Blank mind.

   Short post today, my minds blanker than usual. I've got the loom set up to finish off weaving the clothespin peg bag. I'm still not 100% on the hemming so may play it safe and fold over the edges like a normal hem. I'd also like to make a start on knitting a washcloth as well but think I'll be too busy weaving and sewing. Maybe next week I can start knitting again.

   Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Weaving again?

   I'm going to finish weaving the bottom front piece of the clothespin peg bag this afternoon, I think it only needs a couple of rows and hemming. I think I might need to watch a couple more videos of hemming first, I know how to do the stitch but am unsure about what happens when you take it off the loom. Do I need  to fold over the edges or is the hem stitch enough to hold the work together? I think if the piece kept a fringe of the warps the hem stitch would work on its own but alas the clothespin peg bag doesn't have a fringe.

   I've found a very simple pattern for knitting a washcloth, start at the corner with 3 stitches then yarn overs for each row to the middle of the washcloth then decreases. Looking at the picture it looks fragile to me but my friend assures me it isn't, I have plenty of this grey yarn so I'll give it a go over the next few days.

  The weather is still muggy here but I think is about to break either today or tomorrow with lots of rain and maybe thunder storms. I'll be glad when its cooler.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Peg bag almost done.

  Almost finished the bottom front part of the clothespin peg bag, have to remember to hem stitch the top part while its still on the loom. I've already stitched the bottom, on the back piece of the bag I forgot to hem stitch it while it was still on the loom. I figure I should be able to get the bottom front piece finished and off the loom today, in between brewing some bitter and tidying the house.

  The winds blown over another 3 tomato plants, they will survive but in a diminished state. I think I've lost about half my tomato crop this year due to winds, its like its been November all year with these winds almost blowing gales all year round. The tobacco is still doing well but it looks like I'll have to remove the poly tunnel as there is very little room left in there for them, I hope they can survive the winds outside.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Still weaving

   Still working on the front bottom piece of the clothespin peg bag, only managed a couple of rows yesterday. I'm hoping I can finish the bottom piece today then warp the loom for the top front piece, that will only take about 3.5 to 4 inches of weaving so should go quickly. I need to start thinking about joining the pieces and button holes. I wasn't too happy with the looped button hole on the last piece but that was probably more down to me and not being able to do it tidily. I might knit small Icords and use those as loops.

  To join the front and back of the clothespin peg bag I've been thinking of weaving a thin inkle band and using that inbetween the two pieces, more sewing and weaving for me but I think it will not only look better but function better as well. I'd need to finish weaving the dog collar I have on the inkle loom first though. It never seems to end.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Back piece is woven.

   The back piece of the clothespin peg bag is finished and off the loom, at the moment I'm weaving the front bottom piece and have gotten about 3 inches done. I think another inch and a half to two inches and it will be done. The over all piece is 9.5 inches long. The back piece is a little messy colour wise but the front is looking ok even though I'm trying to match the colour changes. All part of the learning process.

  My landlord is still on holiday so the plumbing jobs are off the table until next week, oh well at least I have running water now. I might take another crack at fixing the problems myself, apart from the cock stop. I really don't want to mess that job up. Of course having the landlord/plumber come over to do some work means I have to tidy up odd places in the house like under the shelf where the stop cock is. Oh what fun.

  Not much else is really going on here, no tomatoes on my plants yet but there flowering. I think the potatoes are done for this year due to the slugs and snail. My tobacco plants are doing pretty well, the big one is still head and shoulders above the rest, its almost 4 feet tall now and with giant leaves. As long as I get a crop of tobacco I'll be happy with my gardening for this year.

  Hope you all had a good weekend, have a great day and take care folks.

Back to my weaving.

   The plumbing didn't go as well as I expected, I've gotten half the job done and have running water but will need the landlords help finishing off. 
   Now I can get back to my weaving and try and make a dent in it this weekend. I should easily be able to finish the back part of the clothespin peg bag and make a start on the front parts. I hadn't thought too much about colour, keeping it close to greens and blues though and I've decided to try and match the rows front and back. Common sense really but it only crossed my mind the other day.

   I've bought two books on braiding, finger weaving, Indian braiding, which is flat braiding and braiding and knots, which is flat and solid braiding. There both very interesting and will help me put nice finishes on my inkle bands and help me learn back strap weaving as well. I'll dive into the subject once this clothespin peg bag is finished.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

No fits.

    The dogs not had another fit since Sunday 4.30pm so with luck I'll get to sleep in my own bed tonight instead of on the dreaded couch. I've already lowered the dogs meds but not as low as they were. I'm giving him the original 45mg in the mornings and 60mg at night, not sure if the mixed sizes work but I can't cut the tablets into equal amounts. For his weight he should be able to take 100mg twice daily but these meds can be hard on the liver so I prefer to give the lowest amount possible. He's due blood tests this month so I will see how his liver is and what the vet says, it might be best to go with 60mg twice a day.

   I've not gotten much done, a tiny bit of weaving on the clothespin peg bag. I'm hoping I can get the front of the bag finished tomorrow, can't get much done on it today as I'm busy. I did sew the hem on the bottom part while its still on the loom with invisible thread, I hate invisible thread its a royal pita to use.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Dogs fitting again.

   My dog started having fits again on Saturday, he had 3 on Saturday and two yesterday. The seizures where pretty short and the first 3 his recovery time was good, his recovery times on Sunday weren't so good and he was very clingy and restless most of the day. Being stuck in doors most of the day didn't help, rained hard and must of put down several inches. 
  He seemed very bright and alert this morning but while walking him he became a bit skittish sniffing around and jumpy so i don't think the fits are over yet. I've increased his meds from 45mg to 60mg but I think they will take a while to feed through his system.

  I've made a start on the clothespin peg bag but haven't really gotten a lot done. Its hard to work while worrying about the dog, plus I've been sleeping on the couch the last two nights so that the dog sleeps downstairs. I've weaved about 3 inches so far on the back piece of the bag in a mish mash of blues and greens. No idea how its going to turn out colour wise but should be interesting.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Weekend weaving.

   My order for 500g of white cotton arrived this morning along with another book I found on ebay. I haven't had a chance to look the book over yet but its by Nina Holland and its just about inkle weaving. I have her other book on inkle, backstrap and frame looms and really liked it so think this one on just inkle looms should be great.

  I need to mow and trim the front garden, grass and trees, but after that I will set up the loom to weave another clothespin peg bag for my mom. I've no idea on what colours to use as I don't have all that much cotton left, I'm bidding on more but that will be next week and I don't want to wait. I could take apart the original peg bag to re use the weft but I want to save that so I don't make the same mistakes ever again. All part of the learning process.

  I've decided to weave the new clothespin peg bag in three pieces, one back piece and two front pieces. This way will give me more chances to work on my hems and I think will produce a nicer result. The loom isn't made for winding cloth or yarn, it can be done but it means taking most of the loom apart which can't be good for the tension.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Start again.

   Big hic up with the clothespin peg bag. I'd almost finished sewing it all up with the buttons on when I noticed some of the bag was coming apart. I had used invisible thread to sew the hem but I don't know much about sewing hems so hadn't really secured the warp threads. Everything I've done in the past has had a fringe so you just tie knots to secure, job done.

  Next time I weave something with a hem I'll do a hem stitch while the works still on the loom, I had to look in one of my books and found a hem stitch. Which should be soon because I have to start again. The bag hasn't fallen apart its just that the weft is all loose near the hand hole due to the warp coming loose. The actual hem part holding the weft has stayed in place.

  Lessons learned, theres something called a hem stitch, don't cut the fringe so close to the knots and don't try to finish something at the last min.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Almost finished.

   Almost finished the clothespin peg bag, less than an inch and its all done. Well it will need sewing and buttons. I've decided to do loops for the button holes seeing as I lost the original idea on what I was supposed to be doing. As long a I don't run into any unforeseen problems I should get it finished today.

  I'll leave the post here for now and get on with the bag, I might update the blog later when I have finished. Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.