41" x 24 epi = 984

Working on the AVL now that the loom parts have been installed.  I'd intended to have this warp ready to weave on before the parts arrived but USPS and Canada Post conspired to deliver the box days before I expected it!

This warp is the special order and today I made significant progress on threading - just 8" left to do.  It's actually kind of nice to be working with 'thick' yarns - 2/8 instead of 2/16 cotton.  You wouldn't think 24 epi would be all that much faster than 32, but somehow it is.

I have had a little bit of feedback about the Purrington Looms folding floor loom but not what I would call a 'review'.  So far the majority of the feedback has been positive.

So - if anyone is interested in the modifications I would make to the loom to make it closer to my 'ideal' of a portable floor loom, let me know and I will post them here.  Mr. Bannerman says he's willing to make most of the modifications I would like to see - I have no idea what it would cost to get him to customize one of his loom designs - that you would have to discuss with him.

And on a final note - the date for surgery could be as soon as two weeks so I'm really feeling the pressure to get this warp woven and a few other must-be-done things accomplished toot sweet.

Keeping fingers crossed that there aren't very many 'emergencies' that would serve to bump me further down line - and not just for me, but for those who might suddenly find themselves needing emergency cardiac interventions...

When Work = Play

Beaming warp sectionally - green first, then red

Completed warp

I rarely accept special orders any more - unless it is just doing one of my established designs in a different colourway.

But I agreed to tackle this special order for a couple of reasons.

One, the customer gave me complete freedom to design something.

Two, I had so many requests for table textiles that I figured even if the customer didn't like what I did I could probably find a customer somewhere.

When I do accept a special order I tell the customer that I will make something, no obligation on them to actually buy it.  

The cloth is to be a square that will fit on a round table.  Doing just one item isn't economical in terms of investment in time, so I put 10 yards on today (yes, I 'worked' on Christmas Day - my work is my play, too) and should be able to get 5 or 6 squares out of the warp.

I have ideas for several different designs.  At least one will be woven with dark green as weft, but I also have some fine natural linen in a sort of brown-ish hue, plus I have some two ply cotton/linen blend.  So that's three possibilities.  I'm sure I can find more yarn in my copious stash.  

Each square will be woven with a different tie-up/treadling and when completed I will invite the customer to take a look at all of them and see if she likes any of them.

As a side benefit, I realized that some of the red 2/8 cotton was actually 2/16.  This pleases me because I had been thinking of ordering in some 2/16 in reds and now I don't have to.  Win!

Currently reading The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince by Robin Hobb - a title I stumbled on at the library but which isn't listed on her website - not sure why.

Crossing Things Off

This is it - the last of the painted warps.  It's been a very long time, much longer than I had hoped, but then when Life Happens, all you can do is weather the storm as best you can and if your plans go awry?  Well, that is how Life Happens.

Weavers are, by their nature, a bit of a control freak.  We tend to love the tiny minutiae that is involved in the process.  We talk about a thread under tension being a thread under control.  We nit pick the slightest inconsistency.  We fuss when things don't turn out the way we want, even though the results are perfectly acceptable.

Weaving keeps us humble as time after time things go zooming out of our control and we fight to bring them back to where we want them to be.

So at last, at very long last, I am getting the 'last' of the painted warps into the loom.  It will be done before the official new year will take place (she says, trying to exert control).

I have a long list of stuff to make for the craft fairs next year and a much too large stash that I am hoping will yield the majority of the yarn with which to make it.  I'm really hoping to see my stash reduce, not grow.  So far that hasn't worked too well as I have bought yarns to use as warp in order to use Lynn's Legacy.  And I have used up quite a lot of that fine linen.  But there is more!

But now I need to turn my attention to other things, other yarns.  Topping the list are some special orders, which I'm really determined to get woven and delivered before surgery.  I'm just waiting for a part for the AVL and the wide table topper warp can go on that loom.  Once this scarf warp is done, I need to weave two special orders of place mats.  And then I can begin inventory for the shows next year.  I've already got the yarn for a run of shawls picked out and a tentative draft.

So much yarn, so many ideas, so little time.

Something Special

Gallant and Jones

Is the name of the shop in Vancouver for whom I wove the special 'spa' or beach towels.  They are now available in their shop.

More progress today - back is feeling yet again a tiny bit better and I finished the tow linen weft beige/orange towels.  Now I have just a small pile of hemming left to do and hope to get it all caught up over the weekend.

If - and it's a big if - I'm feeling better enough on Monday I will attempt to weave on the AVL for one session and see how it goes.

In the meantime, I have started another jig saw puzzle, and another book - Pure in Heart by Susan Hill.

The days are getting very noticeably shorter.  We are nearing the end of summer.  I'm hoping winter doesn't arrive any time soon!

spa/beach towel on the loom

Tea Towels! Getcher Tea Towels! edited to show sales

cotton and cottolin $32  (2)  Sold

cotton and linen $36  (4)  one on right Sold

cotton $28 (2)

cotton and linen $36  (1)

cotton $28  (3)

cotton $28  (blue - 6, beige - 5 - blue were woven as part of the Big Project in May and are the Spring Bouquet towels from Handwoven May 2013)

cotton  $28  (8)

cotton $28  (7)

cotton $24  colours:  dark red 27

dark blue  10

scarlet  5

Medium blue  6

Rose 11

All towels are machine wash and dry warm water setting.  All are a generous size (although sizes vary depending on style).  Any of these towels may be purchased as part of my special July offering of buy two items and get free shipping.

Fibre content is listed, then price each towel, then how many are available for purchase.

Orders can be placed by contacting me via email laura at laurafry dot com or telephone which is listed on my website on the Contact page.

Payment can be by Paypal, VISA or Mastercard, or by cheque (including cheques from the US but not off shore.)

As I finish the turquoise towels I will add them to this offering - the warp may come off the loom today, but if not, for sure tomorrow.  If I can get the next tea towel warp - beige/peach/rust - done by the end of the month they will also be part of this offer.

Stay tuned for updates!

Technical Challenges

One of the reasons I was approached by the designer in Vancouver was because she needed some fabric of very particular specifications that the mill wasn't able to accommodate.  They recommended that she contact me.  (I did some 'sample' weaving for them a few years ago.)

The cloth had to be a particular quality in a very specific width.  And she wants just 50 meters of each design.  At least, to begin with.  The mill has a minimum length of 100 yards and they didn't want to deal with such a narrow fabric (47-48 cm).

For me the width was not a problem, nor was the length.  I used to do 100+ yard long warps for the fashion designer I wove for so 50 meters isn't that big a deal.  I know what I need to do to weave 100 yards - 50 meters presents no difficulty for me.

The challenge was getting exactly the width required.  Since the same yarn at the same epi but woven in a slightly different weave structure will lose different amounts in terms of width (granted only a 1/4", perhaps, but enough to make the cloth too wide for it's purpose) it required extensive sampling to find a) the right weave structure to produce the quality of cloth required and b) the correct width in the reed to provide a finished cloth of 47-48 cm.

Since the ideal width in the reed requires a fraction of an inch I had to figure out how to make that fraction work in my one inch sectional beam.  The easiest way to work with it was to beam whole numbers, then cut back the excess threads.  (It is not a good idea to fill one section with fewer ends than all the rest as those threads will be a different length than the rest of the warp.)

To make it easy, I threaded the extra threads and tied them on, wove my header and then cut the extra threads away.  

If you squint you can see the cut threads at the top of the photo.  The extra threads where then stripped out of the reed and heddles and taken to the back of the loom where they were wound around an empty cardboard tube and suspended from the tension box rail (there is no back beam as such on my AVL).

As I weave the tubes will drop and when the threads are long enough I'll route them up over my warping valet so that they have a longer drop and I only need to wind them up every 2 yards instead of just under 1 yard.

And no, the extra threads won't go to waste.  I know someone who weaves a lot of inkle bands willing to deal with these bundles of yarn in order to get 'free' yarn for her inkle bands....

Currently reading Skeletons by Kate Wilhelm

Prototype

The sampling is done, and we think I've managed to get the quality of cloth the designer needs.  Now it's time to work on the prototype of her first design.

It's challenging to work with other creative people, especially when they are in slightly different media.  I've worked with a number of designers, some of whom knew more about weaving than others, in which case part of the challenge is to take their vision and interpret it in threads trying to make their vision come into material form (Pun alert - sorry - can't seem to help myself today!)

The fairly complex asymmetric stripe design for this cloth required that I re-set the spools on the spool rack 8 times for the 8 different combinations of colours per one inch section.  Pretty labour intensive for the 10 yard long warp, but neither of us wants to commit to 50 meters until we are both sure that the cloth will be exactly what she wants.

The good news is that the threading is dead simple so I'm hoping to finish threading today and start weaving tomorrow.  But I had exercise class for the first time in about 5 weeks and my neck isn't very happy with me.  However my friend gave me a new gizmo which seems to be helping a lot.  It's a chemical based heating 'pad'.  It's filled with gel and you 'click' a metal tab inside the plastic pad - it heats up to 130F and lasts for 2 hours.  It's shaped so that I can wear it around my neck and shoulders.  My neck is already feeling like threading is going to be a real possibility.  :0

Currently reading Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon

Intimations of Things to Come

Today the first harbinger of my latest yarn order arrived.  I got a commission for not one, not two, but three table cloths from a customer in Calgary.  He was so sweet - when we were discussing designs he said "Just make what you like...what's ugly in this booth?  I have a sense of your design esthetic, I know you'll make me something nice."  I'm paraphrasing, but that's the gist.  (blush)

How could I not take the order???? (Especially when he offered to pre-pay.  I won't take payment until I'm ready to start weaving.  If the money is being dangled in front of me, I work much better - something about carrots?)

He wants mostly neutrals with a little green, a little peach, so there is more yarn yet to come, in one of Maurice Brassard's bunny eared bags of goodness.

I am going to have to warp the loom up to it's full width (60") and cross fingers that the cloth will be the 54" I promised.  Needless to say, there is going to have to be a component of plain weave to whatever I do to minimize draw in and it will probably mean using a temple as well, just to keep things co-operative, but for 3 tablecloths it is well worthwhile putting the warp on.  I will no doubt put extra on and do a couple of 'tea cloth' type squares as well.  The warp will be nearly 2000 ends - that's a lot of threading, even if I am fast at it.  ;)  Besides, extra is good in case of some sort of disaster on the loom.....

The red warp for samples is almost finished.  I'm hoping to get to the end of it today yet.  It took me a while to generate an alternate tie up, hoping to increase the stability of the cloth and still have the chevrons she requested.  But bobbins are wound and I'm ready to go.....aaaaaand, she's off!

Dreaming Textile Dreams

In addition to the last two shows being successful enough that inventory is getting low in certain items, I also have the sample warp for the designer in Vancouver to weave and a special order for 3 table cloths for a customer in Calgary.

One thing about doing shows in person is that you get all sorts of validation.  Weaving - like most traditional crafts - is done pretty much in isolation, making your best guess as to what people might like enough to actually purchase but never really knowing until the hall doors open and the people start walking by.  Or in to your booth.

While compliments are great and provide food for the ego, it is the actual purchases that pay the bills.

Yesterday was spent trying to clear up critical things - like bank deposit, paying bills, dealing with questions via email and phone regarding upcoming classes.

Today I had cleared enough little grey cells that I could begin to think about the yarn I needed to order.  I also realized that my iPad has become an actual tool not just a toy as I was able to spread out on the dining room table (which hardly ever gets used for dining) and still have access to the internet via my iPad in order to check emails, websites and so on.  Once I get the 'remote' email situation sorted out, I think I am going to become very enamoured of the iPad!

One of the challenges in working with the designer is that she knows what she wants and will recognize it when she sees it.  She doesn't have a grasp of how colour interactions happen in a woven structure, which means some angst in terms of choosing the actual colours for the sample warp.  So I have agreed to do some extra work and use both of the greens in the warp so that she can see exactly how they will work in the cloth.  I'm gambling hard that this relationship is going to mature into something that will benefit both of us, and that she will come to trust my colour choices in terms of what she is telling me she wants.  But it's a gamble and a risk for her, too, to work with the weaver and not just buy something already made that she likes.  Working with the thread, she doesn't have the foundation of knowledge in terms of weaving to be really confident that she is going to get what she wants.  So, I am making the sample warp in such a way that she will be able to see the colours as they will look once they are woven.

I also need to place an order with Silk City for more Bambu 7 and 12.  They were out of stock of some of the fine #12 colours on my last order so I'm hoping they are in inventory now.  The new 'scarves' went over quite well - I sold about half of what I'd managed to get made in time for the shows.  In terms of price points, that is huge acceptance and I'm going to go ahead and make more for next year.  But I need a better, larger, colour selection as I only managed to get 5 different colours made up - and no blue as such.  But the dyer doesn't seem to have dyed any actual blue, just the teal blue/green that I started with.  However, I can get around that by using the really dark navy blue as the base for the variegated yarns.

But I really want to get the orders in today and hope that the yarns don't get too bogged down in the Christmas mail rush.....

Currently reading Cold Case by Kate Wilhelm.  I just found out that her new Barbara Holloway title is only available in audio or ebook formats.  I may be forced to buy the ebook version for my iPad.  Then I'll have it to read on my trip in Jan/Feb....

Mug Rugs

I got all the mug rugs woven and run through the washer/dryer before I left for Kelowna and managed to hem nearly all of them while I was away. The rest I finished last night.

Normally I would press everything once the hemming was done, but I knew my client was in a hurry and they looked good without the pressing so...........

My client has just left and was happy with the mug rugs and with how quickly I got them done for her.

I have to ramp up my energy levels because I'm supposed to be supplying the samples for the workshop participants to wet finish during the one day version of Magic in Albuquerque, NM in October. Since I'm away so much in Septemer I'm going to have to get everything done in the next two weeks, so it felt good to complete the mug rug order.

On the computer front, several of my programs don't run on Windows 7 and I'm having to learn new versions of the some of the ones that do. Which doesn't make me a very happy camper at the minute.

One of the programs that isn't working is the transcription software. I ought to have been doing more of the WeaveCast episodes before we up-graded but I didn't expect problems with that program. :((((

Another is my picture editing software, which really makes me unhappy, but was only to be expected given how old the program is. :(

Anyway, I have the first warp for the workshop ready to go onto the loom which I'll do once I've done my errand run to town.

Currently Reading White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison

Mug Rugs

Got the loom dressed and started weaving after dinner. This photo shows the hem woven with 2/16 cotton, and the body of the cloth woven with a cotton slub, a cotton boucle and two strands of 2/8 cotton bundled together.

I weave a cut line between mats for ease in cutting them apart and serging, tucking the bundle of weft ends into the hem. I'm hoping to get them woven in the next couple of days so I can bring them with me to hem in the evenings while Sheila knits. :)

Usually I wet finish before hemming, but this time I'm going to hem them first because it's way too hot to fire up the steam press. It is supposed to cool off later in the week so with any luck I can get them done when I get back.

Well, the smoke rolled back into the valley again today and it's nasty with a promise to stay that way for the next few days. I'm hoping that Kelowna is not as smokey and that now I know my back pain is largely associated with the allergic reaction to the smoke that I can chew enough anti-histamines to stave off the worst of it. And that the trip to Kelowna on the weekend will give me some respite from the smoke. :( According to the weather report it is supposed to rain here on the weekend, so hopefully I will come home to fresher air.

But this summer has been brutal for wildfires in terms of smoke.

Special Orders

Finished winding this warp for a special order this morning. It's only 6" wide, but 11 meters long - for 30 mug rugs.

I hesitate to do special orders except that this client has been so easy to deal with. She pretty much gives me free rein to do what I want within general specifications. :D

She is understanding of and supportive of the time it takes to do something handcrafted because her husband is also a creative person.

My student will come back on Monday to weave her scarf and then I'll slam this warp onto the Fanny loom. My client needs the mug rugs for hostess gifts in September which means I have to have them completed before Labour Day when I start to travel myself. Since I'm also going to be away for 4 days next week (if my back continues as it is - or hopefully gets even better!) I'll have to really focus on getting these woven and hemmed in time to deliver them.

Currently reading A Play of Tragedy by Margaret Frazer

Playing Hookey

The THUD you may have heard last week was me falling off the energy wagon.

For the past couple of months I have been feeling more and more exhausted, which I attributed to a hectic travel/teaching schedule, poor sleep, what have you.

May 4th, when the specialist confirmed my suspicions I felt myself teeter, and subsequent minor irritations ground at me for the rest of the week. By Saturday when I was trying very hard to be upbeat and positive about the future, I kept mulling over the events that had brought me to where I am in the here and now. And found myself sinking futher into a funk of feeling - well, just plain bloody tired. (Apologies to any Brits out there.)

Sunday after lace I fell into bed at around 4 pm and dragged myself out at 6, feeling worse than before. Needless to say, doing anything productive was beyond me.

I managed to pull myself together while Karena was here and finish off the first shawl warp and beam the next but after setting up the guild loom, essentially crashed and burned.

It's taken me several days to think through why this happened. My conclusion? During the course of the past year I never had time to stop and deal with what was happening, because it just kept on happening. My blood pressure has been pretty good for the last two months, and essentially things have been under control. Which means that I haven't been focussed on trying to gain control.

You know how they say you never have a nervous break down during the crisis but after it? Well, my crisis is pretty much over - until the next one - and my body was finally able to make me pay attention to the fact that it was tired - exhausted - from all the stress, turmoil, pain and grief.

Even when I said I was going to cut back on my working hours, I got two special orders, and found myself working just as much as I had been. :}

So now, in spite of two critical deadlines coming up, my body has said "Enough." And this time, I'm going to listen.

I've been watching tv (egad - even daytime tv!) knitting, making jigsaw puzzles. And if I feel like heading down the stairs to do a little puttering, I do. But if I don't - well, I don't. :)

Today all I managed was to pack up an order, trim and tag the placemats I pressed on Sunday and deliver them to the local consignment shop.

Hopefully I can at least do the weaving/writing for the project for Handwoven I'm trying to pull together. That deadline is one I really don't want to miss. :)

Loom Waste?

One of the benefits of a counterbalanced loom is that you can force the shed. Since I was already using a stick shuttle I just kept on weaving, trying to get as much length woven out of the warp as I possibly could. :)



The loom waste on this warp was miniscule! If I'd known before I started weaving I would have lashed on and been more stingy about how much fringe I left on the first sash, but...I wound up with one sash at the original 112", one with an additional 16" and the last with an additional 12" in length. As it is I'll have to needleweave a couple of threads in because the shuttle skipped a few times in the last inch or so. Not surprising when you see the shed size! :)



And here they are off the loom. Not looking too bad, even if I say so myself. :)

Now for a break before I dress the loom for the last two. I'll be really careful about tying on, just leave exactly what I need for the fringe, weave the first one with an extra 16" in length (to match the longest one on the first warp) and the last one will be as long as it will be.

Today I also need to prepare for the Beginning Weaving workshop on the weekend. Two students for sure, possibly three. In between helping them I'll wind some more warps for the guild project loom. It will be nice to use up the last of that yarn. It's all profit for the guild now as the yarn was paid for several warps ago. :)

Inching Along

So I did as Barbara suggested - stopped for dinner, watched some tv, hemmed and knitted, and then went back down to the loom concentrating on getting that right selvedge a whole lot more consistent. :) This photo shows the first sash about 3/4's of the way done.



And here's a close up showing the selvedges.



Doesn't address the white showing, but I suspect I'm obsessing over something over which they won't really care all that much about. :}

For the most part I've stopped taking special orders unless I can just make something close and let the client decide whether or not to take it. But these sashes - well they need them before the end of May for a performance, and I knew I could weave them. Just didn't expect them to require so much physical effort. My neck is not happy after doing the first one. :( So I pilled up, will take a break and then start on number two.

Massage tomorrow, so hopefully I can book another appointment fairly soon to take care of the rest of the physical effort that is being required. It's been a long time since I've used a stick shuttle to carry the weft and used it as a beater - I'd forgotten just how much my neck disapproves when I do that. :(

Really wish I had asked for more than what I charged for them - although they weren't very happy about my price as it was. :( Oh well, at least I hope they will be happy that I delivered in a timely fashion. :D If my neck doesn't seize up entirely, I ought to be able to deliver by the weekend.

Going Slow to go.....Fast?

I am not a particularly happy camper. I'm not happy with the results I'm getting, and I'm not happy about how I'm having to go about getting even those results. :(




Notice anything odd in the photo above? Like, where's the reed?

Well, I was even less happy with the results while using a 6 dent reed, 8 ends per dent. I was getting definite reed streaks and in this textile, was highly doubtful the streaks would come out.

I'm not happy about using the white weft (see photo below) but since the density isn't quite warp faced, the brick red was showing through and muddying up the rest of the colours.



The white is better, but of course shows on the selvedge.

The only way I can weave this is with a stick shuttle, using the shuttle to beat the wefts into place. This is just the first 3 inches or so of weaving, and I need to work a lot harder on my right hand selvedge (my right hand is my dominant hand, so the left selvedge is much better.)

I'm also thinking I need to quadruple the brick red and try it again with the stick shuttle. The textile is about a 1/4 inch narrower, so the warp is providing better coverage without the reed. But not entirely, so I'm thinking that's a waste of time and effort.

Sigh.........

This project is proving once again that I really am not all that happy about doing special orders that need to be absolutely precise.

Currently reading Shades of Blue by Bill Moody

Four Boxes

Someone emailed me today asking if the four box fly shuttle was really useful or if it was 'overkill' as her friends were advising her. :)

When I ordered the loom originally (1983) I ordered it with the double box fly shuttle. Over the years, I found the double box useful even though I didn't use it all of the time.

When I ordered the air assist for the loom in the late 1990's, I was weaving for a fashion designer and quite often fiddling around with 3 and sometimes 4 shuttles. It made sense for me to upgrade to the four box fly shuttle to accomodate the designs I was weaving for my client so that I could weave them more efficiently.

After having AVL assure me it would be impossible to fit the four boxes to my loom, I ordered it anyway and Doug found a way to fit it on the underslung beater of my loom.

I then challenged him to come up with a way to change the boxes using the air assist system. Again he was assured by 'experts' that it would be impossible, and again he found a way. :D

Quite frankly I haven't been using the fly shuttle much for the last 3 years as I've been mostly weaving scarves and hand throwing. But that's the thing about tools. They wait very patiently for when they are needed again.

This project is using 7 shuttles. I'm winding the metallic by hand on the pirn because it won't work on the industrial pirn winder, so I have one AVL shuttle and 6 of the industrial shuttles. Four of the shuttles are in the boxes, the others are parked on the stool next to me and I change them out as required.

I expect that the yarns trailing toward the stool are visible in the enlarged picture. I stopped weaving tonight after the 8th headdress because I need to wind more of the metallic. Plus I'd made such good progress that it felt like time to quit and work on the transcription of WeaveCast episode 35. I've been wanting to listen to the interview with Tom Beaudet for a long time, but just haven't had the time to do that until now.

But to answer the question of whether or not the four boxes are useful? It depends. If you need them, you really need them. If you don't - well, they won't complain if you don't use them. :)

Headdress

Here is the headdress fabric. Amazingly enough, I was quite happy with the very first one and didn't make any changes from the proto-type. How rare is that? :D

What I am weaving is no where near as fancy as the example given me, but I'm working under a very tight deadline here and keeping track of 7 shuttles and a complex colour sequence is taking long enough that I opted for simple in terms of weave structure. These are for dance costumes, so it's important that they look striking from a distance. I wound up using more metallic than originally planned on paper so that the headdresses will really sparkle on stage.

I also wove quite a bit more of the brick at the beginning and end than I anticipate will wind up being used in the actual headdress because the finished article will be lined and interlined and rather than leave too little for seam allowances, I wove a bit extra. Since I have lots of extra warp, more was easy, and it's not possible to make something longer if it is too short. :)

Just finished dinner so I'm going to head back down to the loom and see how far I can get tonight. It would be fantastic to get this warp all woven so that I can wet finish tomorrow and deliver with the skirts on Monday. :)

Currently reading Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

Headdresses

The warp for the headdresses is beamed. Generally I wouldn't set up the AVL for such a short warp (5 yards including an 'extra' yard for sampling) but the warp is 32" wide so I can use the fly shuttle on it. Notice I've offset the warp 4" to the right to compensate for the longer travel distance the weft makes when it goes to the right side of the loom.

Since the weaving requires 7 colours (shuttles), the four box fly shuttle will help me keep the weft yarns in order. When I need to use that many different shuttles, I drag a tv tray over to park the ones not currently being used.

The headdresses are to co-ordinate with the sashes, so I took the colours and sequence from the sash and will need to do some proto-types before I can firmly decide on how many picks of each colour. The sash is about half the width of the headdress, so I may have to do some fiddling in order to get things set - hence the extra yard.

The dancers want some gold metallic in the headdress, so where the yellow appears in the sash will be replaced with metallic, plus I'll bracket some of the other colours to sparkle it up.

I'm listening to Leonard Cohen - Live in London, and cheerfullness keeps breaking out. ;)

Currently reading The Boy's Tale by Margaret Frazer

'New' Loom

So above is the new loom. It looks a bit weird because the Leclerc Meko is folded up and shoved in front of it. I am seriously running out of room........

The new loom is a J-Made and needs a few minor repairs, but nothing that Doug can't handle. Once he's finished installing the insulation in the attic, gutted and re-done the bathroom, plus many other small jobs that have been sadly neglected around here the past few years. Now that we both have a little more energy, I'm hoping that he can get some maintenance on the house dealt with while I try to de-clutter.

I'm still trying to unload the van, and am seriously tempted to just leave all the yarn in the van for the next trip in May. Like I said, I am seriously running out of room. :(

But I did get the skirt fabric wet finished and will cut and serge it tomorrow. I promised to use orange thread but have to check first if I have any. May need to run to the store tomorrow to get some.

Also got some financial stuff dealt with and out of the way, so I do feel like I've made a little progress today.