Getting warped

[altivo]

Got a warp beamed onto the workshop loom today, and 96 of 240 ends threaded before the light started to fail. I don't like threading by artificial light, though weaving under it doesn't bother me. I'll get the rest threaded tomorrow and the weaving started. This will make cotton towels for the towel exchange my guild is having. The pattern I'm doing is called "Wall of Troy" and is a winding twill that looks like an overhead view of battlements or something. I'm using brightly dyed mercerized flake yarns, since this year's judge is a color specialist. The warp is a saffron gold color and the wefts will be dark teal and cranberry red. I'm curious about the dye used on the warp yarn, because it smells like daffodil flowers to me. The other cottons have no smell in particular, but this is quite noticeable.

Gary made an Indian dinner that was quite tasty, with the help of some boxed "kits", you know, the "just add chicken" or whatever kind of thing. There was a very spicy eggplant dish, an interesting vegetarian stew made of soft cheese curds and vegetables, and a Moroccan (I know, that's not Indian) version of snow peas with sesame, as well as basmati rice and chicken korma (flavored with cocoanut milk and cilantro I think.) He also baked pita bread, which tasted just as good as it smelled, and sourdough potato bread which we haven't cut into yet. The pita was served with home made hummus.

Something has apparently been trying to build a nest in a large hole in one of our oak trees. It's about twelve feet above the ground, in a spot where a large branch broke off or was cut off long ago. The opening is about 6 x 12 inches, which is generally too large for any birds around here. But there are big heavy twigs sticking out of the opening, and they didn't just get in there by accident. I believe squirrels build nests from leaves, so this doesn't seem like squirrel activity. We have several woodpecker species, but they all excavate their own nest holes and none are large enough to want to use this one. I can only guess that it's an owl or else a wood duck. So far we haven't seen anything going in or out.

Off to spin some cotton now, since I have to help teach a session on cotton spinning a week from today.

Comments

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Would you believe the first time I saw a real squirrel I was actually in Bali...seeing Squirrels run up palm trees is very surreal.

*eyes your yarn with an evil eye*

[altivo.livejournal.com]

*gives you some leftover yarn of your own, and some leftover dinner to distract you*

I've seen squirrels doing that in Florida. Most palm trees don't look very inviting to me. Prickly spiky nasty. Squirrels are not only good climbers, but amazingly expert at trapeze flying. You should see them working out ways to get at our bird feeders. They can figure out really complex, Rube Goldberg routes that involve swinging, leaping, and dropping from above.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

*Yeees and gleefully chows down on the yummy leftovers playing with the yarn at the same time* :D

[saythename.livejournal.com]

Personally I like Indian food but no one else here
does so I have to go out for it. ;.;

*sets up a remote wifi cam that focuses on that
hole in the tree*

Just out of curiosity, is your weaving and knitting
and such all for personal amusement or do you
sell stuff on Ebay?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I give a lot of my work away to friends and family. I don't generally try to sell things, because I find that people who are accustomed to buy cheap Asian imported goods at WalMart or Costco simply have no appreciation of the real value of handmade objects done to unique and original designs. In fact, to a disturbing number of Americans, the idea of making things from scratch is so alien that they seem to be convinced that it is impossible. "Sure, you made it yourself. Now tell us where you really got it," is the attitude I've encountered far too many times. Back in the late 1980s I was making original teddy bears by hand. I found that few people were willing to pay what would amount to even $3 an hour for my time, and quite a few openly insisted that I was lying and couldn't have made the things I had. I guess everything has to come out of a factory and be advertised on television before it is real to them.

There appear to be more twigs stuffed into the hollow tree today, but we still haven't seen what is doing it.

[saythename.livejournal.com]

The consumer mentality is, unfortunetly,
understandable. If you ever offer your stuff
up for sale clue me in.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I have occasionally put a price on something when it goes in the guild show in October. Never any takers though. I'll see what I have sitting here and let you know. Rather than cash money, maybe we could barter something. ;p