crush...

hi there,

Back with another weaverly post.  I'll be back to knitterly posting soon, but in the meantime...I've been doing some experimenting, and I want to introduce you to my new love...

Okay, I know it's a bit funky. It may even the kind of thing that only a weaver could love.  But I do—I love it.  It's felted merino wool and recycled sari silk {the thrums (loom waste) from weaving sari fabric in a textile mill in Nepal are collected and spun together to make this yarn}.  The yarn I used here has been around a while.  I bought over a decade ago and loved it, but it was really overspun, almost elastic, and was utterly unusable as a knitting yarn.  So when I decided to use it for this project I gave it  a backward trip through my spinning wheel and "unspun" it a little {maybe a little too much—hence the wooly texture of it here}.

It really is a work in progress, but I kind of love it.  I've been wearing for two days straight to see how it holds up.  The fabric is soft and warm and makes me smile every time I catch a glimpse of it in a window or mirror.  You can't tell here, but it's actually a little lacey.  And the colors...they just sing and shimmer.  These pictures do not do that sari silk justice.  It really does just glow.  And can I say how much I love the symmetry of weaving with a yarn that was once on a loom halfway across the world?...love.

The night it came off the loom I was convinced it was a disaster.  I was sitting at our coffee table with a fork in hand trying {with no success} to will the thing into submission—never a good sign when you take cutlery to your weaving at midnight.  I really was ready to bundle the whole thing up and pitch it.  But in the morning I decided to forge ahead and felt it...just to see what it would become, and voila!...love...

 ...pure unadulterated, unapologetic adoration.

Note to self...two things...
nothing looks good when it's midnight, you have a fork in your hand and no cake before you,
and two... that it's not done until it's done. 

Sorry for all of the pictures.  I went a little crazy trying to capture all of those colors.

Hope you have a great weekend, full of fun projects and happy surprises!

~xoxo
alison

ps~ If you want a pdf of the pattern for the Libernating Mitts {that I blogged last week}you can download it here.

Having it all...

I grew up with the firm belief that I could have it all...everything my heart desired was mine if I wanted it badly enough and if I worked hard enough to get it.  At the time I thought of having it all in terms of family and career, but as I've gotten older, I've realized that I have so internalized that belief that it extends to all facets of my life.  This is a good thing~mostly~but it can also lead to some frustration and to some hard bumps with reality.  I mean it seems like, I should be able to design knitting patterns, homeschool, maintain my weaving business, cook all of our food from scratch, make our clothes, teach, read, be socially active, play with family and friends, exercise daily, take classes, repair and keep a picture-perfect house, and~here's the kicker~be spontaneous at all times.  I should be able to keep all of those plates spinning at the same time, right?...apparently not.  Now, I'm not saying it can't be done.  I  firmly believe that there are some high-energy souls out there who manage all of this and more~my visits in blogland reinforce this believe and constantly inspire me~but I'm just not that girl. 
My dear mother has a maxim...you can't have a clean house and a productive sewing table at the same time.  I'm so grateful for that {on recollection though, I think she did, in fact, manage both}.  But what a gift she gives me when she tells me that, and how often do I need to hear it.  It reminds me that I can have it all, but maybe not all of it at the same time.
Weaving is part of my "all" and it has been a missing part.  When I was working on my book a few things had to take a back seat.  My loom was pushed off to the side in the push to get the designs knitted and the book written.  After the book was done it seemed like there were lots of loose ends to take care of...so still no weaving.  I was waiting for the ideal time...a time when everything would be perfect and nothing would have to slide for me to incorporate weaving back into my life.  I knew that once that loom was open, it would call to me.  And so it has.  Over the last week or so, I've decided to make peace with my dust bunnies and incomplete home repairs, to take some time to get reacquainted with an old friend.

first this...

 

then this...

then a bit more...

It feels so good to be reunited with my loom.  And even if I am a little rusty and my house is...well, a little more than messy...I am happy, the ideas are flowing, and my fingers are itchy for more.  What could be better?  Here's to having it all...one piece at a time.

Happy Monday! 

~xoxo~

alison