is soon.
And I have just --with one click--bought him a present. A 55" Samsung LCD TV. To replace the one shattered by our daughter a few months ago.
We have been doing without, and doing fine. But Norm misses sitting in his recliner with his laptop doing work and watching TV. Sitting at his desk downstairs doing work and watching TV just isn't as good. And for just curling up for an occasional movie, well, the desk downstairs just isn't romantic.
So I went watching a lot of TV displays and found that for our personal taste, I like the Samsung 55" the best. And then I looked for price. And Amazon had one of those teasers where you have to put it in the shopping cart to see the price. And then you have to enter shipping info. And then you see a price. And the price was about $1450 and that *included delivery to your HOUSE!!* And the delivery was next Tuesday in the afternoon.
I've run out of "And's."
The next closest price was Costco for $1697 but you have to cart it home yourself.
Somehow, without really thinking or examining it too much, I clicked the button. And bought it. And now some TV elf somewhere is madly scurrying to pack my TV up in China and get it on the plane to me before next Tuesday, 5 days from now.
My.
I don't usually buy big expensive things without discussing it with Norm. Plus reviewing and analyzing ad nauseum with him. But I LIKE this TV. And we're tired of using the 19" LCD screen in the basement next to Norm's desk. It's depressing. And Amelia has figured out the TV is there and slopes off without parental knowledge or permission to watch The Suite Life of Zack and Cody or some other PG teen flick that promotes attitudes that I despise. Three days ago I thought she was coloring on the kitchen table so I sloped off to get a bit of weaving done. She quietly slipped downstairs and was watching Shark Boy and Lava Girl when I found her. And evidently she's seen it before because as I was turning it off she wailed, "No Mommy, that's the sad part! Let me just watch that part until he " ...(and then she rattled off a plot point that my brain couldn't wrap around).
Yeah. Time to get the TV back under watchful parent eyes. With a timer lock on it that won't turn on until her bedtime.
We turned on the parental controls on the cable channels last week because we figured out that her "play" time down in the basement wasn't with her toys, dolls, and desk but with Norm's desk and TV. I was terrified that she'd find one of the R-rated films and see something really inappropriate. And then tell all of her camp friends. And then get alienated forever. And I'll get branded as the trashy mom in the neighborhood.
Those "And's" again. Moms have a lot of time to spend worrying.
So the TV cometh. You know, I'm rather sad about that in a way. Just it's very presence can lead to me caving in and letting her watch TV. I'm going to have to be very strong to keep the ban in place until Oct 16.
---
Update: No, I'm trying to cancel the order now. I'm not sure of the settings or plugs on that one and I'd like a chance to see the one at Costco again before I take the plunge. And while Amazon would take it back, I'd have to pay for shipping it back. Pricey, I'd imagine.
---
Update #2: Got it canceled. Turned out that I was right, the one I'd ordered for $1450 wasn't equivalent to the Costco one that we'd liked. $1450 = LCD which isn't bad, but not as good as the $1700 Costco LED one. Amazon offers it for $1800. Tax might trip the difference here. That's $100 on top. But Costco offers a 2-year warranty for the item, not one. And I can haul it back to the Costco if needed. If I get really generous, the Samsung 55" 3D LED TV is only $2200 shipped to our house.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Ode to Light
One of the biggest peeves about our new house is that the light in it is poor for craft work. Our old house was 90+ years old with windows taller than me that flooded the house with light. Tall ceilings, lots of windows, gentle bow windows. I miss that house more than you could imagine.
The new house, in the fabulous new neighborhood, was designed by trolls. Pretty spaces, but smaller windows, lots of shading trees, low ceilings, and no light.
Craft work requires light. A lot of light.
So, after whining about no light for a year, I bought lamps. And now I've bought more. The first set were to light up the living room and family room. The second set are in my studio (which is the only room in the house that gets light but it only gets it in the morning hours [when I'm at work]) and in the bedroom.
I put a decent light in the bedroom in the "sitting area" corner. I have my recliner there. And a handy shelf for needlework supplies. It's the clearest corner of the room because I'm sort of militant that nothing sits on the recliner but one of us. Last night, I put bulbs in the floor lamp. Two 150 watt bulbs and one 60 watt direct reading lamp on a snaky neck. And suddenly, I can actually *do* needlework in there. It's fabulous!
I dragged my favorite needlework stand upstairs (a System IV) with the Theresa Wentzler "Fortunate Traveller" piece on it. I read a book in my chair! Ahhh, the life.
On another note, the camping towel is proceeding. I have 27 pattern repeats in the body of the piece, each about 2" long. I'm done with 9 of the repeats now.
And the house is getting much cleaner and decluttered. Lots of time spent in decluttering.
The new house, in the fabulous new neighborhood, was designed by trolls. Pretty spaces, but smaller windows, lots of shading trees, low ceilings, and no light.
Craft work requires light. A lot of light.
So, after whining about no light for a year, I bought lamps. And now I've bought more. The first set were to light up the living room and family room. The second set are in my studio (which is the only room in the house that gets light but it only gets it in the morning hours [when I'm at work]) and in the bedroom.
I put a decent light in the bedroom in the "sitting area" corner. I have my recliner there. And a handy shelf for needlework supplies. It's the clearest corner of the room because I'm sort of militant that nothing sits on the recliner but one of us. Last night, I put bulbs in the floor lamp. Two 150 watt bulbs and one 60 watt direct reading lamp on a snaky neck. And suddenly, I can actually *do* needlework in there. It's fabulous!
I dragged my favorite needlework stand upstairs (a System IV) with the Theresa Wentzler "Fortunate Traveller" piece on it. I read a book in my chair! Ahhh, the life.
On another note, the camping towel is proceeding. I have 27 pattern repeats in the body of the piece, each about 2" long. I'm done with 9 of the repeats now.
And the house is getting much cleaner and decluttered. Lots of time spent in decluttering.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
New Life for an Old Dawg
This was a post that I made in the Weaving Today forum about Slow Cloth:
Many of us who weave spend a lot of time in the planning stage. Planning a new project is exciting. Picking the yarns from our stash. Settling in with graph paper or computer program to figure out structure. Finding those small victories when you only have enough yarn in one color for 7 warp threads but manage to find a way to showcase them in the structure. Deciding on a finishing technique. Hunting beads or other accessories to use in the finished product.
Then comes the warping. That's incredibly exciting because you see the vision unfolding. And the tie-on. Then the final glorious moment where you throw the first shuttle.
Unfortunately, many of us find that as soon as we weave off enough weft to truly see the pattern, we lose a substantial amount of that excitement. In fact, after that, it becomes just work to get it off the loom. The rhythm and soothing meditative nature though, makes the process worthwhile and relaxing. You lose sight of the 'work' aspect when you are lost in the hypnotic peace of actual weaving.
Unless something goes wrong with the warp. If you can't fix it quick, you may be facing a dreaded 'dawg on the loom.'
I've had a dawg on my loom for 4 1/2 years. And it's a beautiful color blanket warp in 10/2 mercerized cotton threaded to an overshot threading. But one color was fraying in the reed (wrong reed for the sett and one color was a softer twist yarn). I also found that there wasn't enough weft yarn to finish it in the same colors. I ordered more yarn, but the dye lots were so significantly different that it ruined my finished vision. And there it sat. Until 4.5 years later when I fixed the reed, and decided that I needed a camping towel for our camping adventures. A couple of cones of tropical jewel colors in unmercerized 6/2 cotton later, I'm weaving off a 27"x65" camping towel really fast.
The excitement can make or break a project. And while I do slow projects, I'm one of those excitement-in-the-planning sorts. My favorite meditative process in weaving happens at the warping board. I use one instead of a warping reel simply because those arm movements and counting to wind the warp are one of my high points in the process.
4.5 years is a bit long in the life of a dawg. Many succumb to scissors in short order. My husband and I are a "100-hour couple" and have a small child. So pleasures for self have narrowed down to measurement in minutes. This warp was too lovely for me to cut off. Threaded in a versatile structure. It just took 4.5 years for me to finally get the "Aha!" moment and find the right use for the warp.
And yes, the edge of that towel is a hand stitched blanket stitch in a space-dyed 5/2 cotton. It stiffens the edge and hopefully will keep the edge from fraying. I'm not quite finished stitching one edge of the towel as you can see in the full scope photo of the towel. (The towel is laying on 2' square tiles in the kitchen to give the piece some scale.)
Many of us who weave spend a lot of time in the planning stage. Planning a new project is exciting. Picking the yarns from our stash. Settling in with graph paper or computer program to figure out structure. Finding those small victories when you only have enough yarn in one color for 7 warp threads but manage to find a way to showcase them in the structure. Deciding on a finishing technique. Hunting beads or other accessories to use in the finished product.
Then comes the warping. That's incredibly exciting because you see the vision unfolding. And the tie-on. Then the final glorious moment where you throw the first shuttle.
Unfortunately, many of us find that as soon as we weave off enough weft to truly see the pattern, we lose a substantial amount of that excitement. In fact, after that, it becomes just work to get it off the loom. The rhythm and soothing meditative nature though, makes the process worthwhile and relaxing. You lose sight of the 'work' aspect when you are lost in the hypnotic peace of actual weaving.
Unless something goes wrong with the warp. If you can't fix it quick, you may be facing a dreaded 'dawg on the loom.'
I've had a dawg on my loom for 4 1/2 years. And it's a beautiful color blanket warp in 10/2 mercerized cotton threaded to an overshot threading. But one color was fraying in the reed (wrong reed for the sett and one color was a softer twist yarn). I also found that there wasn't enough weft yarn to finish it in the same colors. I ordered more yarn, but the dye lots were so significantly different that it ruined my finished vision. And there it sat. Until 4.5 years later when I fixed the reed, and decided that I needed a camping towel for our camping adventures. A couple of cones of tropical jewel colors in unmercerized 6/2 cotton later, I'm weaving off a 27"x65" camping towel really fast.
The excitement can make or break a project. And while I do slow projects, I'm one of those excitement-in-the-planning sorts. My favorite meditative process in weaving happens at the warping board. I use one instead of a warping reel simply because those arm movements and counting to wind the warp are one of my high points in the process.
4.5 years is a bit long in the life of a dawg. Many succumb to scissors in short order. My husband and I are a "100-hour couple" and have a small child. So pleasures for self have narrowed down to measurement in minutes. This warp was too lovely for me to cut off. Threaded in a versatile structure. It just took 4.5 years for me to finally get the "Aha!" moment and find the right use for the warp.
And yes, the edge of that towel is a hand stitched blanket stitch in a space-dyed 5/2 cotton. It stiffens the edge and hopefully will keep the edge from fraying. I'm not quite finished stitching one edge of the towel as you can see in the full scope photo of the towel. (The towel is laying on 2' square tiles in the kitchen to give the piece some scale.)
Monday, June 7, 2010
Part of a Camping Towel
Friday I wove about 18" of Camping Towel. I found the right weave structure in a plain 2/2 twill simple wave pattern, with occasional reversing star motifs every 40 weft shots. It's a pretty thing, 28"-30" wide finished, and will be about 80" long.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Camping Towels & Re-threading the Loom
I decided that the very colorful 10/2 perle cotton color blanket warp (for the color-blanket-that-won't-be) shouldn't go to waste even with a shredding black segment of the warp. It's 30" wide, you know.
I cut off the sampling web and put another reed in the batten. Instead of using a 24-dent reed, I put in the 10-dent and am sleying it 3-2-3-2-3-2-3-2-3. I've re-sleyed about 1/3 of the warp so far in 45 minutes of precious free time two nights ago.
I've been looking at possible tie-up and treadling combinations for the overshot threading. It should be *easy* to find one I like. But, I'm probably going to weave off one towel at least in the overshot pattern without tabby.
I picked some really lovely tropical beach towel colors in unmercerized 6/2 cotton (and some 8/2 cotton) that I had in my stash of yarn. I'm going to weave one towel in bright turquoise with some lipstick red and deep plum highlights on the ends. Maybe a couple of shots of orange in there too. If there's enough warp, I'll do a second towel with the deep plum and turquoise, light blue, and orange highlights on the ends.
I'm thinking about weaving a nice plain weave (even weave) for an inch or two on the ends so that I can embroider names on it after the towel comes off the loom and is washed.
I haven't been this excited about weaving in years. The idea of making something useful is like catnip. And I love working with cotton. I'd probably be happy enough just weaving plain old common dishtowels forever. (in uncommon colors and weave structures)
I cut off the sampling web and put another reed in the batten. Instead of using a 24-dent reed, I put in the 10-dent and am sleying it 3-2-3-2-3-2-3-2-3. I've re-sleyed about 1/3 of the warp so far in 45 minutes of precious free time two nights ago.
I've been looking at possible tie-up and treadling combinations for the overshot threading. It should be *easy* to find one I like. But, I'm probably going to weave off one towel at least in the overshot pattern without tabby.
I picked some really lovely tropical beach towel colors in unmercerized 6/2 cotton (and some 8/2 cotton) that I had in my stash of yarn. I'm going to weave one towel in bright turquoise with some lipstick red and deep plum highlights on the ends. Maybe a couple of shots of orange in there too. If there's enough warp, I'll do a second towel with the deep plum and turquoise, light blue, and orange highlights on the ends.
I'm thinking about weaving a nice plain weave (even weave) for an inch or two on the ends so that I can embroider names on it after the towel comes off the loom and is washed.
I haven't been this excited about weaving in years. The idea of making something useful is like catnip. And I love working with cotton. I'd probably be happy enough just weaving plain old common dishtowels forever. (in uncommon colors and weave structures)
Friday, May 21, 2010
Camping Towels
It's camping season again. The camper has been de-winterized. Our daughter is eagerly expecting to run wild at the lakes. And I've been prepping camping supplies.
Towels. When camping, using kind of thin, easily drying towels is key. Our towels for camping are basically old household towels that are fraying and worn a bit. They still take quite a bit of space.
I was thinking last night when drying a glass with one of my handwoven dishtowels that it would be perfect to have a really big handwoven dishtowel for a camping towel. My handwovens wear like iron. They are thin and light. And they have a nice hand feel.
I was thinking about structures. Like a nice plain striped plainweave towel with log cabin ends and a striped body. I almost think that they'd be too thin, so I am musing with the idea of sampling some doubleweave towels and crepeweave towels. See which dishtowel has the best hand.
But that's the kind of useful weaving project that would be fun.
Towels. When camping, using kind of thin, easily drying towels is key. Our towels for camping are basically old household towels that are fraying and worn a bit. They still take quite a bit of space.
I was thinking last night when drying a glass with one of my handwoven dishtowels that it would be perfect to have a really big handwoven dishtowel for a camping towel. My handwovens wear like iron. They are thin and light. And they have a nice hand feel.
I was thinking about structures. Like a nice plain striped plainweave towel with log cabin ends and a striped body. I almost think that they'd be too thin, so I am musing with the idea of sampling some doubleweave towels and crepeweave towels. See which dishtowel has the best hand.
But that's the kind of useful weaving project that would be fun.
Almost finished with "Norm's Cafe"
Several years ago I decided to create and stitch some of my own needlework patterns.
Well, we see how well that's been working out. I haven't finished even a full graph in the 7 years that I've been working on this piece.
I've almost finished the stitching on most of the big areas. That leaves backstitching and fiddly bits to complete.
One of the lessons that I've learned while working on this is that working on my own creations is Not Relaxing. When I stitch someone else's needlework patterns or weave someone else's drafts, I can put my mind on hold and just concentrate on the zen of stitching. It's meditative and a bit like prayer.
But when working on my own, I'm constantly evaluating and critiquing. I can't just let go and stitch. It makes working on my own pieces excruciating at times. And when I'm stressed, I can't do it.
After 7 years, I've nearly finished Norm's Cafe. It's a simple cafe scene with a painting of a Mediterranean fishing village in the background. Very simple lines.
I stitched it on Aida, something that I almost never work with anymore. But as I get older and my eyes worsen, I'm appreciating Aida's popularity.
I graphed the stitching into a chart, but the computer I was working on crashed without a backup. I lost the chart. I'm entering it again in the computer stitch by painful stitch. It's taken an eon to re-learn the software interface to graph, though truthfully it's a very simple interface and should be a snap. (It's me, not the tool)
Well, we see how well that's been working out. I haven't finished even a full graph in the 7 years that I've been working on this piece.
I've almost finished the stitching on most of the big areas. That leaves backstitching and fiddly bits to complete.
One of the lessons that I've learned while working on this is that working on my own creations is Not Relaxing. When I stitch someone else's needlework patterns or weave someone else's drafts, I can put my mind on hold and just concentrate on the zen of stitching. It's meditative and a bit like prayer.
But when working on my own, I'm constantly evaluating and critiquing. I can't just let go and stitch. It makes working on my own pieces excruciating at times. And when I'm stressed, I can't do it.
After 7 years, I've nearly finished Norm's Cafe. It's a simple cafe scene with a painting of a Mediterranean fishing village in the background. Very simple lines.
I stitched it on Aida, something that I almost never work with anymore. But as I get older and my eyes worsen, I'm appreciating Aida's popularity.
I graphed the stitching into a chart, but the computer I was working on crashed without a backup. I lost the chart. I'm entering it again in the computer stitch by painful stitch. It's taken an eon to re-learn the software interface to graph, though truthfully it's a very simple interface and should be a snap. (It's me, not the tool)
Monday, May 17, 2010
Shredding a Warp
I have an 8-harness loom that is warped up right now with 24 epi 10/2 mercerized cotton in a color blanket warp. Most of the thread is very tight-spun. The black cotton that I have threaded, though, is a much softer spun yarn. Didn't really notice that as I was warping.
I thought I'd get my first use of my 24 dent reed. I warped up and tied on and started weaving all happy.
Uh-oh. 10 inches into the weaving, the black thread section of the warp is shredding. The abrasion is too much for it. I'm sure that if I kept on, within the next 10 inches the rest of the colors would start shredding.
Live and learn. Give the yarn a bit of room to move. I'll save the 24 dent reed for the skinny silks and skinny cottons that I'm weaving. I'll slap a 12-dent reed into the mix, re-tie, and salvage the effort.
I thought I'd get my first use of my 24 dent reed. I warped up and tied on and started weaving all happy.
Uh-oh. 10 inches into the weaving, the black thread section of the warp is shredding. The abrasion is too much for it. I'm sure that if I kept on, within the next 10 inches the rest of the colors would start shredding.
Live and learn. Give the yarn a bit of room to move. I'll save the 24 dent reed for the skinny silks and skinny cottons that I'm weaving. I'll slap a 12-dent reed into the mix, re-tie, and salvage the effort.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Crafting as a Theoretical Pursuit
Usually I can natter on-and-on about one of my hobbies. I have not been giving much attention to my crafts in several years now.
There are a lot of reasons for this:
Space for the loom was a problem. I should say looms --I have quite a few of them.
Time. My daughter was born and suddenly I just didn't have any time anymore.
Competing crafts. Needlework, weaving, kumihimo, polymer clay, fine furniture woodworking, sewing, and I write stories. It's a balancing act.
Family Activities. Kind of a time thing, but really different. I have so many obligations to family that it makes craft time a very guilty pleasure.
I'm sure that many other crafters who are still in their working years are in the same boat. So, I'm creating this blog simply to chart my crafting activity. The blog may not get much in the way of action, but I'm using it to try to measure goals and jump-start my craft time.
There are a lot of reasons for this:
Space for the loom was a problem. I should say looms --I have quite a few of them.
Time. My daughter was born and suddenly I just didn't have any time anymore.
Competing crafts. Needlework, weaving, kumihimo, polymer clay, fine furniture woodworking, sewing, and I write stories. It's a balancing act.
Family Activities. Kind of a time thing, but really different. I have so many obligations to family that it makes craft time a very guilty pleasure.
I'm sure that many other crafters who are still in their working years are in the same boat. So, I'm creating this blog simply to chart my crafting activity. The blog may not get much in the way of action, but I'm using it to try to measure goals and jump-start my craft time.
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