It has been a long, hot summer, with most time spent inside weaving! My busy weaving assistant, Roux, is demonstrating how we cope with the heat. But now temps are only climbing to very tolerable low to mid 90s (which is heaven compared to 110!), nights are cooler, & the white wing doves have left-- a sure sign that fall is coming! I have been busily weaving scarves, belts, & shawls in preparation for the Tucson Museum of Arts craft fair in which our local weaving guild participates twice a year, in November & March. Pictures of those will be posted soon!
Here is this year's bobcat kitten, hiding in our lemon tree while mama forages for dinner. We've had a bobcat family here every summer for the last 3 years-- one of the many desert residents we are fortunate enough to share our home with!
My other project this summer was the restoration & construction of this old LeClerc tapestry loom that I bought in the spring. It stands 5'10" & has a weaving width of 45". She was in rough shape, but with a little TLC she's now warped & I have my first project started--- a rug, which I am weaving with some of the fiber I dyed back in spring--see the color palette below.
2 comments:
Wow - bobcats forage in your garden! I kind of want to say 'how cute' but I think that I shouldn't get into the habit of neglecting to remember that these creatures are predators that I should respect and keep a little distance from [rather than something to cuddle.] Having said that - he a is gorgeous little thing! What is Roux's response to having other creatures in your space?
Your loom is fantastic. Which of the fibres that you dyed are you planning to use on the loom?
Hi, Kate! Yes, we are very respectful of our bobcats, but they are so very beautiful it's hard not to feel like you could pick the kitten up for a quick hug! But, we try to never get too close & usually watch them from our windows...we never let Roux out unattended (we also have coyotes here). When she sees bobcats or coyotes through the window (or hears the coyotes howling), she usually barks & gets pretty "huffy"!
I love my loom! I'm using wool in greens, yellow, & dark brown that I dyed with some chaparral sage that grows on our property. I buy my wool from a trading post located in NE Arizona... the blue wool came from there also, but it was dyed by the Navajo women who sell their natural dyed yarn at the trading post. I have not yet used any dyes that produce blue, but that is a future goal!
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