The Passing of a Weaving Friend

It is a fact of life that our loved ones and friends eventually pass on. It is part of life and not an uncommon event, specially if many of your friends are well into the second half of their life span. It doesn't really make it any easier to lose them though. Many of us in the Whidbey and Skagit Weavers Guilds have lost a weaving friend last Friday after a long and valiant battle with cancer. I have many pleasurable memories of chatting with her at the various guild meetings. She was one of those wonderful people who always had a smile and a kind word for you. I will treasure my memories of her and will miss her very much.
There was a small group of us who ventured out into the freezing fog and slippery roads to attend the Skagit Guild meeting December potluck and auction. We ate, got our business done, and had a small and lively auction which raised enough money to fund an evening program.
The only treasure I took home was the book, Clothing from the Hands That Weave by Anita Luvera Mayer. I must confess that I am not a fan of rectangular, loom-shaped garments, being a rather petite person who looks like a hobbit when I wear such. The book, however, is more than just an instruction book. It also contains Anita's encouraging personality. While I probably will not make a loom-shaped garment, I will make myself a garment using my handwoven fabric so I am enjoying the book.
Tomorrow I plan to get another warp on my loom. I just have to decide...
Stay tuned! -Renee

Weaving Through the Holidays

Uh oh! I am at the end of a ten yard warp on my loom and the holidays are nearly here. It is always a challenge to work on projects with the holidays descending, at least it is for me! This is my final yarn stash warp and it is....not the prettiest fabric I have woven. It gets to be quite a challenge to put together a decent fabric when you limit yourself to the last dregs in your fiber stash to use them up. The yarns I have left are for specific projects. I guess I could put one of those projects on the loom as soon as I can, that is this week, so that I can return to the loom after the holidays and have it ready to go and not standing there sad and empty. The challenge is making it a priority. You might have noticed I didn't say "finding the time". The time is there but sometimes other things take priority. All of us have this challenge, particularly women. I will keep you posted on the next warp going on the loom.
In the meantime, I went to the Whidbey Weavers Guild meeting last week. It was cold and sunny. I have the Skagit Weavers Guild to go to tonight but am a bit concerned as it is freezing out and I am looking at a fog that just rolled in. It it doesn't warm up, the fog will freeze on the road and driving will be too dangerous.
While I was at the Whidbey Weavers Guild I browsed in the guild library and found a notebook containing past episodes of podcasts from Weave Cast. I do have the link in my Fiber Links bar. Syne gave a program to the guild but I missed that meeting due to snow in my area last year. I was disappointed because I really wanted to see Syne's program. The good news is not only did I get to check the podcasts out, Syne will be coming to speak to the Skagit Guild in the spring. Something to look forward to. I have listened to one of the podcasts, number 12 with Anita Mayer. If you have a high speed connection, which I don't, check out Weave Cast, the podcasts are just wonderful!
I took some wonderful inspirational pictures while at the Whidbey Guild meeting. I will share a few and some thoughts and impressions on the podcasts I listen to. Off to look at the weather reports. Hope all are warm and dry. -Renee