as two separate layers, and then both layers together open on one selvage and closed on the other, so that when it’s taken off the loom it could open up into a double width. Another section will be the two layers exchanging places, so first the dark will be on top and then the light – it makes little crossway tubes. And then a section that is just closed on both sides so that it makes a lengthwise tube. I suspect that this is the method that was used to weave the seamless robe that Jesus wore and was cast lots for by the soldiers at his execution. After those and a couple of other techniques that I can’t at the moment remember, I’ll be weaving a pickup sample for each of the participants in the class (13 all together). Pickup is when you pick up threads to form a pattern from the bottom layer to the top layer. I’m a little nervous because this homework is due on April 15th which is, of course, tax day as well. You guessed it; I don’t have my taxes done yet. I’ll try and take more photos of this project (the weaving, not the taxes). Please pray that I manage to carve out enough time to get both done in time. Working for a living sure does get in the way of real life, although I’ll not complain too much. I’m fortunate in this economy to have a job. That’s all for today. God bless you.