I was not going to buy anything at the Quilt Guild Rummage Sale this week, but then I saw a couple of fabric bundles that were too good to pass up! I spent a grand total of $7. What a deal!
I think these will work well with the silk pack I picked up on the free table a few months ago.
What is a Bed Turning? This is a special collection of old, antique quilts or other items with a special story behind them. They are laid out on tables in the shape of a bed, and one-by-one, each item is lifted up and shown while the story is shared. There will be 3 bed turnings during the day. The bed turning is in addition to all the quilts that will be on display throughout the day.
Here are my entries for the 2026 Fly In Quilt Show. It's been a productive year! All of these were finished within the last year. These are all bed quilts or Challenge Quilts. No bed turning entries this year for me, although I signed up to help hold up the quilts as the stories are being read.
I am once again doing the registrations for the show entries, keeping track of the quilts and their paperwork to make sure they get hung with accurate documentation, and then get returned to the makers after the show. It's kind of fun -- in an order from chaps kind of way.
Challenge Quilts - Based on a favorite song or lyric
Inspired by the song Homeless by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Paul Simon
You might also see some of the Lone Star Tote Bags for sale in the boutique:
I was so pleased with the sectional warp added to the BIG loom last summer, that I decided to buy another set for the little loom way back in January 2025 [I think I'd gotten a bonus at work at the time]. The sectional warp worked so well to mitigate tension problems on the big 8-shaft loom that I thought it was worth it to set up the smaller 4-shaft loom, too. I am thinking the little loom may be the better one for coverlet panels -- Make the joy last, put on a longer warp and do 3 or 4 panels instead of just 2 wider panels.
Mary Meigs Atwater told new weavers they would save a lot of grief in tension issues if they used a sectional warp. She's right! I am a believer now!
I ordered the LeClerc rails from The Woolery, again. Although they are built and shipped from the LeClerc factory in Canada. Shorter rails for my shorter loom. Since Bruce at Kessenich Looms is pretty much retired, I couldn't get the official sectional warp beam built for these looms.
My husband figured out how to set it up again, similar to how he did it on the big loom. I won't need the angel wings if I use the little tension box as I'm winding on section-by-section. Although, some shorter warps would still be wound on the old way, front-to-back.
I am grateful that his woodworking skills are sufficient enough to help build weaving tools for me. His grandfather and other family members in France worked in woolen weaving mills back in the day, so he gets some satisfaction out of it, too.
DIY / Home-made Ratchet and Pawl
The main obstacle this time was where to get a suitable ratchet and pawl. Last time, there was a guy on etsy who sold them, made of wood. He seems to no longer be in business. You can't really find them anywhere (Someone told me to go down to the local hardware store -- Ha! They don't have 'em!) -- which is so odd, because it's such a practical and elemental thing for machines. Metal ones are super expensive. In the end, he drafted one (AI was useless for this purpose -- You should see some of the dumb designs it came up with!) and cut it out himself. I'm glad he did it because I would much rather weave than do wood working!
My husband may do a guest post about how he built this sectional warp, for any of you out there who may be interested in doing the same. He had to add some extra wood to the legs to attach the sectional warp. It is removable if I need to fold it up and store it for a while.
1 time around = 1/2 yard. Although, I may not need to worry about that so much, as I think I will be using a guide string to tell me when I've wound on enough yarn for any given section ... More on that later. Now I'll have to figure out how to use my creel to wind on like normal sectional warp users do!
Who-hooh! I've waited a long time for this! Thank you, Sweetie!
There's still some warp left from the Mountain Cucumber Coverlet Project. I may weave that off as towels -- It's such a pleasing pattern, and I have not put away the 300+ treadle beads for that project yet, either! I've been busy with the "big" loom since that project finished a few years ago.
OMG - It is such a JOY to be weaving again!
I am thrilled with the way this is starting out! Why did I wait so long to get started?
Here's another section showing the color changes in this warp. I love it!
From the top, the thinner black weft thread is the focus here.
From the bottom, the hand-dyed warp is the star.
Why is the real show underneath? Because I have an 8-shaft jack loom with rising sheds. I could have set it up to show this side on top, but I'd be raising too many sheds with each treadle. The way it's set up now, I raise 3 sheds with each treadling.
I can be patient and wait to see this when it's all done.
Here's a shot from when I was just getting started, testing different colored weft yarns.
I know it looks kind of clumsy.
From the bottom (after the white), is charcoal (kind of a light gray, hematite color), forest green, quarry, and navy blue.
I went with the Navy 10/2 Perl Cotton.
This also gives me a chance to practice the treadling sequence before I start on the actual piece. I learned not to slam the beater down for this project, or the pattern gets too squashed. It's enough to lightly set the weft in place.
I can do the whole 104 treadle sequence in about 20 minutes which results in about 4 inches of woven fabric, under tension.
The plan is to work up a 72-inch scarf with fringe, then work up the rest as yardage. It's too narrow for towels, but I'm thinking of patching a section onto a tote bag or a jean jacket or vest.
