I have been having trouble with blogger for a few weeks. I can't get onto anyone's blog and keep getting error messages. There are time like this one rare moment that I can actually get on to post, so I'll update you on what's been happening in my world.

I purchased two weaving books, one was a gift from my kids and the other one from myself. I'm excited to read them through and start planning some new projects. I gave up and conceded defeat on the scarf, it kept breaking down and I just could not deal with it any longer. I started warping for the simple baby blanket and that should give me some easy work for a bit.

I also had the reeds sandblasted to get the rust off them, after a few months of trying and not really getting to far I decided it was the best route to go. I need to clean them and take a steel wool pads to smooth them out they feel a bit rough. Hopefully I'll be able to use them without any damage to the warp, if not then they will be tossed and I will have to acquire new reeds.

So far that's what I've got going, I hope you all are doing great. Once I figure out what's happening with my access to blogger I plan to visit with everyone for a bit.

Welaka Maritime Museum

We visited the Maritime Museum in Welaka, it was truly dedicated to wooden boat restorations and building. Mr. Richard Speas was the man behind all the boats and the reason the museum exists today. Walking through the museum I got the feeling the Mr. Speas had an incredibly well lived life, someone who enjoyed his passion and as a result left a legacy to his family.

With the remains of the wood from his boat building and restoration, he made these vases. The are bits of wood that have been epoxied together, then sanded and varnished. Although the boats were gorgeous it was the vases that captured my total attention.

Close up of an unfinished piece

This one vase is 11' high

and this one displays the art of his carving. This was a pleasant surprise among the Spanish moss and tranquility of the St. John's River am although I would have loved to have met Mr. Speas in life, I'm grateful that his family has preserved his memory and artwork for the rest of us to enjoy.

Welaka, Fl

Wonderfully relaxing getaway.

did someone say bread?

I made Focaccia bread, from SCRATCH. Yeah, I know your not really impressed if you bake bread often but this is the FIRST time I did so it's eventful. At least to me and Mr. Deepend's stomach that thanked me for rewarding it with substance after the wafting smell from the kitchen, the man couldn't keep his nose out of the oven.

I can say it was really easy and fun, and sure to become a staple with our Italian dinners.

I used this recipe: (thanks to allrecipes.com although Dave Daniels recipe is next)

Ingredients 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon white sugar 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon dried thyme ( switched this to rosemary) 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1 pinch ground black pepper 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 cup water 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese 1 cup mozzarella Directions: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil and black pepper. Mix in the vegetable oil and water. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Punch dough down; place on greased baking sheet. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Brush top with olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

did someone say bread?

I must have pissed off the Mohair Spinning Faerie, maybe my offering of weaving a beautiful scarf was just not enough for her? Maybe a burnt offering might appease, because that is what I was about to do to this warp, while manically singing "BURN BABY BURN". This warp has been abusive to me! The white mohair is tearing after a few pics the beating of the reeds is wreaking havoc on this yarn or my tension is or both I dunno. It's been over a month and I've only woven 12" with a lot of breaks and re-tying. I've also left it on the loom after one extremely frustrating session, not only did the damn yarn break, but my hooks holding the lamms would come off every other pick, the selvage yarn kept breaking off and I just ran out of the room before, I lit the whole thing on fire. Ever see those commercials where someone takes a bat to a computer or their car because they're at their wits end, yeah I was there about two weeks ago. The loom and project has been on timeout, me too as a matter of fact since that fateful day. In the interim I went on vacation and had a great three days off with my hubby, I'll show you all some pics later this week. I came back refreshed and decided to try again before I just cut the loom loose of this warp and have a ceremonial burning festival. I rolled my beam and started fresh with a new determination. I figured my tension was the cause of the breakage plus that the beat needed to be more gentle. After about an hour I wove 18", this might just get done without much more delay this week, I'm keeping my toes crossed because Lord knows I need my fingers. As an incentive to finish, I started warping for a new baby blanket. I have these funky fuzzy yarns in baby colors and want to weave them up for a cushy, soft blankie, in the most simplest of tabby. After the current warp I need something mind numbingly simple, ahh the luxury of simple tabby dances in my mind's eye, woohooo only two shafts, two treadles and a stick shuttle, basic, simple, yet refreshing. These are the moments when I wish I would still have my RH loom, and regret selling it.

Don't those colors just scream baby, spring and Easter?