Status

I like numbers; I keep track of things. I confess I did not for a year or more after the TBI, but I'm sure we all know that. The Mira came back to me three months ago, early in December. Since then I have woven 120 towels. I'm almost to the end of the second warp on the Mira.

This is the warp remaining of one hundred turns. The next time I turn a warp, it probably will be 110 turns. A turn is a complete revolution of the beam, the predetermined number of times. 

The beam will hold much more, and I wish I could do it. But thread is heavy. Back when we did shows, and I off loaded all the clothes and rugs, I said in the next life we would weave with feathers.

I took off the plum towels yesterday, and they are on the blog.

I also took a short sequence of pictures to show how I go from one color towel to the next.

When I cut off the plum towels, I tied slip knots in the warp. This keeps the threads from being pulled out of the reed, or worse, the heddles. That can make any weaver, man or woman, cry. 

Starting in the middle, the threads are tied to the cloth (or breast) beam, alternating to the next bout left and the next bout right. Some weavers start with the outside bouts and work to the center.

Next, idle weave, to take up the inverted V between each bout. I use a coarse cotton twine for most of the idle weave, and finish off with the white idle weave I will cut when I cut off the towels.

So, tada, the next towels will be this marigold. And the last set of towels on the current warp, is on the shelf of many colors. I'm thinking the darker lavender on the extreme right.