The Little Loomhouse in Louisville Kentucky

Several weeks ago I visited Louisville Kentucky. I had to go there for a work meeting. Because I work in tourism a lot of our meeting time is spent attending other tourism attractions. I was so excited when I heard we were going to the Little Loomhouse.

If you missed my recent posts about Louisville you can check them out here: A few days in Louisville Kentucky and Visiting Churchill Downs

The Little Loomhouse is a nonprofit, community based, fiber arts education center and historic site. This site offers both tours and weaving lessons and a fiber and spinning tour. The site is actually home to three cabins and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This entire place came to be because of a woman named Lou Tate. Lou Tate was a master weaver and she invented the Table Loom also known as the Little Loom. This loom makes it possible to teach weaving anywhere because you can take the loom just about anywhere.

Lou Tate was born In Bowling Green Kentucky. Her interest in weaving began when she received five generations of weaving patterns from an elderly weaver, Nan Owen.

In the 1940’s, Tate started an experimental weaving group. This weaving business led her to her first love, teaching.

The Lou Tate Foundation took over the property in 1979 shortly after Tate’s death. A grant from the City of Louisville in 1983 enabled much needed restoration for the cabin, Tophouse.

For more information and facts about this fantastic place visit the website www.littleloomhouse.org

Our group arrived at the Little Loomhouse on a rainy morning. We were taken there by bus. We had to walk up a very steep hill to get to the cabin at the top, Top House, where we would have a weaving lesson. I was beyond excited.

We walked into the cabin and even though it was fairly small it was packed with tables and tabletop looms, beautiful bolts of thread and finished works that would take your breath away. We were told to pick a loom and have a seat. A lot of our crew looked around nervously like this was not their “cup of tea”. Although in the end I think everyone enjoyed it.

Our guide gave us a quick lesson and we were soon on our way to making a mug rug. I could quickly see how the rhythmic movements could be so soothing and relaxing.

We also went to one of the other cabins. A lot of spinning wheels and looms were on display. This was more of a museum with so much history.

And of course I just had to have one of the hand woven bags that were for sale.

I think their mission statement sums up everything Lou Tate would have wanted The Little Loomhouse to be:

We are a Louisville, Kentucky Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. Our mission is to continue the legacy of founder Lou Tate, by educating students of all ages about the history of weaving and textile arts through diverse programs, residencies, and community partnerships and ensuring the preservation of our landmark cabins. The Foundation serves students of all ages and cultures who want to learn about the history and practice of weaving, textile, fiber, and folk arts.

I hope you enjoyed this visit to the Little Loomhouse in Louisville Kentucky.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

Hello Tuesday!!! Let’s Catch Up

Hello friends and happy Tuesday. I feel like I haven’t checked in with you for a while. Let’s catch up. How have you been? Last week was an unusual week for me. It was full of different things. First of all we had to have a tree cut out of an electrical transformer on our driveway. That put me late for work one day because the driveway was blocked. Then I got a nail in my tire and had to have it patched. A little late for work another day. It was just a week where a lot of crazy things happened, nothing bad just unusual.

I will have to say living in a small rural area has lots of advantages. First of all the power board came to cut the tree out of the transformer, they also cut some extra limbs hanging over the driveway. These were limbs we could not reach without a bucket truck. Thank you guys. When my tire started to lose air I was able to stop at the little country store on my road and air it up a few times, no charge. Maybe you don’t have to pay to put air in your tires but most of the places around us charge for that. When I went to get my tire patched at our local co-op they got me right in and patched my tire and didn’t charge me a thing. So nice. It is nice to see that good things still happen in the world, even small things mean so much to me.

So after a lot of crazy things happening during the week I spent a lovely Friday evening at a local restaurant with a couple of friends having appetizers and drinks and listening to karaoke. The restaurant was right on the river and it was nice and relaxing and so good to be hanging with friends.

On Saturday my sister and I had a short shopping trip and lunch. I bought a new purse and some sandals. I had made a promise to myself not to buy any purses or shoes this year because I have plenty. But I have discovered as I have gotten older I prefer sandals with a strap on the back. And I needed a pair of those. I found a great pair that I love. The purse, well what can I say I saw it and I liked it and I bought it. Sometimes you just break the promises you make to yourself.

***Look at this pillow I found. I love the colors and it would be so easy to make. And a lot cheaper too. I didn’t buy it I think I will try to make it.***

Are the Cicadas in your area? They are here and they are loud. We first noticed them about two weeks ago. Since then we have found their shells and listened to their constant drone daily. They are everywhere!!!! Even our kitties don’t like to be outside during the day because it is so loud. I jokingly said I was going to string the shells together to make a necklace.

I finally finished knitting this pair of socks in my WIP pile (Work in progress) I am trying to finish some of my projects that I have neglected for months. These socks were in a small bag that I had put up and forgotten about. I had one sock finished and had started the second one. I knew immediately the stripes and colors were not going to match. That’s probably why I lost interest. But I decided to get them out and finish the pair. I’m okay with the mismatched look of the socks. They will still be warm and cozy.

I am leaving you with a short video of the sound of the cicadas at my house. I am told they will be around for another month or so.

Have a wonderful week

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

The Five Winters of East Tennessee

Hello friends. We are smack in the middle of Blackberry Winter. I know you are probably getting tired of hearing me talk about these winters but they really are a thing that has been happening for many many years. Some people call them “cold snaps” but I call them winters. The funny thing about these “winters” is that they all happen after spring arrives. Each winter usually lasts for a few days to a week or so. As I have told you my husband poo-poos them and tells me the cold snap that we are having has nothing to do with:

Redbud winter in late March or early April
Dogwood Winter in late April
Locust Winter in early May
Blackberry Winter in mid May
Whippoorwill Winter in late May (this one has also been called Woolen Britches Winter)

Let me tell you a little more about them.

Redbud Winter happens in late March or early April. The Redbuds bloom out beautifully. They actually look purple once they have bloomed out but the tiny bud is actually red, giving it the name of Redbud.

Dogwood Winter happens in late April. Although, it can happen at different times in different parts of the area. We had Dogwood Winter this year in early April. The temps had been really warm in early April and then plunged and we knew we were in Dogwood Winter. Also the Dogwood trees were blooming like crazy.

Locust Winter. In early May the Locust bloom and we have a temporary cooling of the weather. For us this year, in East Tennessee, this one came along around the end of April. The Locust blossoms look very similar to blackberry blooms. But the Locust blossoms are usually on a larger bush and the blackberry bushes are more spread out and usually grow together with several small to the ground bushes.

Blackberry Winter, which is what we are experiencing here in East Tennessee now, is around the second week of May and almost always around Mother’s Day. The temps today and the last few days have been wonderful and cool. I even wore a jacket this morning. Now just because the Blackberries are blooming does not mean we have blackberries ready to eat. Those won’t become ripe enough until around late June and early July.

Whippoorwill Winter. When you hear the song of the Whippoorwill in the early mornings and late evenings you know that summer is truly on the way. This is usually the last of the cool weather. It is also called Woolen Britches winter because years ago, just when people put away all their winter clothes, the temps would turn cold again and they would still need a sweater or something warmer.

I recorded this last year out on my driveway. The Whippoorwill can be very loud.

The Whippoorwill is actually a very small nocturnal bird. You never hear it during the day. In the daylight it sits in the trees and on the wooded paths. It is hard to believe such a sound comes from such a small bird.

Check out my previous posts about Redbud Winter And Dogwood Winter

Many years ago early settlers did not have the weather channel or google to let them know when the last frost would happen. When would it be safe to plant their crops? They relied heavily on these different signs to let them know about planting their fruits and vegetables. I remember hearing my parents talk about the best time to plant certain things in the garden. If the Dogwood had bloomed then the last frost was over. There is a lot of folklore and legend around these winters. I cherish all of them.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

My Southern Pound Cake Was A Flop

Hello friends and happy Tuesday. My husband and I just returned from an overnight trip to Nashville. About every four months Mark has to go to Nashville to see his kidney doctor or an NP to check on how well the transplanted kidney is doing. The doctor visit and bloodwork lasts approximately thirty minutes or so but the drive over and back is about four hours each way. Several months ago we started going over the day before. We leave in the afternoon, take our time, have a great dinner out, spend the night and have the doctors’ visit early the next morning and then start home. This is so much better. We are not exhausted the way we used to be when we tried to do it all in one day.

So yesterday was our day to drive to Nashville. It was eclipse day. Our area was only going to see a partial eclipse this time. Some areas had better luck than others. We were driving so we really didn’t get to see totality. As I said it was a bit of a disappointment anyway because it was just too cloudy. It did get very dark and of course that is exciting in the middle of the afternoon. We had a great dinner in Nashville and went to bed early and got a good night’s sleep.

***You can see how dark it is for the middle of the afternoon.***

On our way home today we stopped at the Cracker Barrel in Lebanon for breakfast. If you don’t have Cracker Barrel’s in your area, you just don’t know what you are missing. It is mostly southern cooking and it is really yummy. There is also a wonderful gift shop and as luck would have it I had a gift card, that was given to me at Christmas. This is what I bought. It was also 50% off so it was quite a bargain. I have a thing for cake stands and I have quite a few of them. I try to refrain from buying more because I just don’t have anywhere to keep them. I will probably keep this one on my table.

My sister and I did a little shopping on Saturday. We hadn’t been out together in several weeks. We thought some retail therapy would do us both a bit of good. We went to T. J. Maxx in Cleveland. Cleveland is just south of us about forty miles. It’s not quite as crazy as Knoxville on a Saturday.

***I bought these pillows for my couch. I put them on the piano bench to get a good shot of them. I love the color.***

***I have been wanting a white sweater jacket for some time. I can’t wait to wear this.***

Now for the pound cake. Remember this book I bought when I was in Nashville a couple of weeks ago? My plan was to make each of the cakes in this book, there’s sixty cake recipes. The first cake was a classic southern pound cake. So on Sunday afternoon I got to work.

***The ingredients: I thought it was a little odd to use powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar.***

***I may have beaten the mixture too much***

***I put the batter into the pans and baked for the recommended time.***

***They looked beautiful and smelled so good.***

They were terrible!!!! I could have used them as a weapon. They were hard and so dense. I googled possible problems and it seems as though I may have beat the batter too much. Over beating can cause gluten to form and this can make the cake really dense.

I was so disappointed that my pound cake turned out so bad. I did learn that maybe I shouldn’t beat the batter too much next time. If you have any advice on how to make better pound cakes, and not turn them into weapons of destruction or door stops please let me know. The next cake is a chocolate pound cake, so we shall see.

That is what has been happening around here how about you?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!