As you can see, Gracie and Toby are absolutely frantic about the upcoming holidays!
Okay, so they're not really frantic . . . they're not even concerned.  Shopping and gift-giving are the last thing on their minds.  (Which really isn't fair!   I mean, I provide for them all year long - you'd think they would want to pick up a little something for me!)
But the point of this blog post is to remind YOU that Black Friday is only a month away.   We have several looms shipping out this week and a show coming up the first week of November, so we expect that our stock will deplete rather quickly.   If you've been thinking that the Weavers Rapid Warp Loom might be a great Holiday gift for yourself or someone else - we encourage you to order now!  Because we're a one-man shop we can only guarantee December shipping and arrival for your celebration to a limited number of customers.   Order now, before we cut off delivery prior to the first of the year!

It's staining day!   Ken is working on a total of twelve (12) looms at the moment.  Some of these have already been claimed.   Some are in anticipation of sales at Ozark Fiber Fling - November 3,4,5 in Steelville, MO and a couple are still looking for a home.
As you can see, he is very meticulous about every step of the process.   He usually has to stain indoors, but the weather here is so warm that today was the perfect day to work outdoors!   Almost 90 degrees in the Ozarks yesterday!   We are breaking records left and right.   But we hear that a cold front is on its way.
I'm so looking forward to bright clear skies and chilly temperatures; a fire burning in the stove, and time to weave on my loom with a St. Bernard or two laying on my feet!
I'm starting to put a few things up on our fiber page, so be sure to check it out the next time you visit the website.  Forget that!   Check it out now!   Hope you are enjoying a wonderful fall season - whether it's already crispy where you are or whether you are enjoying "second summer" like we are here in Missouri!   Happy October!

And, boy, did it need it!   This business has truly been a work of art and heart - constantly changing and changing us along the way.   The first website was full of intentions.  I think I now have it whittled down to what we can actually accomplish.   But if you see anything that needs changing - let me know!   (Especially typos.   I hate typos!)

I've added an event page, so that you can check out places that you might see the loom locally.   If we're not planning to be in your area - invite us!   Maybe your local guild needs a program or you know of a fiber festival or other event that we don't know about.   Tell us where you'd like to see us and we'll see what we can do!

Just have to keep saying how grateful to God we our for blessing us and allowing us to work at something that brings us so much joy!   We have met so many new people and enjoy you all so much!   Thanks for your interest in our loom!

They're going.   I wasn't sure what kind of punctuation to use after that sentence - they're going! seemed right in one way.   Since I left my job, we've survived!   Loom sales have been good!   Customers have been happy!   And I love working on the stuff I really love - fiber, weaving, spinning - all the good stuff.
But I went with "They're going." because everyday you wonder - is this the day the sales dry up?   Is this day we run out of money or can't pay that bill?  Or whatever?
But God has been so good!!   Every time, just in time.   So we're still going.

This is what I'm working on today.   The blanket from my youngest alpaca, Jamie.   It is SOOOO incredibly soft.  Had to stop and spin up about a hundred yards - just because.   Not enough to make much of anything, but I crocheted it into a necklace and ended up loving it!  (below)  Now, just need some cool weather so I can wear it!   Not going to happen this week - we're in the high 90's and the humidity is ridiculous!

We've extended our special for this month until the last day of July!   If you order a loom now we will provide FREE SHIPPING!   Great deal of savings for many of you.  Ken has really been working hard on improving production processes and getting looms out faster.   

We will also be taking looms to Fiber Christmas in July in Kellyville, OK on the 29th and 30th of this month.  It's free to come and shop and see all of the fabulous goodies that are there.  If you follow our blog or our facebook page, please come by and introduce yourself.  Happy weaving, everyone!

​(And keep going.   God is good.   All the time!)

I keep thinking this morning about how things happen sometimes, that you never anticipated.   Sweet things, great things, wonderful things and sometimes sad things and terrible things.

Sweet things - for example, when Ken had the idea for this loom it was because I was down in my back and couldn't walk well for a period of several weeks.  But his focus was totally on making the warping easier.   What we didn't expect was the response we got to the change in the heddle.   So many customers have told us things like, "I'd given up on my rigid heddle because I couldn't see to thread the eyelets anymore.   Now I don't have to worry about it.  With your loom it doesn't matter that my eyesight isn't what it used to be."   Sweet!   Others have shared how arthritis, Parkinson's, and other debilities have kept them from weaving in the past, but this loom let's them enjoy it now.   See what I mean?  It wasn't planned or anticipated at all - but what a great result!   Unanticipated, but Sweet!

I've also been thinking about unanticipated things of the other kind - the yucky, sad and terrible.   I'm going to the hospital today to visit a young woman battling cancer.   She's fought an incredible fight.  No one anticipated her being here to see her only daughter graduate.   But she was here for that celebration a few weeks ago.   And now she's back in the fight, but her goals have changed - from survival, to peace; from longevity to depth of purpose.   I think back to when she and her husband were dating and planning to marry.   They certainly did not anticipate any of this, but it has been the making of them.

Life sometimes seem random and messy  - sometimes you stumble across the sweet and sometimes  you're confronted with the sour.   But weaving always reminds me - if you look at things from the backside, it always looks random and messy.   It's not until you turn it over and see the big picture that it all comes together in a beautiful mosaic.  We stand on the backside of our lives, but God sees the beauty being created.   Have a wonderful day, friends.   Happy Weaving!

I had every intention of trying to "blog" at least every 2-3 days.   HA!   How does life always manage to get in the way of good intentions?  I was going to write about my experience at Red Barn Yarn Farm in St. Joseph.   But the dust had barely cleared from that trip and suddenly there were sheep to corral, land that needed to be mowed, meals to cook, cleaning, and a last minute invitation to participate in Magnolia State Fiber Festival in Mississippi.   (yes, I still chant M-i-s; s-i-s; i-pp-i when I have to spell it!)

So here's a BRIEF synopsis of all the STUFF that made up the last couple of weeks.   Had a great time in St. Joe at Red Barn Yarn Farm.   Jenny Hudgens has a great little shop with tons of variety.   Very knowledgeable help and a "come in and join the fun" sort of atmosphere.  Nancy (my traveling buddy) and I really enjoyed our day there.

Next on the agenda was corralling 13 sheep that we were pasturing for someone.   What a job!   Exhausting!  I'll skip the cooking and cleaning and all the boring stuff that happened.  

​But last week we got a last minute invitation to attend the Magnolia State Fiber Festival in Vicksburg, MS.  Had exactly 36 hours to get my act together and get it on the road.   Fortunately my friend, Nancy Meyers was planning to attend and needed a co-pilot, as her husband was not able to make it after all.   We had a great time driving and gabbing (getting lost occasionally, but not for long) and, in general just really enjoying each other's company.  

The festival was great - very well attended and I nearly lost my voice while demonstrating the Rapid Warp Loom for 6 hours straight on Friday and 9 hours straight on Saturday.   Mississippi people are some of the nicest you'll meet anywhere.   We had such a great time meeting others interested in fiber, weaving, knitting, and the like and some will be friends for a long time to come!

So, there's my "brief" synopsis.   And I am going to try to blog more often.   But here's my encouragement to you.  Make a plan.   Life will get in the way.  But make a start.   Buy the loom, start crocheting those slippers, go for the complicated pattern.   You may have to lay it aside for awhile.   Life does get in the way.   But don't put off forever those things you REALLY want to do.   I want to share more with you all.  Today is the beginning of new intentions!

Wow!   It feels like it was just minutes ago that we were driving back from showing the loom in Topeka.   Since then there's been lots of work, a trip to Arkansas to see the grandkids final school program.   A race back to Missouri to catch another granddaughters final band concert.   (Both were excellent, by the way!).   And shearing day. My three alpacas, but five others belonging to two friends.   Eight doesn't sound like very many, but I can tell you it is a job!   Within two minutes of starting Dove had managed to pee on me and spit nastiness (think very stinky) all over the table.   All in all though, we got it done with very little difficulty or trauma thanks to our great shearer, Danny Smith.

Now I'm trying to get the house cleaned up and get ready to head to St. Joseph, Missouri for a demo at the Red Barn Yarn Farm (don't you just love that name!)   I'll give you the scoop on this alpaca farm/yarn store when I get home.   Or better yet, why don't you meet us there.   Hours are from 10 - 3 and we'll have some fun.   My girlfriend, Nancy, is my road trip buddy for this one and she's always a hoot!

Did I mention that we brought the oldest grandson back with us from Arkansas.   He's here for what we affectionately call "Grandpa's two week slave camp"!   We are blessed with outstanding grandkids who are rapidly growing into responsible people who are willing to give up a couple of weeks each summer to help out their grandparents.   And they are really appreciated!   Isaiah has been great to have around - although I think he's a bit worried about who's going to feed him while Grandma is on the road!

Hope your having great fun today and some time to weave, spin, knit, crochet or felt - whatever floats your boat!   Enjoy!

Had a great day on Saturday!    We visited Yak 'n Yarn, a fabulous store at Fairlawn Plaza Mall in Topeka, KS.   The owner, Karen Taylor, invited us to come in and demonstrate the Weavers Rapid Warp Loom.  Her shop is beautiful and she has a wonderful selection of fibers for spinning, weaving, knitting and crocheting.   If you've never been there it's definitely worth the trip!

Karen admitted that when I spoke to her on the phone about how quickly and easily this loom could be warped that she was a bit skeptical!   But, I guess we convinced her because she bought one for the shop and has agreed to be a distributor for us in Kansas!

If you live anywhere in the Topeka, KS area please go by and say hello to Karen at Yak 'n Yarn and she'll probably let you weave a little bit.

​Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!

Well . . . as you can see if you scroll down, I have not posted on here since 2014.  Ken came up with this wonderful loom in late 2013 and we thought - "we should sell some of these!".   But all along, I've been working at other jobs and just giving him a bit of time here and there.   Marketing and selling are not his forte.   He can build anything, but it's up to me to sell what he builds.   And my focus has been everywhere else!   Until now.   In October of 2015 I landed what I thought was my "dream job".  Great pay, working with senior citizens, good company, etc., etc.   Long story short - on Thursday, March 24th, I lost that dream job.   Still not sure why.  But it's caused us to take a look at our lives.   And we've decided that it's time to turn this into a "Real" business!

It's going to take some work . . . and some faith . . . and some luck!   But I am excited.   If we can make this work it would really be a dream come true.   We'll never get rich.   But if we can pay our bills and feed ourselves and the critters - that's all we really need.   I've worked full time since I was 18 years old for someone else.   It's exciting to think that it may be possible to work for us, instead!

So, you should see a lot more posting - and a lot more weaving!   My first major project is to work on some good vidoes instructing folks in how to start a project, how to weave on the loom, how to change colors, etc.   We are really open to your suggestions, comments and questions.   So let us know what you want to know.   And happy weaving everyone!

PS:   I have a personal blog - if you're interested in reading more about how I feel about this new journey - or want to know what I mean by "Walking on Water"; here's a link to that blog:  http://gingerbogle.blogspot.com/
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