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Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Tuesday Sunshine!



Sunday was a lovely birthday, snow notwithstanding. My sister came over and presented me a beautiful quilt as a birthday present.


The pattern is Flying Geese, and the batt is wool. Perfect for winter.


Purrfect for cats, too. Toby misses no opportunity to snuggle with wool.


Jan helped me lay out a color sequence for my next warp. It will be cool blues and purples, with that big cone of cotton slub there on the bottom.


And here we are, up to today, blue skies from horizon to horizon. 


The red towels are finished, and ready to wing away. The blue and green are finished, too. Ha, ha! Down to a pair apiece, there.


I haven't tied the warp back to the breast beam yet. There probably are a dozen and a half towels left on the warp beam.


They will be one or the other of these oranges. I'm leaning heavily to the lighter one. Orange cremesicle, I'd call it. Then the boucle warp from above for light summer shrugs or the like. I'll have to flip the yardage in the air and see how it lands. (Boucle is French for bump, I used to tell my customers.)

These last dozen plus towels will be the end of my towel flags. The little project has been a blessing to me. Before you get all snotty nosed and have soggy tissues in your pockets, here is an old poem, by A.W. Meek, who died in Australia, in 1988. I have a framed copy over my desk.

Something to do is a wonderful thing.
Keep up your stride. Stay in the ring.
Labor is blessing. A bright one and true.
Be thankful, be happy, for
Something to do.

I believe everyone likes the towels; they've all gone to good homes, in pairs and some to spare. I am just short of 200, so it's not over from that standpoint. Like swinging for the bleachers, bottom of the nineth, score tied, no one on base.

One of you suggested a map with pins for destinations. I may do a brief, anonymous survey of states and countries. Too many of us are missing, for one reason or another. Who remembers Graham, One Stoned Crow, the incredible photographer from anywhere in Africa, mostly South Africa?

Or Tom, Hippo on the Lawn? I believe his address was anywhere in the world. 

I do wish the best for all of us who have thrown hats into the blogger ring. And fishing lines. And flags. And words. We all are blessed.




38 comments:

  1. That is a great poem and so true. There is nothing worse than doing nothing. As a recipient of the beautiful towels, I do feel blessed. And a belated happy birthday!

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  2. Anyone who receives your towels is fortunate. They are absorbent and colorful. Anyway I really like the poem. It is an inspiration for us all.

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  3. Happy belated birthday! That quilt is a glory, isn't it?
    I love my dishtowels more than you can know. They are the sort of thing that do truly bring me joy.
    And like you, I am happiest when I am busy. But with busy-ness that I want to be doing! I'm a selfish doer.
    I am so glad you're getting sunshine. You've waited a long, long time for spring.

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  5. I'll start again! Happy birthday Joanne. That quilt is so pretty - I love that pattern and also the colours.
    The friend who wove me a scarf so admires the dishtowels you sent me and the pattern on them. She was interested to see the size of your loom - hersis only a very small one. So far I haven't used your towels - they are too pretty to put to use!

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    1. My loom is fairly small. It is a 36" LeClerc Artistat, a loom that can be folded for storage. It is lightweight. In the past we wove on far bigger and heavier looms. For my price, this was the best I could find.

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  6. Your towels are much loved in this house. I can't say thank you enough!

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  7. Orange cremesicle - do they still sell those? Brings back childhood memories. One Stoned Crow - I miss his posting. His blog is still up but he has not posted since 2013. http://onestonedcrow.blogspot.com/

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  8. Best towels EVER! They are a revelation of what dish towels were meant to be.

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  9. Fortunate to also be recipients of a pair of towels. They are very special. Many thanks Joanne.

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  10. What a gorgeous quilt and wonderful birthday present! And you know I love the towels you sent me. I use them all the time!

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  11. Every day I look at the towels and they fill me with joy, I am happy to be part of a human circle of giving that surrounds the world.

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  12. And I hope you all put them to use. As Colette says, they are little workhorses that actually soak up water and anything else you need them for.

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  13. A.W Meek was spot on. I am sure that without my voluntary work I would have drowned by now.
    Love your towels and use them often.
    The quilt is a beauty too and I am very glad your birthday was good.

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  14. Whenever I see your towels in photo or in my cabinet I sign with contentment. I use them frequently when I make bread. I use them as a cover while the dough is rising. They will last forever this way. The quilt your sister made for your birthday is stunning.

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  15. Happy Birthday, Joanne! Your sister's quilt to you is wonderful. I love a deep purple.

    I am looking at one of your lovely, lavender towels from across the kitchen right now. x

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  16. I am so much enjoying my towels! So beautiful. And I LOVE the quilt your sister gave you. The colors are great. And happy birthday to you, Joanne!

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  17. A Happy Birthday to you.....a package is going in the mail tomorrow....it DOES contain your pebbles among other things. The pebbles came from the yard at McCrae House here in Guelph. It is the birthplace of John McCrae who penned In Flanders Fields. One of Guelphs little 'claims to fame'. The pebbles are VERY grey as are most of the older buildings in Guelph....but they came from the flower beds NOT the driveway where they could have been from anywhere lol. Your towels are beautiful and very much appreciated here in Guelph Ontario. Again...Happy Birthday and all the best that wishes can bring.

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  18. The quilt takes my breath away! And the wool batting, oh my! how fabulous! Makes me want to curl up and suck my thumb...BUT it is spring here so there will be none of that...the winter almost broke me! I do not like seeing your snow out the window!

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  19. Happy to say that I have stopped saving the towels for "good." They have been put to work. One is now hanging on the oven door and the other is hanging on the refrigerator door. Beautiful splashes of color! My grandmother had a half dozen pretty nightgowns she was saving for "good" and "good" never got there in time. I hope whoever got them didn't save them for good.

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  20. I use the first set you gave me, but display the new green ones you just sent me. They are too pretty to wipe dishes right now. How wonderful it was for me to receive them. I was so proud to tell my family of your lovely gift to me. I can tell you that I had tears in my eyes after I opened the package. It meant a lot, Joanne, and I am sincerely grateful for your kindness.

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  21. I feel honored to have been given these towels Joanne. I think probably the most special gift I've ever received. I don't want to dirty them so they've not been used yet. My husband says they should be framed. Thank you for your generosity and kindness. We need to clone you!

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  22. Looks like some one been creative. Like colors in your quilt.
    Coffee is on

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  23. I'm not even kidding when I say one of your red towels is hanging on my fridge right now. They wash up beautifully and I love them! They are superior to anything store bought and I have always loved red in a kitchen. My mind boggles when I think of trying to rig up that loom of yours. -Jenn

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  24. We indeed are all so blessed! I'm blessed that you shared your talents with me and so many others with the towels. That quilt is so lovely! Glad it was a great birthday!

    betty

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  25. That quilt is so beautiful, love the purple border. I have one of your blue towels currently in my kitchen, I think of you and the distance it came, every time I dry something with it.

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  26. What a lovely quilt. Toby obviously appreciates it!

    Indeed, I also have many long-lost bloggers and I wonder what happened to them all. Did they tire of me, tire of blogging - or simply die? I shall never know.

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  27. We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful community, especially one with you in it, Joanne.

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  28. Your towels are beautiful, Joanne.
    Your birthday present was well deserved! I like using wool batting, good when hand quilting and snuggly when done.

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  29. List me as one who loves and enjoys your towels - in fact, one is in use in the kitchen as we speak. Weave on!

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  30. I so very much wonder what happened to Hippo and his family. I was a devoted reader of his posts. If only there was a way to find out...

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  31. Oh that quilt! It is magnificent! She must love you a whole big pile.
    My towels are gorgeous, Daughter was so envious when she was here I gave her the one she was stroking so lovingly :D
    I have found you a small local stone and this will wing its way to you shortly. I hope you can find Newfoundland on your map.
    XO
    WWW

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  32. that quilt is gorgeous. how lucky to have a quilter in the family. and how lucky I am to have a weaver as a friend. I love the little poem cause, yeah. I am a doer, don't like to just sit around. my friend who does the fused glass had a sign in his studio in a prominent position. all it said was PERSEVERE. I've always taken that to heart, stubborn thing that I am. can't wait to see what comes off the loom after the towels are done.

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  33. Happy Birthday, belated by now. We are on the road so unable to post but I can at least join the group in sending heartfelt wishes.

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  34. To answer the question you asked about the butterfly research in Costa Rica--I don't think the butterfly garden owners were experimenting with diet. I just happened to ask the guide about the lifespan of a butterfly and her answer was that the ones who are fruit lived a little longer than the ones that had sugar water. The enclosure for the sugar-water butterflies was much smaller than the the one for the fruit eaters--maybe to give us a better chance of seeing a butterfly at rest. They didn't seem to fly around as much in the smaller area.

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  35. We certainly are. How about a couple of runners to use up the warp?

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  36. Many bloggers have come and gone. Most have simply settled into FB, but too many others have left these shores entirely.

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