Halloween Sale

In honor of Halloween (my favorite holiday), I am having a sale in my shop. www.mwestdesigns.etsy.com Free shipping in the US through Monday november 3rd. Just let me know you read my blog and I will refund the shipping price. Plus today I am finally going to list more handwoven rag rugs. Have a great Halloween!!

Textured Paintings

I've been working on adding lots of texture to my paintings. I have been putting layers of crumpled up tissue paper on them. I put a layer of paint, then tissue paper and more paint. I move the paper around and bunch it up in some areas and spread it out in others. It does take a while to dry, but adds a nice 3-D affect.

HUGE SALE ON CLOAKS

After almost a month of computer issues and problems getting it fixed, I am officially back online!!! So now I have added several new cloaks just in time for Halloween to my Etsy site. www.mwestdesigns.etsy.com And all my cloaks that were $49 are now $39!! Check out the new dark purple, silver, and olive velvet cloaks.

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!!!