gift giving

i'm on such a roll with these dang woven scarfs..... i just can't stop. thinking about them, weaving them, planning the next one, who can i unload gift them to. my niece has a birthday coming up this week, so i tried planting the seeds at christmas about a poncho. well, it was like launching a lead balloon. my sense was that she was not interested, not no way.... not no how. so, she got a stunning merino/mohair scarf....

suits her perfectly! interesting thing about dropping subtle hints: she has no recollection of the conversation and when i gave her the scarf, it almost sounded like i could try for a poncho. or she was just trying to be nice ;)

amythefibergoddess and i are at it again in the dye kitchen. the second annual artisan market is fast approaching on february 27th, and yesterday we did sock yarn......

saturated, colors... oh so lovely. as we were rinsing up, amy suggested that i take some of her merino/tencel home to try on the loom. i could not say no. she is a sorceress!!

warped my schacht using a different technique. instead of tying to the front beam, you use cotton yarn to reduce wast. so far, so good...

i zipping right along!

i've been weaving....

not only did i get a new loom for christmas, my child was gifted with a 15" cricket as well. if you do the math we have..... 3 rigid heddle looms living our house. each had their own stand, shuttles and additional heddles (well, only the schacht has extra heddles). true to my nature, when i jump in, i go all the way!! so what have i been making?

this is a terrible photo, but it's the first project off the new loom. i wanted to try it out before i started my sisters holiday gift and i wanted to have it be something that would be in my life. it's a subtle gray houndstooth pattern scarf for my patient spouse. not a peep has come out since the looms have started to arrive. it will be a lovely valentines gift, don't you think?
after the practice, i warped up for my christmas craft. amythefibergoddess helped my dye some wool early in december in anticipation of this project. i wanted a deep, scarlet but was equally pleased with the rich plum that the yarn became.

as i was warping, i was aftraid that i would run out of yarn, so i used the lighter skeins to add in a subtle stripe. it wove beautifully, just the size i was going for. i seemed the edge and voila.... a poncho. this is the third one i've done and i couldn't have been happier with the finished product.
i need to make one for me, but i've got lots of other items to work on......

sarves are flying out of here! i've been experimenting with patterns, colors and yarn weight. it's been exciting to find yarns that i purchased (and had forgotten) that work for weaving....

this beauty is a merino/mohair blend that i bought the first yeat i went to the new england fiber fest. the colors are stunning, subtle changes in warm tones. it's going as a birthday gift to live with my niece.
i also joined a weave-a-long on ravlery (didn't i say that i'd jumped in with a splash?) using miss bab's yarn. sure enough, i found several skeins and i wanted to try out the lace weight yarn before i started.

it's all ready to go. i'm adding in the purple to try for some subtle color changes in the fabric.

wrapping up the old-year....

things got away from me there at the end of 2015. finishing up the semester, holiday baking, holiday knitting, holiday weaving...... but i got it all done. voila.....

we constructed our usual five gingerbread houses. there was a moment of frustration when in my hast i didn't let the frosting set. i was able to selvage all but one, so grandpa got the crooked roof. we delivered them quickly so the four pawed creatures would not be tempted to investigate those yummy smells. and boy, did they have the most amazing aroma! i'm not sure what i did differently, but they smelled fabulous. the wine cardigans were gifts for my honey's work associates. the ladies had pearl necklaces and the dudes had buttons. i knew well in advance that he needed these, but it was down to the wire to get them finished.

i have fallen in love with houndstooth. really, its more like lust. i just can't seem to weave enough of these. this one was gifted to a very dear friend who is quite finicky about apparel. i was assured that he would love it, but until he put in on (and then didn't take it off.... the entire afternoon) i was wringing my paws :)

these were gifted to our yoga friends. we've been going to this class as a family twice a week for the entire year. you can really build a yoga family when doing down-dog together!

santa left this under my tree......

a 32 inch kromski harp rigid heddle loom and stand. i love my schacht to pieces and wanted to have one with a bit more width. we're still in the early dating stage, trying to figure each other out..... but i did get this done

remember the yarn amythefibergoddess dyed for me? well here it is woven, washed and drying. i was afraid the i was going to run out of yarn as i was warping, so i mixed in some of the lighter weft yarn and the stripes are stunning. it's all stitched and wrapped, waiting under the tree for our family christmas celebration tomorrow. i'll post photo's of the recipient modeling it :)

while i love the width, it has become a challenging finding a spot that is safe and yet i'm still part of the conversation. until the tree comes down this is the best spot.
i'm certain that 2016 will be filled with crazy, fibery adventures!