May & June 2011

I have been tending a little to my garden & very much enjoying my beautiful iris collection. We are at the end of a very dull & cool spring & about to leap into summer next week. Spring started wet with a couple of very warm to hot days, but for the most part it has been sweater weather. For the last week I have been wishing for rain.
Here are just a few of the things I have on the go. Sox in a gorgeous to me colour of turquoise, blue & black in a barberpole ply. They come out as mottled & I used a lace ribbing for decorative effect. These have to have been on the needles for 6 months at least.

I have been amusing myself with a new gas range. No electronics to break down on this beauty. Cooking & baking are very important to me & I love using good tools. Have a look.

Bertazzoni

I recently got some really big bags of British Milk Sheep fleece in white & black. I'm working on getting the white scoured a bit at a time. I used it for dyeing with Coreopsis leftover from last year. The colours always impress me. Alum & iron mordant. The third batch the dye was pretty well exhausted so I added a little leftover cutch. Beautiful warm yellow.

Br. Milk Sheep. Coreopsis alum, iron. Coreopsis w. cutch.

A Lervad 36" countermarche loom has found its way into my studio. It was once owned by a Danish woman who moved to this country with her loom. She has passed away, but she left samples on her loom which are pictured below.

The materials used are unknown.
And here is the Lervad loom. I replaced tie up on it and washed the heddles and polished it up. It is waiting for the dark grey Shetland wool I have been spinning for a bag.

Lervad countermarche.

This wool is not yet processed since spinning. I will full the cloth when woven. I'm thinking of using a 2/2 twill. I have about 400 yds spun. That's more white Br. Milk sheep fleece drying in the background.

Must get on with my day now. I have been sewing a few new summer tops I need to renew my wardrobe.

New to Me Little Loom

This used loom was advertised as an apartment size loom. I have a 60" plus wide countermarche loom as seen in the picture in my blog title, so I felt a need to have something smaller.

I found a 'jack type' loom (I think) with no manufacturer's name on it. I checked the LeClerc history pages, but could not find anything quite like it.
I opened it up today to have a good look at it and I think I will like it. I have to clear an area in my studio for it first before I can use it, so it will have to wait a while. Right now it's in the mud room.

It is 32' wide x 38" high x 39"deep; has 4 harnesses (room for 2 more) and 8 treadles. It should be a nice change from the big countermarche. With 8 treadles I should be able to tie a skeleton tie up.

Okay, now I have to squash it up again. My dogs need some space.