New Stuff: Pinterest

Not so new in the big scheme of things, but new to me. Pinterest is an online service that allows you to collect images that you find anywhere on the web into virtual pinboards. This is great if you're looking for ideas for a diy project, inspiration for your art or your home, or just a place to gather pretty pictures that you can enjoy again and again. You can read more about it on the Pinterest web site.

By using a "Pin It" button that you put in your bookmarks toolbar, you can pin any image you come across. (They always link back to the original image, to give credit where credit is due.) You can also look at other people's boards and follow their pins if you share similar tastes or interests. This is a great way to find things that you might never have happened upon yourself. Then you can either "like" their images or repin them to your own pinboards.

Here are a few random things that I found and pinned:

Source: flickr.com via Liz on Pinterest

Source: abandon-paradise.tumblr.com via jessica on Pinterest

Source: crownhotelbassett.co.uk via charles on Pinterest

You have to ask for an invitation to join Pinterest. It's easy really, you just have to ask them or someone you know who's already using the site. If you're as addicted to the world wide web o' images like I am, it might be worth your while. I know I'm having fun with it!

What new WWWeb wonders have you discovered lately?

A Fresh Start

Happy New Year Chickies!

Yes, I know it's already a week into February. I'm also aware that I haven't posted since last June. I am a bad, bad blogger....

I've written plenty of blog posts in my head. Really. It's just sitting down at the computer to put fingers to keyboard that seems to be the problem. But thanks to a little nudge from a friend I've decided to forgo another Sunday in the Teashanty carding my stash of fiber with the fabulous Strauch Motorized Drum Carder and get back to the blog. Lucky you.

So. What's new? Well, I got an iPad last summer which has been wonderful and very distracting. Words I thought I'd never utter..."Wait! I just have to finish this level..." Computer games. Who knew? But not just games! I can watch Hulu  and PBS (TV on the small screen, like back in the old days), check the weather, go on virtual vacations with Fotopedia Heritage, browse the latest Ikea catalog any time, and create my own decorating idea books with Houzz. Fun fun fun! Apple, I love you :-)

And speaking of Apple, I did a very fun little project using iPhoto back in December. I made a calendar for 2012 using photos of my garden. The quality of the paper and the printing were impressive. It was also super easy to integrate all the birthdays in my iCalendar into the printed version. I'll keep it when the year is over as an album of the best of my 2011 garden photos. Here's a peek:

I guess that's enough catch-up for now. As I think of things past I'll pop them into other posts.

In other news...

For those of you who expect blogs to be useful as well as entertaining I'll pass along my latest web discovery/obsession.

Weavers sometimes make yarn wrappings using colors inspired by images, places, and objects to create color ways for their fabrics. It's a really useful tool for seeing what colors "go together."

Original image from Design Seeds

Recently I wandered into a web site, Design Seeds, that does a similar thing with colors, using a photo to inspire color palettes that could be used for weaving, painting, decorating, or craftwork. I've been disappointed in the lack of winter we've had this year, so I thought this example was particularly nice.

If you're looking for a jump start for your next creative project you might want to hop on over to Design Seeds and take a look. You may see colors put together in new and unexpected ways.

Until next time my little chicklets, be creative, and think SNOW!

What to do next?

So, the bean tapestry is off the loom, and I've trimmed it up and steamed it. The good news is that the bubbles seem to have gone away and the whole piece isn't as horribly misshapen as I had feared it would be. Actually, it's all good news. I even have a vague idea of how I want to mount it - but I'll need to consult with some folks about how to go about it. And probably I'll need to rummage in Otto's scrap pile.

Anyway, now I have to figure out what to do next. Please be very impressed that not only have I completed ONE tapestry, but that I'm actually looking forward to doing another! I've been playing with some of my photos in Photoshop Elements (wheeeee!) and have a few potential designs. Really, I have a lot of potential designs. I just have to figure out

• which one appeals to me most, and 
• which one I might have the skill to take on.

So, for your amusement and mine (probably mostly mine), here are a few of the possibilities. Please bear with me. I had a lot of fun with Photoshop. And do let me know what you think!

Carrying on with my veggie theme, we have "carrots and red potatoes in a colander." Each version becomes slightly more abstract. Click on an image to enlarge.

 

 

I think all three of these are a little odd, but way more interesting than the original photo...

Also, the Chives in my garden. An appealing option since I already have most of the colors leftover from the beans & eggplant.

Daffodils - from most to least abstract.

Does this one make you uneasy? Just wondering...

My buddy Adam and I moved a doorway in my house last summer. I call these "Doorway." :-)

I really like this one for some reason...

 

I also like this one. It seems very atmospheric to me.
It looks like it would need a lot of subtle color blending though...

The Little Red Schoolhouse in Cedar Falls, (or possibly Cedar Rapids) Iowa. My mother-in-law went to school in one just like this when she was very young.  Her mother was the teacher. I like the strong lines and intense colors in this one.

Although I'm pretty much ready for spring, I thought these photos from an icy morning in Happy Valley looked interesting.

I think the sharp angles in all of these would make them hard to weave.

So, there you have them. The possible contenders so far. What do you think? Do any of them make you go ooooh, that should be a tapestry ?

Repurposed window cold frame

Just wanted to share this brilliant idea from the great blog Design*Sponge. As a collector of cast-off treasures (i.e. other people's junk) I really appreciate this great idea for making a cold frame out of old windows.

Read the complete post over at Design*Sponge for construction details and more photos.

I'm off to rummage in the basement and see if I still have any old windows lurking in the corners.

More Eagles!

I just had to pass on this link to a great blog, Life Looms Large. The author has given me permission to share her post with my small but mighty group of readers, so I'll just whet your appetite with this photo that her husband took at the Merrimac River Eagle Festival last year. There are more great photos of the eagles, and eagle watchers on her blog.

Mrs. Life Loom Large has interesting posts with lots of great photos. In fact, her blog turned me on to the online Digital Photography School - a website with tons of great information and opportunities to participate and learn through their forums. Hopefully it will help me get the hang of my new DLSR, which still confounds me on a regular basis!

Yesterday I spent the afternoon in the studio culling old magazines. They are now tied up in tidy bundles to go to the YMCA thrift store. (That store helps support programs that benefit the Virginia Tech community and the community in the New River Valley. They offer some outstanding programs via their Open University program.) I have this hope that someone will wander in there and "discover" the weaving magazines and yarn that I'm dropping off and will get excited about learning how to weave.  Also, I've cleared out the binders and boxes that the magazines were stored in, and they will be going to our wonderful Guild Librarian who will hopefully be able to make good use of them. Best of all, "that corner" of the studio is nice and tidy now and I've eked out a little more space in my loft!

Today, as soon as it warms up out there, I plan on working on my tapestry. Does it seem like I'm avoiding the Warping Wheel? Hmmmm. Maybe I am :-)

Inspiration: Old Barns and Sheds

Another eagle sighting in Happy Valley.

More snowy days this week, but not enough to keep us home. A trip through Happy Valley gave us another eagle sighting. He was soaring over the fields and these old barns.

I've always been attracted to old buildings. As we say in our house, I never met a hovel I didn't like! When we travel I tend to take lots of photos of buildings. I like whole buildings, parts of buildings, and the way buildings fit together.  Often, buildings that are in ruins or show the wear of use and age are the most interesting and evocative.  Which leads me back to the barns.

Since I find them so inspiring I thought I'd collect some of the old barn and shed photos laying around the hard drive and post them here. Perhaps I'll use one, or parts of one for a tapestry? I'm looking for inspiration for my next piece since I'm closing in on the end of the green beans. While I'm waiting for the studio to warm up I'll post a few of the photos I like.

What inspires you?

The Happy Valley barns on a morning in summer.

Another barn in Happy Valley

The barns of Maggie, in Happy Valley

Hay storage shed in Floyd. So much texture here!

Near downtown Floyd

Old house, now used as a shed. The backroads of Floyd County

Nova Scotia Shed. Love the lobster trap and the red door!

Rogers red barn. It really was that color. Really!

Garage on the Isle of Lewis

Locked shed in the Scottish Highlands.