How NOT to Launder a Cat

We've moved. It's gone very smoothly, thanks to the assistance of several friends who stepped up & volunteered to help pack. There has been only one mishap. Do you remember my post from long ago about laundering a cat? Well, I must have tempted The Fates because while we were unpacking, unbeknownst to us, Angus plopped himself inside of our front loading washer. After a day of unpacking & scrubbing, I threw the last of the towels into the washer & turned it on. It was just a matter of seconds before I discovered that the flopping mass inside of the washer was our kitty. The worst part was that I used the hottest water possible. Poor guy received burns to all four paws, and bruises, and earned himself a trip to the emergency all-night vet. He's doing okay now, other than being one pissed kitty.


We love our new home. Doug has had his work cut out for him, sorting through miles of miscellaneous cables, and attaching them to various pieces of technology. I've enlisted the help of a friend - retired efficiency person - to arrange kitchen cupboards in a logical and orderly fashion. After we get all settled, we hope to bring in a few animals - alpacas, sheep & chickens. :-))))))

Movers & Weavers

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post. Life has been a whirlwind. Since my last post, our trip to Walla Walla, we sold our house, bought a house, I’ve participated in yet another weaving workshop (truly, if I had a clue that all this would happen in the same time frame, I’d have opted out of the weaving workshop), P.E.O. convention in Spokane WA, and packing up to move. Surprisingly, things are falling into place.


We have to be out of our house by Friday, and can’t move into the new place until Monday. We’re going camping, and over the weekend, all of our stuff will be residing in trucks, storage units, and the barn at our new place.

One of my dear friends emailed me out of the blue, offering to spend a day helping pack. This offer included bringing lunch. She is a fellow craft-person, so her help in placing the entire contents of what had become the “sewing room” was invaluable. It is all in boxes now, carefully labeled & we were actually able to retrieve an item desperately needed by my hubby. *He* needed something from the sewing room. Who would have guessed?


The weaving workshop was on woven shibori. I’m including a couple of photos so you can see what we did. First, with 10/2 cotton, wove four shots of plain weave alternating with one shot of pattern, which in my case was a five-thread advancing twill, 8 shaft pattern. The pattern shots were of crochet cotton, and those threads were then pulled up & tied, forming the flat woven fabric into a tightly pleated, narrow piece of fabric. Then, into the dyepot. I did two immersions into instant indigo and then painted with thickened Procion MX in sun yellow. The thickened paint stayed on the top surface of the pleats. Voila! If I use this technique again, I will most likely weave the pattern shots alternating with 6 rows of plain weave and I will most likely not do itty bitty fine pleats.

Now, off to pack!