Handwoven Horoscope Shawl and Whatzit?

Back in 2007 I signed up for a Bonnie Tarses Horoscope Weaving workshop. I was unable to attend the workshop but was given the horoscope to weave on my own. With the nudging and help from Beth, our guild president, I finished the shawl! It was a lot of fun to weave. Even though it is plain weave I never got bored (how could I with all the colors). Thank you Bonnie and Beth!!!

I purchased a Bambu 7 kit from Cotton Clouds and using the horoscope threading draft from Bonnie I wound the warp.
Weaving in progress.

All finished!!!

The workshop also included a kit to make a beaded necklace based on the same horoscope. I hope to have that completed soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~

At my last guild meeting one of our members brought in a very interesting item and asked if anyone knew what it was. We didn't have a clue so now I hope someone out there will know what it is.

What the heck is this?
It has an adjustable arm on the top with a platform that has small pegs. The platform has grooves. It is handmade and very well made.


There is a second adjustable arm that appears to have the ability to hold something down.


This may or may not be related.

Update: I would agree with Vanessa. It's a needlepoint stand. There are lots of examples out there in internet land that look similar. Check out this site for a review of a needlepoint stand with similar features.

As for the other thing in the photo... some one thought it might have something to do with the creation of lampshades.

18th-Century Market Fair

This weekend we went to the 18th-Century Market Fair at Fort Frederick State Park in Western Maryland.

Windsor chairmaker Charles Boland of Storybook Joinery was there.I love the finial on top of his tent.The temperature soared to over 90 degrees. I don't know how the vendors managed in their period wear. Some highlights from the fair.

I've been busy...

I took a break from weaving and have been busy cleaning up and organizing my shop. I've also been creating basket parts for a class I'm doing over the summer. Today I fired up the steam box to steam bend oak for the handles. I wanted to use Schedule 80 PVC pipe but ended up using Schedule 40 since the Schedule 80 is only sold in 20' lengths @ $6.79 per foot (ouch). A cradle was created just in case the Schedule 40 pipe sags. The steam box sits on brackets that are temporarily mounted to the fence with clamps. Click on picture to enlarge.

A small hole is drilled on top where a temperature gauge is installed. Relief holes are drilled at each end of the PVC pipe on the underside. You know you are ready to steam bend when steam exits the holes as pictured here.
The handle stock is ready to come out.Oak handles on molds. The oak bent like butter.I use rough cut green white oak that I get from a local sawmill. It is cut down to more manageable sizes and stored in a freezer in the shop until I'm ready to use it. The wide oak board is put through the planer then cut into strips on the table saw. I love my Delta Unisaw with Biesemeyer fence. You can see in the picture the oak is wet.The strips are put through the planer again and planed to the finished thickness. This will remove any circle marks left behind by the table saw blade.

Windsor Chair Class

The previous few years Vanessa came up and we drove to Hampshire County, West Virginia to take a Windsor chair class. This year I went it alone and had a fantastic time! I made a sackback settee and Charles made one alongside me.

Here are some highlights from the class.

Riving billets for the settee spindles, back bow, and arm bow using a froe and maul.

Cutting out the 2" seat blank with a bow saw.

Saddling the settee seat using a gutter adze to hollow out the seat.

Saddling the seat continues by cleaning up and shaping the seat using a drawknife, block plane, inshave (scorp), travisher, compass plane, spokeshave, and card scraper.

Driving a wedge into the leg tenons and seat.

Cleaning up the spindles that were created on a shaving horse with a drawknife then fork staff. Final cleanup using a card scraper.

Pounding the spindles into the seat with a dead blow hammer.

The finished chairs.

This is Charles Boland of Storybook Joinery. Charles is knowledgeable, not only in the areas of Windsor chairmaking, but the history as well. He willingly shares his knowledge and is so patient. Charles only takes on 1-2 students at a time so your time spent there is quality time. His classes are well worth the time and money. Be prepared to work hard. You won't be disappointed.


Some of the tools of the chairmaking trade you'll be using.

And as an extra bonus Maggie, the official shop dog, comes for visits.

And then there is Sam the cat who adopted the Boland family and rules the roost.

If you want to see Charles' work you might stop by one of his events.

Structo Artcraft 240/4

I recently purchased this little cutie on eBay. It's a Structo Artcraft 240/4 (4-harness). It's 15 inches long x 10-1/2 inches wide x 13 high and has a maximum weaving width of 8". The loom came with a 15-dent reed. If the reed is slayed two threads per dent (for a sett of 30 ends per inch) the loom could accommodate 240 warp ends.

The Structo Artcraft loom was originally produced by the Structo Manufacturing Company of Freeport, Illinos. The company was started in 1908 and was the producer of metal toys. In 1921 they began producing toy weaving looms. Later, the toy looms were discontinued and actual standard weaving looms were made. The looms were manufactured until 1972 when the loom business was sold to the Dick Blick Company who continued manufacturing the looms until 1981 when they decided to take them out of production. Dick Blick still holds the manufacturing rights to the loom.

The Structo Artcraft looms were sold through retail outlets as well as mail order. They manufactured both pressed steel and wooden looms. In 1930 Mary Meigs Atwater wrote "Manual of Instructions for the Structo Artcraft Looms: Nos. 240, 420, 600". Atwater sold the loom through her Shuttle-Craft Guild mail order business.

The looms were popular workshop looms and for weaving samplers. For more information visit this website or join the Yahoo group all_things_structo.

I finished the tea towels or are they dish towels?

I wanted to take the newly restored loom for a test drive so I put on 5 yards of 8/2 unmercerized cotton and wove plainweave towels. This was the first time I used weaving sticks and I really liked it since this loom has a much smaller shed than I am used to. I have some very beautiful 24" cherry ones and plan to make more in various lengths.

The finished tea towels...

I'm leaving today, heading for West Virginia, for another Windsor chair class. Below is the rocker I made last year. I finally finished it a couple of weeks ago.


This time I am making a settee. Before heading to class I needed to turn this hard maple stock into legs, six to be exact.


On the lathe...


All finished...

Structo Artcraft 600 Loom from eBay

I purchased this loom from eBay almost 2 years ago. I think I paid more for shipping than I did for the loom. No surprise! There wasn't any part of this loom that wasn't rusted or filthy.


It's a Structo Artcraft 600 4-shaft loom with a maximum weaving width of 20". The loom came with a 15-dent reed. If the reed is sleyed two threads per dent (for a sett of 30 ends per inch) the loom could accommodate 600 warp ends. It was made sometime around 1925 but before 1932 (when the next model was released). I was able to find an original owner's manual and product catalog on eBay. Click any picture below to enlarge.

I took the loom completely apart and sanded all the metal parts down to bare metal and spray painted them back to their original black paint. I decided not to sand the mahogany down to bare wood, instead I sanded the old finish off with steel wool and used Restor-A-Finish. This stuff is amazing.

Ta-dah... Here is the completed loom. I created cloth aprons with rods and ordered TexSolv heddles. I really didn't think I could get the rust off the 15-dent reed but I kept at it and it came out beautifully.


Here she is with her first warp. I used the Katie Reeder Meek method of using a trapeze. You can get a review of her book Warp with a Trapeze and Dance With Your Loom Using Live-Tensioned Weights here.

For the first project I put on a little over 5 yards of cotton warp for dishtowels.


I really enjoyed restoring this old loom. It's hard to believe it's the same loom.

Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder

I can't believe how long it has been since I posted last. Where does the time go? I got this e-mail a couple of days ago and can relate, especially when it comes to my crafts.

Stay tuned... I'll be updating my blog soon.

AAADD
KNOW THE SYMPTOMS...PLEASE READ!

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder.
Somehow I feel better, even though I have it!!

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D.-
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage,
I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table,
Put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table,
And notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back,
On the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think,
Since I'm going to be near the mailbox
When I take out the garbage anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table,
And see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study,
So I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking

I'm going to look for my checks,
But first I need to push the Pepsi aside
so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Pepsi is getting warm,
And I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi,
A vase of flowers on the counter
Catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and,
Discover my reading glasses that
I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk,
But first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter,
Fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I'll be looking for the remote,
But I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,
So I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs,
But first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers,
But quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table,
Get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to
Remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
The car isn't washed
The bills aren't paid
There is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter
The flowers don't have enough water,
There is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
And I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day,
And I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem,
And I'll try to get some help for it,
But first I'll check my e-mail...

Moe as in Moby Dick

Before leaving Nantucket someone bet me $10 that I wouldn't finish and hang the whale before I left. That was all the push I needed. I've been working on the whale the last year and a half. Here he is hanging in our cottage. He's pretty hefty and 44" in length. He has real ivory teeth carved by Nancy Chase. The timber, used to carve the whale, is several centuries old and came from the Nantucket United Methodist Church. It's an original timber from when the church was built in 1823. In the mid-1980's the church basement was renovated and to accommodate an exterior door the timber was cut out. It had been kicking around Nancy's house until I discovered it. Nancy started the whale many years ago so with her help I finished it.


We had a party to celebrate. The night before the party I had someone help me hang him and I covered him up with a sheet. The night of the party we had a whale naming contest. Everyone submitted their choice of a name. The names were then read aloud. Next everyone voted for a name but they couldn't vote for their own name. In the end Moe won by 2 votes and then we had an unveiling. I love him and I can see him from just about any room in the house.

I also made this basket. It has a rosewood bottom and ebony top. It can be used as a ladies sewing box, jewelry box, or just as an art piece. The bird on top was carved from an antique whale tooth.