Sale on my etsy site

I am having a sale this week on my Etsy site. 10% off any item purchased from 9/11/08 thru 9/18/08. Just mention that you read my blog and I will take 10% off.

Weaving on a Union Loom No 36

My Union Loom came to me in peices. And it had been 1o years since I took weaving in college, so it was quite the challenge to get it together. I had no directions and only a small black and white picture to guide me. But after many many hours, I finally got it in working order.

After all that time spent, I found a woman on the internet that has a Loom Manual Library. She has all these old manuals and will send a copy for a small fee. Her website is http://www.weaversfriend.com/

Just an amazing amount of information on weaving and old looms.

It is a two harness loom and weaves 36 inches across. I am now in the process of warping it for the second time. It will be eight threads per inch which is 16 threads per section which means 304 threads at 30 yards each. If you do all that math then it is 9120 yards of cotton rug warp. That will be an estimate of 20 rugs that I can do on that much warp.

It takes a lot of time but once it is done, it will be really fast and easy to get the rugs done.

Pictures of Custom Cloaks

The first one is the garnet/white crushed panne velvet reversible. The second is black crushed panne velvet/ black fleece reversible.

Custom made cloaks

I have been working on two custom orders over the week. The first is for a wedding. White crushed panne velvet lined in garnet with fur along the hood. It is gorgeous!! Very long at 64 inches from shoulder to the floor. It has ties at the neck and is reversible. The second is a black crushed panne velvet lined in black fleece with a japanese frog closure at the neck. The woman lives in Maine so it will keep her warm this winter. My newest custom order is for an old fashioned nurses cloak. Navy on the outside lined in red. It has a collar and a button closure at the neck. It is for a woman going to a haunted mental hospital for Halloween. I should have the fabric next week. It will be my first Halloween costume made for this year. Can't wait for more!!!

Quote by Nelson Mandela

This is one of my favorite quotes.
" Our worst fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves-who am I to be brilliant, gorogeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually who are you not to be. You are a child of God. And your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some of us. It is in every one of us. And as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

New rag rug

I just finished a new rug. It is blue and tan and 26 x 34 inches. I was inspired by the pale blue delphiniums that are blooming in my garden. This is about the 15th rug on this warp and now I am at the end so I will have to wind on more. It is a lengthy process as there are about 200 threads on the loom. But once I have that done it is smoothe sailing from there.

My loom is a 2 harness Union Loom no. 36. It was originally bought in 1949 for $49.95. It is very heavy and weighs 170lb. It was shipped back then by train. I was fortunate enough to have it given to me. And after a lot of work fixing it up, it now works well.

art supplies

I was checking out a Blick art supplies catalog today and it made me think of all the great places that I get supplies. So I thought I'd make a list.

Polaroid transfers:
669 polaroid film from Adorama.com. Lots and lots of camera equipment and film.
Arches watercolor paper from dickblick.com. Every art supply you could ever need.

Paintings:
Oil paints from dickblick.com. My favorite are the Van Gogh oils.
Canvas from hancockfabrics.com and joannfabrics. com

Rag rugs:
I get lots of fabric from Goodwill. Old sheets work well. If I need a specific color DnL Fabric Crafts and More on ebay is the best. She'll even cut the strips to 1 inch size.

Cloaks:
My favorite place for fabric is realfabricman on ebay.com. He has the best velvet and sells it in 70 yard bolts. Fast shipping and great quality.

That's it for now. I'm working on a new rug today. Tan and blue checks. Check out my site mwestdesigns.etsy.com and I will list it later. Have a great day!!