But you know how hard it is to pick up and complete a project you’ve avoided for weeks! At this point, I’m totally out of sync and any sense of momentum I had dissolved around Thanksgiving! Not to mention that I just don’t remember the details floating around in my head when I was consistently chipping away at it. I always think I’ll remember and I won’t have to write it down – silly, silly girl! My memory is crap! Always write it down! (That should probably be tattooed somewhere prominent on my arm.)

I cleared off the weaving bench (about 10 minutes), sat there trying to cipher my project (another 10 minutes), and finally decided how I was going to proceed (about time!). From there, I just pushed forward and hoped I was close enough! Because the goal is to end up with a series of hand towels, I should be okay. Each towel is meant to be a cousin, not a twin. So it isn’t important they match – thank goodness!

About four hours after I sat down, I threw the last shuttle, cut the fabric off the loom, tied the ends, and unrolled it from the Schacht. I still have ends to tuck in and a trip through the washer/dryer ahead of me. But having an empty loom is a great feeling!

What project is waiting for you to finish?

Song of the Day – Barenaked Ladies, “Odd Are”

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Bird’s eye view of the heddles.

They look very tall from this angle, don’t they?

The heddles (especially the metal ones) rattle around in the loom and some folks find it loud and distracting. For me, I don’t even notice! I think it’s like living near a train or on a busy road – you don’t even hear it after living there about a week!

Here, you can see all 4 shafts that hold the heddles!

Almost done!

So why thread heddles, you ask? Well, astute student, each shaft in the loom has the ability to lift up, separating some yarns from the others. When you thread a yarn into a heddle, you assign it to that particular shaft. For instance, I have a green yarn in the middle of the project that gets threaded through a heddle on shaft #2. When I am doing a weaving pattern, I know that this specific green yarn will lift up with all the others on shaft #2. This helps you establish your pattern! (Not the most graceful explanation, I know. But, rest assured, it is an important part of the process!)

Hundreds of yarns are involved!

Each yarn gets their very own!

So once the heddles are threaded, it’s time to unfurl the back of the loom and tie the yarns to the rod. Part of the reason I love my Schacht loom is that the back collapses and the back beam lifts off. Meaning, I can get as close as I want when threading the heddles. Then, it is easy to expand everything back out when it is time to start winding! Go, Schacht, go!!!

Expanding the back of the loom

Tying the project on!

You know, each step of the process has little things to watch out for. Once, I had a project where my cord holding the rod to the beam snapped! I kept wondering why things seemed loosey-goosey! Thankfully, it’s an easy fix (not mid-project, but if you catch it at this stage it is!). You tie the ends together, even everything out, and carry on! Just like life, right?

Ready to start winding!

Next, I’ll begin the winding process. And after that, there will be weaving – woohoo! I love the weaving… Have a lovely week and I’ll talk to you soon!

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Just yum!

A little cotton, a little wool & anything I like!

I began weaving the fabric in very light colors and am slowly incorporating darker shades. At this point, we are into the tans & browns, heading into the chocolates (milk & dark… and suddenly I have a hankerin’ for dessert…)

Still using the accent yarn

I’m using the same accent yarn from the beginning of the project. But, because the fabric has been darkening, the accent yarn shows up less. It’s a very cool optical illusion, for sure!

In college, I took a Color & Design class from a professor by the name of William Itter at Indiana University. He had us purchase a box of colored paper. And with that colored paper, we had to do a number of exercises testing how one color responds when it is paired with a different color. It was fascinating! And as much as Mr. Itter made me crazy, I still think back to many of his assignments and wonder at how much I retained! So, here’s to all the pain-in-the-ass teachers who “learned you something” – in spite of yourself! Cheers!

Wrapping around!

Arial view!

So, as I’m weaving the fabric, I am continuously winding the project towards the front of the loom. One of the reasons I love my Schacht loom is the amount of space you can weave before you have to get up and forward everything! Many other looms I’ve tried have provided much less real estate. A big Thank You to my friends in Colorado, making my favorite looms! (Boy, I am just full of thankfulness today, aren’t I? You have to go with it when the mood strikes…)

It’s getting darker!

LOVE the colors!!!

And the weaving goodness continues! The project is coming along quickly! It’ll be off in no time. But, not before next week. So, I’ll talk to you then…

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