new project

I've got a nice table top loom that I've only used once. It took me three days to warp the board. I used almost all 400 of my heddles. Some parts didn't work so well, I couldn't get the tension right and while it was fun to use, I was very frustrated that the sheds didn't open up properly. There were always 5 or so threads that would get tangled and I couldn't figure out how to undo it. So, I made it my ugly practice weave.

After that, I had a hard time getting excited to do anything again on the Dorothy (name of the type of loom). The loom sat on a table in my living room looking empty and ignored. I finally moved it out of the living room and worked on some Inkle projects.

Then, over the weekend, I decided to give the Dorothy another try. I built a real warping board and I read detailed instructions on removing the thread from the board and putting it onto the loom. I was very concerned with tension issues again, but the instructions looked easy enough. I'm only using about 1/4 of the heddles this time. So, it makes it a very small project, but I have been so pleased. Either because I'm using such a small number of warp or because of the good instructions I followed, or both, things have been going much better.

It only took me a few hours in the afternoon to warp the loom. I know that is still a long time, but I'm new. The tension is much better and I was so excited to see the shafts open cleanly with no snags.

Unfortunately, I don't have much thread. The warp is black and my weft is red and white. I'm trying out different patterns using the shafts and have been so happy to see the patterns forming in my weave. I'll get a picture of it soon. I have no idea what I'll be doing with this little projects. It's width would make a nice children's scarf, so that is what it might become.

Today, I'm a very happy weaver.