I think I did a bit over two yards. The goal was three yards. We may have lost some yardage due to a mistake back in the beginning of the measuring (actually the instructor’s mistake, not mine!). I have a bit more to do which I will do end of next week some time. It’s a blessing they don’t need the loom back right away.

Tired! Flaws! Dropped shuttles! But I completed almost a yard.

Finished the heddles AND the reed today. The heddles are the white loops; they hang from the harnesses which move up & down, creating the sheds. The reed is what’s lying flat underneath my hand, with all the threads threaded through it and secured loosely with slipknots. Its purpose is to space every thread out perfectly.

I was planning to weave twill, but I encountered a threading mistake that would have been time consuming to fix properly. We could have adjusted by adding a couple extra white threads and it would have been barely noticeable – one slightly wider white stripe in the check pattern. But I asked if the mistake actually would not even matter if I were doing plain weave, and they agreed; SO, change of plans. I’ll do it in plain weave, which is simple alternating each of the four harnesses up and down; whereas twill involves fancier treadling. I had been a little worried about adding the complication of twill on top of the challenge of properly making the check pattern. I’m always concerned about finishing on time. So it’s for the best.

Quite a difference from the view I showed you last class, which I took in August.

More than half heddled. Today went smoothly.

Half the warp is measured out. Was slow going getting the bobbins wound up; snaggy. Silk is beautiful and shiny but can cut you.

Here’s a picture showing the skarn; six bobbins of white, and two each of ProChem Lime, some kind of yellow, and Pro Chem Grasshopper. It’ll be a check, like the one I’ve been practicing at home.

You pull the threads off the skarn and wind them around the warping board, in this case six at a time.

I went to Marshfield yesterday (day off) to look over samples of things that I could make for my next project, which is to be in January, and which is to be silk. Silk! Which I will do in a twill, providing extra-lovely drape. I was really drawn to this cheerful little check here, which they say is called “cherryderry”. Was called “cherryderry”, I forget in which century.

Now to look over the available colors, and play with my colored pencils for weeks on end until I hopefully come up with something that will please me as much as the last project.