New Handywoman Shuttle, End of Warp Shuttle

So if you are like me, and I think most of us crafty people are.  You hate to was an inch of yarn..  Yeah it is undeniably impossible not to waste some but why not find ways to waste less?  So to introduce you to my newest addition the my standard floor loom shuttles (although this could be used with a rigid heddle loom too. )  My Pencil shuttle or end of warp shuttle.  These are from exotics and the Snakewood one sold right away even though it was a pricey little shuttle.  Snakewood is extremely expensive to purchase but I just had to do it at least once.  I was I must admit scared to death to mess up this extravagant wood purchase but all went well and she was a beaut!

So what you see here...from left to right.  Olivewood, Bocote,  Bolivian Rose, Snakewood and Purpleheart.

Handywoman in Easy Weaving with Little Looms Magazine.

So, I'm sure you'll  have heard of the magazine by interweave called Easy Weaving with Little Looms.  Well, they contacted me back in November and wanted to feature some of my weaving tools in their magazine. Can you believe?  Well, I sure couldn't, I mean I'm just one old gal out in her garage making weaving tools affordable for people like me :).  Needless to say I was shocked and so excited and so so so so many other things I can't even describe..   I truck along each day working on orders that come in and I stay rather busy.  I do enjoy working out there even when it's over 100 degrees or below 40 (which to me is worse).  Everyday is full and I rush to get orders out as fast as I possibly can.  And now... something wonderful has happened... someone loved my tools enough to want to feature them.  What a blessing to have happen...  I am one lucky gal for sure! 
Well they sent me a copy of the magazine and I got it yesterday.   So exciting. 
So if  you didn't get the magazine here are the pages my tools are on but I do suggest you get it because the projects are like AMAZING in this issue.  I hope to have time to make the lovely towels.  We'll have to see if I can fit it in. 

Cute little 6.5" weaving width sampler loom.

This is so cute! A customer requested a sampler loom so this is it and it was fun to watch her come together.💙Sampler rigid heddle loom w 6.5" weaving width. Loom measures 10" wide x 14.5" long x 3.75" tall (not including warp rods, they add a couple inches the over all width). Loom is made with select pine and Padauk woods and comes with everything you see in the picture.

Oh and some eye candy :)

Box looms that will be available when my shop re-opens

I will have 3 standard box looms and 2 mini's ready for sale in my shop on the 28th.  I also have 1 elephant design standard box loom  and the mini sheep box loom available for sell (you can see this in a prior post).   Here are some pictures before they are assembled.

Mini Angela Porter illustrations comes handmade carry bag and 2 heddles as shown and 3 more pattern heddles are available.

Mini Angela Porter illustrations comes handmade carry bag and 2 heddles as shown and 3 more pattern heddles are available.

Humming Birds standard box loom comes with one heddle, 9 more available heddle patterns are available for this loom.

Steampunk standard box loom comes with one heddle, 9 more available heddle patterns are available for this loom.

Dragon standard box loom comes with one heddle, 9 more available heddle patterns are available for this loom.

How to fix a bad carve

So... I really wanted a carving of this painting I seen on a news program hanging on the back wall.  I do not know who painted him and I've tried like heck to get the information but still do not have it.  I finally found an image of the painting that I could use.  I created a stl file of him.  My first and well it is actually awful and very amateurish to say the least.  But I carved it anyway, and as expected it was a complete failure.  You can barely make out that it's a man as you can see below.

So I sanded and sanded and worked as best I could with this carving and decided to use a dry brush technique on him hoping to salvage him as I wanted him so badly and just am not good enough yet to get a better carve.  Time is hard to come by so this will just have to work for now.  So I started and see hope as you can see below.

Then as with most paintings I've ever done I need to decide when he's done...I think he is but then should I leave the frame around him unfinished hard maple once I take the tape off?

So I take the tape off and sand off some of the stain that got on the frame, (I'll get the rest off later once he's completely dry) and I LOVE it in it's natural state.  The contrast is to me at least, pleasing...so once he is dry I'll get the rest of the stain off the frame and give him a satin or flat finish and place him in his own space in my home...  I'm loving it, just loving it, failure and all!

The end.... :)