My first ever NEWSLETTER … eek – please be patient with me :)

Hello all ~ It is Monday! Do you dread it, or do you look forward to it? I personally love it, because I’m in the shop on weekends…so Monday is my ‘your Saturday’.

So…Monday, new week, new possibilities – I thought I try on something new for size. A newsletter! Let’s hope I have enough news to fill this page, to keep you entertained!

1. After I finished the wallhanging (did you read about it?) I wandered around the house…a little aimless… didn’t really know what to do … so I went into my studio, and searched my bead stash for inspiration…and I came across some beautiful gemstone beads in black and grey hues. I paired them with memory-wire to make a wrap bracelet. I love memory-wire bracelet, because you get the stacked look, without having to put on multiple bracelets. Very time consuming – time we don’t have in the morning…Thanks snooze-button! 😉 Here are pictures of the finished bracelet and a close-up of the pretty beads

 The beads are – white/grey Howlite chips, Agate, Marble cones, dalmatian Jasper, Mother-of-Pearl and Czech glass discs.

2. I replanted my succulents – those poor things were really suffocating in their little plastic pots they came in. Now they’re enjoying the beautiful (almost fall-like) days grouped on the patio table….and I enjoy them!

3. I designed a bracelet for my next workshop, and actually set a date!

If you’re in the area (Weston, MO) stop in to say ‘HI’ and participate!

4. I put up a partition in the store, but the drapes look a bit … well, blah! I’m planning to embellish them with various one-strand creations. One of them is Macramé – haven’t done that in ages. I remembered seeing a how-to in one of my clever craft books. I went looking for it, found it (!!!!) – it was a good day- , got out my hemp, and wood beads and started knotting. It actually looks like it’s supposed to…hehehe…told you it was a good day!

Now I have more creations to create, plans running around in my head to be put on paper, and dusting…need to dust! 😀                                                                                                                                                                                            So I let you go for now – please look for the next post/newsletter! As always, I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

Love    ~Tina xoxo

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Weaving and Beads

In my latest project I got to combine two of my favorite things – Yarn and Beads.

When I saw a photo showing a crumbling brick wall with flowers spilling over the edge, I wondered if this image could be turned into a woven wall-hanging. I took out my sketch book and started doodling.

Not a work of art by any means, but putting pencil to paper gave me time to ponder how to execute my idea… the various components, the how-to.

I gathered everything I needed – that took a few days. I ordered rectangular marble beads, visited my favorite yarn shop, and finally had the whole caboodle lined up.

I strung the beads onto the yarn and began warping my little loom.

Weaving around the beads was time consuming – but I was quite pleased with the result. Since the beads are only in the bottom half of the (sideways) weaving, finishing the top half was a lot faster. It started to look like the picture – the one I had in my head, not the one on paper 😉 )

Out came the wool roving and my newly acquired felting tool (love that thing!)

I punched, and punched ~ and flowers appeared on top of the ‘wall’!

I am very pleased that I could turn an idea and vision into something physical, something I can hang on my wall and enjoy every day.

Here it is…

My first weaving project ~ Part II ~ The finishing touches

So, here I was. With a semi-finished piece of a woven textile, planning the finishing touches.      I picked out some beads (of course!), buttons, yarn. I walked through the yard, eying every little twig, judging it for it’s potential to become part of my creation. I decided to use a twig to complement the natural fiber I used.

After I laid everything out, I unhooked the top portion from the loom – that was a little scary! Somehow I imagined everything to fall apart. But, good news, it didn’t! 🙂

I wanted to knot the loops to make sure nothing would unravel in the years to come. The little loops were just that, little – as in, too short. So I took my wide-tooth comb, and row by row compressed the weaving.

You might notice that the piece is shorter now, than it was in the previous picture.

Now I had enough length to work with. I knotted the loops, and threaded a wide-hole bead on each one. Time for my little twig. Loop by loop the piece of weaving became a wall-hanging.

My plan was to unhook the bottom portion, cut the loops ~ aargh, scissors! But, as you can see, it ended well 😉  ~ and knot the warp to create a fringe.

As you can clearly see, ‘Fringe’ is not the right word for the wimpy strands, sticking up ever which way. But – fret not – I still had some beautiful yarn left. So – now the ‘Fringe’ deserves it’s name!

I played with the buttons, until I was happy with the look. A few stitches and they were securely in place!

Now – how to hang it up? I don’t just want to hook the twig on a nail. Out came the ‘Kumihimo’ Disk. Believe it or not, I still had some silk-yarn and -ribbon left. I picked some additional yarn from my stash, and made this pretty cord.

And it’s done! I will proudly display it in the shop, where it will soon be joined by many more woven, bohemian-style wall-hangings! 😀

Thanks for sticking with me ’til the end. I hope you enjoyed the ride!

Now – the ‘Grand Finale’ ~ TaDA

My first weaving project

A few days ago I bought this cute ‘retro’ weaving loom. I had one like it as a kid – but back then not too much interest in any craft. That came later! 🙂

Here is what I found when I unpacked the box (isn’t this box just darling?)

I knew I had to create the warp onto the frame – so I picked a pretty yarn and did just that (a little tip – don’t use stretchy yarn! I did that, and, boy, did that make the process harder!) Silk and cotton works best!

Then I wrapped the shuttle needle with the yarn I wanted to do the border with. That was easy! LOL

I fitted the ‘Heald Shaft Gear’ under the warp, and let the yarn (1st, 3rd, 5th strand, etc.) fall into the slots. The yarn needed a little assistance – but, still not hard!

Finally I got to weave! After each row, the Shaft needs to be turned one fourth forward, so the 2nd, 4th, 6th Strand etc. falls into the slots. Easy-peasy!

I wove 5 or 6 rows with the yarn for the border. By then I had an inkling of an idea why it was suggested to me NOT to use stretchy yarn! See, the yarn stretches, but doesn’t bounce back. Making it harder and harder to do the over/under motion of the needle. But, I wasn’t about to give up, and start over. I kept going, vowing to use cotton the next time.

Now it was time to pick strands of yarn, and ribbon for the actual ‘decorative’ part of my piece. In my favorite store (Florilegium in Weston) I found  bags with a variety of silk yarn and different ribbons. Perfect for my little project! Since the loom only came with one shuttle needle, and I didn’t feel like winding/unwinding the yarn every few rows, I went and got out  my tapestry needle – and, since it’s a narrow piece, found that this was ideal!

So far, so good!

And on and on I went – then I got fancy! I started a simple ‘design’ – by weaving to the middle, turning around, going back weaving to one warp before the last, and so on. Then I did the same thing, with a different yarn, from the other side. Et voilá – two triangles!

Here is the finished piece! I’m quite happy with it! Now I have to embellish and hide the yarn-ends ~

I’ll be back soon to show you the final result!

I hope you enjoyed following my process! Let me know if I inspired (and maybe helped) you with your own little wall hanging!