"Pop"Goes the Weasel

I bought an antique “weasel” to wind my yarn from the spinning wheel into skeins.

The weasel sets up an incredible efficiency in measuring my warp thread for my looms as well.

After measuring around the arms of the weasel, I determined that it was two yards around.

I am preparing to warp my rug loom and I may need as much as 45 inches width of rug warp, depending on how wide I want to make my rugs.

I will wind ten yards per skein; that is five rounds of the weasel.

Here is the weasel mechanism, with the tip of the weasel broken off.  

It can be repaired by extending the tip, and then when I wind and the gear mechanism works its way all the way across, the weasel will “pop”, just like the song.

© 2017 Kathryn Hardage

Gardening in Straw

About six weeks ago, placed a layer of straw across my yard in a way line, edging an area where I had planted flowers.

I placed seed potatoes on it at about 6-10 inch intervals.  Then I covered them with another layer of straw.

About a third of them came up.  I have been adding more straw around them as the stalks get higher.

 

About a week ago, I placed a longer wavy layer of straw across the other side of my yard.  I planted alternating sections with veggies and flowers.

 Some of them are coming up now.  It is so much fun to see all the new growing things.

© 2017 Kathryn Hardage

New Weaving Project Using the 6th Draft

I am working my way through the projects which were introduced at my first weaving retreat in September of 2017.  This is the 6th draft and it is the first one I have been able to figure out on my own.  It is so wonderful when the new terminology, notation, materials and technology all finally make sense.

My tangled warp.

I am saved by the sections which were tied before it came off the warping board.

The warp divided into ten-thread sections.