And Now its July

It’s July already. I can’t believe I let a whole month pass without a new blog post. Bob and I are fine here in Arizona, despite the alarming reports on the skyrocketing number of Covid-19 cases here. We are staying away from people and wearing masks whenever we go anywhere, which is a rare occasion. We still have some friends in the park, too. Last week we ran into Becky and her dog, Ace.

Since we don’t feel safe getting our hair cut, we’ve had to become creative. I got tired of feeling so shaggy so I asked Bob to trim my hair. He did a really good job, too! I’ve been cutting his hair for years, off and on, but this is the first time he has given me a trim.

Speaking of “trim,” Bob has been painting the trim on the house and the silver looks much better than the dated brown we had. Here’s the before and after. What do you think?

I have finished a few sewing projects, one being a new slipcover for the porch glider using some heavy denim I purchased last year in Tucson.

A while back I bought some cones of cottolin yarn and I decided it was high time I tackled my dish towel project. So I set up my loom and started weaving. Haha, I just made that sound so easy, didn’t I? It actually took me quite a few days to measure out the 6 yard warp, wind the yarn onto the warp beam, thread all 451 threads into their own individual heddles, pull each thread through a particular slot in the reed, tie onto the front of the loom, make the tie ups under the loom, check everything for mistakes, and then finally start to weave. I took my time because it’s been a while since I’ve put a warp on this loom. And I only had a couple of easy-to-fix errors! I must say, the WeaveIt app with threading and treadle tracking is a pretty inexpensive way to prevent errors when you are weaving with more than two harnesses! I love it. And here is the start of my first towel (there will be five towels from this warp and all will be different.)

Bob has been staying busy, too. He has finished the fourth salad bowl and it’s beautiful (#4 is the bottom one.)

Now he is on to rolling pins and is enjoying figuring out the Celtic Knot pattern. I’ll post a step by step of that process next time because it’s pretty interesting.

End of May, 2020

Do your days seem to run into each other now? Life moves on and we are coping just fine, staying busy sometimes (well, Bob is ALWAYS busy) and other times just reading. We aren’t big daytime TV watchers; both of us are products of our childhood when our parents limited television to after-dinner hours.

Our park has opened the pool and Bob and I have started swimming each evening after dinner. Well, floating, to be honest. We float on a pool noodle and talk with friends or make new friends...there are rarely more than a half dozen people in the pool at a time. We maintain social distancing, wear masks when entering or leaving the patio area, and enjoy a warm dip as the sun starts to set. It’s a lovely way to end a hot day.

Other than that, we have started to spruce up the place on the outside. Bob has been painting over the brown stripe that dates this house so much with a light gray. A big improvement. I’ll post a photo when it’s all finished. Plus, we have purchased some desert-hardy plants for the “front yard,” a 6 x 11’ gravel area in front of the house. We have a new little burro as a lawn decoration, and Bob built a miniature fence section over which the burro can hang his head.

I’ve done a little weaving and have just finished this inkle band. The gray really tones down the Pepto Bismal pink, doesn’t it?

Bob has finished salad bowl #2 out of what will be a 4-bowl series. A lot of people have been amazed  at his bowl making and have asked how this is done, so here are the steps.

First Bob chooses his woods.

Next the wood is cut into segments, 12 per ring.

This bowl will have three rings in graduated sizes, plus a base. They are glued together and clamped for drying.

The rings are ready to be sanded, using Bob’s handy-dandy ring-holder.

 (HDRH.)

The HDRH holds the rings flat against the lathe’s orbital sander, also made by Bob.

The rings are glued together, then are turned on the lathe.

The finished bowl.

Early Summer Temperatures

It’s only April and temperatures this week have been in the triple digits, as high as 105 degrees. On the good side, though, because we replaced our AC system last year we are nice and cool inside. Bob has also been working outside, though, and I’ve been getting use out of our little “pool,” while I keep him company. It’s heated only by the air temperature and so far the water gets up to about 85 degrees.

Bob spent a few days insulating the ceiling of his workshop and is using a swamp cooler to manage the temperature in it. While not as good as an air conditioner, the cooler does make working in the workshop bearable. Especially when Bob sits directly in front of the blower.

A lot of his work is outside, though, and this is what he just finished.

It’s a yarn bowl! Isn’t it gorgeous? Bob had been wanting to turn a bowl on his lathe for a while now so this is his “practice piece.” Made of clear pine with a band of cherry, this bowl is so pretty and practical, too. He’s already started designing a set of individual salad bowls to try out some different patterns. Here he is working on the yarn bowl.

We had planned to visit Idaho and see our daughter Emily and her family this fall. Those plans are now on hold (as, of course, are the plans to visit Kristen, Catherine, and Tim and their families in NJ) but I had promised to make little amigurumi figures for Em’s children. Well, I finished crocheting the figures and sent them off with some masks to keep the whole family safe.

The mask project continues and so far I’ve made over seventy masks, donated to friends, family, and to the park’s mask project.

I also knitted some birds to brighten up our home.

So as you can see, we are staying busy and healthy, and are enjoying our days. We look forward, of course, to the world getting back to some semblance of normal but understand that it will most likely be a long time before that happens. We’re prepared to wait it out.

Life in Isolation

Life has gone on here in Arizona. I’ve kept myself busy sewing masks for friends and family.

I’m still working on weaving my pickup band but it’s almost done. It’s a slow but pleasant weave and I’m really in no hurry. I’m tickled pink about the heddle frame I’m using; Bob made it for me and I made string heddles for it.  It has regular heddles with little eyes and pattern ones, too, so I can do pickup patterns easily. It works so well, and the best thing is that I can have any configuration of slots, holes, and pattern slots that I want, just by adding more heddles.

I’ve made a dust cover for my sewing machine using fabric I purchased a year ago.

The motorhome has been moved to the site across the street and next to us. It’s good to have it nearby so we can keep an eye on it. Bob has been fixing little things on it and is in the process of washing it down. 

I’ve got a little garden growing on my windowsill, and I’m also growing sunflower sprouts and mung bean sprouts.

We have gotten to the grocery store once since April 6 (with the help of some neighbors who have picked things up for us when they went) and are prepared to stay away for at least another week.

We are able to see friends every day, too, as we stay six feet away. We gather each morning for the Pledge of Allegiance in front of the clubhouse. Then we sing the national anthem and say a prayer for our country. A few minutes of chitchat and we are on our way. We enjoy this little ritual.

Hoping you all are well and hanging in there!

Social Distancing in Arizona

It’s interesting how much our life has NOT changed since we’ve been self isolating. This is a typical day now:
Up between 6:00 and 7:00, a bit earlier than before for some reason (our minds won’t let us relax as much, I suspect.) We surf the Web, eat breakfast, and relax until 9:00 am. Then Auggie gets walked, showers are taken, we exercise and take a walk, and do little chores until mid day. A fair amount of my time goes into food preparation which is not much of a chore for me. After lunch Bob pulls out his workshop onto the driveway which is covered so he can work despite strong sun or rain. I’ve been sitting on the deck more now that the temperatures are so perfect and set up my loom or marudai to create something pretty. Neighbors walk by and chit chat, staying six feet away. There’s no pressure to finish a task quickly. Sometimes I read or connect with friends and family by phone.

In the evening we eat dinner, maybe watch a little TV (Bob enjoys war movies so he watches those in the bedroom) or I’ll read my book. We’re in bed by 10:00.

I find this to be a pretty productive time. Bob has made me some new tools to play with:

A simplified version of the Better Loom that I’m using for inkle weaving and may use in my weaving classes. I’m using one of my Handywoman Miniature Backstrap Heddles for making my sheds.

A special heddle frame that I’m using for Baltic weaving. I made string heddles for it that have a combination of regular string heddles and pattern slots that are 1 5/8” long. This allows me to easily add any number of border threads and pattern threads. Details are on my Ravelry project page. A real game changer! Now I just have to figure how to make them easily and inexpensively so that my weaving students can use them.

In the meantime, I really like the ribbon I’m weaving using 10/2 cotton and just 5 pattern threads.

I’ve been using my Schacht old style RH loom to make a fluffy blanket.

I braided a cord on my marudai, half is which was a round spiral braid and for the other half I switched patterns to make a square spiral braid. Just because I can! An interesting experiment.

Hoping you are all safe and healthy, dear reader.

A New World

Life has changed so much since I last posted only six days ago. All activities at our park have been cancelled and the pool is closed. Area restaurants, movie theaters, schools, museums, and libraries are closed. Grocery shelves are empty.

Bob and I are fine, though. I had stocked up on dried beans and grains and I’ve been sprouting seeds. The freezer is stocked with frozen veggies. I’m making soy milk and continue to make bread as needed. Bob is remodeling our utility closet, painting it and adding moveable shelves, and I’ve been weaving. I finished this bracelet the other day.

Now I’m working on weaving a baby blanket for a soon-to-be-born niece.

We are practicing social distancing and washing our hands all the time. The Canadians who winter here in the park have been recalled to Canada and there’s a mad scramble for many of them to return by March 22 when the borders will close. The recall will effect their health insurance so there is real incentive not to dawdle.

The news we hear is that the Coronavirus will most likely still be on the upswing for at least the next seven weeks, so we are assuming that we won’t be going anywhere for at least that long and most likely much longer. There aren’t a lot of people spending the summer here but we have friends who will be here for several months anyway so we won’t be alone. And I’m guessing that once everyone leaves we may be allowed to use the pool, but who knows? We will get through this.

Stay healthy, stay inside, and wash your hands often.

March in Mesa

It has been a crazy-busy time here in Arizona. I finished my rosemaling painting class, which was so much fun that I may take more classes next winter. Our final project was a decorative plate and I think mine came out quite well. I may still put a border on it.

Weaving has really taken off at this park and I have some real weavers coming along. Plus, seventeen people have signed up to take classes in the fall. Check out Holly’s pick-up band—she did such a nice job!

My loom design (that Bob built for me) came out very well and a couple of people are building their own loom using my plans. It’s a combination of my favorite features of several loom designs, and uses an 8” Ashford Sample-It Loom reed.

Speaking of weaving, I finally attempted weaving a backstrap, using a backstrap loom. I finished it today and I’m quite pleased with it.

But life has not been just about weaving; I attended the park’s annual quilt show and enjoyed seeing all the amazing quilts sewn by the people here.

There was even a table of gnomes!

On February 29 Bob and I took the light rail into Phoenix to the PHX Vegan Food Festival. It was a gorgeous day and we have fun checking out the vendors, listening to music, and sampling yummy foods. We had a great lunch, too.

We are just starting to see hoarding of staples such as toilet paper as people realize that the Coronavirus is really going to impact them in some way. The park next to ours has just today cancelled all gatherings and activities. Our singing group has been planning to put on a concert for a local assisted living facility today but right before we left we got word that all unnecessary visits were cancelled. At the moment our park’s activities continue but I expect that to end before too long. We are unaware of anyone in the park who is ill.

Bob and I are hoping that our trip across the US will not have to be cancelled or postponed but we’ll do what we have to to remain safe. I’ll keep you updated if things change.