Still weaving here in New Hampshire

Golly, my last blog post was written in April. There was probably snow on the ground at that time. Now it is July and the League of NH Craftsmen’s Fair is right around the corner.

One of my favorite things about participating in the Annual Craftsmen’s Fair is having the opportunity to exhibit in the Art, Craft & Design area. I like having a reason to try to stretch my design skills and to create a piece that may be quite different from other work. Here is one of two pieces that I will have on display. This is a rug inspired by the Aurora Borealis, and I have titled it “The Merry Dancers.” (Read on for an explanation of the title:

I did a fair amount of research into the Aurora Borealis and found that the Scottish Gaelic phrase for this phenomenon is “Na Fir Chlis,” which roughly translates to “the merry dancers” or “the clever dancers.” I really liked this idea as it evokes energy and movement.

The structure of the rug is ripsmatta or warp rep and it is a pretty sturdy rug. I think it is sort of fun to have a piece that represents the nighttime sky underneath one’s feet. If you’d like to see process photos of the rug, please visit my Instagram page and you can see several images that show the progress from warp to finished item.

I’m very nearly ready for the Fair but have a few more warps to weave. Kitchen towels have been some of my most popular items over the years and so I am working on those this week and into next. Here is an herb garden inspired towel with a touch of raspberry:

Diamond twill kitchen towels are on the loom

In addition to weaving, July also means lots of time swimming (yay!) and gardening. The home gardens are doing quite well despite repeated violations from woodchucks. Here is a picture of two of our 6 raised beds:

I have the usual suspects in the garden such as tomatoes, eggplants, herbs, climbing beans. I am trying a small gherkin cucumber this year (they’re so tiny right now!) and the “honeynut squash,” which is a small butternut type. We will see how it goes.

I will be posting soon about the raffle item I will be contributing to the League Fair, so I hope you will tune in for that, too.

Be well,

Kate K.