Thanks Sharon!!!!

Wow..... Thanks Sharon for nominating our blog.  Certainly exciting and reassuring to know that there are actual real people out there in cyberspace that are checking in on Two Guys and a Loom!!!!

I never really considered us "Stylish", but as usual, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!!!!  Thanks again Sharon..... check out Sharon's blog here at In Stitches 

So here is what comes with the award:

1. Thank and link back to the person who sent you this award.  (Check!!!)

2. Share 7 things about yourself (Wow... this could be scary, please read below.)

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers (I don't "follow" that many blogs, but I do "lurk" around at a lot of blogs.... more about that in a later post.  I will mention some of my favorite blogs below.)

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award (Done!!!)

Well, here are seven things that you may want to know, but after finding them out, you may be disappointed that they aren't more interesting!!!!

1.  I grew up in Springboro Ohio with two brothers (I'm the middle child, which should explain a lot if you know anything about birth orders) on a small country place where we raised at different times:  chickens, goats, rabbits, pigs, and sheep.... I think we had a cow for a short time too!
2.  I LOVE chocolate!!!!
3.  I'm not the best friend to have.... I don't like to talk on the phone, but if we are friends, we're friends for life, even if we go for months without seeing or talking to each other.  I'll definitely be there for you when you need me.
4.  I'm gay...... shocking I know.  We are not typical in that we do not define ourselves by our sexuality, but rather hope that people get to know us first and then say to themselves "Ya know, Kent and Chris aren't like some of the other gay couples we know!"
5.  My Mom has a Masters of Divinity..... our family has a strong faith and believe in a loving and accepting God!
6.  I don't eat red meat.... haven't since I was a teenager.... no reason really other than I don't like it, not even steak!!!!
7.  Chris and I have been together for 14 years this June!!!!

Here's a shot of Chris and I with our good friends Cindy and Stan!  If you ever find yourself in Yellow Springs Ohio, be sure and dine at The Winds Cafe great dining with a changing seasonal menu featuring local grown produce and meats!

Here are some of the blogs I follow:

Crazy as a Loom 

Love, love, love this woman..... she is the one that inspired me to learn the art of weaving!!!!  Beautiful photography, and a beautiful spirit!!!!

Homestead Weaver

Chris Gustin is the woman that "kicked my behind" for an intense three days of weaving at her studio in Brown County Indiana..... I wove on one of her looms on the "porch" and think I lost 20 pounds just from sweating!!!

In Stitches
Sharon at In Stitches is the one that "nominated" our blog, and someone that I have been "stalking" in the blogosphere for a while.  She loves animals, so that immediately makes her a great person.  Thanks again Sharon!!!!


R'new to Begin Again
I love Renee's blog because of her great recycled weaving, which is what we love to do too!  Her determination and discipline when it comes to working full time and weaving is inspiring!!!!


Camp Runamuck
Another blogger that I have been stalking for a while.  Love her weaving and poochies!!!!!  I can also relate to anyone that lives where there is a lot of snow!!!!  Anyone else notice that so many weavers live in the North!!!

Dust Bunnies Under My Loom
Love this blog for the beautiful weavings and the sheer volume of what is produced...... I too love seeing those little fiber balls piling up under the loom.... Chris however, feels compelled to vacuum compulsively!!!!


Tales from the Coop Keeper
Not a lot of weaving goin' on here, but Jayme does have a loom!  Her writing is fabulous and you will see her on Food Network someday!!!!  Plus she raises chickens, something that we hope to do soon. 

Loomy Tunes
This is a group of amazing weavers that get together every Tuesday to weave and share.... especially the food!!!  Love that there are a couple of gentlemen in their group that are avid weavers!!!!

Happy weaving and blogging.... .and thanks again Sharon!!!!

Peace!  Kent

Sunshine!!!

Well, we finally have a beautiful sunny day here in Ohio!!!!  Hauled some firewood to the house this morning, and finished the taxes this afternoon.  We are avid gardeners and love being outside.  On our walk of the property this morning, here are some signs that Spring is coming!!!!

 This is lettuce growing in our cold frame..... planted it last fall, and will pick some for a salad tonight!!!

Will be nice to have some fresh produce in February!!!!

We try to be as environmentally friendly as possible, and part of that is composting. We compost EVERYTHING!!!  Including a large amount of shredded leaves which are in pile in the gardens and various areas of the woods. 

The Hellebores (Lenten Rose) will be blooming in a couple weeks!!!!

Daffodils are just starting to peek through the snow.... won't be long now!!!!

This is a seed pod from one of the many Japanese tree peonies that our beloved Ann planted when she lived here!!!

This is what the bloom looks like around Memorial Day.... they are usually about 8-10" across!!!

Our lovely Blue Atlas Cedar..... planted last summer and looking great! See the little furry butt going up to the porch, that's Henry..... he just became a Grandpa earlier this month.  You can check out a video of his grand-puppies at Jendu Wheatens on Facebook.

This is a much more flattering shot of our little guy Henry!!!!

 

Had lunch this week with a great old friend, Julie Bolton (she's married to the famous Michael Bolton of Waynesville OH, not the singer).  She really wanted to see some updated photos of the kitchen remodel.  So here we go.

Keep in mind, we bought the home as-is with everything that was left after the estate sale.  That means everything!!!!

Things are looking pretty good, even though we are still using the plywood counter tops.  We are seriously considering concrete and looking at some local contractors to do that.

Well, I'll keep everyone updated on the kitchen progress, hopefully new counter tops in the next month or so.  Will be anxious to making some more strides towards completion.

Hope everyone has had a good weekend!

Peace!  Kent

Scarf Season!

Here in Ohio, it is still winter, we had another inch or so of snow this morning before dawn, and the strange thing about it there was also thunder with the storm.  Even the dogs got woken up by it this morning around 5 or so.  Way to early for me!!!!

There has been some weaving going on around here too!!!  Primarily weaving scarves.  The blue and white one above is a combination of two yarns, one rayon chenille and one wool.  The warp is white 10/2 bamboo set at 10 epi.  These turned out very nice, but I think the bamboo is a little stiff.  Even after wet finishing them, they don't have the soft drape that I was hoping for.

The bamboo warp has been totally woven off, and the next warp is on the loom.  The photos above are of the next batch of scarves, using all rayon chenille.  The warp is a random stripe of very warm, earthy tones with some rust and light cream tossed in for good measure.  The warp is again set at 10 epi, and I think I wound about 14 yards of warp on this time, so we should be able to get 6 scarves out of this one warp.  The weft is rayon chenille in a warm amber color, in fact I think the color is called "Amber Lights" 1399 ypp (yards per pound), so these should be soft and luxurious!!!!

Here's a close up of the warp threads at the back of the loom as they go through the heddles.  There are 100 threads back here that each have to be pulled through those little metal rods, and then through the beater bar at the front of the loom..... if you're a weaver, you're bored by now, if you're not, you're probably thinking why in the world would anyone want to do this!!!!  And keep in mind, the scarf is only 10" wide!!!!


Will try and post again tomorrow.... had lunch with Michael Bolton's wife this week, and she wants to see updated kitchen photos!!!! 

Peace!  Kent

UFO Landing!!!!

Well, I know that UFO's are usually spotted in Nevada and the desert areas of the US, but we had one land here this morning on our birdbath!!!!!

Can't wait to see if any little aliens come out, and why in the world did they pick the birdbath to land in!!!!  It's really a cool little gadget that Chris got to keep the water moving.  The birdbath already has a heater, so now our feathered friends have their own little jacuzzi!!!!!

Apparently they are drawn more to moving water, and then in the summer it will help keep mosquitoes from laying their eggs in the birdbath.  I think the name of the gizmo is Water Wiggler or something like that.  He got it at a local wild bird food store here in town.  I think you should get one for your birds, or at least the heater.  More birds die each winter from dehydration than from starvation!  Take care of our feathered friends!!!!

I made it back to work on Thursday and Friday, but Chris has been trapped since we can't drive over the wire that is across our lane.  Uggggh!   In fact the lane is so icy that FedEx will not pull down to deliver anything.  Chris had to go to the airport yesterday to pick up a check that was to be delivered, only to find out that they sent it back out on the delivery truck.  At least he and our neighbor Mike got to have lunch out!!!!

So, if you can't go anywhere, you may as well weave.  Chris has been weaving on the bamboo warp using rayon chenille (1400 ypp).  His latest creation is using two different colors of yarn and clasping the weft at different points to create a really neat scarf.  Kind of reminds me of an EKG reading thing at the hospital!!!!

Hope everyone is safe and warm today! 

Peace!  Kent

Weaving!!!!

Wow.... sorry for not posting a bit more frequently, but a full time job does take priority at times!!!!  We have been doing some weaving along with hauling firewood, dealing with dogs and numerous other activities.  Won't bore you with all the details, other than Princess Maxine is doing much better and had her staples removed last Monday.  There were 15 staples on the under side of her neck/throat area, the good news is that the biopsy came back negative!!!!

We finally have both looms warped and have been doing some weaving, especially today since we had a major ice storm/snow event overnight.  An electric line (Chris thinks a neutral wire) came down along the main lane last evening, and is right across the section of lane that comes back to our house.  So it forced me to stay home from work, and Chris didn't have anything scheduled for today either..... so let's weave!!!!

I've been working on the Union in the lower level (basement) that has a 34" warp on it in earthy tones.  We have a special order piece that we need to weave, but thought I'd crank out a few other rugs first. 

This is what we call a "Bonnie" rug... which is a solid body and this one has two stripes of coordinating fabric at the ends of the rug.

Here's another shot of the rug, looking back towards the warp beam of the loom.  The warp is set at 8 epi with approximately 70 yards wound on the back beam!!!   That's a lot of rugs.

Another rug that's already been done and is wound on the cloth beam in front is one using a fleece that was given to us by a friend. It made a really nice fluffy rug.  Can't wait to get it off the loom and tied up.

Sorry for the blurry picture.... hopefully my photography skills will get better as we go along!!!!

Chris has been hard at work on some rayon chenille scarves..... he's not real happy with the white bamboo warp, so after this warp is woven off, I'm sure we'll be doing some earthy tones of rayon chenille for the next warp!!!! 

Doesn't that look great..... hard to believe this is the first scarf that he's woven!!!!  Not bad eh!!!!

He did a double stripe of a mixed rayon chenille yarn, and it really looks sharp.   Looks like it will be a pretty luxurious scarf!!!!!

Well, back to the office for me tomorrow...... .thanks to Walt who volunteered to pick me up at the end of our lane.  Should be a brisk 1/4 mile walk for me in the morning!!!!!