Trying out Blogsy

Welcome to Blogsy!

Let's get started.

1. Set up your blog by going to the Settings Menu → Service Settings. Then choose your blog platform and fill in your information.
2. Tap on the Post Info. button to get to all post information.
3. Tap on the Plus button to start a new post or open a local draft.
4. Tap on the Online button to open an online post in Blogsy to edit.

If you would like to Edit HTML or need to paste embed codes then just swipe with three fingers across the screen to flip to the HTML side.

Here's a quick overview pointing out where to go to do all the things you want to do.

How-To Videos and How-To Guide

To get more information about how to use Blogsy go to "Settings" → "How-To Videos" or "How-To Guide".

 

Posted with Blogsy

Still Trying Out Blogsy

So here I am trying a new iPad app called Blogsy. It is supposed to let you create a blog post off line and then you post it. The idea is that it saves on upload time and therefore money when in the wilds of Central Asia.

I have a sad occurrence to report. My Megado has broken down. It is the some of the relays which are at fault. So my deadline for submitting samples to the Fine Threads Study Group has just died. I have discussed the problem with Don Porritt and he is getting costs for me. If I sent the box of relays back to be mended, I would have to send it to Canada so shipping would be very expensive. So I have asked him to find out what the cost of a replacement box would be. In the meantime, tomorrow, I will remove the box from the Megado and see if a good clean up makes any difference. Unfair!!!

Now to try unloading photos into this trial blog. I walked on theCommon this afternoon in the spring sunshine. And then came home and took some photos of the garden.

The top photo is Camellia Cornish Snow which normally flowers from New Year to April. It started flowering a week ago!!! The lower one are some nice little daffodils. That will do for now.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

More and yet more practising

I ran into real trouble trying to get photos into my blog on the IPad. This is done through yet another app! I have no idea whether this has worked or not!!

Actually it has. No one is more astonished than me. These two photos are courtesy Marion Proctor who wove these four colour double weave samplers on her 16 shaft loom. Nice!! I do believe that the more shafts the better with this weave technique.

As I am hamfisted at this lark, I will take photos every day and include them in a blog. The app is a Blog app from Google.

From my ipad

This is a practice blog. I was given an iPad for christmas so that I could blog about the silk route trip. And three months later I have got round to checking that I can blog!! Iam still not very proficient but since I am limited to 15kg of luggage for seven weeks, it is the iPad or nothing. I still have to conquer getting photos into the blog but I still have nine days to practise!!

On the textile front, I have threaded the Megado up, sleyed it and tied on. And I wish this machine would mind its own business about spelling.

Now to try a few more tricks!!g

Four colour DW samples

Above is a photo of three samples woven on the 12 shaft looms of 4 colour double weave. Very nice and the colours are wildly different. I have no idea how you choose the colours except by sampling!!

I have nearly finished threading up the Megado and hope that I can start weaving today. Apart from the threading up, I have been busy getting ready for the Silk Route. I drove up to Manchester on Monday to pick up my passport plus China visa. I took in a member of the Midlands Textile Forum on the way home and delivered Castlemorton Common ready for hanging in the next MTF exhibition which is at Craven Arms. I originally intended to send in a second piece but that is not going to happen now. I have been making lists of what needs needs to be bought and did a massive shop on Sunday. I am going to a specialist shop in Leamington Spa to buy trekking stuff. 

 

Other news of interest - I was elected Chairman of Kennt Valley Guild last Saturday. Not at all sure about this and have started by thinking of taking a spinning course. I am borrowing a wheel as I have no intention of doing this alot. It is just that I don't know what the spinners are talking about!! And feel I ought to. We had a shared lunch at which the high point was Chris Fletcher's CakePops which were spheres of sponge cake on an icelolly stick and iced and decorated with spring flowers!! They looked fantastic and tasted like they looked!! They were very popular.

 

The yarn that I dyed last week was delivered over to Sue Davies, who will oversee the knitting and sewing up into a blanket. We laid it out on a table and were considering it when the locusts arrived . Everything was gone in minutes!! Later in the day I saw people winding  brilliantly coloured yarn into balls and starting to knit  six inch squares. For myself, Leslie Dunn has kindly volunteered to spin me some Hampshire but not till later in the year. Just as well!! I have 11 metres of 90/2 silk to weave.

More Dyeing

By the time I went to bed on Monday evening, I had dyed five of the seven colours. On Tuesday I drove to Manchester and back to hand in my documents for getting a visa to China. It was bitterly cold and there was nothing on at any of the Museums and Galleries that I wanted to see. Nevertheless I got the last two lots of dyeing done and the photo above was taken this morning when all the skeins were dry. Rosie Price suggested that the Guild should keep a record so I made one up and it took most of the day.

There is a sheet like this in a Lever Arch file for each colour. I also wrote up the project with all the photos (one for each colour) and emailed it to everyone who had spun a contribution. Along with the Spreadsheet with quantities on it. So that's that. Project completed. Tomorrow I start threading up the Megado.

 

 

I see that Alice Schlein (click here ) is considering going on to tying warps on in a big way. Her reason is that it is a long way to the back of the castle with 40 shafts.

A Little Bit of Dyeing

About last November I suggested that the spinners of Kennet Valley Guild might like to spin a bit of several different types of fleece and I would dye them and we would see whether the different fleeces took acid dyes differently. Well this happened and all the skeins were returned to me by mid February. I intended to acid dye them. The weather has been too cold for working in the garage. BUT, if I don't return these skeins at next meeting (next Saturday), then they won't be returned till July. So yesterday I organised it all. Every skein was given its own label, a length of cotton tape knotted to the skein which has the fleece type and the spinners name on it in permanent ink. 19 spinners took part and  six different fleece types were used. The photo above shows the undyed skeins and the fleece type.

Today I set about dyeing in the kitchen. The first thing was to cover everything with plastic and then carry in the equipment. I  chose 7 colours (basically a rainbow) and one of each type of fleece was taken to form one dye lot and so 5 or 6 skeins (all different) were dyed in the same dye bath. I have been working at this since lunchtime and have done 5 colours. The first is dry already and they will all be ready by Saturday. Each lot takes more than an hour to complete. The results from four dye baths are shown below. You can see clearly that there is colour variation. All the skeins were washed in Synthrapol before starting the dyeing process. Sue Davies of the Guild will be presented with these on Saturday. She has a team of knitters lined up and they are going to knit diagonal squares, six inches on a side. All will be sewn into a blanket. As you all know, I am not a spinner but some of this handspun is  absolutely smashing and I will have to see if I can persuade someone to spin me enough to weave a scarf - or three.