small disaster, no-one hurt

Can anyone advise how to repair a broken warp, especially one which has broken right down there, just half an inch away from the weaving?

You recall how I was keeping everything "nice and tight"?  Another lesson learned.

walk? run?

Of course, having spent a day learning to weave in Laos, I am something of an expert already - not!  But it was enough to whet my appetite and on my birthday last October I was very lucky to receive an Ashford Knitters Loom.  A little different from the one in Luang Prabang but nevertheless, the principles are the same.

First task was to get it warped, which I knew from speaking to weavers, is a time consuming and potentially challenging process.  Armed with the instruction manual, I set 32 warp threads in navy blue linen I'd bought in Sweden. I'd faced the usual dilemma: As a beginner, should I use waste yarn from my stash which would be no loss if it ended up a mess, or good, purpose-selected yarn which I'd be thrilled to see made up?  Of course I went for the latter, following my own recommendations which I offer to beginners - use the best you have.

The instructions were clear and easy to follow but without the benefit of experience, I was unsure how crucial it was to keep everything tight and neat.  I kept it tight and neat just in case, therefore.

A couple of hours later, I began to weave.  I used the yarn bought in Tokyo - a silk linen mix with a lovely grey-blue-black random pattern on a cream base.  I immediately realised my first mistake: the reed is rather too coarse for the weight of yarn I'm using - never mind.  Let's call it a "design choice".  I tried really hard to keep up some kind of rhythm, trying to remember the economical movements taught to me by Miss Lin.  There, when I threw the shuttle through back to front, I  had a tap on the wrist and a stern face to remind me for next time.  Sitting here at home, I found it hard to work at any pace at all but stumbled through the first few rows one at a time.  Clearly, some practice is needed.

But, you know, I'm quite pleased with my first efforts and l-o-v-e the "pattern" which is appearing there in the weave.  At the moment, I'm undecided how tightly to beat the threads down; how open to leave the resultant fabric, but so early in the process it can easily be adjusted.

I suppose that, whatever I choose to do, it will be fine as long as it's consistent - which this clearly is not.  Yet.

I'll have that sorted tomorrow!

Twinkle

It's a beautiful morning here.  The sun is shining and the sky bright blue.  The snow on the walls looks a bit like someone left the bubble bath running!

 

Still peaceful.  Though we just got our daily paper delivered, there really are very few people around and word has it that the local shop is bereft of supplies beyond the odd bar of chocolate.

Continuing low temperatures mean that the snow has stayed white and lovely, even where cars have passed through.

But enough of snow for now....I've got plans to play with my birthday present (last October) today.  Watch this space...

Oh, and spare a thought for a friend who has quite a lot of clearing up to do today, please.  One of those times when practical help would be far more use than the virtual kind, if only it were possible.

How old?

Sure enough, we woke to a white world this morning, covered with about four or five inches of the most lovely snow.    We decided to go out and clear our lane before a vehicle compacted the snow and with the help of our neighbour, had soon cleared and gritted the lethal bend which usually separates us from the rest of the world.  We left the rest of the hill intact.

We walked up to take a look at the "top road", often cleared by a local farmer, but today, looking as white and unsullied as everywhere else.

It was a delight to be out in the fresh air,  in the quiet, still village where no-one but us seemed to be about.

We didn't feel like going inside and wanted to play, so we grabbed our sledge and walked over to see if our small friends fancied coming out with us.

Of course they did!  We pulled them on our sledge over to the field on the other side of the village, where everyone goes in weather like this.  It was a magical atmosphere there - almost all businesses had closed today, virtually no-one was inclined to take heroic action to go very far and so everyone was out to play.  Mums, Dads, teenagers, small children - all having fun in the snow together.  Most had plastic or wooden sledges, but some were improvising on plastic sheets, one family all sat on a lilo from last summer and one boy came down the hill sitting in a washbasket!

But after a couple of hours, one of us was feeling cold and tired.  Leaving big sister with her friends and her Daddy, who had decided to bunk off work for an hour or two (the joys of internet mean that no-one really got the day off, it seems!), we pulled the sledge back home with one tired three year old laid out flat, all of us having had great fun in the snow.

The last time it snowed like this, was 1990, when we had help clearing that bend in the lane from a small boy wrapped up warm.  He turned 25 today!!  Happy Birthday, Edward!!

Snow

I was working at home today, down in the studio where I could see that it had begun to snow.  By noon, there was a light dusting.

Half an hour later, the dusting was more of an even covering and the email arrived, cancelling my meeting tomorrow.  That came as a relief!

By three o'clock, things were looking pretty and the world outside was peaceful and silent.  The snow was still falling.

By four thirty and the onset of dusk, we looked out on a completely white world - or rather, a blue one.  Earlier in the week, I marvelled at Terry's blog photograph and her story of a very similar snowy day in Oregon.  Never did I realise that only days later, we would experience similar conditions here in mild, medium South West England!

Yes, that light is absolutely magical and I am thrilled that I was able to capture it on my camera.

Tonight we're staying warm in front of the stove, filled with anticipation about what tomorrow morning will bring.  The forecast is for more snow - a lot more snow.  Watch this space!