Friday, September 12, 2014

Hair is All Around Us

It's even in our clothes....

Oh yes, shedding season is upon us and everyone is getting in on it.  The beautiful summer slick coats
the horses have been wearing is giving way to the start of whorls, waves and curls. The goats do the least shedding but their pelts are thickening up and it is time I do some wrangling and hoof trimming.
The worst indoor offenders are really the two Russell's, Stella and Robin. Those short white hairs fall out easily and lodge into just about everything. Marigold is adding light fluffy undercoat to the mix, which blows ahead of you on the wood floors like dandelion fluff, a lot of dandelion fluff! At this time of year, I see the vacuum much more often than I like! :) As you can see, she is unconcerned with my plight.



Gene finally got a railing on the steps to the deck. Since we often move big things in and out through the front door, we only put on one, leaving the other side open.



 If we ever sold this place we would have to bring it all up to code, but for us, this works.

There have been some fibery things done! I am well over half way through the 5-6 yard warp on the new Gilmore Gem, and plotting and planning the next warp. The additional heddles are waiting to go on harnesses 5-8 and give the warping wedge a go. Friend Cindie made the journey from Grants Pass to the Greensprings to check this little loom out and throw the shuttle a bit. We had a fun morning and a nice lunch down in town. Thank you girlfriend, loved having you!

The gift warp threading is almost done on the Murphy. Today I hope to finish it off and start in on the sleying.  The long warp for the AVL has been at a standstill, but we'll get there sooner or later. Once it is on and threaded etc,  it will make for pretty fast weaving.

Up in the sewing area, a pair of pants has been completed (and worn!) and a tunic for the fall that has been dubbed, the Birds & the Bees.



 The main fabric is a recycled hemp and either cotton or linen. I just can't remember which. It appears a medium grey but there are flecks of all colors in there, much like an old fashioned Melton wool. Each roll can be quite different, some are light, some seem to have a lot of blue in them, others darker and more multi color bits. They are all pretty and a great fabric for every day garments that get a lot of wear and a lot of washing. The coordinating fabrics are a Japanese linen and cotton. These were precut pieces, a half a yard each so required a bit of plotting and planning on how best to use.  A fair amount of time went into this garment, most on planning and executing the embellishments.





 The top itself goes together easily. The binding is leftover fabric from the ticking stripe pants BTW.  Next up will be some work with a lovely wool I have. I liked my bright red linen duster so much, that I want to duplicate the style in a light wool I've had in stash for a year or more. Line it with the beautiful fox print silk I purchased this spring. Both fabrics were pricey so a little thought will have to go into the details before either of them hit the cutting table. I'm hoping after the folks arrive and the moving trucks pull away, I'll have a bit more time to contemplate and concentrate on this garment.

I apologize for the lack of pics. I'll do better next time.

Parting shot: The Uninvited.
And no, we do not practice catch and release with scorpions. Squish-bye bye!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the tunic, what pattern did you use?
Scorpions, now that just scares me to death!

Cindie said...

We call the dog hair floating along the floor tumbleweeds, it's way beyond dust bunnies.....and within an hour after vacuuming new tumbles are forming. And we only have one dog!

Love the top, liked seeing it in person.

Haven't ever seen scorpions here thank goodness.

Valerie said...

Ha...I'm just taking a break from vacuuming cat hair. Shedding season is upon us as well.

Can't wait to see the fabric that will be coming off the Gilmore.

I didn't know there were scorpions in Oregon!?

LA said...

I love my cordless vac for that very reason, only it's cat hair around here these days!!! It's a constant battle! That tunic is just too cute....love the accents!

Coco said...

Just love the new tunic, I think it's my favorite of all you've done. When Lex, the kids, and I lived in Costa Rica, we used to drive up to a huge hemp farm above San Jose. It was beautiful (we farmed 4000 acres of matas, green botanical plants, in the Atlantic zone - we wandered around and visited small and large nurseries all the time, it was wonderful ...). Now, as for that cloud of hair, better you than me! I'm trying to keep up with the loom lingo, I look up terms, getting better! Glad you squished the scorpion, gosh they are so arrogant.

mrsmole said...

Terrific tunic! Not so terrific scorpion...thought they only lived in the jungles! Nice to have the hubby home to do projects instead of fighting fires, I'll bet!

Mary said...

I hear that the scorpions in the north are not as poisonous. But I wouldn't chance it.

Love that tunic, with it's sweet honeycomb and bees.

Mary said...

its, not it's ack!