What's in a Name?

Well that depends on what you want to convey. I guess if your naming your business you'd want customers to know what your about. If you naming your dog or kitty you want them to respond when you call them or in my case talk her little velvet ears off. If you naming your child, you may consider the last name/first name as this person will carry it for their lifetime. Sincerely some parents should really give that some thought because I have witness some seriously inventive (for lack of better terms) first names, lately I can barely pronounce what I see written as a name, I feel for teachers.

All this to explain why I named my blog what I did and because Meg asked on her blog.

I started my fiber adventure loom knitting. I'd bought knitting boards, knitting looms, round oblong, rectangular ones etc... they were taking over the house (much like the weaving/knitting is today) one day my husband stated "you know I think you've gone over the deep end with all these loom thingys, how many more do you need to accomplish whatever it is your doing". I was thinking about the blog I would start and the name was born out of that comment "deep end of the loom", little did I know how prophetic that would be and I would evolve the blog and myself into weaving, which came much later as the blog progressed.

I know you were thinking something with more humph, or an epiphany, but really the story is not that cosmic, rather more comic relief which suits my personality.

Pics to Picks Part One - Planning Stages

I got my Pics to Picks package and I'll tell you, I can't wait to get started, I love all the pictures, swatch of cloth and the hand spun yarn that Lynn from Linnet Knits sent to me as my inspiration partner.
Sorry for the sideways pic blogger is not cooperating today!!Since I'm inspired by all of my goodies, I've decided it would be fun to do several projects from them. For my first project I thought I could do something really tactile and expand my knowledge, so I picked the yarn as my inspiration, I love the texture, color and feel of it. In the spirit of adventure, I ordered a drop spindle kit with some alpaca roving and will try (hopefully succeed) spinning some yarn, if I don't make a total tangled mess I will use both in the final project yet to be determined.

My second project inspiration is the cloth swatch, look at those wonderful colors really just so dreamy, it makes me feel like I'm in a watercolor painting with fluid moves of color. I want to take the beautiful colors and make a small bag, with the cloth as a liner. I'd like to experiment with my inkle for this one as a wearable art piece. (sounds so artsy fartsy)

The third I want to do some clasped weave project I love the daffodil postcard and want to use it as the jumping off point and get some controlled weaves in it also, am having some issues with how to accomplish it. I want to try something totally different with my RH I have time to think on that one so I'll let you know once I cross that strange bridge in which thought comes to practice and final fruition.

Colors of March

I decided I would join the Colors of the Month Club? Fun with Fiber better known as bspinner has been posting some awesome pictures of the Month along with pics of fiber and projects. I thought I might share what March looks like in South Florida.

I don't know what to say about this Staghorn, she's been with me for 10 years and is taking over the pot with the dead ficus tree stump.

Sweet Basil, just flowering, I use the seeds to keep them going year round.

Marigolds I planted in February.

I don't know the name of this one but it grows in my front garden and I can't kill it, so as Martha would say "it's a good thing".

My flowering Mango tree, super sweet and delicious.

Step Away from the Computer!

Jeez, guys I go away for a week and you all go crazy posting! Wow such wonderful stuff I've spent literally 2 days reading and commenting on posts. I can also tell that spring is coming to much of the blog world because of the posting, everyone is out of their winter stupor and jumping with ideas and creativity.

We went to Helen, GA. and had a great time we visited a few waterfalls, vineyard (yes they have them and they are amazing) caught snow in the Smokies and rested in a little cabin that was wonderful.

I downloaded my pics and the server crashed, I got 77 pics of 123, lost 46 of them mostly water falls, snow and some of the most interesting blooming trees. After a good cry, I decided that I can't really do anything about it so... we'll move on.

I took my Greenjeans sweater to knit on the trip up and down and am almost done with one sleeve, but in the midst of all that knitting I craved my looms, I worked on the Pink Scarf that's on the RH last night and plan on finishing it this weekend. I toyed with the Structo, and finally finished my inkle strap. I may do some creative sewing this weekend with the beaded fabric, strap and more beading. I have an idea brewing.

Thoughtful Thursday

Love is the theme for this post, since today is my anniversary, 15 years.

~ In true love the smallest distance is too great, and the greatest distance can be bridged. ~
Hans Nouwens

The Envelope Please!

My confession first, I didn't mean to post the previous entry just yet, but I hit the wrong key and published instead of saving as a draft, duh.
Okay so without further ado,
My Nominees are:

Memphis Weaver - totally wonderful work, she's been doing book binding and weaving tons of inspirational pictures.

Unravelling - cause Meg rocks! But she's very talented and the pics on the blog are always awesome, when I grow up I plan to take pics like hers, or at least learn to Photoshop and create good pics. Is that cheating?

Lady of the Loom - Great work, educational, interesting and all around fun blog.

Backstrap Weaving - What can I say just look at her blog!! It's outstanding what she can create with the simplest of looms, I'm always fascinated by her use of color.

Daryl's Blog - Because nothing would make me happier that to attend one of her workshops, talented and a teacher.

Just Another Knitter Learns to Weave - Just another knitter my butt cheeks, very talented with needles and a shuttle.

Basketmaster's Weavings - I have one word to describe her blog "awesome", although is a different type of weaving check it out you're going to be inspired by it all.

I want to add many, many more blogs I think I might just start doing so every month so that we can share the love of creativity, inspiration and artists.

Kreativ Blogger

While I was away on vacay Acorn to Oak was sweet enough to nominate my blog for this award. I'm flattered, thank you.
Although I don't always feel like I'm contributing much of anything, I do appreciate everyone's comments and help when I fell helplessly lost in a weaving stupper.
Here are the rules for receiving this award:
1. Thank the person who gave this to you.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link the person who nominated you.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that no one would really know.
5. Nominate seven 'Kreativ Bloggers'.
6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them.

Seven thing you might not know about me:

1. I'm a middle child, only girl and my brothers are as annoying now as they were when we were kids.

2. At 44 I'm the youngest person in my company, I alway joke that we run an Old Folks Community Center more than a Sign Co. (yeah they love me lol)

3. I have an uncanny sense of smell. I've been known to walk into the meat isle of a grocery store and pick out a sealed package and tell you if it's not good, just by smell, my husband always has me smell stuff when he's in doubt.

4. I am sometimes painfully blunt and have trouble censoring myself. I thought I would have grown out of it, but I haven't and I take extra measures to have patience when I know I'm going to say something that may not come across well. I'm still a work in progress.

5. I can paint with watercolors, acrylics and oil. I haven't done much in a few years but I have the knowledge and hand to do so.

6. I love ethnic food, Indian, African, Soul, Puerto Rican, Italian, Middle Eastern, Thai, you name it, if it smells good I'll taste it.

7. I'm very sarcastic, this is another thing I try to keep in check, not everyone can appreciate a good zinger and my family specializes in them, so I was trained very early on. Haven't lost it, but it's under control most of the time.

God I thought I'd never get through those that's a hard exercise.

So onto the unsuspecting bloggers:

Vacation!

We are going on vacation, see you in a week. (yeah I know the pic has nothing to do with the post but, really doesn't that cake just look yummy... btw I lost 9# on my new regime and am going to celebrate some)

Thoughtful Thursday

Shades of Pink

Nancy at Basketmaster's Weaving blog is putting together a Think Pink Raffle. In honor of my friend Lesbia, who after 17 surgeries and 5 long years is a breast cancer survivor, I'm donating a scarf I'm naming "Shades of Pink". I started it this week with a mixture of yarns, textures and colors. I did the same thing with this scarf that I did with the Midnight Shawl, no rhythm or reason to the yarn just the color of pink. I'm finding that I really enjoy these type of projects, the fly by my seat, mix & match yarn choices. I think that I will be doing a lot more of this type of project on my RH since, I have to plan for the Structo and inkle, this will be the whimsical weaving loom. Close up of the yarns, there is LB Suede, Caron Simply Soft, Wool Blend (gifted to me) ribbon yarn with fuzzy sides, eyelash yarn and some nubby stuff I can't even remember when I got it, but it's working out and I'm really loving it.

I'll keep you guys updated as to when the raffle will take place so you can try your luck and help support a great cause.

Big Giant Sigh of Relief!

I worked on my loom some more last night. I thought the easiest least painful road was to roll the warp forward on to the beam, which I did. Since the back was twisted and crossed I has some problems, but once I got to a point where I wasn't going to be able to fix it I cut the rest off about 3' then I re-tied to the back beam. and wound back with the separator. Once I was satisfied with the tension and the warp, I cut the front and re-slayed it through the reed. I never took the yarn off the heddles and that help keep it straight as I was beaming back and forth.

I really like the way it worked out nice and straight as it should be.

Then I wove a bit just to make sure everything was in place. I was still getting that renegade selvage but it broke under tension and I decided to just let it go. Since this is my practice run I can live without that one.

I want to THANK all of you for helping through this mess, I know I must sound like a blathering idiot sometimes, but I promise I will do this over and over again until I get it so that I don't feel so hopelessly lost.

Answers and more Questions

Delighted Hands:
(The cross needs to stay between the back beam and the heddles not rolled onto the back beam...you can roll them out and go without now that you have the heddles threaded.)

Peg in South Carolina says:

Also, are what I understand to be the lease sticks, are they buried under the warp? They need to be on top as they provide your guide for theading. They also help with tensioning the warp.

If this needs to happen then the sticks would work as guides? Not to hold the yarn to the beam? That's what I thought that I was suppose to do, tie them to the back beam and roll up. I must have missed something in the book, damn it. How do I keep them back there without rolling in, should I anchor them to the back bar (the black pvc covered thing in the pic? Do I need the raddle also or is that too much? I would like to try to re-do the warping tonight or Friday and see if I can get it right this time. I feel so dense and stupid, Thanks for the help.

Thoughtful Thursday

I'm afraid for the future, I usually don't put anything political on my blog because I choose to keep somethings private but really she just scares the pants off me, actually all politician do.

Yes, you are right -- I am a moralist in disguise; it gets me into heaps of trouble when I go thrashing around in political questions.- Mark Twain - Letter to Helene Picard, 22 Feb 1902

More Warping

I threaded the heddles, which was not bad, I treadled from back to front it's easier for me because I'm use to doing that with the RH, I was going to do it front to back but got really nervous and confused. After I got through the heddles, I woven some to see if the pattern wast right, if I was going to be able to do it etc.. this is the first mug mat. I don't know about the selvages they seem so.... out there, maybe I should draw it in more? I'm also lightly tapping the yarn in with the beater.

Then I changed colors just to play around some more, I like this it's very spring/Easter-ish.

But this last pic, this is the real problem. When I beamed the warp on to the back I didn't have anything suitable as a separator for the yarn so I just went along, of course it's sloppy and the yarn is crossed and now I'm just annoyed with it and myself, more with myself than the yarn. My questions to the more experience weavers are: Can I roll the yarn forward onto the front beam insert my separator and then roll it back? Will this create a mess or can this be done, if I do it carefully? Any suggestions on how to fix?

The two sticks you see here are holding my cross, dang it I didn't think to take photos as I started sorry guys, I'm just a mess with this one.

Warping and Dressing

Mr. Deepend made my warping board this weekend after much debating and consulting of my weaving books he finished it in no time. She's not as polished as the one's you get online but she was economical totaling $ 16.00 +/- with one hour of actual work from sanding to assembly. After the initial shock of having a warping board and figuring out what to do with it. I warped for a project on the Structo, the one that was beating me down yesterday.

I finally was able to take the warp and put it on the back beam, I get the concept of doing it this way since I warp the RH from the beam to peg. I was trying to do it from front to back and I need to practice it more in order to get the idea and motions down. Thank you for suggesting I post pics so that you all can help me out. So far this is all I have, I will start threadling the heddles for the mug rugs I talked about in this post. I move the thread around a bit and that's why it looks so messy, but I think I got it right, I guess I do, I'm hopeful.

The pronged wood piece is my only knitting loom I kept, came in handy as a raddle, when I was winding the warp. Does this look right?? I need to apprentice with one of you for a while lol, in the mean time, I saving my pennies to get to the Folk School in North Carolina or Penland for a week, hey I can dream, and dream big!

Warping the Structo

ARRRRGGGHHHH! That's all I can say. How do you guys do this?? I'm all knotted and annoyed even with the book I followed it to a T. I'm stepping away for a day before I try to make sense of it.