New bookmarks and a fellow fiber artist feature

Hello, friends. Happy Friday. It is lovely that you are here. It has been a quiet week here in Harrisville. The temperatures have soared and there have been bouts of severe weather. Our internet service tends to flicker on and off when the weather is erratic. Things are relatively calm right now so I’ll take advantage of this fact to share what I’ve been working on this week.

I finished weaving the mug rugs that were on the loom and am pretty happy with how they turned out. Canvas weave is a little bit more complicated to thread than simple plain weave and it also requires the use of floating selvedges. However, it does create a cloth that has a lot of stability and that tends to behave itself when placed on a table. Here is a photo!

I’d really like to try this canvas weave approach with larger items, such as placemats and rugs. All of the hemstitching required on such a small item can get a bit fiddly.

Onto the next warp! Next on the loom are bookmarks. I love to weave these. Every year that I’ve participated in the League of NH Craftsmen Summer Fair I have had a new bookmark design. Here is this year’s version, which will be available as part of the brand new “Virtual Fair:”

I’m weaving bookmarks in garnet red, moss green, bright blue, and black. Aren’t they fun?

Now I’d like to share some work crafted by a fellow League member, Carrie Cahill Mulligan. Carrie makes the most beautiful and WARM hats. (I know! I have one!). The hats are handknit by Carrie from carefully selected alpaca yarns, felted, and then embroidered with beautiful and intricate motifs.

Aren’t they splendid? Carrie has a very interesting background as a park ranger in Alaska, and she is also a serious hockey player! Now, I’m not going to model Carrie’s hat today because it is 87 degrees. When the temperatures dip into the thirties, which happens in October in my part of NH, I always reach for Carrie’s hat.

Carrie will be one of 140 artisans from the League participating in the Virtual Fair. I hope you’ll pay her a visit sometime during Aug 1-9 from the comfort of your own home!

Back to the loom. And I’m keeping a close eye on the gardens right now. I startled a rather robust and hungry doe out of the herb garden this morning. I asked her to refrain from munching on the plants.

Be safe and well,

Kate K.