#sparky weaves

[sparksearcher]

Finally ready to start using my table loom...

I sat down with my freshly assembled warping board...and I have no idea how to use it.  My model is a bit different than the ones I’ve seen videos for on Youtube.  Some of the terminology is making my head feel a little explode-y.  I’m giving it one more hour and if I can’t figure it out on my own, it’s coming to work tomorrow and I’m taking a video of someone teaching me to use it.

[sparksearcher]

Friggin’ math

I just warped my loom with these two really nice cashmere yarns I found in the stash the other day.  I have this really pretty dark brown that I have 300 yards of and this less pretty but still very nice light brown that I have literally 3 and a half pounds of (it’s gotta be at least 3,000 yards).  Pick my pattern, look at the yardage requirements quickly.  Great, I have enough dark brown to make that the main color and use the light brown as accent.  Warping is nice and easy and smooth.  

I get to the part where I wind the leftover yarn onto a shuttle.  Hmmm... dark brown is looking a little light and I second guess if I have enough.  Double check my pattern... just to find that warp and weft yardages are listed separately and I will be nearly 200 yards short of dark brown.  Scream angrily because originally I was just going to use the dark brown as the accent, and I totally would have had enough if I hadn’t changed my mind.

Moral of the story: always double and triple check yardage requirements before starting anything, especially using discontinued luxury yarn.  Otherwise you wind up calling your coworkers in a panic and trying to set up some kind of cashmere drop-off that looks suspiciously like a drug deal.