Weaving Retreat #1- Looms, We Gotcher Looms Right Here!

I was only able to spend one day at the Weaving Retreat this year, but oh, what a day it was. I came home with several days' worth of posts. It was such fun (and so relaxing) to go to a retreat as a student and a participant (I teach at most of the festivals I attend). I learned so much just by watching the other weavers, but I learned even more with their kind help and advice. Also, we laughed. A lot.

But more about that tomorrow. Today- the looms (and this is not all of them- a couple of the pictures came out too fuzzy, and I'm sure I missed a few). In addition to knitters and crocheters, and at least a dozen spinning wheels (including my own), and lots of good food, there were looms. Everywhere, looms. Which was pretty intoxicating to a new weaver.

 Connie P had a little vintage 4-harness table loom. It's all metal, and look at the amazing towel/runner she's weaving!

 Kelly was using Kauni to weave a lacy shawl on this triangle loom.

Connie H spent the day warping this huge 8-harness floor loom. Tomorrow, I'll show you how she did that, and what she makes. Prepare to be blown away.

 Betty wove on this teeny little Weave-it loom (it's about 2" square).

 More little looms.

 Lorna wasn't sure that she was going to like weaving, or her vintage 4-harness table loom, but she fell in love.

 This is the Ashford Knitters Loom- I am currently lusting for this exact loom, but I am being good and learning the ins and outs of my own little loom first. I deserve a prize because the loom was right there, in front of me all day, on sale... and still I did not buy it.

 Candy wove a laceweight triangle on this loom- I think she plans to sew a lot of them together, patchwork style for a shawl.

Jill wove an amazing band on this inkle loom.

I believe this is a also an Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom- a fairly wide one- at least 24". It was also on sale, and I did not buy it.

And this is my little loom, a Beka Child/Beginner loom. I finished weaving the pre-warped portion, and with the advice of the wonderful weavers, I was able to warp it with my handspun cotton all by myself. Which I will show you tomorrow, along with pictures of the wonderful Weavers, and the fun we had!

Look what the UPS man dropped off!

Simple, basic, for children, pre-warped. I might even be able to figure it out.

And guess who's going to a weaving retreat tomorrow? Great timing, eh?

AI Season 11 Top 7 Elimination- 04-19-12

We open with the Hipstamatic version of last week's drama- all of the colors bled down a bit, and fuzzy around the edges. Somewhere in there, a screen pops up that says "SHOCKER" in big letters. There's only one elimination that that would truly shock me, and that would be Phil's. And I seriously doubt that's what's going to happen tonight.

JLo's  wearing apple green, high-waisted flare pants, a drapey white halter top, and a deeply messy ponytail. How messy? She looks like she just rolled out of bed. Randy is in gray jacket that whiffs of Fab Four. Steven is dressed in someone's red velvet couch. Ryan is in a blue suit with a spiffy red pocket square.

Taylor Hicks is in the House!!!! And Elliott Yamin!!!!

Ryan reminds us that there are no more saves, and that one of the kids will go home tonight. Hey, I have an idea- how about we send all but 2 home tonight, and then finish this sucker off next week? Good idea, right? Oh, and Kris Allen is going to sing.

The group sing is Dancing in the Street, and amazingly enough, they sound fine. Most of the girls are in rompers, and everyone but Elise is is wearing bright and ugly colors. Elise is wearing Bright and Patriotic colors. They sort of dance, but there is no Pointy Pose, though I would have settled for Jazz Hands.

The kids are seated on the bleachers for the Fordmercial, which posits that the constellations were invented in the 80's. Or something like that.

Ryan calls Joshua (charcoal gray vest, white tee shirt, hat) and Hollie (poofy top hair, pink and purple romper shorts, high heels) down. Iovine thinks that Joshua helped himself last night. He thinks that Hollie was not as nervous last night but that she'll still be in the Bottom 3. Jimmy is right- Joshua (whose elimination might have been a minor shocker) is safe and Hollie is not.

It took the show years, but it must finally have decided that Taylor Hicks isn't the worst thing that ever happened to it, because Ryan is not only talking to him, he's allowing Taylor to plug his upcoming Vegas gig (Yay Taylor!), and to introduce Kris Allen.

Kris has a new album coming out called Thank You Camelia, and a new single called Vision of Love. He's playing a very rustic upright piano on a rotating dais. Kris is still nice looking and pleasantly bland (Phil Phillips Lite). The song is okay and forgettable, and not exactly worthy of all of the flashlights waving in the audience.

Next down are Skylar (cowboy boots, a really ugly green print sundress with a ruffle neck in front and a weird string arrangement in back, and a wide white belt. Oh yeah, and an eagle necklace) and Elise (loose asymmetrical deep red blouse over a short, tight royal blue skirt, and a look of utter defeat). Iovine says that Skylar delivered, and she gets better and better every week. He says that Elise is going to be in the Bottom 3 again. Still. Some More. And once again, Jimmy is right. Skylar is safe, and Elise joins Hollie.

Ryan's tribute to Dick Clark is lovely. My mom was very young, and I distinctly remember watching American Bandstand with her after I got home from school in the later 50's.

LMFAO is singing now... or at least they're performing, along with a guy wearing a box on his head, and a couple of people in a zebra suit, and several enthusiastic dancers. Be honest with me- this is actually a joke right? One of these guys is really Weird Al Yankovic. Gotta be, because no one could possibly take this stuff seriously.

Next up is Colton (printed tee shirt and a denim vest, and no red streak in his hair), Phil (do I really need to describe what Phil is wearing? I'm pretty sure you can figure it out on your own), and Jessica (red, black, and white print romper shorts, a braid in her hair, and the highest heels I've ever seen). Jimmy thinks that everything about Colton's performance last night was wrong (Yay Jimmy!), and that Phil chooses great songs for himself, and that Jessica is singing songs that are way too old for her (though what choice does she have most weeks, when the themes were all outdated before she was born?.

Ryan puts Jessica out of her misery first, and sends her to safety. And now with Phil and Colton standing there, I am suddenly very afraid that Phil will actually be the Shocking Elimination tonight. But no, Phil is safe and Colton joins Hollie and Elise.

Ryan pulls Elise aside and walks her to the stools, and Elise knows she's a goner. Except not. Elise is safe. Stunned, but safe.

Colton and Hollie huddle, and Ryan takes a deep breath... and sends Colton home!

While it's not exactly a shocker, or at least only shocking in that Hollie survived yet another trip to the Bottom 3, the people who liked Colton are certainly surprised. Hollie is surprised, and weeping (out of sadness, or perhaps survivor guilt). Colton looks a little stunned, and his family is in shock, so I guess there is some shockiness involved.

He sings that song where he ends up on his knees, except this time he starts out on his knees. Hollie is falling apart, and Phil is looking at his own feet. The others look as though they didn't realize that winning meant that the others would lose.

So, no more Colton next week. Yay!

AI Season 11 Top 6 (no wait, it's still 7) Performance- 04-18-12

Why is this show still 2 hours long? I'm tired and I want to go to bed.

I forgot that no one went home last week, but the show sure remembers. We get the whole drama again, Silent Movie Style.

JLo is wearing a dress that can best be described as a skin-tight armadillo suit with ab-windows. Her hair is pulled up and back in barrettes. Randy is in a lavender blazer with a peace sign patch, and a huge white watch. Steven looks like a fabric store threw up on him. Ryan is in a dark blue suit. He takes time to acknowledge the passing of Dick Clark.

Tonight the kids will each sing 2 songs, the first chosen from songs released between 2000-now, and the second will be Soul. Good luck with that one, kiddos.

#1 Hollie is going to sing Rolling in the Deep, and I think I have formally reached Adele Overload.
Iovine advises Hollie to sing and not think. I would have advised her to choose pretty much any other song. Onstage, Hollie has great hair, a sparkly blue top, an icicle necklace, and long loose layered transparent pants over capris. Seriously. Anyway, I would have bet against Hollie being able to do this song justice, but she's proving me wrong. The judges are happy, though Randy heard non-existent pitch problems.

#2 Colton is singing Lady Gaga (I reached Lady Gaga Overload long ago). Onstage, Colton is in red leather pants, a lacy transparent black droopy shirt, and a black and silver coat that is short in front and has shredded tails in back. And he has a bright red streak in his hair. This may be his most ridiculous outfit yet, and that's saying something. This is that Ga-Ga-ooh-la-la song and it's terrible (not just the song, but this particular performance). There's lots of squatting and shouting and smoke and backup people all dressed in white. The judges love it. sigh.

#3. Elise is singing Alicia Keys' No One. Iovine thinks that Elise feels like and underdog, and that she is judged week-to-week on the individual performances, with not much fan support. Elise is wearing an orange, one-shouldered dress with a transparent, floaty, gathered, long overdress. The elements are terrible, but the dress doesn't look that bad on her. Her song is not particularly melodic, but she's doing well with it. JLO gets GOOSIES! Steven was not thrilled with the song choice. Randy compliments Elise's restraint.

#4. Phil is singing Usher's You Got it Bad. Iovine has wisely decided to stop pushing Phil to be anything but what Phil is. Onstage, Phil is wearing a gray tee. He starts out on a stool, with his guitar (doing a pretty intricate strum). There are also bongos and a sax onstage. I don't' know this song, but I like it. Phil gets a Standing O from the judges.

#5. Jessica is singing Alicia Keys' Falling. Iovine says that Jessica has to save herself. Onstage, she has big big earrings, wavy hair, and a white belted thing that I think is a dress at first, but when she moves, I see that it's actually a flowing jumpsuit. This girl wants to win, and she sounds fantastic. The audience gives her a Standing O, though the judges stay seated. They assure Jessica that they loved it though.

#6. Skylar is singing Lady Gaga's Born This Way (damn, I'm doing a lot of sighing tonight). Iovine gives her good, specific advice. Onstage, Skylar is wearing egg whisks for earrings, black latex leggings, a white shirt that gathers right over the hips, a long floaty open shirt (and by long, I mean knee length), topped by a sparkly silver vest. The whole thing is cinched tight with a wide belt. If Hifiger is responsible for the sartorial sinning tonight, he needs to be fired. I imagine that Skylar did fine with this song, but it didn't do anything for me. JLo gushes, Steven's glad Skylar was born that way, Randy says she has crossover appeal.

#7. Oh for crying out loud, Joshua is singing Fantasia's I Believe. Iovine says that being in the Bottom 3 has given Joshua the deer-in-the-headlights look. Onstage, he's wearing a red blazer over a black shirt with white pin dots. Fantasia herself goes batshit on this song, and I fully expect Joshua to do the same. He holds back, which is good, but I still don't like him or this song, which is pure schmaltz. He gets a Standing Judge O.

Everyone's second songs will come from the Soul Train years. This should be interesting, if by *interesting*, I mean *train-wrecky*.

#1-2 Hollie gets a greeting from the Liverpool Football (soccer) Club. She's wearing a short, tight pink dress with cap sleeves. She's singing Son of a Preacher Man, entering at the top of the stairs, and then very gingerly makes her way down. Advice: if you can't sing and walk down stairs at the same time, start out on the flat ground. There are definitely some bad notes in this, but worse yet, there is absolutely no soul. However, the judges love it.

#2-2 Colton is singing Earth Wind and Fire's September. He's wearing black with a gray scarf, and is seated at a red baby grand piano. Yikes- this is terrible, all emo and angst and whine. The Hub, who is quite conversant with 70's music, didn't recognize the song at all. It's been Colton-ized into a mish-mosh of wailing. Steven didn't like the song choice. JLo was not thrilled either. Neither was Randy. Maybe Colton will finally be in the bottom 3.

#3-2 Elise is singing Let's Get it On. She's wearing floaty black high-waisted pants and a black strapless top, with a black shrug. I like Elise a lot, but this is pretty underwhelming. She starts all slow and sultry on a white couch, but then she gets up and shouts and growls and squats a lot. I didn't like the finish at all. JLo wants more emotion, Steven though it was sexy but  needs more, Randy thinks the song was wrong for her voice.

#4-2 Phil is singing Wilson Pickett's Midnight Hour. He's without guitar, in a black jacket. This song is absolutely perfect for him, and he delivered yet another Phil-Phil performance that has the judges gushing.

#5-2 Jessica is singing Try a Little Tenderness. She's wearing a black leather jacket over a black top with weird white fringes at the neckline, and purple jodphurs. No, I am not making this up. Oh dear, this is really terrible. Yikes! It's shouty, and sharp, and completely unpleasant. I have come to the conclusion that the judges are deaf, because they love it.

#6-2 Skylar is singing Heard it Through the Grapevine. She's wearing a hot pink short dress with an even hem! The bodice has a very (very) deep plunge, and it looks like it's constructed out of black and silver metal. She's singing Aretha's version of the song, and it's everything that Jessica's performance was not. The judges are enthusiastic.

#7-2 Joshua is singing Sam Cooke's A Change is Gonna Come, which I need to mention was my fave Taylor Hicks' audition song, so I'm not apt to like Joshua's version of it, even if I do like it. Which I do not. Joshua is wearing a black, scoop-neck leather vest over a black shirt with either a very drapey collar, or a weirdly tucked scarf. His runaway vibrato is front and center, and he cranks it up to 25 or so by the end. He gets a Standing O from the judges and a shake of the head from me.

Tonight's Worst:
Jessica #2
Colton #1
Colton #2

Dishonorable Mention: Joshua #2

Tonight's Best"
Hollie #1
Phil #1
Phil #2

Honorable Mention Jessica #1

Someone is going home tomorrow night. Probably Elise.

Wordless Quilt Progress, Now with 100% More Fabric for the Binding

Mary talked me into it...

I was actually lusting after a 12" Ashford Knitter's Loom, but outside of making potholders, and a brief stint with a badly warped inkle loom, the only weaving I've ever done was in a class at NCFF. So the $55 made a lot more sense. It looks to be a good little learner loom*, which will arrive in 1-2 weeks, and if it all works out, I can upgrade later.

If it doesn't, I'll blame Mary.

*the link is to an identical loom, except the name is different... and the price. I don't care if my loom is labeled for kids... that should mean that I can figure it out...

I didn't even know I was looking for Droids

But I found 'em...

 I can't remember where I saw a mention of this book, but once I clicked through, I was hooked.

 I mean, look at it- a crocheted R2D2 beanie, a Chewbacca tissue box cover, Yoda finger puppets... Who could resist it? I didn't even try (besides which, I paid a bundle for Amazon Prime so I might as well use it- not only do I get free streaming video, I get free shipping on paper books and products too... and generally a reduced price).

 The best thing about this craft book is that the crafts are ones that not only will appeal to kids, but look like they can be done by them as well. So many craft books are sterile and beautiful, with every single element perfectly placed and photographed (there's not a thing wrong with that- I hope my knitting books are beautiful too...). This book looks like some kids had an absolutely fantastic time playing with all of the projects- which is not to say that anything looks sloppy or slapdash, just that children can actually make these adorable things with a minimum of adult help. Not that I won't be right there with them, when this book travels to SoCal next time we go.

Who could resist this?

Not me...

(you know it's in your head, you might as well hear it with your ears...)