Habitat for Humanity Project: Grid #2

The second grid is completed and I am working on the third grid.  Hopefully it will be done by the end of the day.  I will then begin to connect the 3 grids together with apron ties.  These 3 grids will hang as one piece. 

My Mom who we visited in New Jersey a few days ago, liked what I am doing and was telling everyone at the home where she lives.  You gotta love moms!!!!!!!  I always know my work will be appreciated whether it is good or not!  She's a great moral booster.

Habitat Project: First Grid Woven

I completed the first grid which is actually the hardest one to do.  For those of you who are weavers reading this, at one point I had 7 wefts moving along at once! Can you figure out where that happened? Try to keep track of that when the fabric does not lay flat and cannot be beaten down into place because the grid warps are so far apart.  As I was talking to a friend of mine today, she suggested using clothes pins to hold the weft in place.  Great idea!  Why didn't I think of that!  Thanks to Bette I am using that technique on the second grid.  It does help. Here are pictures of the first completed grid and the next one I am weaving.

What do you think?  Can you recognize any of the aprons? Add a comment and become a follower of this blog and/or share it on Facebook or Twitter.

Weaving "Warm HeARTs, Warm Homes"

I've started weaving on the grids.  I am weaving by using tapestry technique in rag rug stlye.  Here are a few tools I used that have helped me:


Rag Rug Cutter for cutting strips of fabric



Rotary Cutter for cutting strips of fabric

I used both of these tools.  The rag rug cutter worked better for the longer length of fabric.  The rotary cutter was a little faster to use but harder to use on the longer lengths.


I taped the fabric colors on the cartoon as a weaving guide



Beginning to weave following the cartoon guide




Day one weaving progress



Let me know what you think.  Share a comment or two with me about this project and keep following to see the finished piece.  



Habitat for Humanity "Warm HeARTS, Warm Homes" Project

It's crunch time!!!  The Habitat project deadline is creeping up quickly!  Last week I finished painting the grids black and made 3 cartoons for the weaving. Yesterday I spent the day deconstructing the last aprons and organizing them in color piles.  Today I will choose the colors I will use and begin cutting the apron fabrics into strips.  Hopefully I will begin the weaving process tomorrow.  Here are some pictures of the process so far and a few more apron pictures.

Painting the Grids



Cartoons




Organizing Colors





More aprons:

 



Thanks to all who have sent me aprons.  I have enjoyed seeing all the varied designs and I love seeing the stains and well worn areas which tell a story of many hours cooking or baking for loved ones. If you have a great apron story please share it in the comment section.

Look forward to hearing from you.  Don't forget to share this blog if you enjoy reading it.

"Celebration of Fibers"

Today is the opening of the Philadelphia Guild of Handweavers' annual member's exhibit.  I have 2 pieces in this show, a shawl made from the triangular loom and one of my hand dyed warp painted "Loop" Scarves. The show is held in the PGHW Guild House in Manayunk, a section of Philadelphia, PA.

I have been a member of this guild ever since I started weaving.  My weaving teacher was President of the Guild at that time and she encouraged me to join.  That was  in 1982!  I can't believe it's been that long ago!  My son was just 2 years old. He will be 31 in July! I have been and am a member of many different weaving guilds as I have lived many different places since that time.  But I consider the Philadelphia Guild of Handweavers my home guild.  All my early mentors were and are in the guild.  Some are no longer with us and others are my best weaving and personal friends.  I learned so much from the weavers there.  So I celebrate the opening of their annual show:

Celebration of Fibers

March 18 -20 and 23-26, 2011

Opening Reception: Friday, March 18, 6:30pm - 8:30pm  

www.pghw.org

If you are in the Philadelphia, PA area check it out!  Add a comment and let me know what you think.

You can also become a follower of this blog by clicking on the Followers icon.  I also now have the link to share this on Facebook and Twitter.

A Funeral and a Wedding, Remembering Peter Gomes

I'm going to a funeral tomorrow. I know this is an odd title for one of my posts but I lost a dear friend last week.  It was sudden in that everyone expected him to recover from the stroke he had in December.  That was not to be; so today I remember my dear friend Peter Gomes.  I've only know him for 5 short years but he wormed his way into my heart with that "twinkle in his eye" that made you know there was more to the story. I know that countless others around the world are missing him too as he was known and loved around the world.  One of my early encounters with Peter was when he shared the paint color for his kitchen with me.  That color became the color in my office and one wall of the studio.  Check out the blog post http://studiojottings.blogspot.com/2006/09/day-80.html#comments.  I talked a little about painting the studio Pusey Room Red in that post.  Every time I look at the paint in my studio I will think of Peter and smile! I remember wandering around his basement to find the paint can so I could take it to the hardware store and have them figure out the formula for me.  Now if you knew Peter, you know that wandering around his basement was not something he normally did and painting was definitely not something he did. As he said to me when he first said I could use the paint, "Have your man talk to my man to get the formula".  I replied, "Peter, I am the man!"  That led to the wandering in the basement!  But we found the paint and I got the formula and the studio office was painted "Pusey Room Red". Peter stated that he and I would be the only people in Plymouth to have this color in their house! 

There are so many Peter stories. We had the great pleasure of having him officiate at our son's wedding this past July.  It was a glorious event in Newport, RI and Peter did such a wonderful job. He was all decked out in what he called his "God" clothes, a beautiful red robe.  He kept telling Jeff and me what a great couple they were and how much he enjoyed working with them on the wedding.  WOW!  The added bonus was that  they both graduated from Bates College, his alma mater.  Peter loved to do Bates Weddings! I will always cherish the wonderful time we had with him at the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. 

He was quite a loveable character.  While he loved working at Harvard, Plymouth was his home and First Baptist was his church.

So, Peter has come home, not only to Plymouth where his church family will celebrate his life and mourn his passing  but also to the God that he loved so much and the Word that he shared all around the world.  Well done, good and faithful servant!  You are loved and will be greatly missed. I know God will love hearing all your wonderful stories and seeing that "twinkle in your eye"!