An Historic SuperBetter Day

It probably should have been my SuperBetter Epic Win, it was that big a day on Thursday:  I gave a tour at the historic house!  In my costume!  To Sis's Girl Scout troop!  With Bud there, too!  Yep, a very special day.  And it went something like this . . .

After welcoming them to the house, I told them we would be traveling back through time and that I was dressed to take them through my 350-year-old house.  I let them point out what was anomalous about my outfit and they eventually spotted my therapeutic sneakers (a big docent no-no!  But this was unofficial).  Bud also said that my eyeglasses were wrong, since Ben Franklin invented them, which he'd read recently in a book (and it's partially true--Franklin did invent bifocals, but glasses had been around, but not common, for hundreds of years).

We went inside to help the kids make their own mop caps (appx 18" diameter muslin circle with slits about 1.5" from edge and a few inches apart gathered with yarn) so they'd feel dressed for the period.   While they worked, I talked about my costume--my layered skirt (and how I'd wear  more and heavier layers for winter), my separate pockets ("Lucy Locket lost her pocket"), my always-covered head, how they had few outfits and only washed the layer next to their bodies (and usually only took sponge baths!), how clothes were not purchased ready-made but sewn out of purchased fabric by tailors or the women in the family (except during the war) and that clothes were patched and passed down because they were valuable, how boys wore dresses until they were "breeched" sometime in young childhood, and how girls never wore pants.  This last fact shocked the all-pants-wearing troop the most.  But that's because we didn't talk about how they didn't wear underwear!

Appropriately covered, we headed into the kitchen to talk about other aspects of colonial life:

• lighting by candles, oil lamps, firelight, increased by reflections off pewter plates or mirrors, but especially sunlight--how they woke with and went to bed with the sun
• heat only by fireplace, compounded by lower ceilings, smaller windows, heavier clothes and blankets, and foot- and bed-warmers
• transportation by foot because only the rich had horses or carriages
• sleeping altogether, with parents and siblings, in rope beds or pallets
• children's chores:  sewing, helping with the cooking, cleaning (with a broom made of sticks), feeding the livestock, fetching water, carrying wood, gathering eggs (eggs were more seasonal then, with chickens not laying in cold months), making butter (another seasonal food because cows didn't give milk in winter)
• food harvesting (and the long tradition of harvest festivals, even before the official Thanksgiving holiday in 1863) and preservation, especially the popularity of drying apples and making pies to eat at every meal (and why you just couldn't leave whole apples in the cellar--rot, mice, thieving kids!).  Also how the big meal was in the middle of the day.
• how water was not the drink of choice because it was easily contaminated and could make you sick; they drank cider and hot tea, often made from leaves broken from bricks of tea from China

Then, in the waning afternoon light, without turning on any electricity, they kids worked on weaving projects.  I showed them all the tape, or ribbon, in my clothes--my cap, shift, and gathering my skirts--and demonstrated how it was woven on my replica colonial tape loom.  Then they did some decorative circle weaving on paper plates (notch a plate with an uneven number of slits, set "warp" by crossing through center and passing to next slit, weave over-under in a circle, changing colors whenever), similar to the woven rag rugs they were all seated upon.  

After everyone had left, while Mama and I were cleaning up, Sis and Bud played house in the enormous fireplace--sweeping, baking, stirring the kettle, churning butter, fetching wood and water.  Watching them bring history alive for themselves is why I love being a docent.  

Definitely a "Power Up" moment.

Warp Speed: Weaving Meeting

Yesterday, I attended a meeting of the local weaver's guild, where I had lunch with the woman who had sold me her loom, met up with a fellow museum educator and local weaver, and reconnected with a few of my weaving classmates. Best of all, not only did I pick up my warping board, which allows me to begin my next, and first solo, weaving project, I was inspired by the guild's friendship exchange. Apparently, way back when, they decided to exchange kitchen towels and devised a system to determine what they would look like: several patterns, colors, techniques, textures, etc. were written on pieces of paper and placed in a hat and each weaver picked out a few which they had to include, excepting one, in a kitchen towel (apparently, they've done scarves, handbags, and a "monster in the bag" where they exchanged scraps and had to make something). Yesterday, they all came together, showed off their towels, and exchanged the finished products by flipping a coin and passing them to the left. There were several lovely towels--something called a waffle weave that they all labeled a "thirsty towel" because it would absorb a lot, another towel with a lovely sunrise palette of orange, yellow, and red that somehow resulted in a light grapefruit pink too, (I think it was) Bronson lace inlaid on a plaid pattern, a pretty cream towel with embroidered pansies. Just so many different combinations, so many individual ideas. Made me want to make a bunch of hand towels! Excepting I have Jaggerspun cotton/silk not the kind of cotton/linen they mostly used, and mine wouldn't make a good towel. Next time . . . . adding to my list of placemats and tablerunners and scarves that I want to make!

Warp Speed: The Final Frontier

Just try to find regular, original unscented Dawn dishwashing liquid these days. There is super scrubber, antibacterial, special scents, and a special "natural" one with no dyes. But I needed the regular ol' Dawn, with its neutral ph-balance. I didn't know the ph of my green stuff or my Dr. Bronner's soap and wasn't sure I could trust random blogs on the internet. And my teacher said Dawn.

It's for washing the scarf, actually, fulling it, which is a step or so below the intensity of felting. And Woolite, apparently, despite its name, is too acidic for wool and silk. So, I washed my scarf in bubbles from a bottle of vivid blue Dawn, rinsing it until bubble-less, and then soaking it for a bit in white distilled vinegar to bring out the shine in the silk. Then I laid it on a towel and stepped on it--the kids' favorite part--and finished it off about 30 minutes later by ironing it.

And it was done. Softer and shinier than it had been before its bath, so much more like fabric. Beautiful. I took it to class and we all oohed and aahed over our creations, amazed that we had actually made these things from cones of thread and complicated loom contraptions we received at the beginning of class. I understand the process so much better than I did the first time around (even ace-ing the "final" exam!). And I liked the camaraderie of making the scarf, of weaving, with the other women, receiving the knowledge from other women, in this millennias-old craft tradition.

Best part? It looks glorious on Mama and she really likes it.

And so, I've ordered a warping board for my birthday and am deciding on yarn colors. Because this isn't the end of the weaving journey but just the beginning.

Warp Speed: Tying the Knots

Mama's scarf was off the loom but needed twisted fringe to secure the weft. Sure, I'd hemstitched the thing so I could have left it fringe-less, especially because chunky twisted fringe, in the words of my teacher, is "femme-y." But we noticed that loose threads clumped unattractively.

So we opted for very thin fringe, basically two threads twisted with two other threads. Take the first two threads and twist them in one direction; hold onto this while you twist the other two threads in the same direction. Now, put the two under-tension bundles together and twist the other way; tie off in a loose knot. Later, you'll tighten the knots so that all the fringe knots are in the same place and then cut right below the knot.

Mama did the twisting of the individual bundles and then handed them to me to twist together and tie off. And I just couldn't help think of the symbolism of the two of us twisting the threads of our lives together and then tying the knot. Just like we did about a year ago, legally, here in Connecticut.

Warp Speed: Off the Loom

Mama's scarf is off the loom! After adding about 12 picks in my warp color and hemstitching it in same, my teacher helped me cut the scarf loose from the remaining warp waste. It still has the earlier sample attached while I decide what to do about tassle length, but otherwise, it's a scarf! And it looks great! I did find one major pattern error; I can't believe I didn't catch it earlier and unweave it, but c'est la vie. In fact, it is said that Navajo weavers intentionally leave a flaw in their work, which weavers usually leave in the same place, to allow evil spirits trapped in the rug to get out. Similarly, rugs woven in Turkey, Iran, and Central Asia, often include a flaw to express the humility of the weaver not wanting to compete with the perfection of God. My flaw wasn't intentional or discreet, but it's in good company.

Back to tassles. I have to decided about tassles. Mama doesn't want chunky or frilly tassles and is tempted to have me leave the fringe untwisted. My teacher suggested, and these are her words, "a less femme-y fringe" by making it very thin. Which will take forever. Mama has a few days to decide because our last class, when we'll discuss drafting and such, is next week. And it takes awhile to do tassles--she actually helped me last time.

Then I wash the scarf, which apparently brings the warp and the weft all together as well as brings out the sheen in the silk (it's a silk-wood blend), and iron it and it's ready to wear. I can't wait to see her wear it (though I still don't wear the one I made two years ago, too precious for that)! Of course, it's no surprise as a Christmas present, but she's okay with that.

Warp Speed: Almost There

I have almost finished Mama's scarf!!!!! I finished the pattern in plum today, adding something like 8 inches yesterday and almost 13 inches today!! I had a few mis-weaves that I had to go back and fix as well as some brake trouble (it's an old loom and not in the best repair; that's next). I only need to add about 12 picks of indigo plainweave, then hemstitch, cut it from the loom, and do the tassles. So, still a few hours of work (tassles take a long time), but essentially the scarf is done!!!! And it turned out so much prettier than I expected. I chose great colors and Mama chose a great pattern. I can't wait to see it off-loom! Merry Christmas, Mama!

Warp Speed: Unweaving

I had about 20 minutes of weaving time this morning and about 4" to go to my next scarf pattern change, with no real intention of getting there today. But I must have been in the zone because I got very close. Then I realize that I had made a minor mistake--I'd started my warp-faced stripe without finishing my weft-faced stripe (I think those are the right terms). So I had to unweave three rows, which doesn't sound like a lot, but a). I couldn't quite tell which three rows I had done and needed to do some trial and error to figure it out and b). I was disappointed to realize, having gotten closer than I expected, that I wouldn't get to the next section--I know it shouldn't matter but these little milestones are important. Except that I did. I was closer than I thought, but also had misread the clock by a few minutes. So, after carefully unweaving (and getting on the right side of that hanging selvage), I did about 12 picks and was done! That leaves about 21" left to go! YAY!

Warp Speed: Halfway Done!

I have passed the halfway mark on weaving Mama's scarf! I was very excited to remove the thin strip of paper pinned to the fell, or edge of my weaving, where I've been recording the patterns and marking where I start and stop them, and flip it around so that it is my guide for the "downhill" part of the scarf, thereby making the scarf symmetrical. Even though the scarf is very regular and I've recorded the pattern elsewhere, I really like the visual, physical record of what I'm creating.

All of which means I think I'll be finished with it in time for the last class next Sunday. If I run down there now, I should be able to add a inch or two before I have to go get the kids!

Warp Speed: Placemats

The kids were so taken with weaving on my rigid heddle loom (meaning you can only create pattern using different colored yarn because there are no individual shafts to manipulate separately) that we've decided to complete it together. They enjoy passing the long shuttle back and forth and especially enjoy beating the yarn into place. So, we're making placemats on the multicolored warp, hopefully in time for the holidays. I like that they are interested--it'll be the second major craft I've been able to teach them, after baking. Crochet and knitting, quilting and cross-stitching, or Mama's woodworking and origami (she has managed to do a lot of drawing with them), will have to wait until they are a bit older.

Warp Speed: Patterns

I had a wonderful weaving session this evening, my first really long one since I set up in the basement. The table height is good; the lighting is perfect. And I can leave the loom up all the time, which beats storing it under a table on the first floor and then rearranging the living room to get anything done.

I also really got into a rhythm with my loom and the pattern, noticing patterns within the pattern. I'm weaving Mama's scarf in indigo and plum Jaegerspun wool/silk blend, with the indigo as the warp and the plum as the weft. The color combo is wonderful. And the pattern, which Mama chose, is striking: contrasting horizontal bands of chevrons (sort of). For you weavers out there, the pattern is:

4
3
2
1
2, 3, 4
1, 3, 4
1, 2, 4
1, 2, 3

And I realized as I wove that the levers made a pattern as I changed shafts. In the first half of the pattern, that number lever is thrown and appears alone down below. In the second half of the pattern, the "missing" number lever is the only one not thrown and appears alone up top. So it goes down 4-3-2-1, up 1-2-3-4, sort of (and of course, that's ignoring shafts 5-16!). Okay, it makes sense to me, but maybe you have to see it to understand. I'm very visual so memorizing numerical patterns just by the number wasn't working for me. But this does, so now I don't have to keep consulting my draft (though, I'm keeping a running register of the pattern, too, on long, thin paper like an adding machine strip, just like our teacher recommended).

Otherwise, I've worked out a great Fibonnaci pattern for Mama, particularly because she said that a Fibonnaci sequence was the focal point of one of the first computer codes she had to write. So, I'm combining art and science, with a little bit of mysticism, which is the perfect description of Mama. The scarf will look like this:

1" plainweave
3" XXIX (so called because that is the label of the horizontal stripe pattern in my class notebook)
1" plainweave
5" XXIX
1" plainweave
8" XXIX
1" plainweave
13" XXIX
1" plainweave
8" XXIX
1" plainweave
5" XXIX
1" plainweave
3" XXIX
1" plainweave

Which makes about a 53"-long scarf plus tassles.

That leaves me about, oh, 46" left to weave. At about 4" an hour. Well, let's just say I have a lot of work to do before Sunday in 10-ish days! But it's wonderful, beautiful, relaxing, mesmerizing work . . . and if all goes right, I'll have her (not much of a surprise) Christmas present done early!

Warp Speed: Weaving on a Twig Loom

Sunday was an all-about-weaving day for me. First, in my Religious Education (Sunday school) class, we did a lesson on the Gaia creation story and talked about how the goddess Athena taught weaving to the ancient Greeks, from harvesting, spinning, and dying flax to weaving. Then I showed the class my two looms, my 16-shaft Purrington tabletop loom and my child-friendly Harrisville rigid heddle loom, on which I let them all do a few picks of weaving. Next, they got to work on their own weaving project, which I'll call weaving on a twig loom. Following an example I found on the internet, but adapting it to my class and another project I had seen, each child received a loom constructed of two horizontal approximately 8" long sticks from my backyard with 10 pieces of yarn tied vertically between them (next time, I'll double the number of "warp" threads in that space). Then using their fingers as the shuttles, they wove "in front" and "behind," changing colors as the spirit moved them, packing the yarn, or beating, with their fingers. In true Unitarian Universalist fashion, one boy never altered his back-and-front pattern so that he wasn't really weaving but, despite our suggestions, kept to his plan--we do grow independent thinkers! They each took extra yarn home to finish up and then hang them on their walls. Next time, I'll know to leave long ends on each warp thread both to tie them in bundles of 3 or more (I guess a kind of hemstitching) and to leave decorative tassles. All in all, though, it was very successful--even my kiddos wove on a twig loom and had fun! But they liked the big rigid heddle better . . . .

Later in my afternoon weaving class, I had a "midterm": making another warp. It was an excellent refresher and actually made more sense to me the third time around! I even had an observer asking all sorts of questions, most of which I couldn't quite answer, but which led us both to find the answer. As a reward, we all got a few back issues of Handwoven magazine. There is a "final" in two weeks, covering everything, including actually dressing another loom. Should be very helpful.

The only downside is that I have not had a chance to work on Mama's scarf much, because of the sickness in the house and no school/babysitter for weaving time. And her scarf is due, ideally, in two weeks at the final exam. I doubt I'll finish but that's okay. All these tests are in good fun. And I'm definitely having more fun this time around.

Warp Speed: Starting Mama's Scarf

After a two-week absence, I was back in weaving class today, but not too far behind because some people started late. My teacher examined my sample--my beating is good but I need to pay attention to my edges (a trick with that magic weaver's angle--hold it in place; also, she told us that everyone has a better edge! Mine is the right edge.), and she likes my color combo. She also looked at my loom and didn't see that collapsing it to travel was causing too much change in the tension. But I'll still be glad that we'll be taking the next few weeks "off" to weave at home (though next week is our "midterm"--we have to make a new warp, just a few inches, to practice).

So, after everything checked out okay, I put in a cardboard spacer between my sample and my scarf, which saves room for tassles later. And I hemstitched it altogether to hold it in place. I actually really like to hemstitch--it looks so neat and tidy when you basically tie down the bottom row of your weaving to keep it from unravelling. It almost makes these tiny little tassles (later, we'll do a twisted tassle, which takes forever). (Note to self: I put in 12 picks of plainweave after the hemstitching; my other teacher said to pick a number that I can remember and that would be it).

We talked a little about patterns and drafting. She suggested getting something like cash register/adding machine ribbon to pin into your fell, the edge of your weaving, to track which patterns you do for how long so you know without having to unwind it what your scarf looks like. I wrote it all down on a sheet of paper the first time but that got very messy (though, Mama and I did manage to read it and match it to my scarf so that I could identify some patterns). And she talked about ways weavers organize their pattern, particularly Fibonnaci numbers. In case you aren't up on your mathematical theorems, Fibonnaci numbers go 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 . . . etc etc etc. Just adding the "last" two numbers to get the next one. Fibonnaci numbers are often found in nature, including:

Fibonacci sequences appear in biological settings, in two consecutive Fibonacci numbers, such as branching in trees, arrangement of leaves on a stem, the fruitlets of a pineapple,the flowering of artichoke, an uncurling fern and the arrangement of a pine cone.

Apparently, the sequence can also be found in chambered nautilus shells and the seeds of sunflowers. Weavers often then incorporate the numbers into their patterns, for instance doing one patter for 3", then another for 5", and maybe another for 3", using some combination of the numbers in or out of sequence (see here for an example). Of course, weaves are inspired by many things, apparently, in drafting patterns: from letters in a name (each one getting a color) to musical sequences (ditto with notes) to astrological signs (as described in this month's Handwoven magazine).

Of course, I'm not worrying too much about that because Mama has selected her pattern, which will basically be a series of alternating weft- and warp-faced horizontal stripes (I think that is how you would describe it). I had considered changing color to do a few other stripes but I think that might be a bit too complicated (or something; my teacher wasn't that jazzed on the idea). Besides, Mama likes simple.

And so the weaving begins. Or will. After all that, I had to head home for tuck-in instead of weaving a few inches. There will be lots of that, though, in the weeks to come.

Warp Speed: Dressing the Loom and Off We Go

It always takes longer to dress the loom than I think it should, which is probably just beginner's impatience. But

• putting end stick through end loops and securing
• placing lease sticks in raddle cross
• placing the raddle between both sets of sticks and spacing out the bundles
• attaching end sticks to loom end stick
• winding warp onto loom
  
• placing paper bags between layers
• moving lease sticks from inch-by-inch cross to thread-by-thread cross
• cutting the front end loop
• tying warp into bundles
• tying lease sticks up for threading
• threading the heddles
• sleying the reed
• tying onto front apron stick
• adjusting tension
  

. . . . all with special knots--surgeon's, lark's head, slip, overhand, choke ties . . . .
. . . . all while you count and recount, tie and untie and retie bundles . . . .
. . . . all while everyone asks why you haven't started weaving yet . . . .

Well, it's no wonder it took more than 3 weeks of class! And I'd even done it before, two years ago. But the repetition was good. Besides, Albus the cat watched me from the wide castle of my 16-shaft loom the whole time I threaded those 200 heddles! And then sleyed the reed, again, with 200 threads.

I just wish I'd remembered to take pictures of all the steps as I did it.

Now my loom is finally dressed, with its indigo Jaegerspun warp. And I have a shuttle full of plum weft. It's time to start weaving, but only my practice swatch (think of it as checking the gauge in knitting). I started with several rows of plain weave (1-3, 2-4) and then experimented with a few patterns. Mama checked in as I went along--it's her scarf, after all--and chose a horizontal stripe pattern (4, 3, 2, 1, 2-3-4, 1-3-4, 1-2-4, 1-2-3) for her scarf. My first scarf is much more of a sampler, with about 20+ different patterns separated by bands of plain weave. But I wanted Mama's scarf to be more composed, if you will, than that. I think it will be pretty, showing off both the indigo and the plum well.

I wove about 4+ inches tonight and will do the same tomorrow night, just to get the feel for it again--remembering to go over and then under my selvage thread, how to keep the special weaver's 45-degree angle to make my sides as straight as possible, establishing a routine for when to beat (after a pass, generally, but before I change my shafts), how hard to beat, when to advance the warp (mind you, I'm still practicing doing it all and am not sure of the exact phraseology). And then, hopefully, on Sunday, I'll put in a spacer between my sample and my "real" scarf (probably a piece of chip board, at least for awhile) and start working on it. I just have to remember that even though it is my second scarf, it is still only my second scarf and I'm still learning. I'm kinda thinking of it as my second "first" scarf!

Besides, experience tells me that many of the mistakes are so much less obvious once there are tassles and the scarf has been washed (which seems to help the uniformity). Besides, once you wrap it around your neck and tuck it in a coat, whose looking at each row of weaving??

So, let the fun begin!

Crafty Mommy

I have signed up for weaving classes again this fall in order to best learn how to use my new loom--I can use my own and the teacher has promised to help me learn the quirks of my "machine." I'm excited. And have asked Mama to think of what colors she'd like her scarf in . . . .

And I'm hoping to sew the pillowcases I have planned, the fabric for which I bought more than a month ago, thinking I'd get to it before school started. Oh, well. . . .

But I'll need to remember to be careful. Because I suffered a crochet injury this weekend! I was working diligently on the prayer shawl for my friend's mom, but not sitting in a good position. Which must have strained my neck! Ouch. I'm fine now, of course, but I've got to watch those craft ergonomics! Especially because I have that shawl, another, plus the pink fringe on a blanket for a good friend who had a girl last week (lucky the white part is finished, but I was waiting to be sure it was a girl!). Then it's a break until the next baby blanket in the spring . . . .

At least I've put cake decorating on hold for a bit--I can't go to the October classes because we'll be gone 3 of the 4 weekends. Maybe in November!!!

"Birth" Announcement

Please welcome our new arrival!

Name: Purrington Table Loom, nickname "Miss Selma"

Birth Place: Storrs, CT (perhaps originating in WV and brough to CT by "The Norrises" on the label)

Date: sometime in the last 60 years, but arrived at our home today

Stats:

16 shafts

18" wide

35 lbs

collapsible wings

We look forward to a wonderful life together!

Carousel

I love riding carousels. There's a wonderful scene in the movie Parenthood, where Mary Steenburgen talks about life as either a roller coaster ride or a carousel--she prefers the excitement of the roller coaster, though her nervous husband Steve Martin doesn't. I always thought, despite it being a great film and dialogue, that carousels got a bum rap. They're beautiful, historic, and, if you ride the one at Central Park which goes a wopping 8 mph, even fast and fun.

My kids love them now too (and not just because they haven't been on a roller coaster). They've ridden them at Beardsley Zoo, the Bronx Zoo, and Day out with Thomas--they love choosing their animals and they, as DS says, going "up and down and round and round." They talk about those rides--on the bugs, on the tiger, on the little carousel--quite a bit. And every morning when they see a picture of me in the hallway, they say, "Mommy likes to ride on carousels."

Because I love carousels (and am hoping to catch the exhibit at the Folk Art museum when we go into town to see the Rockefeller Tree), I am calling my first weaving project my "carousel scarf." That's right, I have just completed a weaving course. I can cross stitch, quilt, crochet, and knit, as a beginner. When I finished that Ph.D., I gave up reading and writing for handicrafts and the needle and fabric arts. Not that I get much time for those either now (especially quilting and cross stitching which are nearly impossible with babes around or in short batches of time). I do crochet quite a bit--I am on baby blanket number 5 of 11 (yes, most people I know are pregnant. It's a quick blanket in Red Heart Baby Cloud of the appropriate color--pink or blue with a white border if I know, white if I don't with an added border of color. Chain about 2 1/2 feet, single crochet with size M hook until blanket reaches a good size, then do a border of 3-4 rounds).

But being a living history museum aficionado, I have always been curious about spinning and weaving. And so, I signed up for a weaving class this fall. And it was miraculous. Literally. With no knowledge and little skill, I have made fabric using, essentially, two strings. We used a 4 shaft table loom to make a standard twill. I choose pink and green, or cassis and sage Jaegerspun yarn. We wrapped our own warp--and now I know the difference between the warp and the weft (the former is dressed on the loom, the latter is what you pass back and forth with your shuttle). We dressed our looms, threaded the heddles, and began to weave. First a sampler--oh, history buff cup runneth over--and then worked on our scarves. I had some starts and stops--lots of my warp broke on the warp board and later I broke a warp thread on the loom, plus had trouble with edges. I messed up some of the picks, or passes, in my patterns and was obsessed with these flaws. I was discouraged. I also missed a few classes due to illness--we're all better with those colds--well, not all, DP finally got it. Again. But I knew I wanted to finish (I've always been a better starter, which I realized this week, this self-revelation I'll write about some other time) and so I worked on it all week, weaving stockinette, herringbone, old rib, all these wonderful old patterns in 2-2 and 1-3 twill. I finally got into a rhythm with changing the heddles, beating, and picking, not worrying if I made an error with my edges or misread the pattern. And as I sat on the couch, talking to DP, sometimes sipping tea between picks (passes of the shuttle), I felt this continuum of women and men making cloth--colonial dames, Navajo women, men in sweatshops during the indurstrial revolution, Egyptians making cotton and linen that mummies were wrapped in, Chinese silks, Ikat fabrics of the middle east.

And so as I was weaving the idea of the carousel came to me--the up and down of the heddles, the back and forth of the shuttle, the circular nature of twill (which my teacher noted, and which I'm just beginning to understand), the up and down of my experience with the class and the project, the shimmering fantasy-like quality of the pink and green.

I finished the actual weaving of the scarf last week and took it to class during the weekend, where I hemstitched it and finally had it cut (I watched my teacher do this) off the loom, the birth of my scarf. It really was miraculous. I hadn't seen it all together--you can only see a few inches at a time--had no idea of its length. And it's just amazing. I couldn't help wearing it for the rest of the evening, stroking the cloth, even though I have to finish the tassles and then wash it, so that right now it's not quite finished. But I love it.

And I can't wait to start the next one, on the rigid heddle loom I got for Christmas last year (thanks, Mom). And thanks, DP, for encouraging me to take the class and making it possible for me to go each week and then work on the scarf at home. Yours is next!