Leigh Tate

author & steward
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since Oct 16, 2019
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Biography
My dream has always been to live close to the land. My goal is simpler, sustainable, more self-reliant living. In 2009 my husband and I bought a neglected 1920s-built bungalow on 5 acres, which we've gradually built into our homestead.
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Southeastern United States - Zone 7b
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Recent posts by Leigh Tate

I got my kickstarter copy in the mail! I'm absolutely delighted with it. It's a beautiful book and I can't wait to read it and give it a try.
6 days ago
I think all of our homestead animals provide emotional support: cats, goats, chickens, ducks. I think the most natural thing in the world is for humans to have animals as a part of their lives. Maybe as pets, but also as lifestyle partners. Taking care of them, spending time with them, having a routine with them are all essential to my own emotional health, I think. I have a sense of purpose in meeting their needs and they provide much needed routine in my life. They are the foundation of our day.

The modern lifestyle often doesn't provide a connection with nature. We humans are natural beings, so I think having that connection helps tremendously with mental well-being and balance.
1 week ago
My weaving goal this year is to use nature for design inspiration. I started by exploring color combinations from nature, which I've been working on for awhile now:

    Nature's Color Palettes
    Inspiration From Nature: Stripes

I've finally started on a project! My idea is to weave a series of four dishtowels with a nature motif in seasonal color schemes.

I chose a weaving draft with a leaf pattern.



My idea is to make the warp in random seasonal colors, and the weft a solid color to outline the leaves.  

I'm starting with winter. This is the photo I took after our big snow storm.



I couldn't actually make stripes from it like I did in the nature inspired stripes thread, so I created a color palette like the ones I did in my color palette thread.



Then I took a look at my cotton weaving yarns and chose the closest match I could manage. The weft is going to be white, inspired by the snow in the photo. So the leaf shapes will be in white, filled in with the winter colors.



The challenging part was figuring out how to make the color sequence random. I'm not sure why this was important, other than i wanted the focus to be on the leave shapes rather than a stripe pattern. To design a random sequence, I used the Stripes Pattern Generator.



Winding it onto my warping board has been slow going, but I've made a start.
2 weeks ago
I think I'm icon challenged, lol. I tend to focus on words rather than symbols. Thank you!
3 weeks ago
I can't find it either. When I click on the link it takes me to a page asking for support. Nothing about sample recipes or where to find the book..
3 weeks ago
I've used PDF knitting and crochet patterns too. Once printed out they're just like following a book. I'm not sure about having to run off a bunch of sheets and piece the pattern together.
3 weeks ago
Maybe I'm reluctant to adapt with the times, but for some reason I'm hesitant to purchase PDF sewing patterns. I see things I'd like to sew, but can't bring myself to hit the purchase button. Maybe it's because I've never used one, maybe it's because I don't have a printer, or maybe it's because it's something new, I don't know. I'd have to pay for the pattern and then pay to have it printed out. I'm guessing they print out on standard (U.S.) letter size paper? Are they better than the old fashioned tissue paper patterns? More work? I'd love to get some permies' takes on PDF sewing patterns.
3 weeks ago