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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Oh, great. Just what I needed.

Something NEW to obsess over.  While I was at the wool fest, I was very proud of myself - I put both hands in my pockets and only picked up yarn for my mom's birthday (thank you, Melanie -- she loved it!) and then just looked.  After all, I have the mother of all stashes at home - not to mention two friends who produce amazing yarn that are within a 20 minute drive.  I was further laden with a quickly thawing gallon of home-pressed apple cider with which Melanie gifted me!  That kept at least one hand busy.

I was almost home-free, working my way toward the exit when I uttered (to myself) those fateful words -- "Oh, there's a little building I haven't seen.  I'll just give it a quick walk through before I leave."  Ha.  I made a quick circle and then, in the final space on the way out I saw it.  As fate (oh, fickle fate) would have it, I had chanced upon her website on Friday and spent a good half hour talking myself into and out of buying one of the "Hip to be Square" looms.  I was so nostalgic for those wonderful potholder looms.  But, to be able to a) make potholders to one's delight; b) to reuse sock bits doing it; c) and make a rag rug from said recycled-sock-potholders?  Could I resist?  I did at the time - the shipping charges always get to me.


Pile 'o potholders

Sigh.  There was no shipping cost barrier at the wool fest.  I walked out with a loom and a big bag of sock loopies.  Then, when I finally got home, I spent a half hour of time much better spent on my "list", making a potholder.  Well, two.  Then I made another in the morning.  And I started another during a break from putting up my goat fence.  Then I finished that one and started another before bed.  Aiiiiirgh.  I did manage to keep myself from sneaking it into the office.  Sure, I could have made my own loom (I used to have one that I made many, many years ago) with nails on a frame.  But this loom has very nice, smooth eye screws that don't snag every last piece of material until you want to say lots of bad words loudly.  It is, quite frankly, mindless fun.  I find that I like mindless fun.  Especially when it means that I will end up with a cool rag potholder rug.  And it has made me think of other things I can create - with my Flora's lopi that I will be getting back from the mill; with the big pile of t-shirt strip balls that I have in the closet; with the spools of silk threads I've been hauling around for a coon's age.  The possibilities are endless!

I am finally winding down the canning process.  Last night I made six half-pints of tomatillo salsa.  There are only apples to go - and maybe a pumpkin or two.  And that's it.  Really.  Honest injun.  I swear.

Tomatillo salsa

12 comments:

Kayten said...

I got one of those looms last year, but mine is the old nail version. They've upgraded to nice cotter pins. I just realized I could probably make those I-cord thingies on the machine, turn them into loops, and have something really interesting at the end. I'm not sure if I should thank you or not, since your post prompted the thought.

Susan said...

Kay - Haa! My evil plot thickens! That is a great idea. I really do think there are lots of possibilities beyond sock loopies.

trump said...

Thank you very much for your blog visit to my own Amish Stories. We have been starting to cover just a little the art of canning on my own blog, and some readers are now trying it because it seems to make so much sense!. Richard from Amish Stories.

Susan said...

Richard - I really do enjoy your Amish Stories. I'm especially drawn to Jean's posts. And I love all of your wonderful photographs! I feel like I'm there.

Mama Pea said...

Oh, Susan, I laughed all the way through your post about the loom. Can hardly wait to see the rug you put together with the "potholders." Be sure to follow up on this or I will stalk you forever, understand?

Last Christmas Erin's boys, Loch and Finn, gave me one of those potholders they made (it hangs in my quilt studio) and it brought back so many memories of my childhood when I must have turned out thousands (well, maybe only hundreds) and inflicted them on everyone I knew.

I know your loom and materials used are of a much higher caliber than what I worked with so I can understand your addiction. (Do I need one of these? Hmmmm . . . )

Candy C. said...

How fun! I never thought of making rugs out of them! Can't wait to see your finished project! At the rate you're going that should be...well...probably...TOMORROW!! LOL!!

Carolyn said...

Oooooo! I was thinking about those things a few months ago & had forgotten. Thanks for the reminder! There is something to be said for that "mindless looping & hooking" that goes on with knitting, crocheting, spinning or weaving. It's very calming.

Jenyfer Matthews said...

LOL - I had a plastic loom when I was a kid and flooded my family with potholders until I ran out of loopies. Then I hatched a plan to make an afghan out of squares I wove from yarn - it took so long that plan didn't last long!

I am drooling over your potholders - I could use a few right about now!

Erin said...

What a great find! It looks like its a nice, wooden one too. The one I got the boys was one of those plastic jobbies where the pegs break off constantly, hubby says he's going to make one for me but that was last year and I'm still waiting LOL... What a great idea for a potholder rug! I sure hope the one the kids made for Mama Pea was cotton, I kept trying to explain to the boys why those little bags of nylon loops they had laying around were not so good for actually USING to hold hot pans LOL... I'm thinking maybe I should get the boys to make all my leftover yarn into loops for me! I started doing a long I-cord with leftovers last year but got 3 feet into it and stopped, won't make much of a braided rug at that pace :)

Susan said...

Mama Pea - Rats! The boys beat me to it! It is so addictive - of course, that addiction beats the pants off alcohol. Almost.

Candy - LOL! You might be right! I am almost halfway there...

Carolyn - Will see if you thank me later.

Jenyfer - Just send me your mailing address. I will be up to my elbows in potholders by Thanksgiving, at this rate! Color schemes?

Erin - Hey, get on that Hubby of yours! You can keep your boys occupied for hours. I am a prime example. Even with my AADD, I am totally focused on churning these babies out! While I should not even bring this up...there is a very nifty i-cord maker that both Kay and I have. If the boys go off weaving, you can put them to work on i-cords!

Jenyfer Matthews said...

LOL - put some up on your Etsy shop! Then I can buy them from you :)

The Apple Pie Gal said...

I looked for these last year at Christmas and couldn't find any! Mindless is always good when you want to catch up on a recorded show or something! Or when you just want to be mindless!