Weaving Again

This said Draft, so not sure it was published

Dear Family and Friends,
  I managed to get the picture I wanted at the top and centered too, guess miracles never cease.

    It has been another busy week, but I managed to squeeze in some time for weaving as you can see. The pattern is simple, like me, but I am thinking that I could actually put the warp on the loom and weave now.  The next big step is to make sure that I can finish it the right way.  When you are fairly close to the top, you actually go to the top and come down, while still going up from the bottom, so that you do not finish right at the very top of the rug.  You actually finish about 4 or 5" from the top.  I have done it with lots of help, but want to do this one with someone just watching and directing.

  Tomorrow we have our monthly missionary meeting which may be fairly short, since the Stake President has to be in Flagstaff for meetings.  It is always fun to see the other couples and hear about what is happening in their units.

  I suspect the majority of you are doing the count down for school to begin. ;o}  The kids here have already started.  Seminary started Wed and our Seminary teacher won't actually be here until mid Sep.,  so President Justice has started the year off with the kids.  I think it will be difficult for him to turn them over when the Walkers get here.

   To Uncle LaVar a special thanks.  Elder Ronnie cut some grease wood sticks for me a couple of days ago to use while weaving.  He had whacked off the branches, but hadn't shaved off the bark.  I explained that it had to be done while they are green.  He picked them up and hustled out the door.  It was getting pretty late and I was feeling a little bad that he might have to get new ones another day,  but it wasn't very long and in he came with the sticks all shaved.  ;o}  I asked how in the world he had done it so fast.  He explained that his big brother LaVar, has used broken glass to smooth the arrows he made when he was a kid.  Elder O found a broken bottle and made quick work of getting the sticks shaved.
  We then tied them tightly to a dowel with yarn.  You leave them that way for 10 days, that way they stay very straight until they are completely dried and ready to smooth with sand paper.

  Those are the sticks you wrap your yarn around and slide through the warp as you weave.  I found that if  I take off about 6 yards of wool and wrap it around the stick, I can use about the same amount of yarn for each section on the rug.  The bigger sections are made with 18 yards and the smaller ones with just a couple of lines, rather than yards.

  Sister Goldtooth taught me how to make a pattern that looks like small beads or dots.  You only do one line of wool surrounding it on both sides with a stronger contrasting color.  I don't think you can see it on the picture, but it stands out very well on the rug itself.

  I have another smaller rug started also on the smaller loom.  The pattern is much more detailed and will take a bit longer even though it is smaller.  I actually started before we went home, but have to go through the steps again to figure out what I was doing to make the pattern.  The Navajo sisters do not use patterns, they can just see it in their head and it somehow comes out on the loom.

  Some rugs sell for several thousand dollars, but I can assure you that they give their labor away, while the dealer makes a huge profit.  Makes me sort of mad.  They buy it for $1,000 and sell it for $10,000  it should be the other way round.

  We had another baptism yesterday.  She is an amazing young girl of 17.  What a beautiful young girl she is.  It has been fun to get to know her.  She has been a good friend of our Stake President's two youngest sons.  Joseph got to baptize her.  Jared Justice, his brother, has been out on his mission for 6 months now, which is hard to believe.

  Elder O is at a high councilmen meeting.  We speak in Cameron next Sunday.  Each month we will go to a different ward or branch in the Stake.

  Hope all is well for all of you.
Elder & Sister Olson