WELCOME THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON! It's my kind of year.
What I do to entertain myself amazes even me. It's no big deal, people all over the world weave. But it is so exciting to learn, apply, admire and fondle. I could only wish to be able to sit on the ground and weave a tapestry warped on sticks and tied up by hand. It's never going to happen but Ashford makes it possible to for me to produce fabric. Yes, FABRIC.
The whole loom in a heavy but relatively tiny, small box.
Following directions . . . not too challanging.
Decisions decisions. Project (towels), colors and pattern (basic twill). Seriously, the choices are endless and for someone like me, it is daunting. The holiday's are past, the visiting is basically over and Tim is back to work driving shuttle at UNLV for students. And I have my loom. It has taken several weeks to get this show on the road. I had to wait for my order of yarn, decide what to do for a first project and which colors to use and which patterns to explore. Shamefully, I do not know the terms yet, well, most of them. It is a language of to its own and so are the patterns. I'm waiting for a new magazine to arrive and I haven't bought any books yet but I'm perusing them too.
First order of business. Assemble the loom. Great learning experience. Although I already had one very similar to this one, I didn't have to assemble it because I picked it up from the shop. This time, since there are no decent fiber stores in Las Vegas, I had to assemble it and now some of the mystery is gone. I know how to insert new heddles and tie up the shafts. I also know how easy it is to ruin the heddles if you don't keep them tied together. Second I chose a color combo. I like the bright Mexican or "South American" colors so I got 8 of them and a white. The colors are basicall all the colors in the table cloth shown below. Final decision for project: kitchen towels, white, blue and yellow.
The whole 9 yards. Not too shabby for a first project. There are errors but they are few and the parts done right far outshine the errors. Granted, I had a loom in 2004 or thereabout and did several projects, all basics, but sold it to become a snowbird. Regret sat in this last Christmas season and I yearned for another. This one is one size narrower but has 8 shafts, not 4. I'm very satisifed with it. I need a stand however. This height is a hair too high for real comfort but it works for now. Okay, let's weave (and kit and spin) and don't forget those resolutions! Drop pounds, drop pounds, drop pounds.
Love and prayers, Mummy
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