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Monday, January 22, 2024

Where I stand

First, what a weekend, outside. We had snow for two days. Actually, it began snowing Friday afternoon and did not stop until Sunday evening. No possibility I would go out in it to take a picture, but from my second floor vantage into the atrium, a picture for you.


A bit confusing from overhead. Blink a couple of times and you can see the several inches on the chair seat, and then on the table.

Meantime, snug in my room, I am making progress on the loom. All thirty six inches of warp are on the back of the loom and through all the heddles.


On the whole the threads are simply hanging down toward the floor on the other side of the loom. They next must go through the reed, which spaces the threads evenly apart. Finally, the threads must be tied to the front beam. That part is a bit in the future. What I'm doing now is called sleying the reed.


Sleying the reed is not a fun job. I don't realize the muscle strain when I'm leaning forward, isolating the threads and drawing them through the reed. But when I go to bed, my chest aches, my arms ache. Probably my back, too, but it always aches. But by the end of the week, I should be able to weave.


37 comments:

  1. A long job to be done carefully...and no fine weather outside for an escape!!
    Hope Kitty isn't too interested in "helping"!

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  2. Wow, you did get a big dump of snow! Glad your loom is almost ready to start weaving again!

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  3. That does indeed look like hard work. I echo gz on kitty help and am blown away by your snow.

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  4. To a complete non-weaver that all looks like an incredibly complex process. It must kerp you quite fit.

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  5. It sounds like such fun. Please be careful.

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  6. You had the perfect way to get through the snowy weather!

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  7. I've only done that on a fairly small rigid heddle. Long job even there, and hard on the upper body. You really notice when you stop! And later.

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  8. You got lots of snow. We are snow covered too. Today was sunny and a bit above freezing so a little melting was good. Your loom looks great and you are making great progress. It does sound like weaving is a good physical workout.

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  9. You need a tee shirt imprinted with "Slayer of Reeds". Or not. It sounds really tiring. That is a lot of snow.

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  10. You have such a great indoor hobby!

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  11. I'm sure my back would hurt too! You are Super Woman (Weaver!). That's too much snow for me. I like a little bit and then for it to go away quickly, which it usually does.

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  12. With that much snow you're better to stay home.

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  13. May your body ease back into it! Enjoy (?) all the snow. x

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  14. Hari OM
    All that white is pretty to look at - from a window above! And the winding of the loom is fine winter activity. Take more breaks - it's not running away. YAM xx

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  15. Love that pic of the snow outside, well done. I would say a framer.
    XO
    WWW

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  16. The snow "cushions" on the chair and table are so pretty. The loom looks like time-consuming fiddly work and I can well understand how your muscles feel at the end of the day. But the end results, tea towels and fabrics are definitely worth it.

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  17. It must be hard on your back. Just peeling potatoes and carrots today -- while seated, mind you -- just about did me in until I rested for 15 minutes.

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  18. There's been so much snow and freezing weather everywhere the past couple of weeks! Your snow looks like a pretty one as long as you are inside. You've worked so hard for so long on the loom and I imagine it does make you very sore getting it ready. It's good to know you are almost done and can start weaving soon!

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  19. That's a lot of snow. We get very little snow here in Northern Ireland, and what there is usually thaws pretty quickly. We've just had the fierce winds of Storm Isha which have brought down loads of trees and at one point left about 90,000 households without power.

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  20. Weaving sounds a good way to keep fit. I had not realise that before.

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  21. The Midwest and its cranky January weather! We live in Illinois, and as I type, it's steady raining, on top of ice and snow yesterday, and more rain (ice) coming, and the 50 degree weather is on its way! I love to see that you're still at your craft that you've loved for so long. I didn't realize how physical weaving is!

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  22. I am sure that you are quite willing to enjoy winter from the inside! It must be a toss up whether to weave and suffer the aches and pains, or just lie back and play with the cat.

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  23. You have definitely opened my eyes to what weaving is all about on a loom like that. I'm constantly amazed at how much work goes into setting everything up before you can even begin.
    So- dentist today or not?

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  24. I would suggest a long hot soak in the tub, but I remember the last tie I attempted that and then couldn't get myself ot of the tub! So, maybe a heating pad instead. I found one online that looks like a vest and goes over my shoulders and ties around my waist. It worked nicely on my aching back. Te HeWho discovered it and put it on his side of the bed to warm the covers before he got in. I will be hiding it. He has several heated throws, but has lost the connecting cords to plug them in. Not my problem.

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  25. Yes, we had snow like you and today we have a rain/sleet mix that is making things icy. It is amazing to me that you can set up that huge loom. What a complicated task!

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  26. kind of reminds me of cutting stencils, leaning over the table for hours on end. we did one job, 10 - 5' x 7' panels that wrecked my back which didn't manifest until a week after I had finished the job. took a couple of years and joining a gym to repair the damage. looking forward to seeing the fabric and what you do with it.

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  27. The snow on the seat looks like a comfortable and elegant cushion, and on the table like a white tablecloth (a bit thick, but beautiful).

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  28. That's a lot of snow, Joanne. And I can't wait to see what you produce with the new weaving ideas.

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  29. Wow, that snow! Please pace yourself. I'm sorry you ache from the exertion of weaving.

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  30. Yikes! That is quite the snow job. Glad you were snug as a bug and able to keep busy with the weaving.

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  31. Great progress on your loom! My friend Linda found joy in weaving for 50 years. Although dementia took away her ability to set up her large floor loom for weaving when she was in her late 70s, weaver friends would do that for her so that she could continue her daily practice of weaving. Thank you for visiting my blog.

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  32. You have more snow than we do...plus most of ours has melted. I must say, Ms. Noragon, you are one determined lady.

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  33. Just over a week ago we got about as much snow as you did and we got the very cold temperatures to boot. It's all melted now. The temperatures has also warmed a lot and it's been raining heavily. I see it is a lot of work on your big loom to get ready for weaving projects. You need a lot of patience.

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  34. The whole weaving process is fascinating. I am in awe of your patience.

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  35. That's quite a bit of snow accumulation. Brrrr... It must be freezing! I hope you'll take it easy with your weaving and not strain yourself. Please take care, Joanne.

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