Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The hardest part....


Beginning is always the hardest part of a new project. Beginning says that I am committing to continue with it until the end.

One of the hardest tasks about beginning for me is choosing the colors. It is easier when I paint. I can mix pretty much any color I want with the handful of paints I have in my stash. Not so with yarn. I don't dye my own yarns unless I am really desperate for a certain shade, tint, or hue. And it seems that the more subtle the colors of the image I'll be weaving, the more difficult it is to find the right yarns. Booker is trying to help. Booker must be involved with everything I do, whether I like his help or not. If he's not 'helping' me, I have learned to be suspicious - like this morning when he disappeared for a few minutes, and I found him in the kitchen, finishing off half of a small loaf of chocolate zucchini bread. That was supposed to go with my afternoon cup of tea, too!


So I have begun. I have woven the hem, and have begun on the tapestry itself, though I've not done enough to have reached a rhythm with it. It still feels awkward, like I'm not sure what I'm doing. The rhythm should come after I've woven a half-inch or so. On with it, then.... Ready, Booker? And wipe those chocolate crumbs from your face!

5 comments:

Tommye McClure Scanlin said...

I feel your pain! I'm there right now, too... begin at the beginning--yet one more time. And, so sorry about Booker and the very good snack he had!
Tommye

Liz said...

Hi! And thanks for your kind comments over at the Teashanty re: that bubble! Sadly (?) the warps aren't loose. That would be too easy! I really think it's just sloppy weft turnings on my part.

I'm looking forward to seeing the progress on your new project. Can I ask what kind of yarns you favor for your tapestry weaving?

My dog, Freya, saved me from a cake worse than death last month. I tasted a bit of the part she hadn't chewed on and it really was awful! Brave, brave Freya! I'm sure Booker was only thinking of you :-)

Anonymous said...

Thurs. 1/14/10 over East at 8am.....well, Booker is starting to pull at my heartstrings, but I still miss Wooster--I relate since my English setter ate part of the PTA pastry ring 1/2 hour before they came.....anyway, what is that horizontal row of blue yarn that looks like a loopy over and over leaning right row...I don't get that?????from Janet

K Spoering said...

Janet, after I weave the hem, I weave one row of soumak between the hem and the tapestry. This makes the hem turn under nicely, hides any warp that would show there, and makes a 'pretty' bottom and top edge. I also put the soumak at the top - before I weave the top hem. The soumak is the loopy row you see.

Julia Kelly said...

Its a Good thing- starting- but I agree it is the hardest- and one of my darling dogs took a chunk out of an elk roast recently that I left on the counter- a little trimming and 5 hours in the oven cooking slowly- I thought it was fine but did let the company know!

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