Thursday, October 01, 2015

Blocks -and a Trip around the Sun

My blogging has been somewhat sporadic lately.  My life has been busy - but fun.  I am truly enjoying my retirement years. While I have had to learn to live on less, I am enjoying the adventure.

This week I made several blocks of the "Sort of Square in a Square."  These were made with stash fabrics by cutting smaller squares to put in the corners and sew on the diagonal. I am letting these be somewhat free form.  All of the "squares" in the center are not square. I think it looks more interesting this way.
These are not trimmed yet....and I could lose some points. But remember - free form - it is okay. There is the one I started with added to this mix (lower left) I used the leftovers from the corners to make bonus squares and got the very bottom square. And I have a few more bonus squares.
Notice the oddness on the top two?  That happens when making the square in square this way. I consider it a bit more visually interesting.

I also celebrated another "trip around the sun" - also known as a birthday.  I have a friend who is a traditional weaver, spinner and Saori freestyle weaver.  On her traditional loom, she makes these amazing rainbow dish towels.  After looking (and lusting) for many months, I decided to get one for my birthday.
These are nicely sized. Mine measures 27" by 15 34/" 
I am considering using it as a table scarf rather than as a towel.  I am messy in the kitchen and would hate to mess it up.  Since it is cotton, if I had to (gasp) bleach it out, the colors would fade or possibly be lost. And if you are lusting too...her shop is HERE. Right now there are none of these in stock but I know she has some on her loom.  So use the "convo" thing on Etsy to let her know you are interested.

And finally,  I bought myself two classes on Craftsy for my birthday.  I got an email about a sale on "anything in your wish list" for $19.99 or less.   Imagine my shock when I found two that I wanted for only $9.99 each.  So I am "Improving my Knitting" and learning "Tunisian Crochet"
Sadly the sale is over, but I decided I do suggest that you go over and start a wish list on the site.  Hopefully, you will get a special sale on your birthday too.
Full Disclosure:  I am a Craftsy affiliate and using these links to purchase classes may result in compensation to me.  That said, I do love most of the Craftsy classes I have taken.  And if you ever buy a class you find disappointing, Craftsy has a money-back guarantee that I have used in the past.
Remember, learning helps to keep your brain active. So it is a great thing to do.

Craftsy
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger" - I can not reply.

5 comments:

DebbieB said...

Oh, Gene - I'm so glad you're happy with your towel. It sure does make me happy to weave them!

Barbara said...

Nice blocks, wonky and all! Happy Birthday! Seems you just had a birthday. The older we get, tha faster they come and go. Beautiful woven piece, I'd do all I could to preserve it as is.

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

Happy Birthday Gene! The towel is beautiful, great colors. I would use it as a table scarf too.

Marjorie said...

Gene, I know how hard it is to keep up with a blog when you're having fun! Love the dish towel--and I too, would use it as a dresser scarf. I love the block in a block and always make my triangles larger so that my center blocks "float". It makes putting blocks together easier, but also nice if you have squares that aren't square.

MarthaVA said...

Gene, I'm sorry I missed your birthday! I hope it was very happy!
I really should look into Craftsy classes, and when I do, I'll try to remember to link through you. I need to improve my knitting and have always wanted to learn Tunisian Crochet. I have the hook, but haven't figured it out yet.
When I had my 4 shaft loom, I made some towels. I love my towels. I don't want to get them stained either, but if I do stain them, I use SHOUT which gets out just about anything, especially if you use it right away. It doesn't have to be washed right away either. In fact if it sits a day or 2, then I spray it again, just to be sure....
I have one towel that I actually use when I'm cooking and don't want to splatter on myself. It's pretty large for a towel, and entirely covers the front of any shirt I'm wearing (and I'm not tiny). It's like an apron - I've often thought, I should just make straps to sew on and I could wear it around my neck! lol