Spring Update
As I have mentioned before, we live out in the country so our internet access is interesting. Interesting as in it cuts out with no warning, or just won't open up, or fades to dial up speed. I know part of this issue is data usage although I'm not really sure what data I'm using or why sometimes I seem to have data available late into the night and at other times I can't get on line past about noon. I have a daily plan so the data refreshes every day. Fortunately, the email system seems to work regardless.
I've been stockpiling blog post ideas but haven't been able to get online for any appreciable time in weeks. I should call Hughes.net but they are always ugly. I need to find an alternate internet provider but somehow that task is so daunting that I can't really tackle it. Ah, well.
Let me give you a quick update while I seem to have a connection.
#1 - My grandsons were out for a weekend while their parents took a much needed and much appreciated adults only escape for a couple of days. The boys are always lots of fun and completely exhausting. On Friday evening I got a call from my llama shearer, Sean Price, that he had scheduled me for Saturday morning but realized he never called me to see if that day would work. We were here with the boys so it worked great!
My youngest grandson, who is 4 years old, immediately bonded with Sean and kept a very close eye on him. In the way of a 4 year old, he directed who should be sheared next and made sure I knew exactly what was going on. My older grandson, who is 6, bonded with my camera. He saw it on my desk and asked if he could take some pictures. We talked about not dropping it and keeping the strap around his neck and he went off to play. Wow. He has an eye for photography which became all the more apparent when we downloaded his pictures and went through each one. I cropped as directed and he titled each image. All of the pictures of the shearing were taken by him.
#2 - We had a burn pile for the first time in ages. The wind always blows out here so fires must be approached carefully. We had one glorious Saturday with no wind at all so it seemed like a good day. We did not burn the big burn pile. What with Ron's new knee and both of us being out of practice, we decided to burn a smaller satellite pile. It was fun and completely successful. So successful that Ron mowed the area once the fire had burned itself out.
When we have another calm day we will tackle the big pile. It will take both of us working most of the day to finish it off even if it goes up like a rocket at the beginning.
#3 - I finished the run of kitchen towels on the Gilmore loom. Finally. As usual, I loved the pattern and colors at the beginning and by the time I was 3/4 through with the weaving, I hated all of it. Now that the towels are off the loom, cut apart and washed, they magically became wonderful again. I need to get them all hemmed for the upcoming shows...
#4 - Contemporary Handweavers of Texas Conference is coming up the first weekend in June. Just a couple of weeks from now. We will be at the Sugar Land Marriott in Sugar Land, TX. We will be open for business Friday, June 2nd from 1pm to 5pm and from 8pm to 10pm; Saturday, June 3rd from 9am to 5pm and Sunday June 4th from 9am to 11:30am. If you are in the area, please stop by. We would love to see you!
#5 - The Houston Fiber Fest is coming towards the end of June. Come by the Berry Center in Cypress, TX. It is a lovely facility with lots of room for lots of vendors and offering lots of classes. We will be open for business Friday, June 23rd and Saturday, June 24th from 10am to 6pm and Sunday, June 25th from 11am to 4pm.
#6 - I've gone back to an old style warping procedure for my Gilmore loom. All my looms have a sectional back beam which is warped differently than looms with a smooth back beam. Once I get good pictures I'll go through it step by step.