Weaving and Peonies...



It's a beautiful, but chilly, morning here on Rabbit Hop (yep! It's a real place! :)). I've been busy with life and not getting much creative stuff done...or housework either. I have several projects to the midway point that I hope to get finished soon. In the meantime, I'm still playing with my Cricket loom. I love it, but now I'm wishing I'd splurged for a few more dollars and gotten a bigger one than the 15". After the pieces are wet finished they shrink down to 12-13", at least the cotton Peaches and Crème yarn I used did. It's a good size for placemats, runners, etc., but too narrow for rugs and other projects without having to sew fabric pieces together, which we all know, I dislike intensely. :/

 

You can always make it smaller on a bigger loom, but you can't make something larger in one piece than the loom you're working on. Maybe if I get good enough on the 15" Santa will bring me a bigger one in a year or two. Meanwhile, I'll keep practicing on the one I have! Practice does make one better! :)

 

 

So this is my third project on the Cricket all warped, shuttle loaded, and ready to weave. I am so proud of myself. I warped it this time without having to check the directions once. See? I'm already getting better! :) Peaches and Crème yarn, yellow warped with pink, orange, & yellow variegated weaving. Let the fun begin!

 

This is once again the basic plain weave stitch. I planned on learning a different weave for this project, but never could find something that I was comfortable trying just yet. My plans often go awry.

 

I also planned for this to be a small rug for the bedroom...

 

however, it was too narrow to look right, so I'll have to do something else with it. This is the finished piece, before the wet finish, removal of the base yarn, and doing something with the fringe. I may try it as a runner for the dresser in my bedroom. The colors match. Anyway, I now have three lengths of woven fabric, and I'm thinking I'll get out the sewing machine and see what I can do with them. We'll see what they turn into. Wish me luck! :)

 

 

I also wanted to share my white peonies with you. I only have one puny little bush. The rocky clay dirt in our yard doesn't lend itself well to growing flowers, or anything else much for that matter, but somehow, this little bush keeps fighting to survive. The white peonies are my favorite flowers.

 

 

I LOVE their scent!

 

My maternal grandmother had peonies, both the white and the rose colored. She knew how much I loved them, and every Spring she would give me the first bloom. When she was no longer able to pick it for me, she would tell me it was there, to go get it. After she was gone, Papa would pick the first one for me, and he gave me roots off hers to start my own, which I did. I enjoyed it for many years and thought of them every time it bloomed (I think of them every day, but especially when the white peonies bloom). The bush eventually died, due to a very hot and dry summer, but I bought a new one and planted it in a different place. Some springs it really struggles to produce even 2-3 blooms and some times it produces many, like this year. I continue to love it, and my grandparents, whom I still miss every day. The white peonies produce more than gorgeous blooms. They produce lovely memories.

Thank you so much for visiting! I hope you enjoyed it and that something I said made you smile. :)