Weaving and Gardening
Dec. 25th, 2006 02:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helwenWent out to try to make sense of what warp was left on what is now my floor loom (was my mother's). Mostly out of curiosity. It seems to have been a twill pattern, possibly twill stripes alternating with tabby stripes. Then we cut it and pulled it off as it's been on the loom for about 30 years and there wasn't much of it anyway. I've picked out some new stuff to work with out of the stock that came with the loom, and started winding it on the warping frame, with help from fitzw. Warp will be white and weft grey w/ white speckles. Not sure of the material content as we haven't tested them, but I think they're both cotton - the grey may have something else in it too, but seems breatheable. Going for a simple 2/2 twill, 4 yards at 22" wide. So each warp thread will be about 5 yards long to allow for starting and ending, and at 12 dents per inch, that's 264 threads. I'm doing it in groups of 66. We just finished winding the first group and needed a break. So, a late lunch, other necessities, and a little time to post to LJ :D
fitzw did manage to weave a little bit before coming over to help me, and will get more time to weave when we go back out.
We also have to make a list of things to look for at Webs, including bringing a few things with us to match for size and/or replacement. Webs is having an end of year sale Dec 26 - Jan 2.
Now, what could I be doing with gardening near the end of December? Well, one thing I could probably do is level out the ground for our future garden bed, seeing as it isn't all that cold out, but no, not today anyway. I did order some seeds last night, which should arrive in a few weeks. http://www.Richters.com has lots of things, and is one of two places I know of so far that carries seed for fiber flax (as opposed to oil flax). I also have a possible lead fromlyanna_beth to follow up on, just to see what's available. Richters sells in bulk, so I went with them for now, for the flax. I also order packets of: Roma tomatoes, Amish Paste tomato, Kentucky Wonder Bean (pole), New Zealand spinach (supposed to be more durable than other spinach), Royal Chantenay carrots (supposed to store well), Gum Arabic (tropical, but gum arabic is useful, so I want to try it out), and Primadonna Deep Rose Echinacea (heirloom and good producer). I shall likely have too many seeds for most of these, except the flax, which we'll need all of. So, I'll have to see what my friends order, and maybe we can do some trading. Or trade produce. The soil here isn't really ideal for squash, for instance. We'll have to do a lot to emend the soil. Now Sage, that I have enough to supply a couple dozen households -- with just two plants :D
There are other plants I'd like to try out, like parsnips and white/green beets, but this seems like a good start. I'd like a couple of cinnamon trees, but I figured I'd be better off getting live ones.... they're slow growers so it'd be years before I could get anything from them, but it seems like another useful plant to have around.
Well, it's about time to go back out and do a bit more work. The next step with what's been wound on the warping board is to tie it up, remove it from the board, and chain it (loop it on itself repeatedly to make it easier to work with).
fitzw. Warp will be white and weft grey w/ white speckles. Not sure of the material content as we haven't tested them, but I think they're both cotton - the grey may have something else in it too, but seems breatheable. Going for a simple 2/2 twill, 4 yards at 22" wide. So each warp thread will be about 5 yards long to allow for starting and ending, and at 12 dents per inch, that's 264 threads. I'm doing it in groups of 66. We just finished winding the first group and needed a break. So, a late lunch, other necessities, and a little time to post to LJ :Dfitzw did manage to weave a little bit before coming over to help me, and will get more time to weave when we go back out.We also have to make a list of things to look for at Webs, including bringing a few things with us to match for size and/or replacement. Webs is having an end of year sale Dec 26 - Jan 2.
Now, what could I be doing with gardening near the end of December? Well, one thing I could probably do is level out the ground for our future garden bed, seeing as it isn't all that cold out, but no, not today anyway. I did order some seeds last night, which should arrive in a few weeks. http://www.Richters.com has lots of things, and is one of two places I know of so far that carries seed for fiber flax (as opposed to oil flax). I also have a possible lead from
lyanna_beth to follow up on, just to see what's available. Richters sells in bulk, so I went with them for now, for the flax. I also order packets of: Roma tomatoes, Amish Paste tomato, Kentucky Wonder Bean (pole), New Zealand spinach (supposed to be more durable than other spinach), Royal Chantenay carrots (supposed to store well), Gum Arabic (tropical, but gum arabic is useful, so I want to try it out), and Primadonna Deep Rose Echinacea (heirloom and good producer). I shall likely have too many seeds for most of these, except the flax, which we'll need all of. So, I'll have to see what my friends order, and maybe we can do some trading. Or trade produce. The soil here isn't really ideal for squash, for instance. We'll have to do a lot to emend the soil. Now Sage, that I have enough to supply a couple dozen households -- with just two plants :DThere are other plants I'd like to try out, like parsnips and white/green beets, but this seems like a good start. I'd like a couple of cinnamon trees, but I figured I'd be better off getting live ones.... they're slow growers so it'd be years before I could get anything from them, but it seems like another useful plant to have around.
Well, it's about time to go back out and do a bit more work. The next step with what's been wound on the warping board is to tie it up, remove it from the board, and chain it (loop it on itself repeatedly to make it easier to work with).
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Flax!
Date: 2006-12-26 05:16 pm (UTC)Parsnips and beets are a snap to grow. You can even transplant them, if you want to start them indoors or in a cold frame.
If you're into citrus, I've a little Key lime tree I grew from seed that would love to have a new home (you'll have to wait until Spring, though, as it has spider mites at present and I wouldn't want to infest the rest of your plants!)...
Re: Flax!
Date: 2006-12-27 02:41 am (UTC)The key lime tree sounds like fun. Sure, I'll give it a home. I'd just been thinking about trying that with some old lemons we have - skins are dried out, but they're organic, so the seeds should be live. Appreciate your getting rid of the mites first, thanks!
Re: Flax!
Date: 2006-12-27 02:42 am (UTC)Re: Flax!
Date: 2006-12-27 02:42 pm (UTC)Key Limes: Actually, I have three of these tiny trees. I did a lot of research on growing citrus and read in several places that Key limes will actually bloom and bear fruit when grown from seed. Mine are about 4 or 5 years old and they haven't done anything yet. I'm thinking they need several more months of semi-warm weather than what they get outside. Or at the very least more sun. Which, if you have a sunroom, you have.
Re: Flax!
Date: 2006-12-27 03:23 pm (UTC)On the Limes, they might also just be too young. Hard to tell when they're little, and every variety is different. I had a lemon tree years ago that was only about a foot tall and gave me a full-sized lemon. But it got abused by the cats and stuff. So, I'll start several seeds and see what happens. I plan on keeping them potted so I can move them in and out of doors as weather conditions dictate. Be nice if we could all have little lemon trees -- great as a throat decongestant and for colds. And lemon meringue pie, of course!