I Had a Vision...

And part of that vision was weaving as close to the harnesses as possible for yardage.

WHAT WAS I THINKING? Please step back and remember how clever I thought myself when I attached a simple apron rod onto the leader rod used for sectional warping. Also remember the attachment was maybe an inch long. If you aren't getting the picture, that's fine, because I didn't either. In my mind that apron rod traveled up over the back beam, in real life, it just cleared the sectional rakes. Now weaving is in part about adapting, and I did manage to tie another longer set of apron strings onto the bar, cut the short ties and weave another 12 inches, but I sure was stumped and slapping my forehead for a bit. There was a fair amount of winding back and forth between the front and the back beams and I am short on what I wanted for yardage, but I have just enough if I get creative with my generous color sampling.

On the other hand, I was wonderfully challenged by some problem solving, I had another opportunity to monkey with the new loom and see just how she handles upset.

The mechanics of a loom while simple are endlessly fascinating to me. I've always liked taking things apart and putting them back together. Sometimes they even work again!

Without further ado, here is the fabric before wet finishing.

I ended up being true to myself and going with a soft green. I tried a grey blue and it changed the value of the orange to read red and while pretty, it wasn't what I wanted. The orange I had had in mind was just so bright it took away from all the beautiful striped variation in the warp.

I asked Gene when sampling the green if it could be mistaken for a part of the woods. He felt I had no fear of someone thinking I was a deer or a tree with any of the colors sampled.

I had issues with the selvage and finally pulled out the temple to alleviate draw-in. Worked fine but I am going to ask Nadine what I can do to correct my tendency to get draw-in in the first place. I am sure it is an operator issue and I know not to pull too much but I just can't seem to get that middle ground with some of these warps.

Here is the fabric after wet finishing and I am very pleased with it as yard goods. It plumped nicely and the drape is good. It is not soft though and never will be. This is rough wool and should hold up well as an outer garment.

It also gave me a chance to use the Harrisville Shetland as both warp (some of it) and weft (all of it) and that was very helpful considering all those double weave blankets are slated for Harrisville yarn. One note, the Shetland did soften nicely but the bulk of the warp was Le-mieux brand 2 ply and it is a very hard wool indeed.

The colored nubs I placed in while weaving. I like them and the tweedy effect they give a fabric. Some will need to be trimmed but it's something that can be done once the vest itself is complete. I better brush up on my sewing skills. It's been forever since I made any clothing.

I need to finish off the warp on Murphy and then each loom will get a little cleaning and sprucing up and warps will be planned for all. Rug warp for Barbara, scarf warp for Murphy and for Hey Baby, I'm not sure yet, but I have a fair amount of projects to pick from.

This weekend will be devoted to painting trim. Yes, the back porch inside trim is complete and now I can get in there with paint and brush and start making it look like a truly finished part of the house. Yippee!