Something new

My good friend, Kristi, from the Argyle Fiber Mill was kind enough to lend me her triangular loom to see if it would be something I enjoyed before I took the plunge and bought one.  I watched the video that came with the loom, rounded up my supplies and got started.  The first day I worked on the shawl for 5 hours........and I was hooked.  I used a  light musket  and gray yarn that I hand spun, the black and moorit yarn is mill spun.  I can't wait to get started on another one, but the since I had to return the loom, I needed to either cough up the funds for a loom or make one.  Luckily, there's yahoo group that is for Tri-loom junkies and they have some great instructions for make a tri-loom in the files section.  

My first weaving attempt..100% OK Acres Shetland wool

Saturday I loaded up my 1" x 3" x 8' boards and headed to my mom and dad's house where a fully equipped wood shop resides in my parents garage.  My dad and I spent the better part of that day building the tri-loom that you see in the picture below.  The only change I made was to add nails every 1/4" so that I could weave with DK weight yarn as well as the bulky yarn.  

Triangular loom that my dad and I made this past weekend

A very simple felted mouse and my first felting experience.  LOVED IT!!!
Body is made from 50/50 blend of Shetland and Alpaca

This little fella was created while I was is in Waukesha at the WI Spin In.  My mouse in nowhere near as spectacular as Sabrina's that she lent to FFSSA for the display booth.  Mine is kind of like what a 1st grader would create and Sabrina's is what a college aged art major would make.  :)

The World's Nicest Potato Bin

My father does a lot of incredibly handy things, and most of what he does is done with wood.  He has a scroll saw and makes some of the most beautiful and intricate items I've ever seen.  Since my husband and I decided to start squirreling away food from our garden, we've found we don't have a good storage container for our potatoes, onions and garlic.  I asked my dad if he could make a simple bin with 3 compartments for storing all our taters and such and he said, "Sure, what do you want".  I found a design on the internet that was a relatively simple box with a lid..........well, that certainly wasn't going to be what I got, what I ended up with when my dad was done, was a work of art!!!
So without further ado, let me present...........the World's nicest potato bin.......TAAAADDAAAAA!!!

Notice the doors towards the bottom, so we can access our "stuff" after the supply has gotten
towards the bottom of the bin.  Keep in mind, this bin stands almost as high as my chest.

Rear view showing the pegboard for ventilation

Top view with the lid open, center section for tators, two outer sections for
onions and garlic.  Does anyone have any idea how much garlic that would be?