Color in April

I finished the towels and the documentation, which I emailed on Monday.  Ian went to town today so he dropped these off at the UPS store for me.  I worried myself silly over the gold towel that came out longer before I got the beat right.  They're gone and it's out of my hands now.  Huge relief!

I decided it was time to move on and picked eight more colors.

I'm going for the colors of a high desert sunrise.

You might have guessed why the warp chains are in a cloth bag, but in case you didn't - here's the reason.  

She pulled the chains out of the bag and replaced them with herself.  It could have been worse.

My Yamaha piano stool (above) works great with my Dorset workshop loom but it's too low, even with that thick book in the lower left of the photo.  Our guild had a Weave-In this past Saturday with five warped floor looms.  It was a fantistic program and you can read about it here.  I was able to try a Schacht weaving bench and ordered one from Bountiful yesterday.  I just learned about that business on Saturday, and since they're located in Colorado, shipping is less for me.  In this case it was free.  I had called Yarn Barn of Kansas first, but for this particular item, the shipping would have been $30.  The catch is that it's shipping from Schacht - in two weeks.  I can wait two weeks for $30 - that's two cones of yarn!

I have money left in my not-saving-for-a-loom account for one more piece of equipment and after winding this 9-yard warp, I've decided that will be a warping mill.  And that will take care of my savings.  Because really - I don't need a 4th loom.  Right?

I had time this morning to thread half of it.  This time the color pairs are an inch wide and I'm planning to weave one-inch squares, but I'm also going to experiment with two shuttles, maybe three.

 I've created a space for Maddie's bed in my wee tiny studio and sometimes I think it's working.

I was really disappointed in how the black weft overwhelmed my variegated silk warp. I think I'm just going to stick to plain weave in the future for specialty warps.  I tried it on anyway just to see how it looked in the mirror and couldn't have been more surprised.  The silk is light and warm and not the least bit scratchy.  Finally - something comfortable to keep my neck warm these cold days!