Dealing With Distraction part II

In my last post yesterday I mentioned that my concentration is impaired right now with lots of distractions. Thought I would share how I deal with threading a complex pattern.

This is the draft for the last warp on the AVL.




My eyes - not being 20-ish any longer - have problems seeing a tiny draft so I print out at about 8 to the inch. In this case the draft was such that it was easier to print out the whole thing rather than trying to mark repeats. Beginning in the upper right hand corner of page 1 (on the far right) through the middle page and then to the last page on the left - this is the complete draft.



Here is a close up of page 1 with some of my chicken scratches as I messed about getting the draft set up the way I wanted it. You'll notice the 6 repeats of point twill at the selvedge, then a point over 12 shafts, then 24 repeats of the point on the last four shafts to separate the central field from the 'background'.

As I do each group - sometimes 4, sometimes 6, sometimes - well - whatever is appropriate - I mark off that I've done that group. If I'm repeating a motif several times I'll start with a pencil mark, then use a coloured pencil for the second repeat, then a different coloured pencil for a third repeat. And so on.

And no, I didn't have any threading errors on this warp, just one sleying error.

But I am a very visual type of person who relates to seeing patterns in things (hence the penchant for doing jigsaw puzzles as a relaxing passtime). Each person has to figure out what method will work best for them and how they process information.




And here is the loom as I begin threading the next warp on the AVL. Yes I rip the loom apart each time. I have no qualms about messing about with it this way. No, I don't have a permanent bench. I ripped that out after about a year and just use a tall stool to sit on for weaving. That makes it easy to take the sandpaper beam out and store it in the corner while I thread.

I have a small stool I sit on to thread. It's just out of the frame. I 'drape' myself over the beater. I'm tall enough that I can sit quite comfortably this way, but someone much shorter might not find this posture comfortable.

You can see my draft, taped to the side of the loom. I've just finished threading the first two points that will be the selvedge and I've gathered up all the groups, individually slip knotted, into one large slip knot. I do this for motif repeats so I can keep track of how many I've threaded. In this case the central motif will consist of 6 repeats.

If I've done the math correctly I should have about 14 ends left over.

But that is a mighty big 'if'. :}

Currently reading Dream Stalker by Margaret Coel (on recommendation of James D. Doss)