Ordinary Time

I know, it's Tuesday not Monday, but this is all I've got this evening.  My favorite pair of jeans ripped on the front of one leg and I didn't want to downgrade them to the little better than sweatpants category. I had an idea that I wanted to use embroidery to repair them. But that is as far as I got for several weeks. Then, at the linen weaving class, a friend of mine had a really pretty multi-colored warp. I got to thinking that linen would be an excellent thread to repair the jeans because linen is hard-wearing and strong. So I took some of her loom waste home. Yesterday I finally had a chance to play with it. I'm kind of pleased with how it came out.  A slightly closer view. I've thrown them in the wash, so I'm curious how it will change afterwards because linen gets softer with washing.  I'm also in the process of washing our sheep's fleece. I'm about halfway done, but the weather is going to need to improve for me to finish that task. In the m...

I finished the jacket and lining I was working on, so that meant I could begin on the next step... the embroidery. Remember that I wanted to use the lining as a basis for the embroidery on the front.  The first step was to create a design to play with. I decided that I would use the muslin I made before I sewed The Dress to play around with design and stitches and whatnot. I tried to use the window to transfer the design to the muslin, but the fabric wasn't cooperative. (I think I need to invest in a light table before I actually start on the actual jacket.) So because it was just for experimenting I ended up free handing the design onto the muslin.  Then I picked the palette of thread which is always fun.  And then finally I could begin stitching. Stitching for the practice jacket in order to be able to stitch the actual jacket which has to be done before the lining can be sewn into the jacket. Possibly the only way I could have made this take longer would have been to d...

The best laid plans and all that. In the middle of December, when I was busy doing Christmas preparations and not making a single thing, I comforted myself by thinking about the great swaths of free time I would have right after Christmas. And then I got sick. This has been a tough illness to kick. My energy levels are very slow to return. Yesterday I fell asleep for three hours. I don't typically do that. Today has been a little better, but I still wouldn't call myself one hundred percent. I also have done very little making of any sort.  Today I was able to finish the embroidered towel that I've been vaguely working on for years.  I'm actually pretty pleased with it. And exceedingly happy to move it to the completed column. Here's a close-up. The other thing I've done is get a new project on the loom.  My original plan was to get the blanket I'm weaving for B. and HC on the loom. This is not that. This is a last-minute test of the yarn I'm going to usi...