Faith

Several weeks ago I made a trip to town. It was dark in the early morning but light enough not to use the headlamp in my coat pocket. I pushed the wheelbarrow loaded with empty totes and several Christmas gifts that I needed to mail down to the wharf. On the mainland side after I put everything into the back of the truck we had a minor vehicle problem that providentially I was able to resolve. My young daughter asked, "Mommy what are we going to do when the motor falls out?" "God will provide," I replied. I know by experience that He will because He always has. Later back on the island we headed home with a wheelbarrow load. It was dark enough to use the headlamp. But instead I preferred to use the little bit of available light left in the sky. When we headed up the steep, dark bank to the cabin I lost part of my load. I heard Christmas oranges rolling behind me into the bushes. At the top of the bank I saw a single star - a single dot of light in a cloud draped sky. It reminded me long ago that it was faith that guided the wiseman to Bethlehem and it is faith guiding me home.

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I’ll have a blue Christmas

Throughout the year I've posted about some of the wool lap blankets I've woven for others. I decided I wanted two for myself. I began by growing the indigo  - an ancient plant dye and than I dyed the yarn with it. I wove both of them the same size as the other's. I'm really pleased with the pair- they are complementary but different and they will last a very long time and that is important to me. Sent from my iPhone

Time

Autumn, leaves, tides and seasons all remind me that everything is constantly changing. "What we see around us is temporary and will soon be destroyed, but that which we can't see will last forever." 2 Cor. 4:18 Spending time with God sustains and lifts me up. I know there is a lot of sadness out there and I have had my share of it. I was devastated when my partner left me and my unborn baby - a sadness that has never fully left but I find deep consolation in Him. To anyone out there who has an aching heart - Look to Jesus - he has satisfied me and he can do the same for you.  I want to share a poem by an unknown author titled -The Loom of Time

Man's life is laid in the loom of time to a pattern he does not see, while the weavers work and the shuttles fly till the dawn of eternity.

Some shuttles are filled with silver threads and some with threads of gold, while often but the darker hues are all they may hold.

But the weaver watches with skillful eye each shuttle fly to and fro, and sees the pattern so deftly wrought as the loom moves sure and slow.

God surely planned the pattern: each thread, the dark and fair, is chosen by His master skill and placed in the web with care.

He only knows its beauty, and guides the shuttles which hold the threads so unattractive, as well as the threads of gold.

Not till each loom is silent, and the shuttles cease to fly, shall God reveal the pattern and explain the reason why

The dark threads were as needful In the weaver's skillful hand As the threads of gold and silver For the pattern which He planned.

Why wool?

I wash my laundry on a scrub board and hang it up to dry on a wire, metal fence. The woolen items are always first to dry - no matter how big, heavy and water logged they may be. This difference is especially noticeable on cool, overcast day's. So when I needed a new winter skirt I chose some New Zealand wool yarn and wove up some yardage. I used my antique treadle sewing machine to sew it on. Handmade clothes - if made reasonably well last a very long time. When it does wear out I will feed it to my wild red wringers in the composting bin.  
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Christmas cards for homeless kids

I designed and wove a tapestry and put the image of the finished weaving on Christmas cards. The cost of each card with an envelope is 3.25 Canadian dollars. Fifty cents of each card is going directly to purchase food for northern BC homeless youth. You pay for the  actual shipping; however if your order is 39.00 US dollars the shipping is free if you have them mailed to a continental US address. You will be reimbursed for any shipping overcharges. You should receive your card(s) within one to three weeks. If you like you can help me share the love by purchasing a card(s) at my Etsy shop:
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/TheSingingLoom?ref=shop_home_edit 

To cover or not?

A year ago I read this in my bible, "out of respect for the heavenly angels who are in attendance at worship, women ought to wear something on their heads." 1 Cor. 11:10 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, "ALL scripture is God-breathed." Isn't it dangerous when you start taking out parts of the bible because it doesn't fit into the culture of our day? Or because it isn't something that you want to do?
I began to wonder - was I missing out on a blessing because I wasn't wearing a covering? I decided to give it a try for a year. It wasn't easy to sew a covering that I felt comfortable wearing. I do not wear it all the time but I do wear it most of the time. What did I learn? It encouraged greater simplicity in my attire and I pray more. I hope that when other's see me they will consider their own relationship with God. I wish that I had started wearing a covering many years ago.

Happy socks

I knit socks because the little things do matter. The reality is hand knit socks last a long time and they are hard wearing. Every summer I inspect our socks for wear and do any necessary mending. When they are worn out - and this takes years - they can be composted. There is an excellent book on sock knitting. It is called, "The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook" by Lynne Vogel. Not only does it discuss various ways to knit socks it also is about how to repair them. This year I started out with the intent to knit a proper pair of gray socks. By the time I got to the foot I realized they were too melancholy and plain gray was definitely not for me. What they needed was color - like my other socks. So I added a few bright stripes in the foot and now they are my happy socks.
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A plan

With each fruit tree I plant and nourish I do not care whether I gather it's fruit. What truly matters and what I ask myself is - what am I leaving behind after I am gone? The beautiful, giving nature of the tree inspires me. In them I see God's plan for me and humanity.
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In the garden

Echinacea is a favourite in my garden. Plants or seeds are available for purchase at Richter's Herbs, a canadian mail order company. Echinacea is highly regarded as a blood purifier in the treatment of diseases caused by impurities. It increase's bodily resistance to infection by strengthening the immune system. Two excellent books on this herb are; The Echinacea Handbook by Christopher Hobbs and Echinacea Nature's Immune Enhancer by Stephen Foster.  The flowers have a slight fragrance and the herb needs staking as it grows to about 3-3.5 feet high. I grow echinacea purpurea as the roots, flowering tops and leaves are all considered medicinal. As I observe the honeybee and echinacea I ask myself - am I as helping as I can be?

The fridge- part three

It's been awhile since I wrote about my non working gas fridge. Mrs. J., a lady in her eighties had an insightful conversation with me. She grew up on a farm in northern Manitoba. In those day's nobody had a fridge but everyone found a way that worked for them. In her family it was porridge for breakfast. Lunch was the big meal, supper was leftover's and sometime's that meant soup. There was very little waste she said.  I applied this to my own life even though I don't have a farm and it has simplified meals. To begin with rather than pay a repair man to come and look at my fridge I invested in a new All American designed and manufactured in the USA pressure canner. It is a wonderful tool and I can't say enough good things about it. ( My own opinion - I'm not getting paid for saying that) I bring my vegetables back from town and I can them right away. We than spend the next few weeks eating what I canned up. It works very well. My broken down fridge is now a beautiful pantry. I'm at the point where I can't even imagine wanting - much less needing a functioning fridge. Life is simpler without it.

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Along the way

As I walk along the beach the summer light is changing like musical notes in a song and my thought's turn to the Creator who made it all. This space is sacred. It is His. "The land belongs to me.....you are my tenants and stewards." Leviticus 25:23 Am I being faithful in what I buy, the clothes I wear and how I live my life?

Vegan Salal Berry Crumble Recipe

The crumble topping; 1/2 cup quick oats, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 1/4 cup solid coconut oil. The Salal filling is; 1 cup salal berries, 2 Tablespoons water, 2 Tablespoons white sugar. Grease 8 x8 baking dish. Mix ingredients for filling in a bowl. Use a different bowl for the crumb topping. Use two knives to cut in the coconut oil. Put salal filling in bottom and sprinkle crumble topping on top. Bake 350 for 25 mins. I have no grass in my yard thanks to the native salal berry bush with its moderate growth. I trim it back where I do not want it. I find hand pruner's simpler than a lawn mower or a weed eater and over the years I have had no problems with this approach.

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My bamboo dip pen

I snipped some green bamboo with my secateurs, trimmed it to my liking and sharpened it with a pocket knife. I dipped it in a water based blue ink and was surprised! There is probably a lot of wonderful advice online about bamboo dip pens but I never bothered to look. It's straight forward - simple and so beautiful that I love it. I use it for my shopping lists, draw with it, and I wrote a cheque with it. I dropped it on the floor and have yet to re-sharpen it. It hold's a reasonable amount of ink and glides across paper like a soaring bird. I may never buy another discardable pen again.

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When less is more

The simplicity of having little in terms of material goods is an awesome freedom.  Every item takes a certain amount of upkeep - either in money, time or both. I only want that which is important enough to take up my time. Making more time happens when I let go of that which I have accumulated. Real wealth is subjective. When I feel rich inside than I am. William Wordsworth wrote in "Three Years She Grew in Sun and Shower," ( one of his poems about a child of nature) "The stars of midnight shall be dear to her;" It really is about perspective isn't it? I'm certain she felt the same way about the rainbow.

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Tapestry bookmark

This sampler bookmark measures 7 1/2" long ( excluding the beaded fringe) and 2 3/8" wide. I wove it from thread and floss. It has a liner that I sewed on the backside made from repurposed silk fabric and the fringe is finished with seed glass beads. I've put it in my summer reading, an old copy of the "Encyclopedia of Needlework" by T. Dillmont. 

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Trust

I found this rufous hummingbird nest in a blackberry vine on the edge of the forest where I work. It was close enough to the ground to make it easy to look into and each visit brought joy to my heart. At first the two downy young were snuggled down into the nest sleeping. Than they spent their days eyes wide open watching the world around them. On the final visit which was today, the last remaining young made her first flight. In this miracle I see God sustaining the tiniest of things. Do I trust Him with the big things and the little details of my life?

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Soil

My grey water system came about as the result of my own experiments on learning what works and what does not. It's very simple. An empty ten gallon bucket sit's upside down buried in the ground with sand around and under it but not in it. On the bottom of the bucket is a hole for 1 1/2" ABS pipe to enter. This keeps vermain away. On top of this is more dirt and a small cedar slab to mark the spot. Over time the bucket slowly fills up with debris that goes down my kitchen sink. Using a sink strainer slow's it down and since I share my kitchen with my weaving studio there are exhausted dye bath's that go down there too. There is also a bathroom sink and a shower that I plumbed into this system. Eventually when the bucket fills up with debris it must be dug up and emptied. The question is what will I find? When I dug it up this spring the sand surrounding the outside of the bucket was rich with nutrients and there was an abundance of wild red wrigglers and earthworm's living there. I filled up a wheelbarrow with it and brought it to my garden. I feel like I am doing something positive for the earth. The organicness of it fills me with wonder and hope.

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White Roses - part 2

I did a product review for ThermaLeaf® and received my roses for free. My beautiful roses are found on this page:

https://www.silkplantsdirect.com/roses-white-pack-of-1-chw-8231s.html

See also: - fire retardant artificial foliage -http://www.thermaleaf.com/ for an extensive collection for any season.

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White Roses

I never thought I would have the pleasure to receive roses again- after all I am alone. But life is full of surprise's and this was a happy one.  This white silk rose arrangement is 18" high and simply beautiful. The timing couldn't be better. The crocus's and daffodil's are finished blooming and I am waiting for the tulip's. The roses are in my studio - which is also my kitchen and they are bringing their beauty into my day's. In my next post I will let you know who they came from. If you like you can take a guess.

A song

I wove this tiny tapestry with thread and cotton and it measures 2 1/2" wide by 4 1/2" long.
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A sweater

The weight of this sweater is 4.5 ozs. It's light enough to be perfect for the warmer day's ahead when the studio is cool. It was knitted on 2mm needles with lace weight baby alpaca. The pattern was created by myself. It is a seamless garment. The front opening was made by steeking. For those who are unfamiliar with this term it basically means the sweater was cut open with scissors, stitches picked up and the button band knitted. I looked in my button jar and I found all but one button. They were perfect except that I was missing one. The button's are clear plastic- the kind found in the waistbands of children's clothing. I looked through my child's wardrobe certain I would find the needed button but there was none that matched. So the sweater sat unfinished and than one rainy day- yesterday- I sat down and started sewing the buttons on and I prayed that I would find another soon. I sewed several on and than I felt I should look through the button jar again. So I got it out. As I was emptying the jar I spotted the needed button. Faith= it's moving forward - sewing the buttons on even when I don't know where the last one is going to come from. (Picture not accurately displaying the colour of the buttons)
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Decoupage and time

This is a wooden box I use to hold my tapestry tools. I used a very good book titled "Leslie Linsley's Decoupage" as a basic guide to assist me. I did however only put on 3 layers of polyurethane. The book suggested a minimum of 10 coats - but the paper is protected and that is enough for me at this point. I used Benjamin Moore Aura paint and Stay's Clear polyurethane. The book did not recommend any particular product's. I have used these product's in the past for other applications and for this project - they were excellent. The flower is from a botanical art journal. It is a reprint of a pencil and watercolor drawing done by Lilian Snelling in 1934. The flower is Ranunculus asiaticus var. albus. It is a native of the eastern Mediterranean region and is found in mountain pastures. This wild flower was used to create a hybrid in the cut flower industry. Admittedly I am spending more time offline. I am connecting with the internet far less and even that has begun to seem like a lot. The time offline has reminded me of another life - the one I had before my phone. It had it's advantages and I am finding those again.

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Blessings

I finished this small tapestry woven with cotton and thread which measures 2 3/16" wide by 4 1/4" long. I feel so thankful that last week I didn't step on that upturned rusty nail half stuck in a tiny piece of rotting wood. I didn't see it in a pile of duff gathered last summer that somebody else stacked up for me to burn. I know the owners are innocent and never realized how dangerous this can be and I am thankful for my Protector who kept me unharmed even though I walked over that pile a number of times labouring to get into moved onto the fire. Even when I reached down with my wool mittened hand to scoop up duff I was kept from harm. Eventually I saw it. This isn't the only blessing. There are little answers to little prayers and an answer that I have been waiting for a very long time. With new clarity and insight I feel like a bird freed from a cage and I am thankful for that too. Isn't it not true that birds like blessings can bring us joy? What are you thankful for?
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Another lap blanket and ingratitude

The comment I received from the recipient of the first lap blanket I wove was this,"It is four times too small and not thick enough." There was no thank you. What do you do with unkindness of this sort? My reaction is to give less and I have asked myself -why am I so self centred? Perhaps it is a natural reaction with the human heart.  It has helped me to be more gracious and I am thankful for that. Still - sometimes I know it would be easier not to give. But the pattern of love that God has given to us - the love I have experienced from Him - the scripture I have read - all agree that genuine love is beyond the self centred human mind and emotions. Renewal comes from Him and in His time he will heal me - again. This is a miracle and clear evidence to His existence, love and care. The lap blanket size is: 32" long by 39" wide. It's a size I think is perfect and soon I will weave a few for my studio/kitchen.
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More hand painted wool

I decided to weave another lap blanket for a gift. I didn't know what colour's the individual would like so I asked the person and than I hand painted the wool the requested colour's. There was nothing different in the process, just a change of colour. These colour's remind me of summer sunsets and flowers in my garden. In my next post I will show it to you and I will tell you what size I decided on.

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Lap blanket dimensions?

I wove this lamp blanket from my hand painted wool. However - I am puzzled. What size is a lap blanket? I looked on google but I thought the dimensions were too big - closer to what I would consider half an afghan. Is there such a thing? Maybe not. What I want from a lap blanket is for it not to touch the floor. Yes, it means my feet are not covered - but it also means I can get up quickly and easily without getting blanketed by my blanket. However, I was puzzled by what size to make my gift. I'd love to hear your thoughts - do you want your feet covered or uncovered?

Yarn

This is some of the wool yarn I hand painted. This color way was inspired by the pleasant memories of summer days. It is the native greenery surrounding my cabin and the color of the wild salal berry juice that I love so much. I wove a gift for somebody who appreciates these colours. If you like you can guess what I wove and the next time I post I will show you.
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