The golden yarns

Hello, friends! Does the air feel different to you? A little buzz of excitement vibrating around us? That’s because it’s time for a new project! Woohoo!!!

This time up, I’ll be working with really toasty, golden colors – makes me immensely happy!

I’m fortunate to be able to leave my warping board up all the time. I have a set of shelves that I hang it from. Thankfully, I was able to adjust the height so I can reach everything. Sadly, I missed the average-to-tall gene and only top out at 5’3″. And using a warping board this big, it needs to be pretty low in order for me to be comfortable working on it. It might take up to 2 hours to warp this type of project. So, being comfortable is key!

So when working on a warping board, you start at the top, wind the yarn around the pegs down to the bottom and work your way back up. I’ve already determined what my overall length will be, and have mapped out a path that will give me the correct length. It’s a pretty easy process! The one really important step is laying in “the cross”. My project includes hundreds of yarns that could give me all sorts of grief trying to keep them tamed! So, I’ll use a cross to keep them in order – which at least gives me a fighting chance at avoiding the chaos!!

The cross is just what it sounds like – a space between 2 pegs where the yarns cross each other in order. To create it, the yarn goes over and under the adjoining pegs in different directions, which is determined by if you are going moving down or up the warping board. It’s tricky to describe and unless you are a weaver getting ready to start a project, it’s not terribly relevant. What you should appreciate is the fact that this brilliant little technique helps set the tone for the rest of the project! Three cheers for the cross!!!

After all that work, you want to be able to locate the cross once you slip the project off the warping board. So, I recommend a yarn in a different color to tie the (2) sides of the cross!

Because of the width of the project, it’s not going to fit on the warping board in one chunk. So, two chunks, it is!! I always try to pick a natural stopping point in the project that makes sense to me – even if it’s not exactly in the middle. The key is putting the pieces back together later! (Sounds Humpty Dumpty-ish, doesn’t it?)

So, I’ll be wrapping up the fun at the warping board and then we’ll be sleying in no time! You won’t want to miss all the fun! Talk to you soon…