dragon moon

There's a full moon just beginning to wane in preparation for darker nights. Heavy frost crunched under footfalls this morning as snow clouds gathered overhead. As it became lighter the rising sun cast a crimson glow on the low dome of the heavens. The old folks say it's a harbinger; bad weather is on the way. Maybe some snow, but definitely colder. Tomorrow may be bitter. A blanket of snow and breath that steams.

As recycled denim legs were torn into strips, threads frayed from the edges. Upon closer inspection I found they were patterned with alternating white and blue. Incindental ikat. To wonderful to waste.

inkle weaving photos

Here are the long ago promised inkle photos from Fall Semester Appalachian Arts Class. Not the best photos, but good work from the kids. They had tons of fun and gave lots of handmade Christmas gifts from their projects. This class is over til next year. Sad, sad. Love this class. Spring is Art I and Art II/III; not as much craft in this curriculum.

Soakers and Inkle Weaving

One of my knitting friends is expecting her first grandchild just any moment. Her son, the father to be, called her last Monday and informed her they would be using cloth diapers for the new baby and "would you knit some soakers for us?". As he is not a knitter, he has no idea how long it takes to knit enough of these to meet the needs of a newborn. Granna, smart lady that she is, approached her 2 knitting coworkers with a request to knit soakers with her. I used Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Leggings pattern from Knitting Workshop to knit this one (Crayola marker for size reference) from Henry's Attic natural colored merino with stripes of Nature Spun gray heather. The idiot cord is worked over 4 stitches; I wish I had used 3 instead because it is fatter than I would like. When I was ready to work the ribbing, I told my daughter I just wanted to keep knitting and make pants instead. She said I could knit up some pants for her little one (due in Feb) so after Christmas, I will have more EZ leggings on the needles. They worked up fast and were a lot of fun to knit. They would be really cute in multiple colored stash knitting or in hand painted yarn.








My Appalachian Arts students are making Inkle bands. I have traditionally limited this class to 12 students and had that many looms built (plus 1 for demo purposes) along with enough stick shuttles for each student to have a couple. This year my class is packed with 18 students, so our shop class built 6 more looms for us. We used yarn that was donated by local crafters from their stash, so this was pretty much a free project for us as I didn't need to purchase equipment or material. Free is great on public school funding! The kids have had a ball with this project. Most of them warped their looms again as soon as they finished with their first bands. They are making iPod sleeves, cell phone cases, eyeglass cases, belts, 60s style headbands, purses, etc. Their ideas and their color choices are both wonderful. I will post photos of the finished projects in a few days.