Right now we have 851 heroes waiting for adoption. Even though new Angels join every day, the reinforcements headed to Afghanistan make for a continuous need. You’ve probably already adopted (if you haven’t yet, please do!), so give someone else the opportunity to enjoy the rewards of supporting a hero: Tell a stranger about Soldiers’ Angels today!

and one of the babies just after nursing…

Nothing like a happy baby!

I am so excited to meet Emma’s owner, Sandra! She and my family are members of the Sweetwater Camera Club. Slobo scheduled a photo field trip for the club to her and her husband’s farm and I got to tag along and see what her sheep and the farm look like.

Sandra and her husband raise babydoll sheep on their Sweetwater Creek Ranch farm. Babydoll’s are an old-world breed, miniature Southdown sheep, and they are absolutely adorable. Her goal is to increase the population of this rare breed. I am excited at the chance to shadow her so that I can learn more about caring for these sheep and get to know my future wool providers.

With all of the flooding in our counties the past month, unfortunately, her pasture is still a wetland. You can see some of the water in the picture of Emma above. She relayed the panic they felt the night of the heaviest flooding a few weeks ago. Her husband woke her up at midnight to let her know the creek had flooded it’s banks and was quickly engulfing the pasture. She said the water eventually rose to the roof of their barn (They have about a 10 ft tall barn). They were able to rescue most of the sheep, but sadly one was lost in the rising water. The sheep had to be kept in her basement until the water receded from the barn. She is now having to give them round the clock feed until the water can drain from the once lush pasture.

While, I was there, Sandra and I talked about fleeces. She has tried to wash the raw fleeces herself but ran into so many problems from allergies to felting, that she decided to use a fiber mill. With the $300 price tag for processing, it was not worth messing with it (as she says, I don’t knit, spin, or weave – so why do it?). However, being a knitter, spinner, and weaver – I’m jumping at the chance to give it a try! In the spring, when the sheep shearer makes her rounds to the farms, I will be able to purchase the fleeces from her seven sheep at a very good price. From what I have read, the fleeces work into a yarn with the equivalent softness of cashmere and with a gorgeus variety of color. It will be a wonderful opportunity to process, spin, and weave wool that is from sheep which I get to befriend! Yes, I am in sheep nirvana…………………

P.S. I’ve finally woven off the warp from the loom I built, making 4 dishtowels and 2 dishcloths. While the towels were gifted the moment they came off the loom – I do have one cloth that I’ll post a picture about along with plans for building a loom of your own. Coming soon….

In the previous post I mentioned problems encountered with the first weave on the tabletop loom. Now for the pictures and explanation of the latest changes. I share this not only to track my own projects, but for other newbies…

Just as the business end of a spinning wheel is not the wheel but one of it’s smallest parts, the flyer on the mother of all (don’t ya love these names?).. the most important part of the loom is the reed that sits in the beater. How straight and parallel each of these dents (spaces between the reed) are, is a huge factor in how even the weave is.

While the oatley plastic reeds did not work out so good… they ARE fun for kids to build structures using twist ties or pipe cleaners with… so all is not lost.

Here’s a picture of what I mean about the importance of the reeds. Notice the ‘opening’ of the weave? That is where the reeds bowed a little creating a little more open dent in those spaces.

Here is a picture showing the sleyed reeds which reveals where the dent spacing was off on these lines:

So, if you are going to build a loom – plan to either make a reed using the stiffest, thinnest, straightest reeds you can find or better yet – save money on the loom frame by building it out of scrap wood and put your money into the best reed you can afford – carbon or stainless steel.

Purchased reeds I find range from 3 1/2″ – 4 1/2″ in height and the widths are measured at the inside dent spacing – so add an inch or two to the overall length for what will fit inside of your beater. The grooves for the beater frame on my barn loom are 5/8″ wide. I wasn’t able to find that information anywhere else – so just FYI.

The photograph of the cloth on the table is after it had been machine washed and dried and carried around in Slobo’s camera bag as a lens cover for a week. Where the weave is more open (at the arrows) is a 1/4″ weft stripe of aunt lydia’s #10 crochet cotton. The remaining warp is the remains of a putty colored bamboo / nylon blend knitting yarn I had lying around (about 3 times the diameter of the crochet cotton).

A couple of his clients said they would like to buy some dishtowels made like that – so if they liked that… who knows what the future holds… maybe lots of warp in a new reed?

I leave you with glimpses of the last changes (hopefully) that are needed to the table top loom. I have been making those today and will have pictures soon:

The shed created is too small….

so, I need to move the beater closer to the heddles:

I’ve lengthened the sides to 31 1/2 long x 6″ tall using some old pine dresser drawer fronts I already had, to give more room to create the shed.

I’ve also taken off the top and bottom of the beater frame and am using 2″ wide pieces in order to get the beater a little closer to the castle. The old 6″ wide piece at the top prevented it from getting closer.

Once I have a good loom, whose only hurdle is my skill level, I’ll post the drawn plan so others can build one too.

The table-top loom that I’ve been building, while it wove a few inches in an hour, required alot of babysitting to make a good weave. While perusing Ebay pictures for ideas on changes I could make to my loom, I ran into this ad (you can click the picture to view the link):

I sent the link to Michael. We laughed and said why don’t things like this come up when we have money? I kept drawing out plans. About an hour went by, when he comes in and says, “What’s the chances? The two text link ad companies just sent me my payment two days early and it’s a dollar more than we need to get the loom. Want a loom? Interested in a road trip to TN? WAS I???? DID I????

With baited breath, Michael waited until the last possible moment to bid on the loom. I thought for sure that since our maximum bid was so low that the other person bidding would win it, so I did not get my hopes up. Michael’s maximum outbid the other person by 2.50. He paypal’d the money right away and sent an email asking if we could pick it up the next day.

We heard back from Mrs. Smith the next day around 12pm, that we could come and get it, so we were rushing to pack pb&j sandwiches, milk, and coffee and off we headed to Del Rio, TN. About 6 hours away. We arrived just as it had gotten dark. Del Rio is a small town that you reach by winding roads crossing over rivers. There are alot of abandoned buildings which proclaim the difficult times keenly felt in alot of these small communities.

We met Mrs. Smith at a parking lot and followed her to her home about 12? or was it 20? miles into their small town until we came to rest in the driveway beside the loom. Mr. and Mrs. Smith and ‘Grandma’ were the nicest people one would ever want to meet. It was just like going back to Gauley Bridge, WV to visit family. ‘ Grandma’ was so tiny and looked soooo much like my great-grandma Ward that I just knew Lula Belle was smiling down from heaven at me!

Mrs. Smith gave me a copy of a letter from a lady that helped her in determining what type of loom she had and how best to sell it. She also reminded me again that there was a loom just like it at Red Clay Park. We were definitely going to check it out. We arrived home around midnight.

The boys were total angels on the trip. I was surprised, tho, to hear Michael asking the next day, if I wanted to make one more drive up to TN to see the loom at the park. The boys were excited and said – Yeah – c’mon Mom – let’s go. (They were hoping for a chance to bird watch in TN), lol So again, it was 12 in the afternoon, we packed more sandwiches and headed back up. This time, we made it to the park with 45 minutes to spare before it closed at 4:30pm, thanks to a shortcut up to Cartersville that Michael discovered.

The loom is upstairs in an employees only section, but the lady at the desk was kind enough to allow us to go up and take pictures. Afterwards, we hurriedly walked to each of the buildings, took a few pictures, and then it was back into the truck to see what we could see before dark. There had been an ice storm a few days before. We went to ‘rock city’, stomped on a few snow burms and bought some rock city fudge for a return home treat.

This is the loom that resides at Red Clay park:

There are a great deal more pictures of it and all the other looms, which I will upload in the next few week into my flickr albums and at antique spinning wheels and looms. This loom had some neat features. The rawhide straps used in the castle’s rods, the turquoise blue dyed heddle strings to readily identify the dent spacings and the original reed made from true reeds. It is a beautiful loom! It has a rag rug on it, put there for show. While the reed is sleyed, the heddle strings are not.

Red Clay loom from the back

Red Clay loom from the side

I think my favorite is the rawhide straps – such a creative solution that is! I’ve found that barn looms definitely offer the most creative solutions! Also notice the beams’ ratcheting holes with the dowel?

And, now, my new baby…… She and I have come a long way, together, these two weeks.

Loom Front (she has a 6 dent, 22 1/2″ carbon reed that I brushed and sanded most of the rust off of. There is room for a longer one on each side)

Loom Side

Plywood Ratchet and Pawl at warp beam

Ratchet and Pawl at front beam

Lambs and Treadles from the front

Lambs and Treadles from the back

Beater Peg

The loom was still warped with a wool two ply yarn. I made a time capsule of sorts, in a brown paper lunch bag (my momento of our trip to get her) and placed inside it the following fragments which I was able to save when cleaning her up:

one of the apron’s tied sections

two fragments of a broken heddle bar cord (notice loop is tied with sewing thread and not the usual metal clasp) and a section of the warped 2-ply wool yarn

A small section of the fabric woven that was on the cloth beam

and, last but not least, the only intact 11″ heddle string remaining

I will attach this bag to the inside of the loom so that whomever should get her again one day, can glimpse a bit of the life that this old loom has led.

The only item missing from the loom was the very top counterbalance bar, and since two of the heddle bars were made from broomsticks:

I’m continuing the broomstick tradition and have used my own at the top.

She stands as a time capsule in and of herself, a lovely tribute – to all of the creative, loving, and kind people who have tugged at her apron strings to give them comfort when they needed it most and…..

I LOVE HER!

The warp design comes from a set of dishtowels we bought last year from Foxfire’s shop, woven by The Village Weaver, Sharon Grist. They are a simple plain weave. The dent works out to 20 EPI. I love these towels and everything else that the Village Weaver has! Since there were no more available at the store, I decided this pattern was going to be my first weaving lesson.

I ended up making a few changes to the loom after the first warping revealed some functional issues:

1. The two-ended screw and glue for the knobs (table legs) did not work out. If you’ve ever had a curtain rod finial that stripped and spun, you can visualize the problem.

Here is the newest solution:

We ended up cutting the legs down to a 1 1/2″ thickness (to get around the pins) and used 3″ wood screws in predrilled holes directly into the beams. On each beam knob end now is a hasp with metal dowel running through it with a cotter pin to hold it on. This works out good. The pin placements ended up giving really good tension too, so I was happy about that.

2. I first warped from back to front, using the ‘ruler with nails’ raddle and rubber bands to keep the threads down. The problem is the threads overlap eachother when I took the warp off the warping board. I can’t imagine there’s a way to prevent it from happening. I did tie choke ties at each yard center and placed ties on each side of the cross and end peg, made the braid as it came off the warping board, and draped it directly to the beam – trying to be careful not to ‘overly touch’ it. In the future I will weave a folded string between the epi spacings and see if that helps to keep things flattened and in place.

The overlapping and tangling became a nightmare tho as I tried to warp from back to front with lease sticks tied to the back beam. The tension was so tight from the snarls and tangles behind the lease sticks, that I had to have Slobo gradually wind the warp threads all the way back onto the front beam while I used a hair comb and untagled the threads from the back beam as they closed in on the lease sticks. THAT was really tedious and aggravating – so there must be a better way to do that or I did something wrong. By time the warp was all picked up by the front beam, my original end peg loop had slack in alot of spaces on the back apron, which tells me the yarn must have stretched an awful lot in the tangling/detangling. I hope to find a weaver who will share some information about that.

Reed replacement:

The heddle threading and sleying of the reed went well tho after I replaced the reed….

3. The initial reeds that I made the beater reed from had the growth rings from the bamboo on them. Since then, having seen reed beaters up close at a museum, I see they are always straight. Chalk up lesson #1.

The solution was to build another reed. Yes, I could have bought one, but would need to wait at least 3-4 weeks and I’d really like to know what other options would work. Let’s face it, our ancestors didn’t have an internet store to turn to and I don’t have a local reed source.

With blissful thoughts that there must be something else around that would work and allow drilling of holes to be threaded onto rods, Slobo discovers Plastic Hanger Strapping in the plumbing dept.

While I think it would have been more accurate to use craft sticks (the non-rounded end ones from Walmart) and just tie them to two sticks at each end with some glue when done, for some strange reason I was determined to find a replacement that would work with the washers. lol

The strapping brand is Oatley and it’s gray plastic. One roll of 3/4″ x 100 feet was 9.00. It comes in plastic, steel, copper, and galvanized. The metals have sharper edges, so I opted for the plastic which has a small beveled edge. The plastic allows the threads to slide very nicely in the dent spaces (mined are doubled up in the dent).

Here you can see the difference between the reed made from actual reeds and the reed made from the plastic strapping. The reeds would have worked if they were all as even as the ones to the right. The plastic made a better solution.

It comes with predrilled holes, but they are too small to thread onto a rod and are not lined up exactly, so you must drill new holes. Because it is on a roll, it has to be flattened.

This is how to flatten them:

1. Cut 6″ strips (this will end up as a 5 1/2″ tall beater reed after threading. Kitchen scissors will do this easily.
2. Lay the strips out on a foil covered cookie sheet (abt 24-30 will fit per cookie sheet). Put another cookie sheet on top of the strips and place the heaviest pots you have (Slobo used three cast iron pots).
3. Bake at 250′ F oven for 12-14 minutes.
4. The key to flattening out perfectly straight is to quickly cool the strips in a freezer. Remove them from the cookie sheets and place in freezer for about 15-20 minutes until cooled completely thru.

The oven is not hot enough to melt the strips, but will be hot enough to soften the plastic so that it will lie flat. If you don’t cool them quickly, they will still bow tho as they contract. So freezing is key.

Once they have cooled, you can take them out and drill the hole for the threaded rod to pass through at the top and bottom of each one. I made a little jig to hold stacks of 12 that had been taped together tightly using masking tape. See, when you drill plastic, little burrs will from around the holes and ‘lift’ each strip up pushing the next one. The best way to deal with this is to tape them together tightly at each end and in the middle, then the burrs will only be on the first and last one (sometimes in the middle, but not many).

Finally, a razor blade will slice any burrs off easily when held level with the strip to cut.

The placement on the threaded rods went:

1. #10 bolt.
2. A 6″ joist tie plate (galvanize plate where joist hangars are sold) drilled at each end for the rod. Drilling this plate is really easy as the metal is fairly soft but doesn’t easily bend.
3. Washer then strip. The #10 washers gave a 10-12 dent spacing.
4. Finish with another 6″ joist tie plate.
5. Bolt on the end of the top and bottom rods.

Finally, after having little tools all over to keep track of, a tool tray was needed. I built it from 1/4″ thick poplar and used joist hangers again to attach it high enough on the castle to clear the handle.

Once I get the tensions evened out on the warp strings it should be ready to go. While I’ll keep you posted on how it goes, Slobo bought me a new ‘old’ primitive floor loom from a lady in Del Rio, TN that I cannot wait to post about! There was a similar loom at Red Clay State Park in TN that a lady was kind enough to let us photograph and see up close. I’m working on gathering pics and info for it now and will post soon…

Until then…. May your life be filled with many firsts.

It only took 45 minutes to convert the balls to tangle-free easy-store bobbins. Just remove the cardboard tube from the center by squishing it down and locate the center-pull string (on the squared balls).

Using parts from my very first sewing machine and some scrap wood, I made an electric bobbin winder. It was really – really easy to make. Give it a try! You’ll be delighted with it! Here’s a video of it being used for the first time – Thanks to my slobo!

After getting much faster on the second bobbin, a leather glove was necessary to prevent finger burn from the thread. I borrowed our 8 yr. old’s leather workman glove.

For the end of the prong, I just used the pulley from the motor. It has a tiny set screw that you can use to position it along the shaft. Something similar for the other end would work too. Another rubber stopper would work just as well.

If you want one that you can use any size/type bobbin in, I imagine the ends of plumb bobs with a sliding bookend dealie-thing-a-ma-bob would work well too, The bore shaft will fit a McDonald’s drinking straw too, if you want to make your own bobbins with cardboard disks.

I did need to put a layer of masking tape on the shaft end of the motor, to fit the bore’s female end on more snugly center. I’m talking one or two wraps with the masking tape tho.

For the curious, I just have it clamped to my drawing board. Rubber banded to the drawing board behind it is the string heddle jig so I could prop up in bed watching old movies while I tied 300 heddle strings. The shaft is a bit off-center because I did not take the time to find exact center on my rubber stopper. Finding center is a good thing.

With visions of a mini-lathe and electric spinning fly wheels – I leave you with confidence that if I can pull this off – so can you!

Want to see more Slobo videos?
Here is one of my favorite Slobo videos of a day we spent in the mountains with the kids – puddle jumping.

I made the loom using different ideas from patterns found here and here and here. The last link being the one I used the most before finding the other two. Since my woodworking skills nor weaving knowledge are sufficient to try a 4+ harness loom, I made a two harness counterbalance for a first go.

I started out thinking I had all the scrap wood to make it, but alas, it cost another 150.00 for things like metal heddle rods, knobs, pins, cotter pins, bolts and wing nuts, screws, and all the other doo-dads necessary to finish the project. I must say, I was shocked to find out what a couple of bolts cost these days. Still if you have any of the parts hanging around, maybe there’s something here that will inspire you. All – in – all tho, if she works – I would have saved 400.00 and can chalk it up to tuition costs. If nothing else, I’ve learned the names of most of the parts doing this.

The warping board is made with lap joints, bolts, wing nuts, 1/4″ x 1″ x 3″ pine, 1″ poplar dowels (plus 1″ dowels cut from an old maple curtain rod). The specs for it came from Howard Ruttan’s plans for a warping board he made for his wife. I don’t have anywhere near his skill set – but mine’s stable and doesn’t torque, lol. Major accomplishment I tell ya’.

Loom and warping board:

Heddles and Raddle: The Raddle is just a home depot yardstick cut down with finishing nails which I gorilla glued in the holes and the Heddles are (two colors, one for each harness) made from no. 3 Aunt Lydia’s crochet thread in a jig I built from bobscrafts:

Side View (you can see the aprons, apron strings, and other schtuff):

The side view shows the extra holes drilled on the side frame so the castle can move up and down. A feature I read others desired. Most of what you see here, with the exception of the ratcheting system, is made from scraps of wood I had around including maple doweling for the counterbalance portion – came from the kid’s old fabric playhouse.

Closeup of beam ratcheting system:

(octagonal pine table legs, metal pins, and a cotter pin for the hole)

For the first attempt, I tried cutting plywood – that was next to near impossible for me without the right tools, second were wooden wheels from my kids’ wood stash with holes drilled – pin placed – from bobscrafts’ suggestions. This method doesn’t work – unless you are an expert at drilling the holes around a circle as equal distances – something I couldn’t do. Lastly, Michael came up with the idea for the legs and pins after I showed him the old style ratcheting system on colonial looms. It works really good but I need to add vinyl tips because I continue to lean my wrist into the ends of the pins.

Aprons:

Made from 10oz. canvas. One yard, cut into two 18″ x 22″ pieces. These have a double fold hem, 1/2″ then 3″ then topstitched with a double row of stitching. I nailed them to the beams with upholstery tacks every couple of inches. I made 2″ long buttonholes every inch. There are dowels in the 3″ hem, notched every inch, with extra heddle strings slip-knotted onto the notched ends, with a dab of craft glue in the notch to assure they don’t move. The heddles created a nice even length string to attach the ‘outer?’ apron rod to. I used steel rods for these and just slipped them into the heddle eyes..

The beams come from a 1 1/2″ thick walnut curtain rod cut to length, to which I nailed strips of screen door lathing with copper weatherstripping nails. It seemed the addition of the lathe would aid in tensioning, ie… going for that octaganol look.

Beater and Reeds:

For the reeds, I first tried to use the craft stick idea from bobscrafts, but I couldn’t drill the holes necessary for the threaded rod to pass through without the sticks shattering. I had made a jig to stack them, used the dremel in a drill press, but alas, it wouldn’t work. So, having an old reed window shade, I took it apart to see what it was like to weave with a reed beater before spending money on steel reeds. They are tied between square dowels with no. 3 cotton string. I tried using some old waterproof powedered resin from paper mould making days, but alas, the 32 yr. old bucket of resin died on the shelf. So, after brushing away gobs of unset resin, I ran a bead of gorilla glue in it’s place on both sides of the reed, top and bottom. That seems to have worked out well. The reed spacing ended up at 10. That will work for the dish towels I want to make. In the future, still having the craft sticks, washers, and threaded rods, I’ll just use the same method rather than trying to drill.

Of course, the loom needs tools -

10 spool thread stand and old shuttle and pirn from the local antique store: (The stand is made from 6″ dowels, a cabinet door handle, scrap 1×2 for the top, more maple dowels for the sides from the old playhouse, and a 15 1/2″ old bookshelf shelf).

Weft sticks and a reed hook from a craft stick. I’ve since read that plastic lids make good reed hooks, so if this one doesn’t work out good, I’ll make one from a coffee tub lid.

The entire kit and kaboodle has been stained (where blue) and waxed. As soon as the glue dries on the thread stand, I’m looking forward to having a warped weekend!

Wish me luck!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Karlyn!!!!!

One of the books I downloaded is called “Excercises in Knitting” by Cornelia Mee on the AudioOwl website. From there I followed a link to Knit Wiki (who knew?) and found a treasure trove of fun things to try.

The first project is going to be Bon Voyage gloves. I love the cabled cuff and having tried Knitting magazines vintage glove pattern with unsatisfactory results, I thought I’d give this one a try. I’m sewing a new car coat for myself, and we all know, every car coat must have chic gloves.

This pattern uses UK sizes, so go here to see the US Metric needle sizes if needed.

Happy New Year!

The Hillbilly Housewife, and some of her elves’s, are hosting a virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange. If you have a family favorite, you may want to ‘gift’ it this Christmas to the virtual world.

I can’t wait to see all of the wonderful recipes and try some out. My tummy is growling already…………..

Here is our family’s seasonal favorite, Norwegian Fatigman (fot – ee – mon) I have in the recipe to cut into triangles, you can make them that way, the tradition is a diamond shape, like this:

…. and Santa’s favorite, especially when made with Ghiradelli Chocolate Chips added,

Sylvia DeBaar’s recipe for Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies.

I got a great deal on these fabrics at the end of summer when JoAnne’s was having a half off + half off again sale.

Below is the ‘tuscan sun’ cotton velvet from Cristopher Lowell’s collection that I’m using to reupholster our old Olive drab twill sectional:

Here is the fabric I’ll be using for some lined curtains and various cushions:

I’ve reupholstered one half of the pit group and the ottoman. For the ottoman, I dyed some 10 oz. cotton canvas an aqua color and then quilted it for the top piece. That should hold up to three boys and two dogs! You can see a portion of it in the picture below.

The bear is a prototype in the works for a client. She lost two of her children and wanted to have bears made from their articles of clothing. Before cutting into the clothing items, I’ve made a sample from the pattern she provided to proof it. There will be many more embellishments later, but for a bare – bear, he’s kind of cute, don’t you think?

They both are!!!

I almost forgot, I made a pattern off of my Uggs and decided to use the scraps from the boy’s vests to make them some ugglets. I’ll be posting the pattern soon, but for now, here’s a peek at some winged feets:

A new added feature is they want to run an optimization scan of my computer. “It will only take a few minutes…”

So this morning, after, 2 days, 5 hours, 23 minutes, 29 seconds I decide to take my marbles and go home and hit “Optimize with next scan” after clicking their nice big “STOP” button…… 2 days, 5 hours, 31 minutes, 15 seconds now I’m hitting ctrl-alt-del…

This morning’s search reveals many others frustrated with the hijacking of computers by AVG 9.0 and instructions on reverting back to the previous version.

Maybe AVG’s programmers will think twice before shooting out a new release without more thorough testing. It’s all about trust guys!

I am working my way through all of the fabric that I’ve purchased over the months in preparation for our winter growth spurts. One of the things I had bought was a sueded /faux sherpa combo from Hobby Lobby. I bought two yards of each in pink, tan, and chocolate brown. One yard went for vests while the other yard is on my sewing table now, cut into 4 pairs of Ugg style slippers (patterned off of my favorite sheepskin boots).

For the vests, I just draped paper on the boys and cut. The patch pockets are extra deep (for holding gloves, or their cameras, etc.) and they are edged in leather (from an old jacket) as is the loop in back.

To give it some interest, I cut the yoke from the bodice portions and resewed. Turned the fabric up on the center front and hemline to give it some structure. The fake fabric is just too flimsy to hold on it’s own without stiffening some of the lines. The kids love them … and that makes me happy – even as I clean fluff from all the sewing machines, cutting tables, and floors.

At least, the vests are done! Next up are a vest for me and Daddy, and a nice wool coat for me…… oops… must sew slippers first…..

FINALLY! An update to the Paisley Pincushion Nightgowns: 10/01/09 It only took me 9 months to get around to sewing these (all great things take 9 months, right?) and another month to take pictures of them (sheesh – sounds more and more like newborns), but here they are.

I disliked the placket instructions but beared with them for the pink gown. When I got to the kitty gown however, I just went my own way. For the necklines, I used a braided and pink velvet ribbon trim with a jewel neckline on the pink gown and a cotton lace trim on the kitties with a scalloped peter-pan collar. It’s worked out well and looks pretty despite constant washings.

On this one, you can really see where the shortage of a few inches affected the scallops on the side. Next time, I’ll just cut them off like I did for the pink gown. Even tho I was not short on the pink flannel, I had lost time and patience with sewing, turning, and pressing scallops. Enter – Big Sheers and a more peaceful day of sewing.

They are super comfy and I have already purchased enough cottons to make 3 more for next summer, after all in August it will be 9 more months….. Here’s hoping!

We decided to get out and have some fun rummaging around antique stores yesterday. This beautiful gem caught my eye. She was labeled simply “Primitive Spinning Wheel” with a price tag of 125.00. With money tight, I ran my hand around it, and continued window shopping. Unbeknownst to me, Slobo haggled for a much lower price. She was waiting for me at the door as we were leaving! He buys me such lovely jewelry! He was chuckling and said he walked right past me with it when I was looking at an old White treadle machine and I never saw him! Apparently the boys were in on it too. Sometimes I’m really glad that I don’t pay better attention. What a lovely surprise and a beautiful gift! Slobo is so good to me!

Some research has revealed her to be made around the late 1700’s to early 1800’s. She’s made with hardwood pegs and square nails. She’s of Irish descent and was made for spinning flax into linen, noted by the wire-hinged compartment used to hold water for finger dipping while spinning. She’s double drive and from what I can tell there are only two replacement parts: the knob which is screwed onto the lid of the compartment and the peg toward the front which (I’m guessing) held the flax as it was being spun. Of course, I haven’t spun a thing in my life – so I am really excited to learn! The pedal action is really smooth. So, as soon as I learn what I’m supposed to do and replace the second drive band, she’s hopefully going to be off and running!

I have some wool roving from Hobby Lobby, but from what I’ve read, it may be difficult to spin because it’s not ‘fresh’? I’ll give it a try anyway since I’ve nothing to lose. Have a look at her – she’s soooooooo beautiful!

Irish Saxon Spinning Wheel pictures on Flickr and Stereo image of a similar wheel being used indoors

Btw – Her name is what else but Cotton Jenny.

Not up to date? Click here, and here, and here, and the last post here. Be sure and click the first posts headline for the comment left by J at the bottom.

Home Sewers and Industry professionals take heed and check it out for yourself. Unlike me, you probably don’t have the friends, contacts, or privates web servers to counteract her attacks. Information is a powerful thing, that’s why freedom of speech has had blood spilled on it’s behalf. Be warey of anyone who tries to squash it and read it when it’s available.

Here’s the links

http://delicious.com/kathleen_fasanella
http://delicious.com/network/commonreader

In case she tries to pull them – here’s her entries:

#
27 JUN 09
Buttercup Mercantile » Remodeling Our Store SAVE
gidget’s store. so scary I shiver all over. psycho home sewer. wish I had created a tag for just plain crazy.
TAGS

* sewing_hobby
* passive_aggressive

#
All Sewn Up » SAVE
oh my. Is gidget off her meds? wow. wannabe who pretends to work in industry.
TAGS

* passive_aggressive
* psychology
* sewing_hobby

—
Edited July 28, 2009 4:26pm. Oops missed her third delicious entry:

—

——–

Read for yourself and think twice before any associations with a woman like this.
Oh and I don’t take meds and if I did – I’d be sure to take them on time, thanks for your nurturing comments once again, Kathleen Fasanella. Anything else you want to say?

After 4 years as a member of the Fashion-Incubator.com forum (paying member, regardless of the mention that only one person has paid), I’m leaving it for reasons stated in my final post on their forum.

No doubt I will be slammed – as many other designers / contractors have been – some secretly – some very openly with attempts to damage their livelihoods in this tough economy.

If you enjoy wasting years, your money, your time, and valuable concentration and thought – hoping that forum members will be helpful and not spiteful – then by all means join, buy the book, donate money (don’t expect an acknowledgment that you did) – and go for it!

Me – I’d rather put my recommendations, money, thoughts, time, and energy into building truer friendships and allies while I develop my line. After all – there really aren’t any boogey vendors that aren’t going to let you buy from them because you didn’t buy into the forum. Too many real people in the industry have left the forum.

Here’s my final comment because no doubt it will be deleted – as I find most are:

“Well, goodbye folks after 4 years! Heads up to any other folks seen as a threat on here as [an_honest_and_ethical_contractor]* was.

Since my comment was deleted by Kathleen concerning how sad and heartbreaking it was that there was such an angry exchange between them under Software / Renting CAD, nothing more was intended other than to express a two-line sentiment. Now I understand why no one else has responded to that thread – most likely they did and it was deleted as well.

Obviously there is a great deal more censorship and back biting here than I was aware of and want no part in it.

As for me, I’ll take the money I’ve paid (yeah – I’ve paid over 100.00 + book as have others) and put it towards someone who is more sincere in their desire to help. Just a heads up to all the rest living in a bubble as I was.

Maybe it’s time for another forum.”

edited : *name replaced because it’s not necessary to the facts

edited: 2:26 AM Sunday June 28, 2009 For users that don’t know to hit the headline of this post to view the comments, here they are – unedited – for you to draw your own conclusions and to remove Evelyn’s full name. from:
———————
8 comments
Leave a comment »

1. Kathleen June 27th, 2009 9:22 pm edit :

Hi Gidget
Why would anyone slam you? People can disagree with your opinion without getting personal about it. Nobody is going to hold it against you that you got too personal. So far, everyone has said they’re sorry you’re leaving but they don’t agree with what you’ve said.

To avoid problems, it is probably best to only say what you know to be certain. For example, you said “because no doubt it will be deleted – as I find most are:”, how do you know most are? How can you know that? You can’t. That the forum is littered with so many criticisms of me kind of makes the opposite point. In addition, the mention about slamming and saying “real” industry people have left..is also untrue. In your email your email to me, you said ” I certainly don’t intend to fight any battles for anyone else” but isn’t that what you’re doing? The problem is, you don’t have all the facts. You really *don’t* know. You don’t know because I haven’t done exactly what you accuse me of, slamming. Speaking of slamming, did I tell a soul about that last contract job you did? I helped you get that job. Sarah came to me for a referral of you and I said she could trust you. That you ruined the whole lot, Sarah lost out and I looked bad for recommending you. But did I slam you? No, until this moment, I haven’t mentioned it to a soul. You’d said your husband was laid off so I passed your name out very liberally for awhile, I felt really bad. Sarah is the only one who gave me feedback. As with other referrals I’ve made that were bad (like Irv, who you also think is “real”) nobody wanted to tell me the referral I made was bad. So much for slamming.

The truth is, as much as you may like your friend, he’s …embellished… his history and if you read his earliest entries on the forum, he freely admits he’s never worked in the industry. I have a database of his contradictions with urls to the published entries by date. Certainly nothing I could fake. Are you sure you want to go toe to toe legally over something I can prove? Like I said, I understand you are upset altho I do not know why (there’s something else going on) but if you’re slanderous and libelous making unsubstantiated claims, it’s easy to have your host pull the site which is kind of a waste of everyone’s time. Say all kinds of horrible things about me you know are true, lord knows I have plenty of sins but back off what you cannot prove.

Here is the response I left to your comment:
———-
Wow Gidget, call me confused! I emailed you beforehand explaining I wanted to delete your comment (the only off topic one) and I thought we were good. I don’t understand why you didn’t say so. That seems like back biting to me. With all the personalized help I’ve given you, emails, phone convos, even getting you jobs etc, I’d say $100 for the book and only one year’s renewal when you’ve been on for three plus, is the deal of the century. I wish you continued success as you move forward
———
I still have these messages, coming and going in my inbox and can prove it legally if need be. What I don’t understand is, there’s got to be some horrible huge miscommunication here. You’ve never acted irrationally before. Gidget, what is going on? This reaction doesn’t make sense considering our friendly relationship thus far, what else is going on in your life?

Since I posted this, I searched my records and found a donation from you on March 12, 2009 for $100. Considering how you’ve repaid my many efforts on your behalf over the past four years, I really don’t want it. I have sent you a refund, Transaction ID #0XK054499E1155608. I have posted a screen cap of the transaction which anyone can see, assuming you don’t delete this comment that is. http://bit.ly/qLHb8

You know, one thing strikes me as odd. You have no problem benefiting from the referral system when it is to your advantage, such as when you wrote me about Evelyn (other than when you’ve gotten work). I told you she was a lovely person. That wasn’t good enough, I had to tell it to you again. I got too busy to follow up but I meant to write Evelyn at the time to tell her she should check with Sarah for a referral about you. I can’t give a referral for you anymore. I can only tell people to check with someone who did hire you. As you know, Sarah was very dissatisfied. That’s a referral network. But like I said, it works both ways. It’s kind of self serving to expect a one way benefit, imo.

2. Gidget June 27th, 2009 9:47 pm edit :

Kathleen,

This has to do with a personal issue – You deleted my post without saying you were going to do so. Nothing else.

I can state factually that you delete posts, because you did mine.

Here is the message that you sent me before doing so without my knowledge:

“I’d rather we didn’t get into a lot of controversy. J is still a member in good standing and you’re free to contact him. He is welcome to return at his discretion. I think he would be surprised at the warm reception he would get.”

Funny – I didn’t read that as: I’m going to delete your post. My comment was to only express sadness at the obvious (by then) argument that you were having with a fellow contractor.

As for Sarah Mxxx – she got her money back – value-added embroidery. She never completed a proper sample with binding. I made it clear to her that I was new and if she was willing to take a chance on me, I would take a chance on her.

I was left with a week and half (after she had to send more fabric and the masks I cut out and fused had come back from the embroiderer – for whom I paid the expense of btw) which covered a holiday to figure out what satin to use and try to make it work.

I returned her products, all remnants and a check for her deposit back to her at my own expense (84.00 for shipping) overnight in case she could find someone else to finish the job.

As for Evelyn – I asked your opinion because she stated she knew you. Oh Yeah – and I only asked it once! Wanna check that email again?

Anyone wanna see any letters? I’ve got copies too.

As for your return of the 100.00 I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole. You keep that Kathleen, it’s been earned with blood, sweat, and tears.

Don’t threaten legalities either. I’ve made no libelous or slanderous comments, I’ve merely stated the facts as they happened to me.
This is my personal blog. Last I checked – I have a right to my own opinions and to post reviews.

As for taking down my site via web service provider? Well – we are the service provider and it’s our server.

Thank you for showing your colors. I don’t need to prove anything.

Oh, and I am healthy and happy and busy – Thanks for asking.

3. Gidget June 27th, 2009 9:55 pm edit :

Oh – and I forgot to mention since you seemed confused about it in your last two emails:

My legal name is :

GIdget Joyce Lynn O’Hara Barrett
My company’s name is : Buttercup Mercantile, LLC
Buttercup 149 is a division of Buttercup Mercantile, LLC

And it was 85.00 for the book in 2005 – maybe it was 2006 – by my lovely husband, Michael Barrett
It was also two donations 1 around 2007 when you began expressing the need to charge a fee to forum members, of 25.00 and 100.00 in February of this year when I read that you were charging 45.00 a year to catch me up to that point. Do I want a refund? Not at all – services rendered – fees paid.

4. Gidget June 27th, 2009 9:58 pm edit :

— On Sat, 6/27/09, Kathleen wrote:

> > From: Kathleen
> > Subject: Re: from Evelyn xxx the author in Atlanta
> > To: “Evelyn “xxx
> > Date: Saturday, June 27, 2009, 6:24 PM
> > Hi Evelyn
> >
> > Gidget (joyce barrett, buttercup 149) came to me and asked
> > for my opinion of you. What I meant to do but got too busy
> > and forgot to do until now, was to suggest you contact a
> > forum member who hired gidget to do some work. The forum
> > member you should talk to is SarahM, her profile is here:
> > http://fashion-incubator.com/phpbb/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=8703
> >
> > best
> > Kathleen
> >
> >
> > http://www.fashion-incubator.com
> > ~~~Nurture people, not products~~~
> > Twitter: kfasanella

Thanks for the email Kathleen. Glad you could find time to nurture people.

5. Kathleen June 27th, 2009 10:23 pm edit :

Wow. It is really low of you to post private email. I really don’t need to say anything. Your actions speak louder than my words ever could. I really can’t help you with your problems Gidget and I’m sorry. But you shouldn’t take them out on other people.

If you paid $85 for the book, you didn’t buy it from me or Amazon. The list price is $60.

6. Gidget June 27th, 2009 10:24 pm edit :

Funny – After just receiving yet another inflamed email cc from Kathleen of an email she just happened to remember to send to Evelyn, maybe I should remind Kathleen that I’m not in the CMT Shop business anymore. Continue to send more fun emails to Evelyn, she’s no doubt thinking, “What the ?”.

Hmm.. let’s see – anyone else you can send an email too? Nope – don’t think so.

7. Gidget June 27th, 2009 10:28 pm edit :

Yep – Actions do speak louder than words, Kathleen. That was my whole point all along. Sad but true.

8. Kathleen June 27th, 2009 10:39 pm edit :

Gidget, I can’t find it in my heart to be “inflamed”. You are obviously very distressed and I really don’t know what to say to you. It does not seem possible to have a rational and fair conversation with you.

I wish you well. i hope you attain all that you feel you deserve. I hope you and your family are prosperous and healthy. I send my sincerest wishes for a full and happy life. Good bye.

—- End of comments paste —–

Just for the record, we never spoke on the phone nor were ‘friends’ and very rarely did we ever communicate via email. I merely admired you as someone with a mission to nurture people and communities. The only distress I felt was in learning that it wasn’t true. But life goes on and unfortunately web owners are not spheres unto themselves – there are usually sides involved.

——– Beginning of paste of the only ‘Evelyn Email thread Ever Sent To Kathleen Fasanella by Me” ——-

That is all I needed to hear. Am very much looking forward to talking with her! Thank You, once again!

Kathleen wrote:
> Hi G
>
> About her project, I can’t say anything because I don’t know. As to her character and integrity? She will never deliberately cause you ill. There’s no malice to her, not an evil bone in her body. Lovely, generous, kind and gracious, the world would be a better place with more Evelyns.
> k
>
> http://www.fashion-incubator.com
> ~~~Nurture people, not products~~~
> Twitter: kfasanella
>
>
> — On Thu, 6/18/09, Joyce Barrett wrote:
>
>
>> From: Joyce Barrett
>> Subject: [Fwd: Wheelchair sketches]
>> To: kathleen@fashion-incubator.com
>> Date: Thursday, June 18, 2009, 9:53 AM
>> Hi Kathleen,
>>
>> I was contacted by Evelyn xxx about a partnership
>> of some sort with her wheelycovers. From google I’ve
>> read that she is an accomplished author and will be talking
>> with her later today to get more details about what she has
>> in mind. She had mentioned that you knew who she was,
>> and was wondering what your thoughts were?
>>
>> It sounds like an exciting opportunity that maybe we could
>> start some sort of co-op for our products together via a
>> website. She had alot of couture type words on her
>> site, so maybe her hearts in the right place and she became
>> victim to tag phrases. lol
>>
>> Thank you in advance for any insight, opinions, or advice
>> you may have.
>>
>> Gidget


——- End of Paste ———

The End