Loom Envy

Loom Envy (PixUp), originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

The other day, I was at a meeting at a weaver's house, and she gave me a tour of her loom collection. I first spotted a Macomber Ad-a-Harness loom which is the same as mine. Then she took me downstairs to the loom room which had, I believe, a small Schact loom and then showed me the colossus pictured here, an AVL compu-dobby loom. I wanted to see it in action, and she showed me how she calls up the current pick (row) on the computer and sets it in motion. She uses a type of "flying shuttle" which she is holding in her hand. She justs "flings" it from one side to the other and it sends the shuttle across with little effort. The mechanism raises the right shaft and there are no treadles. There is still alot I have to learn about weaving and all its terminology. Once I get my loom in working order, and get some practice, I'll be able to speak with more confidence about weaving. For now, I'll just ooh and ahh over the fabulous handwovens at our gallery.

Tatting: Rings and Chains

Tatting: Rings and Chains, originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

For decades, I've wanted to learn to tat. No-one in the family did it, and I tried to teach myself using a tatting shuttle. I didn't even know about needle tatting. I was clueless about the shuttle and gave up after trying a couple times. A few years ago, I learned there was another method, but never ran across a class that I could take.

On Sunday morning, I was reading the local section of the paper, and saw that there was a class taking place as part of the Victorian Day activities at the Ben Lomond Historic Site in Manassas, VA. I called about the time, and headed over there a couple hours later, throwing all my previously laid plans out the window.

In a matter of minutes, the teacher had me making rings and chains and I was amazed at how easy it was ! I finished my first ornament in under three hours, but the next one I hope to finish in under an hour. Actually, I don't plan to make coasters, doilies and ornaments at all. I've got some plans brewing for using other yarns, adding beads, doing freeform with other techniques, who knows ?

Crafty Bastards Craft Show

Handspun yarn @ Crafty Bastards (PixUp), originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

Yes, that's the name of the show, and it is a very cool show. The name comes from the back page of the Washington City Paper where "crafty bastards" can advertise their wares. Several years ago, the paper started a craft show where the advertisers could sell their stuff to the public. I first became interested when I read about a crafter who made dolls out of tampons. I thought, "what kind of a craft show is this ?" and knew I had to check it out. There are alot of Etsy sellers there and everything (I mean Everything...except for the doggie product vendor's stuff...argghh....is handmade). I bought some herbal soaps from http://biggsandfeather.com .

One of the big reasons I love to go is that they always have the "B-Boy Battle" (breakdancing competition) going on at the same time. The crowd is huge, the competition fierce but friendly and the "dancing" is mesmerizing !

Fiesta DC 2009

Fiesta DC 2009 (PixUp), originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

This is the third year I've been a part of this festival in NW Washington, DC. My Brazilian band, Batala, performed in the parade and the best part is seeing all the brilliant costumes from Central and South America, and the Carribean. I think it's my favorite festival of the whole year here in DC. I ordered some authentic Mexican tacos from a food vendor and found out that it's from a restaurant just down the street from my house. It was delicious, so now I'm definitely going to check it out.

Trip to Brazil by way of NYC

I just got back from a three day weekend in New York to participate in the "Lavagem do rua 46" which is a ritual based on the "Lavagem do Bonfim" which takes place every year in Salvador, Bahia in Brazil. The parade traveled down 46th Street which is known as Little Brazil. I played in my Brazilian percussion band, Batala, and for this parade, we had our largest contingent ever, 47 players, all women !

Here is a video of the headline performer Carlinhos Brown. I didn't know much about him before, but now I see why he is so famous, he's a great entertainer. Here is a parade video. We are the loud "wall" of drum sound and you can see us at the 35 sec. mark.

Young Crochet Talent

I teach violin, and occasionally, a student shows up with some craft. Of course, I would rather talk about their crafting than finish the lesson ! Sometimes, I will ask a student if he or she knows how to knit or crochet. If they want to learn, sometimes after the lesson is over, I'll bring out some yarn and needles and have a mini lesson. I have taught at a summer camp and really enjoyed it. I wish there was money to be made teaching crafts !

A Scrumble a Day

...is the title of the blog by Prudence Mapstone, the queen of freeform. I first encountered her techniques in my monthly knitting study group. A fellow knitter brought a book showing the bullion technique and I became "hooked" on those for awhile, but sadly, put it away with all the other "UFO's" (unfinished objects). I also tried some freeform knitting and again, it ended up in the UFO pile. If you want to see what scrumble she has going each week, check out her blog.