Handwoven Dishtowels

Alice, Dear,

I was mangling table cloths, napkins, and dishtowels last weekend, draping every one gently over the drying rack as I went along to let them finish drying completely. Wow! I thought to myself. Quite a collection I am lucky to have! Ellen has contributed many to this cache...her lovely blues, and the most recent orange one with the red and yellow stripes which is sunshine in itself. Mary's is the organic cotton one, done in a diaper weave, and it has the most luscious hand. And there are yours...the multi-colored cotton stripes with a linen weft. Some I gave as gifts, but after your leaving us, I kept the last one for myself...I knew there would never be any more of those, and I like it so much. There is the one I wove myself with handspun cotton as weft. I decided that that particular one should go into the archives. It is really much too flimsy, though it does do a nice job on glasses. Maybe someday, 75 years from now, one granddaughter or another will pull it out of the archive and exclaim with joy about the handspun cotton weft. We can only hope....

Lots of love,
Nancy

APB

Dear Alice,

We have put out an APB. Nancy has gone missing from her looms and fiber equipment. We have nearly given up and have begun our siren songs.

Frantically,

Jack N. LeClerc, Alice Macomber, Colleen LeClerc, and Spinny Ashford

39...Again

Dear Alice,

I have been trying really hard to follow in your footsteps, to age gracefully. I don't know that it will ever happen, since most of the time I am only 30 or so in my head. Maybe this is a good thing. I don't see any wrinkles on my forehead (at least not early in the morning, before I put my glasses on). There is not much more to say except that birthdays have always been a wonderful thing for me. Usually there is a turkey dinner associated with my day, and I get calls and emails from very dear friends, and from children scattered far and wide. That is the best part. Since Thanksgiving this year is late, Scott and I enjoyed a wonderful whitefish entrèe with dried cherries and shiitake mushrooms. Dessert was a flourless chocolate torte with raspberry coulis, something I would love to be able to share with you.

What a perfectly lovely, snowy day! These ladies were wondering why I wasn't in my 'old' office today.
Nancy

What Path?

Dear Friends,

At first it was hard to know where to go after Alice's departure. I have decided to stay the course...Alice would have wanted it and Scott encouraged me with these words:

Love lives on forever

in each memory and thought...

For, in our hearts,

our loved ones are with us every day....


And so, the next installment will be another postcard to Alice.

Peace and love be with you all,
Nancy

Dear Friends, A Sad Day....

Dear Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I write to tell you that Alice passed away yesterday afternoon at her home. I was at 35,000 feet somewhere over the Atlantic and I remember thinking of her, hoping that we would be able to visit with her today.

It is so good to have the memories that we have of her while she still felt well. The last time the Chicks visited with her as a group was on our return trip from our Retreat Weekend. She loved seeing the samples we had to share with her, hearing all about our weekend, the food we ate, and asking each of about our next projects.

The World has lost another Weaving Great.

Nancy

Crash Courses

Dear Alice,

When Daryl Lancaster says 'Crash Course', you had better take he at her word! We had three intense, lecture-filled, practice-filled, garment-looking, study-filled, days. She gave 200% in her teaching to every one of us. I will catch up with you soon (all about it), since there are a few loose threads to wrap up here before Scott and I head to Scot-land!

Love to you!
Nancy

Not Gone....

Dear Alice,

It wasn't fair to entice you with that photo of my pressure canner, was it? I went to look for the little booklet that came with it, and alas! there is no publication date. I rather think it is from the 30's or 40's. The Kook-Kwick Handbook from Sears Roebuck & Company. It is a great little canner. I didn't meet my goal of 30 quarts of tomatoes, but there are 20 qts. and 4 pts. on the pantry shelf, and that half peck of tomatoes that were dried—those all fit into 2 quart jars and 1 pint jar! I used some of those today in the pistou mix that the turkey breast is marinating in tonight.

So begins a week of craziness! Suzy and her family are due here yet tonight. Friday I pick up Daryl Lancaster at Detroit Metro, and this weekend is our workshop with her. We also have to start our jurying process all over for the Guild.

I'll give you an update when things calm down a bit.

For now, be well!
Nancy

P.S. The scarves are finished!

Last Day of September

Autumn Sunrise at LA

Dear Alice,
The last day of September is Scott's birthday, so this evening we went for dinner at Weber's. He had a seafood combo (very nice for someone who loves all seafood) and I chose the scallops with sautéed vegetables, which included dried tomatoes. Delicious!

Today I halved a half peck of tomatoes and put them in the dehydrator, so soon we will have our own stash again. 'Tis the Farmers' Market again tomorrow morning, so I will pick up another 1/2 bushel of tomatoes for canning. Did I ever show you my pressure canner? It is clearly an antique!Tomatoes, potatoes...we picked up our order of 110 pounds of spuds at the Traverse City Farmers' Market on Saturday. 30# of Yukon Golds, 20# of Adirondack Blues, 20# of Red-skinned Whites, and 40# of Russets. Mr Westmaas also handed us a few of his new variety Adirondack Reds, which have a pink flesh.
I have almost finished the last of the three scarves that I have been working on since the painted warp group (see Sept. 20). Here is the last one which will be finished early tomorrow morning.

I was really surprised to see the Hummingbird at the feeder again tonight. A new record? We haven't had any frost yet....

Nancy

Painted Women Oops! I Mean Painted Warps

Alice,
I finally took a few photos of the painted warp scarf, the painted warp too-short-to-be-a-scarf, and the unpainted warp scarf for you. In fact, I wore the Mint Chocolate Chip scarf this morning to a meeting. (I promised myself just before Retreat that I cannot leave the house without sporting something that I have made/designed/created. Yes, I was inspired by Anita Luvera Mayer.) For this one I used UKI Boston Brown 20/2 as weft.


I think the Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake piece is destined to become a bag of some sort. The weft here is a polyester (where on earth did I get that???) I considered a table runner, but honestly, it doesn't go with anything we set at the table. Maybe I should be more open-minded.


The last scarf is one that I was particularly taken with when all was said and done. I still had warp that I didn't have time to paint (mostly because I was thinking too much and not playing enough), so there was enough un-painted warp to do one more scarf. I settled on a natural-colored silk noil weft.
When finished, the sheen from the rayon in the 20/2 cotton/rayon warp made it just lovely. I am ready to try more warps with that cotton/rayon thread. I do love white on white designs. You will see more soon...the cashwool/silk warp and weft is in process now. It is a little slower going than the plain wefts.

Canned another 7 quarts of tomatoes today. It is so good to see the pantry filling up again.

Enjoy this Indian Summer!
Nancy

OH! P.S. I saw the hummingbird again this evening. Yesterday I thought maybe she realized that it was Equinox and headed south....

New Scarves

Alice,
I do wish that you could give your input on the latest warp, a set of three new scarves that I am readying for jurying to put in the Holiday Sale for the Guild. I thought I had a cashmere/wool blend yarn (which I used, along with some reeled silk in the warp), but after further investigative work discovered that Lane Borgosesia's "Cashwool" is really a lovely, fine yarn that is 100% extra fine Merino. Puh! as min vän Mari-Ann would say. Well, even though I was into the idea of cashmere and silk scarves (OK I will let it go), the resulting samples, when wet-finished were absolutely divine. Mary and Ellen agreed when I asked for their opinions. It would be nice if I had your 'OK', too.

We couldn't ask for more perfectly beautiful days and cool nights. It does make me wonder about global warming, though...the hummingbirds are still at the feeder every day. Did I tell you about the one that landed on me when DH and I were at the cottage in August? What an amazing experience!


For now I will stop. I want to finish weaving the 2nd scarf today. (I still need to go to the Farmers' Market, mow the lawn [which has finally turned green and grown after our 6 inches of rain last weekend], and make the turkey sausage for pizza tonight.) Still deciding about the weft pattern on #3; Marty really liked the 'plaid-effect' of the silk and Merino wool in my sample. I really do too.

Have a great weekend!
Nancy

New Goals

Hi Alice,

We all delighted in visiting with you on the return trip from our Retreat! It was so great to see you (and it is so cool that you still worry about how you look!)

We had a wonderful time together, and even though it rained every day, it was still beautiful. The meals were grand! Weavers sure know how to cook, and Ellen has encouraged me to share more recipes of some of the things we had. Our first breakfast, though was at LA Cafè, a part of the tradition.

Even though we were weavers retreating, there were only two loom there. It really is rather difficult to pack looms with the coolers, people and nap-sacks. Ellen brought her little table loom with a crackle weave gamp from a workshop, and made a little progress.

Jean brought a tape loom, which was fun to see in operation (why have I never seen one before?)

Pat practiced making i-cord to that she can easily knit from the top down sweaters for the multitudes of nieces and nephews that keep showing up in her family!


Mary was so intent on (and I quote) "burning through the basket of wool" roving that she brought, that she literally did melt the little plastic part on the whorl of her Ashford Traveler. She was spinning fast and furious to have everything ready for the Spinners' Flock Sale on the 21st.


We all worked on our individual visualizations of who we are and what we have accomplished by 2013...it was very cool! And we have all come home and dug right in and started to make those goals and dreams a reality!

And moi? Oh, yeah, me. Well, I did make progress on starting a little sweater for dear Caiden.

Jean and I actually went swimming Sunday morning before it started to rain again (and fortunately, before all the boaters in the bass fishing tournament took off). We deserved a pat on the back...the water was 68°F! Brrrrr.

Ah, yes. And one of the other traditions is a reading before bedtime. This year it was Woolbur, a delightful children's story. OK, so we are a little crazy....


Alice, we missed having you there with us, but Mary brought along a lovely photo of you which we moved to wherever we were working. You were there in spirit!

Now, back to the loom,
Nancy

Painted Warp...Woven!

...but not yet finished, Alice. Early this morning I finished the painted portion of the warp, the Chocolate Mint Ice Cream piece was finished days ago and the Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake piece was finished off this morning. I think I still have enough warp for a scarf; this end of the warp is unpainted since I ran out of time in Sarah Saulson's workshop. So, I have planned for a fringe, hemstitched, and started a white on white scarf that has a raw silk weft. It could be particularly lovely, and certainly a lightweight scarf...something for a California or Florida gal maybe.

Now the rush is to try to cut everything off before Friday when we leave to retreat! I wish you could be there, too.
Nancy

Starry, Starry Days

Dear Alice,
Clematis terniflora, Sweet Autumn Clematis, Old Man's Beard...one of my favorites that signals the end of Summer. Its little stars grace the fence screening our outdoor patio from the rest of the private drive. Its scent on a warm day draws my eye to find it. The honey bees, though decidedly few this year, are frequenting it.

We finally got an inch of rain yesterday and last night. It has been horribly dry, down 3.5 inches of rain for August alone. The leaves from the trees are giving up, snapping free, relieving stress, collecting in the gutters, littering the ground plane....

I always am saddened to see summer go. But I also welcome the fresh new start of Autumn, new goals, and the cooler nights.

So welcome, Sweet Autumn Clematis, welcome to your starry beauty!

Do you have one of these on your east fence, Alice?
Nancy

An Invitation

Dear Alice,

I know that this is a little intimidating to all of us...this year's retreat invitation calls for each of us to "Come as You Will Be in 2013". I also know that you will be there in spirit with us as you have every year. Mary said after her last visit that you are having difficulty seeing from one of your eyes. What does Dr. Sugar say about that?

Here are a few 'Invitation' photos for Hen and Chicks, something to remind us that it is to be a r-e-t-r-e-a-t and also a chance to stretch ourselves to try/do/be something new.





















Kick back, take off your shoes, enjoy the Peace, the Beauty, the sunshine, and the comraderie!

Join us in spirit!
Nancy

Last Visit...Lilies and Birches

Painted Warps with Sarah Saulson

Dear Alice,

What fun we had yesterday and today! Today we finished up the workshop that the Warped Women/Weavers held with Sarah Saulson. Painted Warps. Very cool. I really can't wait to weave my warp...I tried two colorways, based upon using a cocoa brown that I mixed. It was a conglomeration of cool red, warm red, a touch of black, cool yellow,and aqua. I finally got a yummy color of cocoa. With this I painted a 'mint' green that I concocted; the other colorway is the cocoa combined with a blood red that Phyllis
created, and the weft yarn that I tested on this section of warp was a red polyester that will make a really great table runner for Autumn. Phyllis dubbed them Chocolate Mint Ice Cream and Cherry Chocolate Pie.

Here is what Fran did:
So apropos! A few days later I saw a sweater in the 'Designer Runway' section at T. J. Maxx that looked just like Fran's pretty warp! Here she is tightening her warp on her little workshop loom. She's too cute!
Ellen took a walk on the wild side and put some lime green with splashes of red and 'Ellen's blue'. She tested a very fine dark green weft that is going to make this piece stunning!

Pat was a little worried about using her table loom, but all worked out, and she has a beautiful painted warp that I can't wait to see!

Here's part of our engrossed class


I wish you could have come...Sarah is a really organized, thorough teacher!

She sends her regards! Hugs from me too,
Nancy

The Envy of LA

Alice,
It seems that this oldie but goodie is the envy of LA:


This was one of the enticing elements of the place when we bought it 23 years ago. Now, with all the decorating shows featuring outdoor kitchens, this has become the most talked about outdoor piece as people pass by in their boats. We love it! We use it often, and when the weather is such as it is, we eat outdoors at every meal.

I hope you have had a few moments outdoors in this beautiful summery weather,
Nancy

MLH Summer Workshops

Silks and Samples

Dear Alice,

What a fabulous time I had at MLH's Summer Workshops held in Holland this past weekend! I had signed up for the Shimmering Silks workshop, taught by Heather Winslow. What beautiful samples we made, and what a very good teacher Heather is!

The sad part was that there were only three students in our class, and the good part is that there were only three students. I was lucky to be in a workshop with two other accomplished weavers: Barbara
and Martha


We were so lucky that two of the MLH Board members dressed two looms each and brought them to our workshop so that we were able to have 7 samples each in our 'Round Robin' workshop. (Thanks, Cathy and Ann!)

The samples included point twills, transparent effect, collapse, two block twill, lace and a braided twill.





It was a small crowd this year and because of that it was easier to spend some more concentrated time with several people, a benefit, to be sure. The other presenters included JoAnn Bachelder, Christine Grimm, Russ Mason, Anita Mayer, and Robin Spady. Great workshops with beautiful work created by everyone who participated. I do hope that next year will be a blow-out--it will be the Golden Anniversary celebration for Michigan League of Handweavers! Alice, it would be fantastic if you could be there with us.

So good to be able to spend some time with you when on my way home. Take care!
Nancy

Wednesday Morning...Very Early

Hi Alice!

This is what what greeted me on the bulletin board by the phone when I got home really late Tuesday night/really early Wednesday morning. I won the "Clerk-ship". The Primary Election was critical since everyone ran as a Democratic candidate this time. I got an 'A'.
Now I have my work cut out for me.

Time to rest.
Nancy

Eve of Election

Alice, it's that Eve of Destruction song that keeps going through my head tonight...really it's the Eve of Election. I told Scott at dinnertime that it feels like I have been working steadily, a little bit every day, on a term paper, and after a lengthy accumulation of days, there is enough to turn in tomorrow. It will be on time. I could very well get an A. I'll let you know.

I finished the color warp/gamp on Friday morning. I had hoped to stitch it in every spot that needs to be finished for samples over the weekend. It just didn't happen. Maybe Wednesday. I finished it off by doing a plain weave with 1/3 twill stripes at either end as a runner for Suzy to put on their table. Because it was plain weave and I put my feet only on two treadles, I was able to weave approximately 16.5 inches in 30 minutes! Whew! I was cruisin'!!! It was fun to see how fast I could go. The samples,on the other hand, were complicated enough that I eventually put colored dots on the treadles to keep track of which ones to depress in which order.

Off to bed with me. I must be up at 4.

Sova gott!
Nancy

Did a Little Bit....

Good Morning Alice!
Yesterday was filled with lots of 'To Do's' and I did get to Lois's studio to pick up some more colors which she generously shared for the short term, so I have other colors to try with this color gamp. Sadly, I was clearly in a rush when threading and there are a few faux paus w/ the color mixes. I also recall that my head felt like a rock (read: I was coming down w/ a cold back in early May) the day we were measuring warp, and clearly I didn't count threads in the color mix sections very well. The next time I do something like this, I will be fastidious!

So...I wove a little too late into the night, and oh! such fun to try different combinations.


Are there already little signs that Autumn is coming (even though the temperatures feel like summer)?

Later,
Nancy

ps I received a letter from my cousin on Thursday (the one who is undergoing chemo and who got the sox w/the heart on the sole). It was so good to hear from him! He's doing pretty well with the chemo.

Ready to Weave!

But, Alice, I was only able to weave about an inch. I had forgotten to wind off one of the many colors in the warp. 16 people in the class to make samples for (including me). Tomorrow I will go retrieve the color I need from Lois.

Tomorrow I will once again go door to door to get out the vote for the August 5th Primary. Doug & I walked for about 4 hours again today, and with the temperature at almost 90, it does take its toll. Still, I am enjoying every minute of it!

Yours until I can show you something,
Nancy

Summer Colors

Alice...the end of July is coming fast, and I have a warp to finish threading, denting, and to weave. 'Tis the color warp that I created in Lois Bryant's Marvelous, Magical Color for Weavers. This is a workshop that Lois taught to the Warped Wo/men study group in the Guild. It was marvelous, marvelous, marvelous! We studied luminosity, reflectivity, transparency, and irridescence, and Lois's lecture and photos were magical illustrations of these phenomena.

I will be taking the 'Shimmering Silks' workshop with Heather Winslow at the Michigan League of Handweavers workshops, scheduled for early August, so 'tis time to get this beautiful warp going and off so that I can be ready for the next learning. And finally, Sarah Saulson will be giving her painted warp workshop two weeks after that for the Warped Wo/men study group.

Scott and I stopped at Greenfield Village on our way back from Dearborn this afternoon...the jacquard loom is in full operation! Richard Jeryan has worked over the past three years to bring it back to life. He is now weaving on it...using a pattern that was woven at Greenfield Village early in its history, though (rightly so) he has changed the year in the edge border. Richard is excited about having weavers come to the Village for workshops, lectures, study. He will be lecturing at the Historic Weaving Conference in Clayton next Spring. Exciting stuff. Alice, he would love to meet you and have you come to the Weaving shop at Greenfield Village!

More later. I really must get the warp threaded and dented and ready to weave.

Lovely summer days....
Nancy

A VERY Good Day

Dear Alice,

Imagine that everything goes just as you had hoped in a day.... Today was one of those days! Today I was endorsed by the local newspaper for the office I am seeking with the very capable, remarkable Team for Scio.
Photo by Dr. Irwin Martin
Four of our Team members were also endorsed by the Home Builders Association. Today was the first day of the Art Fair...I worked the Fiberarts Guild's booth from 3-9:30, and today was the first day that I sold one of my favorite pieces, the shawl that I wrote about in my June 10th postcard.

Less than three weeks to go until the August 5th Primary, the day that will tell the tale! Miles of walking door-to-door, and I am really enjoying meeting and talking with our neighbors and the residents of Scio, for whom I have been working (on the Planning Commission and Board of Review) for years.

I am really too tired at this hour, and can hardly remember what I was saying/doing, so will end this note here and plan to write again soon.

Kramar,
Nancy

Summer Pleasures

Alpine strawberries

Summertime frolics

Friends Playing

Balloonflowers

Chris Craft rides

Lake Ann sunrises

Summer Grilling

Art Fairs

Hummingbirds