Sunday sunshine

Yesterday, at my desk, by the window, I became conscious of a heat pack on my shoulder and back. I snuggled into it, tipped my head a bit in, just to spread more of the soothing heat around.

Then I thought, "if this is the window, even better the door," and I was off to the door. How right I was! Heat enhanced through the glass panes. I went out. I sat on the bench and felt the heat seeping in from those generally uncomfortable metal slats.

Just lolling about never works for me, sadly. I went back in and looked for a container to hold a job I had in mind.

For the next hour I gathered seeds from the salpiglosis. 

Or hope I did. They don't resemble the seeds Deb sent me. To be safe, I'll buy a packet of seeds, come spring. 

I spent two hours or more on that little deck and hard bench, heating myself in the sunshine. The temperature barely was sixties, but the sun was glorious. 

Eventually I came in for a late lunch, left the sunshine outside for everything out there to enjoy.

I set to weaving after lunch. I had to tie the warp back to the cloth beam, do some idle weave to take up the tie on V's, then weave a bit I can use to cut off the idle weave.

If I've never illustrated this part, here it is. The towel warp is tied to a metal rod that runs the length if the cloth beam. The V's must be teased into proper shape. I weave in a heavy cord (I could fly a kite with it!). It's too soon to begin the towel because it would be difficult to cut it away from the idle weave. I make a border of some more scrap thread. I make the same little border at the other end, when I cut the length of cloth from the warp.

The big V's and all the thread used to straighten them out and then begin is called "loom waste". There actually is a deal of loom waste. All this beginning V business happens half a dozen times over the course of a warp. Then there is all the thread attached to the back beam, up over the warp beam, through the heddles and the reed. Sigh.

Here is the next warp, started yesterday afternoon. It's called slate. I quite like it. I'm off for lunch and then I'll weave. Today's sunshine is not so entrancing as yesterday's.