T Stands for Tuesday-Back to the Loom

    Hello Friends,

        Welcome also to the T gang where we share a drink related photo in our post and link up over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's to gather with friends.

     Over the weekend we were quite chilly, and I needed to switch over to heat. The house was in the low 60's and this is a bit too cold for us now. Wishing the woodstove here worked (last owner had a major chimney fire) as it's perfect weather to burn some wood to take the chill off.

   Saturday was my husband's birthday so I made his favorite food-bbq baby back ribs. I had planned to go outdoors and grill these on the weber grill but it was just damp and cold all day so I made them in the slow cooker instead. They turned out really well, but I like the results better in the oven. I didn't think to take photos-a simple meal with sliced avocado, cucumber, sweet peppers, and french fries that I cooked up in a cast iron skillet.

  We had gotten quite allot of rain last week, and then turning cold it wasn't ideal for me to work outdoors-so I finished threading my loom. In the end I was only over 8 threads in the count.

  In the first two photos the threads over the reed are the extras that will come off-now my towel project is centered again in the reed-haha I knew it didn't look centered before.

My back was aching so I waited til Sunday morning to start tying on to the back-this is a slow process as well After all tied on, then I will carefully wind on all the yardage-I think there is at least 8 yards here.

There is always allot of shrinkage with the first wash with handwovens, but these are still going to be large towels-reminded me of my farm girl Grandma's towels. She always had large towels for hand drying the dishes.

For my drink share I dug out a gluten free vodka-made with usa corn and made myself a mule-a shot of vodka, a squirt of lime juice, and ginger beer-I love this brand the best for the strong ginger flavor and this one is sugar free.  They call it ginger beer but there is No alcohol in it. I grabbed this glass that I bought at the brewery and pizza pub when our friends came down for a visit this summer-and filled it half full with ice first. I popped in one of my stainless straws.

First week of October I dug out my pottery Halloween "sacks' and the cast iron piece and added the little battery tea lights. It was dark when I took this photo-was hoping to capture the dark with the candles-but you can see that the candles are on.

Happy T everyone

Ready for Next Weaving Project

    You may remember me mentioning that I ended up short of 100 ends (threads)  8 yards long for the warp. I had decided to go with 8 yards so I could get extra towels, not thinking to calculate the yardage I needed.  I have waited over 2 weeks in hopes Webs will get this 8/2 Valley Cotton in stock. Talked with them Friday and they just have no idea when it will arrive-was due  end of June.

    So, I decided to just use the very light grey that I have and make two stripes in the towels-will save me money in the end. I think it will add a little design element and be ok.

   I think these will weave into thicker kitchen towels as I will be putting two ends (threads) in each slot on the reed. This seems to be a popular towel pattern, as several in a weaving group on Facebook I am in, said they really liked this pattern.

   I decided to do a little video.

and a couple photos

    This is the first section of warp I did. I needed 490 ends total, which would not all fit onto my warping board. So I did the rest in two more sections to distribute the grey threads

This is allot of warp to get onto the loom-to keep it clean, I put it in this big canvas bag-perfect.

  The lake is very very busy with boats today (Saturday). Saturdays are usually the busiest in the summer months.

   Poison ivy saga update---I have two more days of the steroids, and I still have a mild rash and burning. I am not familiar with the steroid pills they gave me-but they have made me sick. Am very light headed and my chest even hurts, probably helping with the asthma as well-ugh   I really hope this will finish clearing up on it's own. I do Not want another dose of these pills.

  I don't know how to swim, don't do boats, but Larry's fishing boat he bought around 5 years ago is really nice-wider and sets up above the water allot more than some. It's been very very quiet here during this past week, so I got brave and took a boat ride to see all the lake homes around us. I really enjoyed it, no one on the lake when we were out-so I didn't freak out haha.  Wow I can see now that this end of the lake has many very high dollar lake home properties-beautiful. I am guessing many of these very large homes with allot of property are into the millions. I am thankful and feel fortunate that we found this one at a reasonable price. Our lake home needed allot of work which I think scared off some of the buyers.

   Have a good weekend everyone. oh and if you missed it-previous post is cast iron Saturdays baking cakes in dutch ovens.

T Stands for Tuesday - Weaving Update & at the Hummingbird Feeders

 Hello everyone,

    Welcome to our weekly T Stands for Tuesday event where we gather and link up at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog and share a drink related photo in our post. See link in sidebar.

   Wow June is almost over and we will be into July and our Independence Day celebrations here in the States over the weekend. The lake will be having numerous events with loads of fireworks up and down the lake.  I have a front row seat as there are several neighbors across from us that so far have always put on a huge display-last year was spectacular with over 8 hours non stop fireworks. If interested check out my previous post for cast iron saturdays for recipe ideas for the up coming weekend.

   Weaving Update:

      Over the weekend I did finish the towels. I wasn't super pleased with one towel so I turned that into two hot pads for the table using double thickness of the weaving and a very thick felted down wool shirt.  I also had enough warp to weave a little more so it would not all be wasted yarns-I sewed that up into a little bag for my purse for my keys -- my keys are always sinking to the bottom so I can't find them-this will be perfect.

  The four towels ready to hand hem. I decided I did not like the second towel from the left-didn't care for the plain weave border, and there was a loose thread that couldn't get woven back in on the back.

Hemming the towels while Larry was reading on the deck-We were enjoying ice tea and watching the boats and blue herons

Below are the three finished towels-this was a new way for me to finish the edges. I usually zig zag a few times and then leave a short fringe.  I just really love this old twill pattern and these towels are so soft and absorbent-Love them! no more Wal mart towels ever again.

I took this photo to show how close I wove to where the harnesses are to weave a little more. a little dark but the back is about 2 inches away from the heddles, and the front I wove as far I could go

This was the extra woven piece

Below is the little bag I made It fits snuggly into a corner of my purse where I can drop the keys in.

The too hot pads I made from that one towel I didn't like The corners are a bit rounded-this was thick to sew through and I didn't want to clip the corners inside, but I love the way they turned out and will get used for sure.

The back with felted down wool-reclaimed shirt

The stack of hot pads.  The woven placemats that you can see, are really old. My Mom had them made for us by the rug weaver she used when she retired and moved back to the family farm-back 25-30 years ago or so. You can also see a couple of the lake coasters I picked up.

    I decided on my next weaving project last night-while going through  my stash of older Handwoven magazines. 

     I decided on another set of towels.  A totally new pattern for me. I searched my stash and found the white cotton for the warp (threaded on the loom) and found a couple yellow cottons to switch off with the blues and browns I have for the weft-which will show off the pattern.  I think these towels will be pretty

  This warping board is easier to use hanging on the wall-but I don't really have the space for that any more-so I just sit on the floor. This will be 8 yards long and should give me 6 towels perhaps 7. 

  Yep those of you that know me are probably thinking-Kathy's using white-she doesn't like white-haha This is true. When I checked my stash I found two of these that look like the right weight of cotton-I had picked these up at a yard sale years ago. Since the pattern is calling for white thought a good way to use up this yarn.

I found this big cone of yellow 100%  cotton in my stash. a  pretty yellow and very soft too

    Below image you can see the towel's pattern a little better-this was a shiny page. I don't think that white will be standing out as allot of white in this pattern.

   If you haven't gotten totally bored with my weaving projects-I wanted to share a few bird photos visiting the hummingbird feeders.  These all visited within several minutes Sunday morning.

   We have a couple hummingbird pairs that have now found my two feeders-the youngsters are beginning to visit too.

    We had to get out our bird books to discover who this visitor was-This is a male orchard oriole. In the sunlight one can see lovely auburn brown colors in his wings. His mate is suppose to be all yellow but we have not seen her yet. He visits every day.

I hadn't seen this woodpecker in awhile-so was happy he came by for a visit.

 Breakfast ready to take out to the deck-decaf coffee with cream and eggs over easy with black pepper and a no salt herb-spice blend.

Happy T Day everyone. If celebrating-enjoy the 4th it's our Independence Day!

   Started seeing the eagles again a couple times during the week

a little update Sunday night-I spent a couple hours at the warping board after 100 ends I ran into lots of knots-no good-in the trash it all went So I just bought the 8/2 cotton un mercerized  from Webs online-they always give good discounts too.  After I got into that yarn, it felt also like it wasn't all cotton-burn test showed it wasn't. so the knots were a good thing so I wouldn't use it.  That would have been a disappointment for sure.

T Stands for Tuesday - This and That

     Another week is upon us which brings us to Tuesday's T where we share a drink related photo with friends over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's-link in my side bar as you are most welcome to join in.

   This has been an up and down week for us. I was so busy doing things with our Wisconsin friends that it seemed unusually quiet here-well except for the machines  pounding through rock with the sewer project-haha. 

   The team with this construction crew has been very nice and has done a good job I believe. The crew fixing up the lawn mess took two days to rock our path down to the lake from up on top and planted grass seed.  The sewer crew messed up some of it to finish up a project on Friday, so wondering if they will be back to re straighten things.

   It has been very very very hot and humid here. High 90's F all week, and this Sunday as well. Areas around us hit 100 degrees F. The weather people are saying a cold front with rain moving in on Monday (June 21)  That will  be awesome.

  I am weaving the last towel now, since I had to cut off and retie on to straighten out the tension issue, and there is allot of yarn waste when weaving-we'll see how long I can weave this last towel.  It does feel so good to be weaving again. Next up I think I will go through my yarn stash and weave up some new placemats for our dining table. This will give me more weaving practice before attempting yardage for clothing.

                      as you can see almost to the end of this warp

   I am on a few weaving groups on Facebook, and one is for the Saori style of weaving. I have shared this before as it is a weaving concept to be free of rules and just weave. Most are making garments with their handwovens.

 I wanted to share the 3rd annual Saori Virtual Fashion Show video-great inspiration from all ages of weavers

  I am also on a Facebook group Sewing for Weavers-where they are also making up lovely garments from their handwovens-so I have been inspired for sure.

   The first evening when our Wisconsin friends had arrived we had a very very strong storm-tornado force winds came up out of no where. We watched in disbelief as the large bird house that we had just cleaned and repaired blew apart

  We felt so bad for the bird families that lost their eggs and young ones.  We just bought a new metal martin house-a kit that Larry is putting together to replace this one-so many pieces and tiny screws- haha

   I got a better photo of the pirate ship this week, which travels up and back allot. The ship had it's sails open and was in the middle of the lake so I could really zoom in for a good photo

    I decided with these very hot days it was time to churn up a batch of keto vanilla ice cream, while enjoying a mule-which is vodka (gluten free Tito's for me) ginger beer (which has no alcohol but strong ginger flavors) and a splash of Petron's lime liquor

   This keto ice cream is a time consuming recipe as one needs to make up a keto condensed milk first and then add the rest of the ingredients and chill and churn. This was my best batch yet.

 I also discovered something new from Bob's Red Mill when ordering their gluten free muesli-grain free brownies and also grain free flat bread-I am thinking of trying out the flatbread mix for pizza crust. These use almond flour and cassava flour, The grain free brownies were pretty good and not as sweet as their gluten free brownie mix. This one used coconut sugar which I like to use in my baking too.

  Sadly our week ended with the unexpected loss of a very dear friend. She had gone in for heart surgery, she did have complications with her lungs (autoimmune disease) as well so when we last talked with her she had concerns with her lungs-but she had few choices. The surgery went well but she had gotten pneumonia from the anesthesia. So sad and heartbreaking, she leaves behind her husband and children and her two very young grandchildren that they were now raising do to the loss of their father just a few months ago (motor accident). 

   Sonya was one of the most kindest, caring persons I have ever know-prayers for her family.

   Sonya and one of her other sons drove me to Yellowstone in 2017, I wanted to visit Yellowstone so much back then.  She had called me up one day and said "I will be happy to drive you" and I am in need of a road trip.  That trip meant so much to me, we had allot of fun planning it too the year before. None of us were into the now popular selfies, we each had our cameras-no cell phone photos. In all the photos we never took any photos of us. Sonya had taken a photo of me when I was out on the deck of where we were staying though-spinning with my drop spindle. 

  A couple photos in remembrance

  Our life's journey can be unexpected at times, treasure the moment and memories

T Stands for Crazy Weekend on the Lake & 39th--Photos Overload

    Hi Everyone,  T Stands for Tuesday where we share a drink in our post, and visit with friends. Link in my sidebar hosted by Bleubeard  and Elizabeth.

   This was the first weekend in a long time where Friday-Saturday-Sunday were all perfect sunny days to be on the lake.  Lots of activities were scheduled on Lake in the Ozarks as well-speed boat races (that were televised nationwide) Harley motorcycle event, Jacobs cave-near us down the road-swap meet with over 900 venders-and the list goes on. Lots of restaurants, bars etc opened up on the lake this weekend as well.

   This long weekend we got to see many many boats go flying by as the boat races were down a bit to the right of us-and other events going on to the left of us. This weekend was much busier then Memorial weekend as the temperatures were perfect. Of course we stay off the lake and off the roads during busy times like this. I call it entertainment looking out our wall of windows or sitting on the deck.

  We have been enjoying breakfast on the deck early in the morning. Here is my  gluten free oatmeal with dried blueberries, blueberry blossom honey and a little cashew milk, along with my decaf coffee & cream (my new spluge these days is cream in my coffee-smiles)

and we had diamonds on the lake (per Eileen-- I always think of her now when I see this view of the sun on the water)

  One huge improvement over the weekend, was to our right there is a cove where boats had come flying out of there-the lake home owners got approval for those no wake buoys to put up-before, in the cove, and going out of the cove-which has really helped to slow things down on that side. Our buoy is helping a bit-although many boaters ignore and still go flying by right behind our dock-ignoring our no wake buoy.

  I grabbed the camera and took photos of different boats over the weekend-I  missed allot of the speed boats though.

  I couldn't believe this man was out on the lake as busy as it was-boats everywhere in both directions  and he had a fishing pole too.

I am always amazed at how many different types of boats there are-I had no clue about that before moving here

Lots of these ocean boats were out in force

For me too many people in one boat

In the back one of the smaller speed boats

This boat taxi was busy taking visitors to bars and restaurants

These next photos I took of the speed boat race on the tv Allot of activities for the participants and spectators happened all three days do to this race

 

if you are on Facebook here is a link to watch the races

  We have discovered we have more than one species of heron here on the lake-we saw this larger one Saturday afternoon-fishing in all the caos haha

Do you see the heron here on the neighbors dock?

and Saturday was our 39th wedding anniversary

  I brought out the good china, handmade pottery wine goblets, and made Larry's favorite bbq baby back ribs. I sauteed red sweet peppers and fresh portobello mushrooms in avocado oil and then splashed with pomegrante balsamic vinegar. Made us fresh salads with creamy raspberry poppy seed dressing, and steamed yellow wax beans.

For dessert later I scooped out dishes of my churned keto vanilla ice cream-this batch turned out really creamy-sorry forgot photos.

   Saturday morning I started on the 4th kitchen towel-I am weaving each of the 6 towels a little different. This one has that darker blue for the two borders on each end of the towel-and the body will be the lighter blue. (the brown showing on the bottom is the border for towel 3

Thanks for sticking with me on this long post. Happy T and new week