Weaving A Gem Of A Life

It took two days and lots of breaks. Breaks long enough to watch movies in between. Literally. I’d wind a bout then sit down & watch a movie. Wind another bout, watch another movie.

Those are long breaks indeed, but that’s what my body needed me to do. This cold is finally breaking, but I had to bail on today’s family Easter celebration. If I could have simply popped in for a few hours and then gone home to nap, I would have done that, but with a 2-hour drive in each direction, that wasn’t possible. Hopefully my house will sell and I’ll be able to move closer before too many more holidays go by.

So, clockwise from top left, the colors in this warp are aquamarine to medium blue, medium blue to mauve to a bit of raspberry, raspberry to dark pink, and dark pink to salmon. I found winding this warp interesting. Usually I’m a bright-color lover. This time there’s something about that dark pink to salmon that just draws me in. I love it. The photo doesn’t do it justice.

I’m weaving three short warps on this warp, 2 for PK and 1 for JS. I’ll get the warp beamed tomorrow and at least start threading the heddles, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get it all done even though the threading is all done while seated. We’ll see how my energy holds up.

Usually when I’m weaving slowly it’s because there’s a problem at the loom – twisted threads, broken threads, treadles jumping out of their tie up, whatever. Or because I have other obligations – fund raisers, visits with friends & family, getting groceries, etc.

This time it’s because I have a head cold. I’m taking all sorts of stuff – Umcka, elderberry, vitamin C, zinc, Get Well herbal tea, aspirin, echinacea, neti pot. Slathering my neck with Mentholatum at night. I’m confident that I feel better than I would if I wasn’t doing all that stuff. Still, I’m mostly just tired. Wrung out. Lying down a few times a day but not able to sleep when I do.

So I’m spending less time at the loom and throwing the shuttle more slowly than usual when I’m there. Still, I am making progress on MM’s wrap. I’m about 2/3 of the way through it. Maybe I’ll finish today. Maybe not until tomorrow. Either way, the end is in sight.

I’ve had a busy few days, and the fun isn’t over yet.

I’ve fringed and wet finished those cotton & rayon shawls (pressing still needed). I did a bunch of manual labor in my garage (don’t ask). I worked this morning at a fundraiser for my library. I’ll be back there for 5 hours tomorrow. I did a bunch of housework (yuk!) and made some yummy food for my out-of-town friends who’ll arrive tomorrow when I get home from the fundraiser.

And in between I wound the warp for the next batch of baby wraps — for ML & MM. Here’s one of my favorite looks for warps – on the warp beam with the white packing paper behind it, separated into sections by my raddle (a weaving tool).

From the top of the photo it’s fuschia, pale mauve, lavender, periwinkle, and mauve. Being a purple girl, I LOVE this warp. The photo doesn’t do it justice.

I’ve gotten it threaded through heddles & reed, tied to the front apron. I’ve had enough time to weave with some scrap yarn to make sure I don’t have threading errors, but that’s all. I’m tired and need to sit for a while this evening. I won’t be able to get back to the loom till after my friends leave on Friday. I’ll try and get some better pix on Friday or Saturday.