Terra Looms Are Catching ON

I was sad to see the peeled cedar loom go, but two women were trying to outbid each other over it, so someone had to have it. The silent auction experience allowed me to present the loveliest loom yet to the public. Orders may come in as a result. One order just came to me from a friend, small birch table top style. My hopes that these would be something people would want have been realized. I must get busy.....bye for now.

Terra Loom for Silent Auction

This new loom is going to be available at a silent auction on Sept. 25th, at the Vermont Coverts 25th anniversary celebration.. I am a member of the group and on the board of directors, so I offered up this
loom out of wood from our land (except for the driftwood). I am getting more confident in the construction of the looms, still run into unforeseen problems with cutting and drilling , but for the most part, they come out pretty nice. This would probably sell for 75.00, but we shall see what people who have never seen one before are willing to pay. The money goes to a good cause, www.vtcoverts.org, so I am glad to do it.

Terra Loom With Alpacas

This loom was finished today and is on its way to an alpaca breeder in Irasburg. The barn board detail of alpacas is compliments of Kyla Myott's board, Kathleen van Gelder's alpaca cookie cutter and my scroll saw, and other tools. The loom will be on display at the Big E where Kathleen and her alpacas will be showing off their great fiber coats. She is promoting alpaca fiber for all manner of crafts, and also helping get the word out about Terra Looms. Kyla and I will be at the Alpaca Breeder's Assoc. gathering at Champlain Valley Expo, in Essex, VT during the 3rd weekend in Oct, using and showing off the Terra Looms we have made. Kathleen will have her new one there and will be weaving along with us. It's catching!!!

Crocheted Birthday Gifts

Grace and David were thrilled with their crocheted gifts, can't you tell? Tina Turtle was a big hit when the eggs inside her were discovered. The sock monkey became Mrs. Fred and when the hat came off showing the white head, David couldn't stop laughing. The first thing he said was "I want to sleep with him". I guess the hand made toys really are a big hit. I am glad to know that.

An NEK Sock Monkey for David

 

Another sock monkey is born in the NEK.

This one is a birthday present for my 3 year

old step-grandson. Do you think he will like it? I seem to go back to red, brown, green and tan yarn, very north woodsy, but also, well, Christmasy.  Look for the next post of David and his monkey and its name. His sister, Grace will also be receiving her Tina Turtle today. (see earlier post)

Farmer's Market Bag

This marketing bag is made from cotton nubby yarn using double crochet stitches. Somewhat challenging pattern for me, I kept ripping it out and starting over somewhere. Now is the time to use it as the harvest season is well upon us here in northern Vermont. Next picture will be of it full of veggies to show its capacity. On to the next project, a sock monkey for my grandson. This little boy was instantly attached to the sock monkey that Kyla made for the Irasburg Church Fair. He even licked it!! They are such lovable toys. We are planning to try them in alpaca yarn that will make them soo very soft.

Terra Looms for Children

Terra looms are a perfect place for kids to lose themselves in creation. They choose their special things to weave in and then they just.... weave. At two and a half, the boy on the right developed his own style of just grabbing a bunch of strings together and wrapping the yarn around it. We decided to do the same all the way across and realized that it was a "pattern" and could be used to tie on things like beads. These moments were the most gratifying for us at the craft fair, because we could really demonstrate our products with the public.

Irasburg Church Fair

Terra Looms and birdhouses made it to our first craft fair of the summer. The barnboard birdhouses of Kyla's Country Crafts went like hot cakes. The Terra Looms were a first for the fair and something the most people in the Northeast Kingdom had never seen before.  

Full Circle

When I started to crochet, I began this circle rug. I never knew crochet hooks could be so huge. Finishing up projects of old, I have only a bit more on the last round to do and am looking for black fabric. Deets the cat found that is it very, very soft to walk on and work his claws on. Hey, so what, it is all old fabric strips anyway, he can't really hurt it. And yes it is soft to walk on, I had not realized this. I think that is another reason to make rugs like this, using fabric that has no further purpose and perhaps has some memories attached. In this rug I can see the curtains, skirts and jumpers that I used to wear, or fabric that was donated from friends. So I call this rug, "Diary".

Summer Jute and String Bag

Using sisal, twine from the hardware store, colored nylon string and beads, this summer bag was made quickly on large crochet hooks. The pattern came from a book by Sally Harding, Quick Crochet Huge Hooks. It is about 13 in tall by 11 in diameter. It seems quite rugged. It was however, a bit tough on the hands. Sally's book of ideas for big needle knitting is arriving this week. These projects go fast and are easier for me to hold on to and SEE! What I like about all this is that the products are coming out faster and faster as I get better.