Christmas has come

 

 

You are looking at the Christmas gift my husband and I gave each other this year.  It is a new wood burning stove manufactured by Blaze King, a catalytic  stove that only needs loading about once daily; one that heats our entire house for almost 24 hours on one load of wood!  This Princess model was delivered last Friday and has been burning ever since.  There is nothing as cozy as wood heat and for us is very economical since we own almost ten acres of woods in Oregon.  We have a heat pump to supplement our stove but we have completely turned off the heat pump since Friday with our house temperature staying between 68 F and 73 F degrees.  Nice!  This stove was also a real marriage saver.  We replaced our old wood burning stove which had the noisiest fan you could imagine with this stove.  I was constantly turning the fan on our old stove down because of the noise and my husband was constantly turning it up because he was cold.  This gem of a stove is quiet even with the fan running and very warm.  Now we are both happy and we had a very cozy Christmas.  The top of the stove can actually function as a cook top, so we never have to be concerned about loosing power for either heating or cooking.

 

 

 Most of our immediate family live scattered across the country from coast to coast.  Most holidays we spend a lot of time on the phone wishing everyone Happy Thanksgiving or Merry Christmas.  The post office gets a good business from us as we mails cards and packages across the country and even across the Atlantic.  This year we invited our near by neighbors to share our meal since they had no special plans for the day.  We cooked ham, sweet potato casserole, corn, garlic mashed potatoes,  cranberry relish, creamed chard and  rhubarb cobbler.  What a nice afternoon with our stomachs full, warmed by the fire and cheered by each other's company.

 

 



I had promised you that I would continue my tale of our trip to Ireland.  My cousin, John, owns several fishing cottages which he rents out year round.  He gave us the cottage about a quarter of a mile down the country road from his house for the week.  This charming cottage has two bedrooms, a full bath, a living room with cable TV, a wood/peat burning fireplace and a full kitchen with a washer and dryer .  If you are interested in an authentic Irish vacation, John's contact number is above on the cottage sign.  John lives along the river Shannon about three miles out of the town of Carrick-on-Shannon.  The town is reachable from Dublin airport by a two hour bus trip or from the Shannon airport by bus as well.  We chose to stay overnight in Dublin to adjust to the time change and took the commuter train from Dublin to Carrick-on-Shannon.

 

 Our first afternoon in Carrick-on-Shannon our cousins took us to the family cemetery in Agrium.  The church was built by the Franciscans in the 12th century.  This past year as part of the Irish "Gathering" a new tombstone was placed on the family grave with the names of all of our Conlon ancestors buried in this plot.  It was so awe inspiring to see the family name going all the way back to 1735 and knowing that I have a connection to this lovely land.

What would a visit to Ireland be without a visit to an Irish pub and some wonderful Guinness.  Both my cousins John and his sister Breda are very musical.  They played and sang Sunday night at a local pub, Cryan's.  Breda sings Celtic music professionally touring the country with her singing group for various events.  My sister Cynthia had our pictures taken the following day in front of the pub.  Carrick-on-Shannon has lots of pubs and is sort of known for being a weekend party spot.  There are river tours that run from Dublin and Sligo to Carrick and a number of condos that are rented out for weekend getaways.

 



 

 

The highlight of both my brother-in-law's and my husband's week was being asked by my cousin, John to help him haul one of his prize bulls out of a drainage ditch.  The cow got stuck when he saw an attractive young female in the next field and attempted to get to her.  Men will be men, no matter what their species.  With help from a backhoe and some ropes the bull was freed and my husband and brother-in-law became official "Irish Cowboys". 

 

 A visit to another pub on Wednesday night to listen to our cousins' music got me involved in learning some official Irish jigs.  I was asked to volunteer to learn the steps with the dance master before the whole pub was up and dancing with us.  It was great fun and I worked off some of the Guinness I was drinking that night.

 

 On Thursday we took a day trip down the west coast of Ireland.  My cousins rented a small bus and we went looking for my brother-in-law's ancestorial family in Milltown Malbay, the Nashville of Ireland.  We found the Talty pub and a relative who was writing the family history of Matt's mother's family.  On our way back home we stopped at the lovely and famous Cliffs of Moher.

 

 Saturday, my cousins decided to hold a family reunion of all of the related Conlons at the home where my great grandfather was raised before he immigrated to the United States.  My cousin John, pictured above on the left of the door, completely rebuilt this old farm house from merely stone walls.  The thatched roof had fallen in and the house lied in ruins.  The house sits on a piece of land that has the shores of the Shannon River as part of the lot.  The view is breathtaking and I think that it must have been very hard for my ancestors to leave this land.  John's work is magnificent both inside and out and his restoration does great justice to the site.  Again we sang, ate and drank to our family, those who are with us and those gone before us.



Husband John, Cousin Breda, John Conlon, brother-in-law Matt, Anne Conlon & sister Cynthia

On Sunday we bid farewell to our Irish family as we boarded the bus to Dublin airport from downtown Carrick-on-Shannon and onto the second leg of our journey to Scotland.  I believe that we left part of our hearts behind.

A friend of mine, Jackie Weatherspoon, who worked for the UN on various peace keeping missions told me that the first time she had the opportunity to visit South Africa and put her feet on African soil she immediately felt her connection.  I know what she means.  My heart feels very happy when I am on Irish soil and it feels even happier to know my connection.  Thank you so much my Irish family!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Been Busy for the Holidays

The last time I posted I had been writing about my trip to Ireland.  Time has completely gotten away from me and I got very busy with the holidays.  I will get back to my description of my Ireland trip and even give you a post about my two week trip to Italy.  This post, however, will be about my gift making for the holidays.

Before Thanksgiving I was using my new studio quite a bit...that was before our deep freeze here in southern Oregon. I wanted to send something to my cousins in Ireland, so I wound and threaded a Christmas colored warp for table runners.  I made five of the above runners and the first day I was able to leave my house after our six inches of snow on Dec. 6th I put them in the mail to my cousins.

Next up, I discovered a book I had ordered some time early in the year, "55 Christmas Balls to Knit" by Arne Nerjordet and Carlos Zachrison.  These fellows are Scandinavian sweater designers who live in Oslo, Norway.  I love charts.  Give me cables or stranded knitting and I am happy.  There are 55 charts to follow in this book and the directions produce some of the most charming Christmas balls I have ever made.  I made three of these balls stuffing them with wool fleece and lavender.  My intention was to knit enough to decorate my tree but the above three were given away in ornament exchanges and as gifts.  I can knit and stuff one of these balls in an evening, so making all 55 balls by next Christmas will not be an impossible task.

I usually give each of my coworkers in the Case Management Department of the hospital where I work a little something for Christmas.  This year my embroidery machine was smoking (not really) as I made each person an ornament to hang on their tree.  I have an attachment for my sewing machine that allows me to sew in a perfect circle. These were quick, cute and personal. In addition, I was able to use some of my fabric stash.

There is one fellow in the Case Management Department, Ron.  Ron loves pretzels, so I gave him a bag of pretzels.  How do you gift a bag of pretzels?  You make a gift bag and give the man a bag of "Jolly".

I have had this very cute blueberry fabric in my stash for a while.  I always bring my sister-in-law in Bremerton, WA a little something handmade when we visit.  Since we plan a visit soon, I decided to make these hot pads with an Jacobean embroidery of blueberries in the center.  If my kitchen were blue, I would make some for myself.  But since my color scheme is tan, gray, peach and black I will have to make something else for myself. I have something else on one of the looms in the studio that will go well in my kitchen.  In the meantime, my sister-in-law will get to enjoy these.

I have one more gift to give.  This was hot off the sewing machine yesterday.  This is a wine bag with matching coasters.  The wine for this bag will be matched to the recipient's taste.

This year I was able to assemble and mail my Christmas cards on time.  Each year I try to include a little bit of handweaving in my hand made cards.  Last year the warp remained on the loom until after Christmas.  This year the warp was woven, cut and included in our cards.  I made over 40 cards this year. Each year I promise myself that I will make my Christmas cards in the summer.  Somehow, temperatures in the high 90's just doesn't lend itself to the Christmas spirit.  I do have my idea for the 2014 Christmas card, so maybe I will get started.

My husband and I decided this year that we would give ourselves a new wood burning stove.  The cold temperatures this month have proven too much for our current wood stove to keep up with heating our house.  We have a heat pump but heating with wood in the winter is just cozy and wonderful.  Besides,  I have wanted a stove that I could cook on should we loose power.  We bought a Blaze King and John is in the process of hooking it up.  I am looking forward to a much warmer house and a more efficient stove.

There were a few more things that I have made, but since Christmas has not come yet, I am not going to post them.  I do think that Santa's workshop has done enough for this year.  Tell you about other things I have been working on later.

Our Irish Family

My husband John, cousin Breda, cousin John, brother-in-law Matt, cousin Anne, sister Cynthia, Carrick-on-Shannon, Aug. 30, 2013

I have been away from blogging for a while as I indicated in my last post.  The picture above is the last day of our visit to Ireland less than a month ago.  We were getting ready to board a bus for a 2 hour ride to Dublin Airport for a short visit in Scotland before returning home.  My sister, her husband and my husband had a week long trip visiting our Irish cousins and the homestead lands where my great grandfather was born and from which he departed for new opportunities in the USA in the 1850's.  The actual story of my trip starts in March of 2012.

Aer Lingus flight from Chicago to Dublin

My traveling companions, Day 1, Dublin, March 2012

One of my coworkers had found a wonderful deal on a trip to Ireland and was looking for people to join her in March 2012 with plans on being in Ireland for St. Patrick's Day.   So a group of us (eight ladies) made our deposits and departed for a 10 day trip to Ireland arriving in Dublin and driving to Adare on the West Coast of the Emerald Isle. I was super excited because seeing Ireland had always been on my "Bucket List". 

Everyone had their "must do" list for our Ireland trip.  Some of my companions wanted to see castles, the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Peninsula, a St. Paddy's Day parade, etc.  My desire was to travel north to Roscommon Co. and search for the birth place of my great grandparents, Bartley Conlon and Catherine O'Byrne.  Years ago I had been given an account of my Conlon family history by my father's sister which included the birth place of both of my great grandparents in Ireland.  As far as I knew, none of our American Conlon clan had seen the lands that my grandparents left nor made any contact with relatives there.  On March 16, 2012 I decided to hire the driver who had taken our group to Dingle to take me north to the town of Carrick-on-Shannon and search for Curries which I knew to be the birth place of my great grandfather.  It took us about 3 hours of driving from Adare to reach Carrick.  My driver stopped in town and started asking workers along the river front if they had heard of Curries or of any Conlons in the area.  Within about 45 minutes of landing in Carrick-on-Shannon my driver was knocking on the door of John Conlon.

I couldn't believe my eyes.  There was no doubt this man was related to me.  He could have been the twin of my cousin in Warrenton, VA, Bart Conlon, Jr.  John knew of my grandfather, Peter J. Conlon and had been trying to make contact with the American Conlons for years.  John took me to the place where my great grandfather was born pictured above on the river Shannon.  John now owns this land.  After exchanges of documents and family histories we finally determined that our great great grandfathers were brothers.

In September of 2012 my sister Cynthia arranged for a Conlon family reunion in Alexandria, VA.  My cousin John flew from Ireland to meet his American relatives (about 100 of them),  I flew from the West Coast to meet John again and attend the reunion.  I believe that as far as air miles were concerned, I had the longer trip.  I promised John that I would return to Ireland in the fall of 2013.

In April of this year my sister, Cynthia and I began plans for our trip.  My journey started by flying from Medford to Portland to Washington, DC to meet my sister and her husband.
From DC we all flew to Boston where we picked up our Aer Lingus flight to Dublin.
The day after we landed in Dublin we took the train to Carrick-on-Shannon.  None of us were brave enough to drive in Ireland (the left side of the road and all that).

John and his wife Anne put us up in one of the fishing cottages that John owns, feed us, entertained us and carted us about showing us the beautiful land and hospitality that is Ireland.  We had the opportunity to get to know our cousins better and to appreciate the lands that our forefathers left.

 
   Next post...I will share more of our Ireland trip and some wonderful pictures.

Been away...But here is The Studio

 Hello there! 

Been away from blogging a long time.  I took a trip to Ireland and Scotland with my husband, sister Cynthia and her husband Matt.  We were gone for the last week of August and the first week of September.  Had a wonderful time...talk about this in my next post.

The studio is completed (well almost).  Right now it is getting rain gutters.  The picture above is from the master designer...husband John, sitting proudly in front of his accomplishment.  We took this picture before we left on our trip.

Now to give you a tour of this 24' by 16' building---

The front door with motion lights,a porch light and an outlet in case I want to use my electric spinner, a deck with two sets of steps and  a new gutter.  (Notice the tools still scattered on the deck to give the impression that work is in progress...Hah!)

The right side of the building with three 3' windows

The left side of the building with two 4' windows

The back side of the building with one 6' window

Open the front door and this is what you see

On the left you will see a tall set of shelves with dedicated space for each type of fiber as well as a tall storage bin with drawers for all of my beading supplies, one eight harness Schacht floor loom.

 

An oak computer desk, my zebra chair, my mounted warping board and a cork board for weaving drafts.

My AVL 24 harness Workshop Loom as well as newly built fiber shelving, my weaving library and my carder.

Storage for my reeds, raddles, lease sticks, shuttles and assorted weaving equipment.

My rocking chair, CD player and refrigerator.  (My spinning wheel will go in front of the rocking chair)

 

My Macomber 8 harness loom in the center of the room.

 

A view through the French doors (Notice the doggie who would love to come in)

 

The view out of my back window

 

 

 

The view out of my side window behind my Schacht.

 

The view from my computer desk.

 

The closet that will eventually become a composting toilet.

 

Notice the labels...anyone who inherits my fiber will now know what it is.

 

My first warp wound in my new studio waiting to go on the loom.  It may be a while before you see the placemats from this warp.  I first have to honor my sister.

 

We lost Ginny (Virginia Lee Conlon Royal) today after a long battle with cancer.  I will be returning to our home state of Virginia to join my family as we honor her life.  She brought sunshine to many lives and was quite a crafty lady.  She will be missed.

 

There you have it.  The studio that started the blog.  Next post...Ireland.

Finished Fabric

 I have finished the length of fabric that I was recently on my loom.  It has been washed and fulled giving me 4 1/3 yards of 26" wide cloth to work with.  I just received in the mail some new fall patterns from Vogue.  I was thinking that the jacket of V8937 will work well with my new cloth.  I found in my stash the perfect lining fabric.  My woven cloth is cotton...extremely soft and very warm.  I need to back my cloth with fusible tricot stabilizer before I take the scissors to it to cut out pattern pieces.  Pellon makes a great product for this.  I think that I will make a prototype jacket first to address any fitting issues.  (I know already that I will have to shorten the sleeves.)  I also want to make sure that I have enough of my woven fabric to make this very simple jacket.  I have other patterns in mind if this one doesn't work but I am delighted to have this beautiful cloth to work with.  The joy of being able to weave!

In the meantime, a friend of mine, who is a prolific weaver warns to always have your next warp ready when you have finished the one on your loom.  Taking her advise I also wound a warp of a rayon boucle.  I found this at my ANWG vendor, "Newton's Yarn Country" www.newton.com.  I couldn't resist the color.

Since I am always in need of gifts to give, I wound enough warp for two scarves.  I decided that the color alone was enough for a design and threaded my loom in plain weave.  I threw in a few stripes of rayon chenille to give the scarves interest.

Just about done my second scarf.  My loom will have to sit empty for a while.  The studio is almost done and I will soon be moving in.  It will be a pleasure to be able to move around my large loom unobstructed and have beautiful views all around me.  Tours will be given soon.