My Corner Of The World - January 2011 Because of the popularity of this thread, we'll start a new thread each month! The idea is to tell us what is going on in your corner of the world. It does not have to be weaving related, but it could be. Please include a picture when you add your post. Weavers are very visual people. Please remember to downsize your photo before uploading. Be sure to tell us where you are (city, state/province, country?) This forum has members internationally. Have a good day! Previous Month - December 2010 http://weavolution.com/forum/chat/my-corner-world-december-2010-16247 Next Month - February 2011 http://weavolution.com/forum/chat/my-corner-world-february-2011-16898

Comments

Fri, 12/31/2010 - 16:14

francorios (not verified)

It's New Year's Day in Sydney and Hong Kong. The rest of the world will be catching up soon. Welcome to My Corner Of The World! I'm still in 2010. But we'll be over there in about 16 hours! Have a joyful day! Franco Rios Sacramento, Calif., USA
Fri, 12/31/2010 - 18:36

graciela (not verified)

 Happy New Year to all!. For those who initiated it , like Caroline, in Australia, and  who  still   are waiting. I wish you a year of health, hope, love,peace and I hope too, that  we can weave a better world. I also hope that all continue to share knowledge, and moments of our lives.

The network,( net, web, ) the first fabric of humanity,  becomes  as technology. The thread  linkes us, through the distance. Have a happy day! Graciela

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 01:00

kellytwo (not verified)

Happy New Year from my corner in Western New York State, USA. We have about 4 hours before the new year arrives. I wish everyone a very happy and healthy 2011.

Doreen (where the weather is unusually mild. Tomorrow a high of 50 F., then back to the normal low 30's)

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 03:55

debmcclintock

We are home from our New Year dinner at 9:53pm and I just checked BBC online to see the fireworks around the world.  Here ya go!  This left off on London when I looked at it.  Enjoy!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12097984

I'm not staying up until midnight so Happy New Year to all and safe partying!  Deb Mc

Sat, 01/01/2011 - 07:41

francorios (not verified)

 

Here I am on the last day of 2010 walking with the dogs along the American River.

 

Mr Egret does not blend in with the trees along the river's edge, but if he stands still his prey will not notice him until he strikes. Life along the edge of the water. Have a joyful day! Franco Rios Sacramento, Calif.
Sat, 01/01/2011 - 19:42

graciela (not verified)

 Hi Franco! The three seem very nice in the photo. Graciela

Sun, 01/02/2011 - 00:14

laurafry

I've just posted the transcript of WeaveCast 55 to http://weavezine.com

Click on Podcast, then on Transcripts.

Two interviews this time, Jacey Boggs, art yarn spinster and John Acord with great news about 'old' computer driven looms.

If you can't listen to the podcasts for whatever reason, you can read the transcripts.

Cheers,

Laura

Sun, 01/02/2011 - 02:31

crosstownshuttler (not verified)

Happy New Year Everyone!

May it be healthy, happy and fiber-ful.

Carie

Sun, 01/02/2011 - 04:04

sally orgren

What is very cool to me is that I got to meet at least three of you (who have posted New Year's greetings) in 2010, face-to-face. That was a highlight of my year!

What I am looking forward to in 2011 is meeting more Weavolution folks at upcoming weaving events. I am eyeballing the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival the first weekend in May, the historic weaving conference in Clayton, NY (also in May), and I just sent in my registration for the MAFA Workshop Weekend in July. (It will be my first time at MAFA.)

New England Weavers Seminars are coming up, Midwest Weavers, Intermountain Weavers, CNCH — all kinds of great regional conferences and fiber festivals that will be opportunities to strengthen the relationships formed here. I can't wait to jump into the new year and get weaving. (Based on Deb's recent project posts, she's got a running start on all of us!)

I spent part of the day planning my next project(s) and ordering some cottolin from the WEB's sale. (And FYI, HABU is having a sale right now, too.)

Can't wait to follow everyone's projects, so don't forget to post ; -)

Sun, 01/02/2011 - 22:58

EvaHall

Happy new year from the north of Norway!

Today we have hardly have any daylight as it has been cloudy and we also had a little snow. We made a daytrip to our summerhouse, just to check that everything was allright. The last weeks it has been freezing hard, so it was called for. When we turned the corner to get to the house a moose came out from the nabour´s trees and crossed the road. Luckily we were driving very slowly, so we avoided hitting it. 

Just remember everybody, if you cannot avoid hitting the moose, try to hit the backpart at least. The front is the heavier part! 

This is a timely warning as the moose  prefers to wander about, crossing the roads in the twilight or the dark, and the animal  is all grey.

In a few days we may be lucky to get a glimpse of the sun at noon, that is if it is not cloudy.

Eva

Mon, 01/03/2011 - 15:56

Aunt Janet (not verified)

Thanks for the advice, Eva!  Around here we have to watch out for the Roosevelt Elk.  They are just as big as moose, and probably lighter in the rear end also.  These have been reintroduced into our area.  When that first happened they were real pests.  I had to give up gardening for a while. All they had to do was lean lightly on the fencing, and they were in.  Folks had to build 13' fences with very heavy posts.  They have now found the wilderness and pretty much stay away from populated areas.  Whew!  We can keep out the little coastal deer with whimpy 6' fences.  I keep looking at the jack rabbits and wonder why they stay out of the garden.  I know our fences aren't that good, but so far we have been lucky.  Once in a while a wild turkey will fly over the fence, but they really don't want to be in there and are pretty easy to chase out.  Lots and lots of wild life here.

Aunt Janet

Mon, 01/03/2011 - 17:04

Textwinder (not verified)

No moose here, but lots of sunshine -- sorry everybody up North, but it's nice to be enjoying the warmth in our corner of the world for a change!

30+ and rising as we head into high summer. These apricots are now in jam jars for the winter, and I can lug the loom outside in the early morning. It's lovely to hear from everybody around the world,

Have a great 2011 and happy weaving!

Rosvita

Mon, 01/03/2011 - 17:09

Textwinder (not verified)

Ah, my corner of the world is San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina, about 1000 km from Buenos Aires, in fact, any further, you'll be in Chile!

Tue, 01/04/2011 - 12:46

Michael White

In my part of the Oconee National Forest, Greene County, Georgia, USA & a Georgia Wildlife Managment Area. We may not have large white tail deer; but we have a lot of them. From a report 5 years ago, 22,000 deer were taken doing that hunting season in Greene County. More deer are taken in my county then any county in Georgia. With over a million deer in the county keeping them out of the garden, flower beds and sometime the shops in town (the males sees their refection in the windows and attacks the glass) is a full time job. I don't hunt, the last hunting I did was in Vietnam.

Michael

Tue, 01/04/2011 - 14:44

whiteoakgrandmother (not verified)

Michael's deer story sounds much like mine. As I type I can see four deer at the far end of the field. My landlord plants a field of corn and one of something called "wildlife mixture" just for the wildlife here - deer, black bears, turkeys, racoons, etc. He also maintains a wildlife feeder with a game camera aimed at it. All of this is within clear view of his deerstand by the way, but to his credit he does feed them year round. My dog is so accustomed to seeing the deer that she pays no attention to them, and they don't seem at all concerned about her either. When the pears, apples and chestnuts are falling from the trees they will walk right into the yard to get them while she lies on the porch and watches.
Tue, 01/04/2011 - 18:42

francorios (not verified)

Rosvita, The apricots look beautiful! The green leaves are the perfect background to the color of the fruit. Wouldn't that make a wonderful tapestry subject? Have a joyful day! Franco Rios
Tue, 01/04/2011 - 21:42

Textwinder (not verified)

Yes, it would, I hadn't "seen" that! But if I start yet another project, or take on yet another craft, my partner will justifiably go on strike. While I'm not big on New Year's resolutions, I have promised not to start anything else before finishing the ponchos!

Better get weaving.... Rosvita

Tue, 01/04/2011 - 21:52

Neshobe (not verified)

So wonderful that I get to meet so many people here from all over the world.  Today, a tiny bit of snow here, just enough to cover the wood ashes I spread on a section of my garden. It looks like lovely winter again, so bright, not dreary as when the snow doesn't come.  More snow all this week, good as I don't have to travel far to go snowshoeing. 

In between weaving (and waiting for the snow to get deep enough to snowshoe), I am looking at seed and tree catalogs and wondering if I have space for everything I want to plant this spring! 

Alas, no photo to share just yet.

Tue, 01/04/2011 - 21:58

Neshobe (not verified)

Whiteoak, what a great idea to plant a deer garden.  Though I live at the edge of my village, my house is on an inside block so the deer don't come into my garden (so far).  But my daughter and son-in-law are always battling the deer and the marmots and the rabbits.  Also a blue jay who harvests their peas to give to his sweetheart!  I think a garden at the back of their little half acre just for the wildlife might help. 

Tue, 01/04/2011 - 23:26

laurafry

It's been snowing here, not heavily, just steadily, all day.  The roads are getting clogged so I'm hoping the city gets the snow removal crews out soon!  I'm keeping fingers crossed the snow won't delay my departure for southern destinations on Friday.  :)

In the meantime I'm working away at the last of the painted Tencel scarves.  This is the *last* warp - hurrah!

Cheers,

Laura

Wed, 01/05/2011 - 02:08

msthimble

Happy New Year from NYC

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year from the Big Apple!  One million people were in Times Square to welcome 2011- we could hear them cheering at midnight from my apartment 12 blocks away.  Pictured is my dog Fog, everyone's favorite Party Animal.  He is wearing a handwoven collar, sorry that it is not shown in the photo, but others are in my projects folder.  I spent New Year's Eve at home, twisting and knotting fringe on a chenille scarf. 

X Gail & Fog

Wed, 01/05/2011 - 17:34

Deanna (not verified)

After not getting a white Christmas, the snow hit with a bang right after.  I spend my day off helping the sisters clean out and organize sister #2's studio.  (hubby said he needed a room for his computer stuff and her cabinet of doll collections had to be moved...keep in mind she has two room 1 for the sewing and one for the computer and photography to sell sewing)  After a great day with sisters, the snow started falling mid-day.  I ended up driving home in the worst.  My 45 minute commute became a 2 1/2 hour of terror.  It took me 30 minutes of pacing when I got home to calm down.  THAT is my last snow drive for a couple of years.

         

Wed, 01/05/2011 - 21:39

Claudia Segal (not verified)

My youngest son got married last Friday (New Year's Eve) in California on the beach.  Here is a picture of the ceremony.

Here is my mom, AJ and me:

It was lovely.

Claudia

Thu, 01/06/2011 - 00:35

francorios (not verified)

Congratulations Claudia! How did you arrange for the weather to be cooperative? It looks like a beautiful day!
Thu, 01/06/2011 - 01:12

Claudia Segal (not verified)

It was just lovely.  I think AJ and Sarah are the ones who arranged for the good weather.  We were on the beach in Carlsbad which had just had 5" of rain in the week prior to the wedding.  The entire weekend was sunny and in the 50s.  The beach was very windy at the end of the day but no one really noticed.  

Claudia : )

Thu, 01/06/2011 - 17:12

graciela (not verified)

Congratulations! Thank you for sharing this beautiful moment.

Thu, 01/06/2011 - 21:01

francorios (not verified)

For our Orthodox Christian brethren, Wishing you Joyful Ephiphany Jan 6 (Gregorian Calendar) and Happy Christmas Jan 7 (Julian Calendar) http://www.voanews.com/english/news/europe/Orthodox-Christians-Observe-Christmas-113015424.html Have a joyful day!
Thu, 01/06/2011 - 22:33

suzyhok

Blogged about our wonderful end to 2010 and start of 2011 spent up the road a bit at Hilton Head, SC... here (scroll down a bit to see the entry...

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 02:44

msthimble

Claudia, they look like they are glowing! What a beautiful occassion!   THanks for posting!

XO Gail & Fog

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 03:19

Claudia Segal (not verified)

It was a wonderful occasion and they are very happy together.  It was very special and they are a good pair.

Gail, I love the pic of Fog but not so sure he's loving it.  

Happy New Year all.

Claudia

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 05:09

laurafry

My corner of the world will be shifting south and east starting tomorrow (for 3+ weeks).  :)  Hoping to see some sun in FL - found my swimsuit and hopefully it will be warm enough to do some swimming during my 'off' days.

I'm leaving both looms empty - which is a bit of a wrench for me!  Before I can weave when I get home I have to dress both looms!

Cheers,

Laura

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 12:10

Michael White

Laura, I hope you are heading to South, South Fl as we have a new cold front heading our way. Calling for snow in Atlanta Sunday afternoon and Monday with the temp dropping. Have fun in FL.

Michael

Fri, 01/07/2011 - 20:30

laurafry

I arrive in Atlanta Sat evening, hopefully before the snow, then shuttle to JCC in NC on Sunday afternoon.  The last two weekends I'll be in FL where they've been having colder than usual temps, but hopefully there will be some sun.  And by the time I get home the days here will be much longer which will make spring seem close.  Well, closer, anyway.  :D

Cheers,

Laura

"see" y'all in Feb.  :)

Sat, 01/08/2011 - 14:51

sally orgren

I just took a 9 yard warp off the loom—WOo HOo!

I am planning to tie on a quickie new warp to the old so I don't have to rethread. The old was 10/2 cotton in Bronson at 24 epi, the new is Lily Sugar & Cream crochet yarn in plain weave at 8 epi.

Before cutting off the old warp, I treadled in a pair of lease sticks between the castle and the reed. Then I cut the finshed fabric off at the front and removed the reed, since it will need to be resleyed.

The lease sticks in the front are going to maintain my threading order and add a little extra tension when beaming back to front. My goal is to try and weave off the whole baby blanket in a weekend. (Right. As long as life doesn't intrude...) The longest part of this process will probably be tying 336 ends of the old to the new with the weaver's knot!

Sat, 01/08/2011 - 16:38

francorios (not verified)

Back to the routine. In USA the Thanksgiving Holiday (4th Thursday in Nov) usually means a 4 day weekend and is traditionally the start of the Christmas Holiday season (Dec 25). Then comes the New Year's Holiday (Jan 1). There is much feasting and merriment as families and friends gather for the celebrations. Then it ends. There is Martin Luther King Jr Day (3rd Monday in Jan) and then nothing until Memorial Day (last Monday in May). So it is back to the five day work week for many of us.

And there comes the train! Sacramento has a light rail system that feeds into Downtown from outlying areas. Being a capitol city, many state and federal workers head downtown on the trains that roll every fifteen minutes during the day. People step up to the train, people in wheelchairs or who cannot step up can use the small platforms to enter the train. You can see the small platform to the right of the train.

At this time of year, it is dark when I get on the train at 6:55 AM and dark when I get home about 5:55 PM. When I get downtown I transfer to a bus to get to the office which is across the river from the State Capitol. But I can get 80 minutes of reading or weaving time on the average day. If I drive to work, I can save 30 minutes each way, but I get zero minutes of reading and weaving. That's my corner of the world, near Watt Ave and Highway 50, Sacramento, Calif. Have a good day!

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 16:51

sally orgren

Our guild had an exciting meeting yesterday! What was possibly historic about this meeting is that it was a live webcast (via Weavolution) to our remote members living in such diverse states as NV, MA, and CO. The program lasted about 1.5 hours. Prior to yesterday, the only similar thing I could conjure up was my experiences with Skype, and this was *nothing* like that. (For those of you who have offered classes or taken classes here at Weavo, you already know what I am talking about in terms of the difference!)

Like most guilds, Frances Irwin Handweavers is typically not an early-adapter when it comes to technology. Our operating budget is about $1,500-2000, with $500 off the top for insurance, so that barely covers one paid program per year.

For the lecture yesterday, our presenter used her overhead projector. (Yes, they ARE still around — I was SO surprised!) The presentation involved woven samples, handouts, and physical demonstrations. So the information was presented in a variety of ways, it wasn't just a podium-lecture, or a projected presentation from a laptop (which would be *MUCH* easier to webcast than what we did!) We used the free wireless available at the public library, not a super-fast speed or anything fancy. For the members in the room, it was SO exciting to see our former members face-to-face, in real time! When they had a question, their face would pop up on our screen and we could have a real-time conversation with them. At the end, we had a shout-out to our remote members for show and tell. It was fantastic to see what they were currently working on, (in living detail!) or hear about what was going to be on their looms next. There was just such a warm feeling in the meeting room to have these members with us in real time, it's a bit hard to describe. The miles just melted away. We appreciated the opportunity to have them make contributions to the group again! Claudia Segal was fantastic. She made the event seamless, with a lot of step-by-step technical help as our remote members logged in, and she gave me pointers well before the presentation. I DID catch her off-guard though — for show and tell, she got called upon just like everyone else in the room! We'd like to purse more opportunities to broadcast guild meetings in the future to stay in touch with our remote members.

BTW, the topic of the meeting was a member-directed program on diversified plain weave. Our presenter (Leslie Lyman, a former elementary teacher) and our guild co-president (Sue Oiler), acted out the shuttle paths of the thick and thin wefts, (which actually worked, as it made me remember the complicated shuttle order better.) Think about it, it takes a VERY confident person to volunteer to represent the "thick" thread! ;-) I am curious, has any other guild done a live webcast of their meetings before with an interactive component, or are we truly the first?

It was so amazing—thank you Weavolution! Sally

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 17:21

suzyhok (not verified)

You may just be the first!  How exciting to use technology this way!  And the possibilities are fantastic!  

I used to do video conferences with my middle school art students in Albany, NY with students in Tokyo, Japan using SKYPE (and also some conferencing program the school district bought into but not accessible to all...)  It's such a fantastic way to connect over the miles.  

I'm curious how you did it?  Did you use the built in webcam on your laptop or a stand-alone webcam?  You mentioned you had weavers connected from several different locations - fantastic!  We need more of this -- maybe a new group on Weavolution (Techno-geeks)???

My old book club in NYS has mentioned trying to help me stay connected by using SKYPE.  Maybe we'll just have to try it!

Tue, 01/11/2011 - 20:40

weave2 (not verified)

of technology!  Another way of us weavers keeping connected, now but only by yarn, but by fiber cable. 

And yes, Claudia is fantastic!

Wed, 01/12/2011 - 00:11

Michael White

I have two overhead projecters I purchased from the local BofED for $3 each. They are going to "Smart Boards" We use them to make cartoons for weaving transparencies. High tech-low tech what ever works.

Michael

Wed, 01/12/2011 - 03:59

jordanj (not verified)

Here's what it was like snowshoeing in Central Oregon last week.

Wed, 01/12/2011 - 17:39

sally orgren

Responding to Suzy's message #38.

We just used a laptop for the transmission (mainly for it's built in camera and mic). We had a camcorder available, but didn't use it. I am not familair with camcorders at all, plus, I was advised the laptop camera or an external webcam might "parse the data" at a rate more compatible with the wireless speed the library offered.

If you HAVE an external webcam, that would be ideal. (And I am thinking an external mic to better pick up the presenter, if you have a presenter who likes to pace around a lot! ; - )

Believe me, I seem to have a huge black spot hovering over me when it comes to dealing with computers, so if I can do this, ANYONE can! The service Weavolution uses is amazingly reliable, (unlike Skype) and Claudia helped our newbies on the remote connections log in easily, and make sure their audio was on, and all that.

A notable difference with Skype, Weavo's product allows multiple video connections, 30 audio, and Skype only allows video with one other person at a time. So that is what made this great. We have 7 remote members in 6 different states. 4 opted to join in yesterday. Still giddy at how cool the whole thing was! 

Wed, 01/12/2011 - 19:44

Jerri S

The snow doesn't bother me, this is, afterall, NW New Jersey. It's the other drivers on the roads when the first flake hits that scares me!

Meanwhile, I did reschedule my office appointments today,even tho the sun is trying to peek out. So I can weave, or better still, put a warp (already wound) on the Baby Wolf. It's dishtowels for an exchange, the Labryinth pattern from VAV in light and dark blue cottolin.

Oh, the picture, just wondering who our visitor was; s/he clearly had some fun!

Fri, 01/14/2011 - 23:55

debmcclintock

I am doing loads of laundry, we spent a week up in the Canadian Rockies cross country sking.  Living in Central Texas we don't get much of an opportunity to ski here!  So we join some friends for a week of beautiful scenery.  This is a photo a friend took of me coming up the hill.  

I was tempted to harvest some lichens and bring them across the border but decided discipline would be a good thing.  I resisted!

I always long for my watercolor kit to capture the wonderful neutral palette of winter, gray, white, brown, green and beige with some bright red and orange interspersed on the trees.  At -29 centigrade I am sure my paint would freeze before I could get all the colors on the paper!

Now that the laundry is done it is time to get back to the loom and finish my rug and my sample exchange packet (of course that means I need to finish winding a warp to tie on.....always another project)

Peter Lougheed

Sat, 01/15/2011 - 15:09

Michael White

Cheryl said to tell you to put anti-freeze in you paint (g) but remember not to lick the brushes. Your picture looks like down town Atlanta (Peachtree Street) with out the mountains. The news shows people ice skating on this icy main throughway in Atlanta.

Michael 

Sat, 01/15/2011 - 15:54

debmcclintock

LOL!  I'll remember the paint thinner! I can't believe the snow that the south is getting!  Having grown up in Houston, Tx, lived in the Delaware area, vacationed in northern New York and Canada I am well aware of the different approaches folks take to driving on and disposing of the snow pack!  Do you guys even have snowplows in Georgia?  Hope the heat wave gets there soon, the ice from melting snow is no fun!

Sun, 01/16/2011 - 00:13

Marsha A. Knox (not verified)

Being a FL girl until this last year, I have never in my 52 yrs seen anything like this.  Awesome!

Sun, 01/16/2011 - 00:49

Michael White

Being a transplant NYer I know how to drive on snow. It's the other guy with the big SUV that thinks they can go anywhere, at any speed... No we have no snow plows in our county,  just a couple of motorgraders. It has not been pretty. It was warm today so everything is wet "waiting" to refreeze, fun, fun and more fun. On a better note we had 100s of robins here today. I guess they are still moving South. They were going through the leaves on the ground where the snow had melted and also eating berries from the trees. Next time we see them Spring will be in the air.

Michael

 

Sun, 01/16/2011 - 04:09

francorios (not verified)

 

 

The Sacramento Valley has been cloudy, overcast, and foggy after the recent rains. So we had to escape. We drove 50 miles up Highway 50 to Sly Park (elevation 4000 ft). Way above the fog! This is my lovely wife and the dogs at the lakeside.

 

This is a picture through the sunroof of our car which is a PT Cruiser. As you can see the sky is blue and the trees are tall. We drove around the lake looking for campsites to use in the spring and summer.

 

But we had to go back home and on the way down we met the fog again. It was a good day! Franco Rios, Sacramento, Calif

Sun, 01/16/2011 - 12:55

1gardenia (not verified)

You guys are lucky to have all that snow.  Can't you send the snowstorm our way?  Usually, we are the ones to get the snow here in the Laurentians.  But this year, we don't have that much.  It is even suppose to rain on Tuesday in Montreal.  Have a nice day!