Sunday, October 31, 2010


"Blended Amber Handwoven Clutch Handbag" - Spring Grove Handweaving -

Here's one of the fall handbag's that I got done just the other week..I kept meaning to post this but so many things have popped up around here that it didn't get done till now ~ !! ~ I really like the amber, cream and flecks of brown/black on the yarn that makes up the body of this handbag - it reminds me of some of the clothes that were worn up in the little mountain town tom & I lived in way back in the day - Everybody had at least one sweater with this kind of yarn!! So I was glad to find some of it on sale an' Tom grabbed it before I did!! He had a couple sweaters with this style yarn wayy back in the day!! It looked really good on him too..

Anyway, back from the 70's...Tee Hee...I have some new projects lined up - I've been trying to get the warp done on my loom this morning, but tom's been messin' with the stereo & hooking up the cd player...he's one of those type people that has the sound WAY UP LOUUUDDD !!!! so everytime a bit of wire makes a connection ITSUDDENLY GETS WAY LOUD!!! BAM!! HEY!!....so my nerves are definetly shot already today!! I NEED to get weaving, but there is no way till all that $^&()"& gets done out in the front room - YES!! - that's how loud it is - clear back here in the back of the house - that's how SCREAMING LOUD he's got the sound up...

But It's time to make christmas items, so that's the goal for this afternoon - I'm hoping that I can get up at least 6 ornaments & get them into my shop by tuesday at the latest - so many interuptions (sp) lately, an' I've got a ton of ph. calls to make tomorrow an' tuesday too...so wish me luck ~ !! ~ GoodVibes ~ !! ~ whatever you can!!

I've got to take some aspirin...that $^"&"( &*)+ stereo is driving my head into the upper reaches of the sky right about now!!!!

I'm Gone>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Lady of The Tulips

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

>>So here's a little self promotion, if ya'll don't mind <<

www.SpringGroveHandweaving.artfire.com I'd be pleased as punch if you'd stop by an' see some of my little goodies!!

Gotta run for now --

Lady of The Tulips

One of my little handbag clutches - this color is really fun, and the yarns just seemed to go together so easily - it almost scared me, but the final weaving was just what I wanted -

I found the dark purple/deep violet/pale blue yarn online, and then tried to find something to coordinate with it that wouldn't look all weird - heaven knows there's enuf weirdness goin' on around here - but anyway, the color on the front flap of the bag was a yarn that I found down at the yarn shop and the lady that owns the store was so patient with me - 'course we had to yak,yak,yak about all things, an' then realized that I did NEED to get some yarn while I was in there~ ! ~ So this bag took a little longer to put together than it probably should have ~ ! ~

An' since I've been so busy with gettin' my shop set up over on Artfire, an' gettin' things taken care of around here, naturally I ended up gettin' sick ~ !! ~ BOO!! ~ I hate to get sick, an' it's really been a long time since I had a cold, so this kind of suprised me when Sat. afternoon I started feelin' kinda lousy - I'd been detailing the Bus, rubbin' out some of the old old dirt spots that looked reallly bad..an' when I got done I just figured I felt tired from all that work - well, it WAS a lot of work, but the tired was also cause I was comin' down with the creeping crud!! so I been takin' it easy and tryin' not to overdo things - right now I'm only workin' on one project, so when I get feelin' a little bit stronger I'll go back the usual 3 projects at one time ~ ! ~

And to have more fun - tom got broken down last nite/evening while he was trying to get back into the port from up near the northern most part of the state of Va. - the water pump in the truck went out, and water spewed everywhere - so he had the office call & get a tow truck..anyway, 2 hours later he was basically right back where he'd started earlier in the afternoon - at first the #^#&* manager told him to sleep in the truck, 'cause he didn't want the company to pay for a hotel bill...grrrr....but then the dispatcher over-ran THAT bright idea, got tom a room across from the truck stop/truck repair shop, so tom could stay in a room for the night. Can you bELIEVE that?? - "Sleep in the truck..." - tha's about the 4th time he's done that to other drivers, so I think the dispatcher just got tired of guys quitting 'cause the manager is a dolt!! -

So now HOPEFULLY today won't be so much of an adventure for tom OR me ~ !! ~ I do need to get my project finished over on the table, an' get a new piece ready on the loom, so I should stop messin' around over here, an' get zippin' along ~ ! ~ Wheeee...

I'm Gone>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Lady of The Tulips

Thursday, October 21, 2010

~~ No picture today (sorry!) but just A quick Hello!! An' to say that I'm up to my ears in weaving projects - I had something of a disaster w/some fabric yesterday (Boo!) but today I am Very Happy to say that I've developed something to fix Said Disaster. Shwwoooo!!

'Course, the projects that Disaster Occured To aren't good now..BOO!!!..but I've got some other things to make up for it - only 2 bit the dust, so that's not so horrid. I DID get quite misty eyed when I discovered that they went Poof - but that's the way some things go!

I'm also glad to say that I've discovered some Beads that I thot went missing. Ha - show's how organized my studio is ~ !! ~ Mercy Me - the things were in another box that I hadn't looked in for awhile, so silly me, I THOT they'd been put in a closet where things go to Never Never Land...or some place where weird things happen..like go into space maybe?? - So, I'm going to go strand some of these beads, and make some other goodies. It seems kinda relaxing to string beads together..Sometimes I get really carried away and then look at the clock and realize 2 hours have gone by - Oop! - So today hopefully that's not going to happen. Well, actually, if it does, noah said he'd make dinner...hummm..maybe he knows I'm sitting amidst projects that need finishing ~ !! ~ Who knowz..

Must go - Tom may be late getting home tonight..he had to deliver some 35,000 pounds of plumbing supplies to a gigantic warehouse this morning. The people running the forklift said they'd get him "Fixed up in no time!"..2 hours later he was still waiting..Get This ~ !! ~ They were having some kind of bbq cook-out on the grounds of the place, so over 1/2 of the employees were over across the grounds, eating bbq!!!! An' left poor ol' tom sittin' in his truck all lonesome an' sad ~ !! ~ "Ma! It smells so good, an' I can't even go over there!!!"....awwwhhhh....

Well - maybe we can have bbq this weekend!! That'll make up for it ~ !! ~ Yeah! That's the ticket!!

I'm Gone ~ !! ~


Lady of The Tulips

Wednesday, October 20, 2010



Glimmering Teal Clutch Handbag ~

Here's another of the recent handbags that got finished & you can also see over in my shop @ Artfire.com - this was the coolest yarn that I found ~ !! ~ It really DOES glitter and gleam when you turn the clutch just right - that's what drew me to the yarn in the first place. And it came together on the loom really nicely - I added the little beads and goodies for that extra Oomph, and I'm really likin' the way it looks. But tha's just me, so I'm HIGHLY biased ~ !! ~

I was going to finish out some handbags today, but for over 3 hours, I've been drivin' Noah all over creation...livin' in the woods DOES have it's drawbacks, and since it's for EVAH between places here, you just have to realize that it's going to take some time to get from point A to point B..an' just suck up the cost of the gas...The local gas station people can probably retire on what I'm payin them in gas this week...makes me wanna cry, it does ~ !! ~ Wish sometimes that I had a horse & buggy..nahh...that'd only take LONGER..yeee gadzzzzzz.....

But anyway, I'm OPTIMISTIC that I'll get some work done over there..but I'm not sure..As long as the other 2 in the house just don' mind dinner being around 10 p.m., then we're all ok ~ !! ~ Tee Hee - yup, you would be able to hear the NOISE from here with that one now, wouldn't you?? ~~ !! ~~

So it's over to the work table & WORK - 'stead of listening to noah tell me where we need to haul off an' drive to next...Jeesh...tha' poor ol' station wagon...156,000 miles on it, an' I'm suprised it hasn't just STOPPED and said ENOUGH ALREADY!!! - No, noah doesn't like to ride in the Bus, an' that engine hardly has over 9,000 miles on it...

DO NOT LOOK AT MY GREY HAIR....
an I'll be thankin' ya later............

I'm Gone **

Lady of The Tulips

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

>> Just a suuuuper quick post, as I'm getting ready to add the embellishments to some handbags I wove up - I've got a basic idea of the colors I'll use, but I won't tell you yet..just will say that they are shiney, pearly, and look just right. Naturally I wouldn't want to add anything that would look ikkkeey, so it just sorta goes w/out sayin' -

Took Mr. Grump-A** to a job "interview" - instead of actually having an interview, he spent over an hour filling out forms, making answers on pages (15) of some form..an' looked like the cat drug him in from some ditch along the highway when he was all thru. Good Golly Miss Molly, is this what companies are doing these days to people trying to get work?? - And it wasn't the actual company hiring - sorta - was an agency that only gathers enuf people that fit a particular description of employees eligible for a certain job.

In other words, he filled out a bunch of papers an' maybe will get called back in for a real interview.

Nothin' like wasting an hour & a half here folks....

Well....

So I gotta run - I know I'm not tellin' much about the next handbag - but it'll be a pleasant suprise..how'z that?? ~ !! ~ Tee Hee ~ !! ~


I'm Gone >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Lady of The Tulips

Monday, October 18, 2010


~~ Well ~~

Here's a picture of one of my newer clutch handbags that I have for sale over on my little site @ Artfire.com - Look up Spring Grove Handweaving, and you'll be sure to see this sweet little handbag for sale -
I've just spent 15 minutes trying and trying to figure out how to make the link work, but it looks like it's gonna take me a lot longer ~ So I think I may have to go get a bottle of water and make myself comfortable, 'cause it's probably going to be where I have to sit here for 3 hours before I can get a link to work...I SOOOOO wish I could take classes in All Things Computer ~ !!! ~ What most people think are "Just easy clicks!" for some of us is just a nightmare ~ !! ~ I can't count the hours I've spent just getting these pictures posted - OMG - I am not kidding when I say that I've truly broken out in hysterical crying jags over all this - makes me feel so downright stuiped, an I know I'm not dumb - but Puuhhhleeeeze, you persons who design or (or whatever it's called) these sites, keep in mind, some of us are NOT computer people ~ !!!! ~ Guess livin' in the woods has come back to bite me on the Bee-hind now, hasn't it??

But on a brighter note, I've got a stack ( !! ) of new clutch handbags over on the work table, all waiting for their little embellishments and stuff to get all fixed up - they want to make their debut too ~ !! ~ Jus' like little Debutantes ~ ! ~ HA!! ~ Tha's what they are!! - Lil' sweet things just waiting in the wings ~ ! ~An' ohh...jus' you WAIT to see how they look - I think you'll like 'em too.


But I gotta go an' get to work - can't jus' sit here chattin' the mornin' away ~ !! ~

I'm Gone >>>>>>>>>>>


Lady of The Tulips

Thursday, October 14, 2010



Well - I've been blathering for some time now about the weaving I'm doing - and I'm just about ready to reveal some more of my pieces, but first (Just to drag things out a bit longer..tee hee..) I wanted to show my sweet little loom - it's not one of the giant ones that take up a gazillion feet of space - but it's just the right size for what I'm doing, and it creates some sweet things. So what more can ya ask for??

The little corner of my room is rather stuffed right now, but I'm gently hinting to Tom to install some nice decorative shelves above the antique table where all my baskets are - he sez" Oh sure, that sounds like a good idea" - so let's not get too excited about seeing those shelves any time soon!

I'm also glad to say, that since I've been totally hit over the head w/a 2" X 4" in terms of trying to figure out my new art site w/Artfire, that my middle son told me to come up to Va. this weekend, an' we'll sit down an' hash out all things computer that I'm having such a hard time with. I wish I could afford to take some classes or something - but it's a catch-22 - I need to make the money to afford the classes, so I can learn how to set up my computer stuff online, but I need to know HOW to set up the online site in order to make money - so where does it all go/come-from/happen? No wonder I just haul off and burst out crying from stress these days - doesn't take much of a screaming fit from Jr. here to make me just cry away. And I've never been one to cry, so this is just not fun! Hopefully after saturday things will start to turn around!

The other plus, is that tom said we are "DEFINETLY" going to go to the fabric store, and the art store, so I can get the 4 items I need to make my handbags - I told our middle son, "All I need is like $10.00 worth of supplies!" - but w/few choices down here, it's a 90 mile drive to get what I need...yikes! But it'll be worth it when the new handbags are done!

But for now I gotta run - I've had another hellish day, an' my headache is jus' not goin' away - but tomorrow I hope will be better...an' in theory maybe some pictures of my new handbags ~ !! ~

Lady of The Tulips

Monday, October 11, 2010

~~ Just a quick post, as I've got some sewing to do, an' have to check on 2 handbags that got woven last week, and have some lining to get set up inside ~~

I'm workin' so hard at tryin' to figure out a LOT-LOT of new computer stuff..it really shows how backwoods I've been all these years...things like certain programs to enhance the website & how to check some something or other for the number of people checking your work. It makes tonz of sense to everybody else, but for somebody like me who's never taken a computer class EVAH it absolutely reduces me to tears.

And the irony is that noah is a bang-up whiz-kid on all things computer, but refuses to do one teeny thing to help me out. Some people that know him are from the old school, that as mother, all I should be doing is baking cookies, creating cute things from old coke-bottles, and making sure that I know all the Soap Opera stars...nothing wrong with that, if you've got a lotttt of time to waste, but I'm flat broke, and need to generate some kind of extra income, and it's aint easy when I'm behind times in terms of computer programming.

So yesterday I spent 5 1/2 hours trying to get some things ready on my site to sell my handbags...

And I have absolutely nothing to show for it..I'm still totally clueless as to what to do to make it look "professional", and the son who said OH YES - he'd be down here to help..

He went to some club instead an' had a good time.........

Trying not to be so down, but I'm so upset these days, an' I know it's taken a number on my stress level & blood pressure. My eyes are always cloudy an' I'm not seeing good, but I have to keep pressuring myself to get some progress done in terms of learning computer programming..like yesterday would have been perfect.

So this is short, but I gotta run - Hopefully I'll have Good News later on in the week, but for now I'm soo regretting not living in the city for all those years we were in the country..it's come back around to bite me Really Hard>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Lady of The Tulips

Saturday, October 09, 2010



OK - so if you glanced at this post earlier, the picture of the Bus was a little different..but this one I like better, so since this IS my blog, I can therefore change things the way I see fit..

Or something like how my mother used to rant when she got angry -

But - I'm not angry, as a matter of fact I'm in quite a good mood - and this little bumper sticker on the Bus makes me feel so happy and carefree ~ !! ~

Even tho it seems that a lot of people around me seem to think it's something horrid an' terrible..but to MY mind, they just need to get a life ~ !! ~

I'm also tellin' you that the Junk Gypsy's have sooo many great things that it makes my brain scramble each and every time I take a look at their site - you gotta GOTTA go check 'em out ~ !! ~

An' I have Good News - my All-Things-Computer-Son is coming down later this evening to help me out on the site that I've been desperately trying with tears sweat and much angst...he knows just what I need to do to get it all spiffied up - ok, so that spelling is horrid, but you get the IDEA ~ !! ~ So I'm lookin' forward to havin' the help that I truly need - it's frustrating not to know how to do things that people say "Its Easy ! " an' here I am, sitting like a toad not getting one bit of how to do that particular thing ~ !!! ~ Yikes and Yee Gadz....

So once all the kinks and blobs and messes are all straightened out, then I'll be able to post some of my handbags an' let you know how you can go and own your very own handwoven handbag ~ !! ~Yes Sir and Yes Ma'am ~ !!! ~


But for now I gotta get some sewing done, an' get some new brads set up on a handbag that I got finished just this last week..it's really a nice fall color, an' the brads that I found are just the right touch for the front of the bag...makes ya wanna run outside an' fling yourself into a big ol' pile of fall leaves...

Well, maybe not FLING...'specially if it's your husband who just raked up said pile of leaves..he'd probably get a little pissy is you hauled off an' made a mess of 'em all....Tee Hee ~ !! ~.....

But it'd still be FUN ~~ !!!!! ~~~

So - now...

I'm Gone..............

Thursday, October 07, 2010


One of my special pieces for my upcoming site...

Soooo..what happened waz...I got so involved in weaving everyday, that I have sadly gotten away from all of You ~ !! ~ And it has made me feel terrible ~~~!!!!~~~

So let me tell you what has been happening ~

I've got a whole kit and kaboodle full of handbags done for my new and upcoming site..but there are so many new and difficult things to learn on said site, that it's going to take my computer-whiz son to come down from Virginia to help me out ~ !! ~ I have tried and tried to get the stuff figured out and every time that I Juuuust about get it into my pea-picking brain, then the Other son comes along and starts stomping his foot, slamming things around all over the house, and then comes stomping back down the hallway to make me get off the computer.

See the problem is - around where I live, most wives do not do anything like what I've been doing, let alone what my new and fun handbags I've started to make are...in other words, or in the words of a "friend" - "That's not what we do around here..."

That little bit of fluff means, I'm stepping over the line in what's acceptable around here..and it;s ruffling a lot of feathers...

So now I'm faced with going ahead with my new work..and w/the help of my computer whiz son, I can finally - after many many crying jags..too many tears and general falling-apart-at-the-seams...get my site up and running..and most importantly - selling these wonderful handbags to one and all -

I'm working very very hard at getting my #^^%&) together over at ArtFire.com to get my work ready - wellll, the work is Done, it's getting the computer stuff figured out that's my downfall ~ !! ~ And just about the time I get to where I understand the whole spot where
I need to be..I have to get off the computer an' then start all over again the following day...

I've cried more in the last 3 weeks than I have in 4 years..

Frustrated..

Feeling Incompetent..

Knowing that I will have no help from anyone around here...

Yup - it's been something of a nightmare for me.

But I'm sticking to my guns, and come Hell or High Water (ironically after all the flooding after the last hurricane...) I WILL get my site up and I WILL be selling my handwoven hnadbags ~ !! ~

Even if I get lectured by the locals for not doing "What WE do aroun' here..."

I've never been so glad to have a louse 6-pack of beer in my fridge in my entire life...

So, w/that - I gotta run - it's after 7:30 p.m., an' I haven't even considered what to have for dinner...guess I should go an' see what I can dig out of the bottom of the fridge...the other 2 have cleaned out everything else..

sigh...


I'm Gone ~~~~~~~~~~~~


Lady of The Tulips