Sunday, October 26, 2008

All in a Weekend's Play

October is without a doubt my favorite month. Perfect temperatures and beautiful, cloudless skies. We made good use of the time this weekend. We are blessed to live 3 miles from this trail that runs parallel with the Natchez Trace and have been walking on it almost every day from 2 to 4 miles.




Today, I found this bodark "apple" though I never did see the tree. The squirrels love this "fruit" and usually make a big mess with them. I brought it home as it reminded me so much of my childhood. My paternal grandma had one of these on the hill in front of her house. As children, we loved putting them under the wheels of the car. Daddy would always pretend he didn't know what was going on and would accelerate to reverse. The crunch would set us laughing. As many thorns as are on the tree, I'm surprised that Daddy or one of his brothers didn't have flat tires.


I have needed to organize my circular knitting needles for a long time and have been scouting for something that would hold all but the Denise interchangeable. Everything I have seen up until now would not have held them all or been portable and were somewhat pricey. I ran across this zip-up binder at Office Depot this weekend and am tickled with the results. There are 13 sections, enough space for all needles up to size 13. I enclosed each needle in a sandwich ziplock marked with the size and length. The front has a zip-up mesh pocket in which I placed a tape measure, stitch holder and ruler/needle sizer. There's room for other items too. I think I will really enjoy this.








Originally, I had planned to include white lights on this grapevine arbor but in hindsight, I should have wound the lights around the ironwork. The grapevine is almost impossible to wind the lights in so, we will enjoy it like it is and wind the lights around a plant or grapevine wreath. It was fun to do.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

I am preparing to part with an old friend in order to buy a Macomber and thought I would post here in the event any of you are looking for a special loom. Here are the details:

Norwood 40" 8-shaft cherry floor loom - Solid, super-size cloth and warp beams, a ratchet brake system that needs no adjustment, an excellent shed and extra long weaving space. The floating lamms, jacks and harness tracks are constructed of wood, allowing for quiet operation. Sectional warping rails. Beautiful craftsmanship and top grade cherry wood. One reed and lease sticks included. Weaving width 40"; number of shafts 8; number of treadles 12; number of heddles 2000 (1000 more than new); overall width 47"; depth open 42"; depth folded 31-1/2"; height open 39"; height folded 45-1/2"; depth between reed and breast beam16-1/2". Weight approximately 175 lbs. (New birch looms are 150 lbs.). Excellent condition. Email with questions at Margaret@heritageyarns.com or leave message at (601) 956-1478.