Rep Weave and curiosity

Here are some placemats that I've been weaving. I've had one of the ranchers doing some easy 2 harness rep weave and since it had been a very long time since I had done any, I thought it would be good to refresh my memory on how the weaving works, especially making sure that there aren't any loose ends that don't get caught on the selvedges. It's very slow weaving for me, but it's nice to do something different than tapestry rugs. This was taken from the handwoven design series booklet with a few minor changes. They will probably become a Christmas present for someone, as blue/grey are not my colors.

I've been having a heck of a time getting pictures uploaded to blogger. I finally reduced the size of the pictures and they did take, finally. This would have been posted a week ago, but I get frustrated and have to leave it along.

I took the ranchers to the Sedona Libarary where the Verde Valley Spinners and Weavers Guild had a display of Mary Pendleton's work. Mary ran the weaving program at Rainbow Acres for 12 years prior to her car accident last winter. She passed away in April and has left some very big shoes to fill. I do the best that I can, but I am not a Mary Pendleton. Mary was in her mid-80's and still running a weaving program. I don't know how she did it. She was a very active woman, an excellent weaver, and is missed at Rainbow Acres. The ranchers loved the exhibit, and were surprised at the work that she did. I also took them to the Weaver's guild meeting, hoping to inspire even one of them to maybe doing more than just very simple plain weave, but I left feeling disappointed, because not one showed any interest in any of the work that any of the weavers did. No interest, wishful thinking or curiosity at how anything was done. I was disappointed, because the highlight of the trip to them was lunch at McDonald's.

Perhaps, I am asking too much, because they are developmentally disabled and mildly mentally retarded. I do not know if a lack of curiosity is a part of mental retardation, or if at their age, it has been something that fell by the wayside, as an attitude that was not encouraged since it might make them harder to handle. I will continue to try to expose them to more artistic events as I can.

Well, I need to finish off these placemats, as I have other ideas floating around in my head as to what I want to do next. Have a nice weekend.

It's hot here

Well, my camera's docking station isn't working and I can't download pictures to my computer. So no pictures again. It's been so hot and humid, that weaving isn't much fun. The room where I work only has an evaporative cooler, which doesn't work well when it's humid. I've also been working alot of days without a day off and as much as I like being with the ranchers, I need a break. I haven't had time to warp looms. I did wind a warp today, which is hard to do when every few minutes you have to stop to help someone. It's not a good way to wind a warp.

I can hardly wait until the weather breaks and becomes dryer and cooler. I do enjoy early mornings when it's cool, and cooler evenings, when I can go for a walk and enjoy it. As much as Arizona needs rain, I'm tired of the humidity and the sameness of the weather, just hot and humid. Who would have thought that Arizona can be humid.

Well enough complaining for one post.

It's been quite some time since I posted; somehow life gets in the way. I once again have a new job. I now work with the developmentally disabled, where I supervise and teach weaving. It's a really fun job, but it's a lot of work to keep 8 people weaving. I do everything from winding warps, deciding what colors to use, cutting and gluing denim strips and fixing looms. I work at Rainbow Acres , which is located in Camp Verde, Az. I have done volunteer work there in the past, and when they needed a new weaving teacher, they thought of me. We make denim and rag rugs, place mats, belts, mug rugs, and anything that uses denim or strips of cloth. The majority of materials are donated, so we try to make do with what we have. It can be a challenge to be creative with plain weave, but it can be done. One weaver has been weaving a modified rep weave, using 16 epi for the warp. He is the most advanced weaver, and is a lot of fun to work with. There are other weavers, who are unable to use a tape measure, or even understand what they are doing, and so are unable to understand when there is a mistake. It does keep me on my toes, because regardless of who is making the product, people won't buy something that is not well made.

I'll post some pictures of their work at a later date.

Have a nice rest of the day.

Sparky

Sparky, our sweet dog for almost 13 years passed away quietly on August 22, 2007, cradled in my husband's arms. She was our faithful friend, my walking buddy, the one who greeted us every day, tail wagging and happy to see us. Who could ask for more?

She was small in stature, but big in heart and truly irreplaceable. Sparky, you will be missed.