Pineapples, Palms, and Ice Cream
Perhaps not in that order....
Things just come out of the blue at times. Ideas, opportunities, trouble… it’s all part of this adventure we call life! The past few weeks at The Corner have been busy, busy.
Palms
Grammatically speaking, I should present my topics in the order of the title, starting with the Pineapple reference. But, because of algorithms and photos, we will start with Palms - because the first photo is what gets featured for the post (and it really should be weaving):
These, finally, are the City of Palms Towels that have taken up FAR too much brain space as well as time on the loom. The towel on the right is a true shadow weave, in that the weft matches the warp in alternating light and dark colors. It also gives you that alternating vertical, then horizontal, then vertical line effect (the aqua lines are vertical, the orange is horizontal). On the left towel, the weft is woven with solid colors, so the squares have more contrast. I can’t decide which I like better!
The pattern is an adaption of the Acton Creative October WAL from 2023. A few folks missed the second half of the threading and got an interesting pattern that featured a different block. I simply ran with that threading and color scheme.
They took up a bit of time on the loom because I had a threading mishap.1 I was also unwell (I do not recommend trying to work with heddle rods and pick-up sticks while running a fever… it went badly), and other life things got into the mix. I’m just happy to have them out of my head and into the Etsy shop! Some ideas just don’t let go.
I’m trying something new with this pattern in that I’ve made a threading and weaving video tutorial to go along with it.2 So you’ll have the option of purchasing the pattern with, or without, the video instruction. However, if you choose to go with the pattern only, I’m providing a way for you to “upgrade” your purchase to the video option, giving you a credit for having purchased the pattern part so you only have to pay for the video.3
The towels were inspired by this scene I enjoyed while having an ice cream in downtown Ft. Myers, which is known as The City of Palms.
Given All the Fun…
Here’s a coupon code for 24% off the City of Palms pattern - the pattern only OR bundled with the video - PALMTASTIC ! Why 24%? Today is my daughter’s 24th birthday, so I decided to run with it! The code is good through the end of Monday, the 22nd.
Speaking of Ice Cream
I’ll be honest, ice cream isn’t my preferred treat. It comes way down the list after dark chocolate, cookies, brownies, and some pies and cakes.4
But this week, ice cream has been on my mind.
It started late last week when I got a call from my artist friend, Daren Redman. I’ve known the Redman’s, casually, since we moved to Nashville over twenty years ago. I got to know her better when I got more involved in the local quilting scene about five years ago. Daren is a bundle of energy and she’s *always* involved in something WAY outside of *my* box.5
The phone call involved “wool blankets.” Did I have any? Would I loan them to her? Turns out that Daren got involved in sourcing fabric-related props for a movie being filmed in the area. There is a beach scene (they are heading to Lake Michigan for this bit) and picnic blankets reminiscent of the WW2 era were needed. I dug in the car for our “car blanket,” a big, plaid, acrylic (but visually appropriate) blanket and loaned it to her. That was cool! Maybe this blanket that has spent the past 30 years riding around in the trunks of our cars would get a brief moment of fame on screen.
Somewhere along the way, I learned that the name of the film is The Ice Cream Man. It’s based on the true story of Ernest Cahn, a Jewish Resistance Fighter from WW2 who was, unsurprisingly, an ice cream man. The tag-line from the movie is awesome, “When evil darkens your door, you have a choice…” I was involved in a project as an undergraduate to record and transcribe the experiences of Jewish survivors of the camps (this was late 80s, so there was a ticking clock on how much longer they would be around.) The movie project immediately became a bit more personal.
But there were weaving deadlines looming and I’d only loaned Daren a commercial blanket that might, or might not, make it on screen. So the whole thing went into the “follow up later” mental folder.
Until Sunday evening when she calls me up saying, “I can be by in five minutes. Do you have any brown scarves?”6 Do I breathe? “Sure, come on by,” is what I said. So I go around the house, pulling all the brown/ish scarves, knit or woven, that I can find. Turns out, they want to do a reshoot, but a brown scarf that was worn in another portion of the scene wasn’t brought to Indiana. Daren had a reference photo for continuity and I had some options. Then I thought about a bit of “yardage” fabric I just took off the loom made with rayon chenille - it was really brown and orange.
In the end, Daren took four of my scarves and, it seems, used two of them (visibly) on the set!7 I’m tickled she shared photos. I’m hoping she adds names to the actors, because the star of the movie is Noah Emmerich. Him I would recognize.
Arrows pointing to my scarves - both of the ones visible at some point on camera are here.
As I type, the blanket is on a shoot up toward Lake Michigan. I’ve had a few chuckles at some of the experiences Daren has shared - along with a few groans at some of the “issues” she’s faced in the costuming. Printing silk fabric in 3 hours to make a bow tie? Making actual 1940s era bathing suits look good on 21st century figures? She can have all that, thanks!
And, Finally, Pineapples
Because things have gone a bit exotic with this newsletter, we’ll add the pineapples as a tropical treat (that goes pretty well with ice cream, if you like such things.) This is for all of the multi-craftual readers out there:
This is a modern twist on a Pinapple Block quilt, made using one of those fun Creative Grids templates and a quick pattern sheet. My mom (who will be 97 next month) used to quilt and she loved leaf printed fabrics. Actually, making quilts with leaves was a bit of an obsession with her. When we cleaned out her home in late 2021, I pulled some of her quilting stash to keep and decided I would do something with the batiks. I ended up using some of my own stash fabrics to round it out.8 The plan is to gift it to her closest care giver as a thank you for all she did to help my mom before we had to put her in the memory care unit.
And that rounds things up! I’m at a scrapbooking retreat this coming week and I have a LOT of weaving deadlines coming up. There’s also an online class in the works - that will probably be a topic in my next newsletter!
Meanwhile, go have some ice cream (or other dessert of choice) and enjoy your weaving!
Insert “all heck broke loose” here. My warping peg separated from its base and went flying! The base was firmly attached on the back side of the table, but the cold, dry air must have loosened the peg in its stand. The ensuing chaos (snarled yarn, twisted thread, etc.) following me into the weave.
My video editing skills are still on the learning curve, but I’m pretty pleased with how it all came out. I’ve been avoiding video editing for 20 years, but apparently, it’s gotten much easier for the average home user.
This looks like it is going to work. Obviously, it needs testing. LOL!
Ironically, I was born into, and married into, families who put ice cream at the TOP of the dessert pile! My dad, jokingly, questioned my paternity because I could turn down ice cream so easily.
Let’s be honest, we all need friends like this, don’t we? Who show us what’s outside of our boxes and challenge us to at least consider those things? It’s okay if we decide that our response is “no.” It’s the fact that we looked outside that counts.
NOW we’re talking! SQUEE!
Apparently, a third one got layered under another scarf, to make it bulk up a bit.
Someone forgot to take a photo of the freshly finished top, all ironed and neat. Instead, I took a grab shot after I’d put it in the bag with the backing and was out running errands, including dropping it at the long-arm quilter. Yes, I quilt by check.