Sunday, July 30, 2006

It's good to be back

It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything. I've had this awful job that seemed to suck any creative energy right out of me. I'd look at my looms or yarn or weaving/spinning/knitting books and nothing stirred me. I use to love to weave tapestry rugs and I couldn't for the life of me come up with an original design. Well, things happened at work that I won't delve into here, but the end result was that I quit. No two weeks notice, just went home after the incident at work, called human resources at work and told them I'd quit. I'd never done that before. I'd always had a job lined up and gave 2 weeks notice. This job didn't warrant that. The next day I felt terrible instead of what I thought I'd feel which would have been elated. However, it's now been 3 days since I quit and already the creative juices are starting to kick in and I feel so much better. It was the right thing to do, even if it should have been done months ago.

So, since I've quit, I wound a small warp to weave a scarf made from handspun alpaca and soysilk. The weft will be some silk I had spun a couple of years ago. I have a Dorothy table loom that I will probably use, but I need to order more heddles.

I've also been weaving on the rug that's on the front porch and am on the home stretch - about 8-9 inches more to go. This rug has taken almost a year to finish, about the length of time I was employed at the job I just quit. I have to say I am sick to death of this rug. I just want it to be finished so I can move on.

I've also been doing some spinning - I dyed some mohair and blended it with some dark dark chocolate brown wool - I think it's corridale/romney or something like that - very soft - It's spinning up nicely.

And last but not least, I dug up an UFO that I had forgotten about and am knitting on that. It's made from handspun and dyed CVM/Romedale yarn and is wonderfully soft. I'm just not real crazy about mitered knitting mostly because it's slow for me to knit and I hate having to weave in all the ends. This pattern is from the book called Knitted Shawls, Stoles, & Scarves by Nancie Wiseman.