Winding My First Warp for Weaving

Woohoo!  I wound my first warp!  It is chained & waiting to go on the loom.  I am happy but tired!!

Yesterday got away from me.  And we went out to dinner.  So I didn't get a chance to get warping.  Though I did watch some more of the Craftsy class to prepare to get started.  All good!

I think I did okay with getting the yarn on the warping board.  Of course, about 1--20 threads/ends in, I remembered the instructor saying it doesn't need to be too tight.  *laugh*  I did loosen it up a bit.  Firm & even.  Not super tight but also not loose.  I think I did okay.

The hardest part for me was remembering over or under when I did the cross.  *smile*  I think I am sticking with over then under so I recall the sequence. 

Of course, this probably all sounds like Greek if you don't weave.  *laugh*

Here it is!

The yarn is a skein of yarn from the Dresden Club by The First Draft.  It is called Flying Purple Monkeys.  Though I think it looks more blue than purple.  I joined the club late that go round.  So it is possible she dyed the yarn for me later than the rest of the club.  I have seen pics of the others & think it looked more purple for others.  Not complaining.  But trying to explain the color.

Here it is on the beautiful warping board I got from an Etsy seller, TheKnitStore - https://www.etsy.com/shop/theknitstore.  Amazingly well crafted.  And super reasonable. 

Please ignore the messy shelves!

I wish I thought I would be able to get it on the loom anytime soon.  But I don't know when that might happen.  *sigh*  Probably not until next weekend.  Unless I can start the process earlier.

I did spend a good chuck of time today working on the loom.  The seller sent some heddles. There were only about 100 total on it. So I wanted to get the extra heddles on it.

The heddle bars had rust.  I checked Schacht's site.  They suggest using steel wool or a rust remover.  I had some jewelry grade diamond sandpaper.  So I used that on the bars.  It took a while.  The woman who had it before me had it for a long while. I should have taken before & after pics!  Very shiny.  *grin*

I got all the heddles in the right direction & the additional ones onto the heddle bars.  Counting out heddles & getting them was a bit of a challenge.  Kept recounting.  But I think there are now 65 on shafts 3 and 4 & 64 on the front two. Makes for 258 heddles total.  Might want to pick up some more heddles if I am working on finer pieces.

I am actually kinda sore.  I think between sorting the heddles & getting them in order, I was hunched over a lot.  Then I did the warping & I don't think I did it as ergonomically as I should have.  There was a YouTube video where the woman talked about moving the whole arm & shoulder to not strain the body.  But clearly I didn't as I am a bit tender.  *laugh*

I am so grateful for the Craftsy Floor Loom class.  The instructor is really through & goes through things in a really approachable way.  Without it, I wouldn't have realized that the heddles need to be on in the same direction.  And for threading purposes, it helps to have the right of the eye in the back if you are a righty.  I think they were the opposite way on the loom.  I am wondering if the previous owner was a lefty.  Though the instructor also suggested threading the heddles in reverse order if you are a righty as it is easier to thread them back to front if you are a righty.  And the shafts are set up that way. 

Definitely been a long day!  The Little Guy woke me at 5:30.  Got him back to sleep for a bit.  But he was up by 6:30.  *sigh*  At least Elder Munchkin woke at 7:30-8.  LG had woken up EM at 5:30.  And I was so terrified she wouldn't get back to sleep!

They both crashed pretty early thank heavens.  But I am feeling like I am right there with them.  Maybe an early night isn't a terrible idea...

I feel like I did so much today.  I know I *learned* a lot.  Not so much on *did* a lot.  *laugh*  But I am feeling accomplished.  I got to know more about my new-to-me loom.  I understand how the shafts & heddle bars work.  As well as the heddles.  I think she is ready to go. 

Though it turns out the seller got the size wrong.  It is a 15" table loom not 20".  The size is about the width of fabric that can be woven.   I was a bit upset.  I have ordered some kits that I will have to rework.  But it is still a good deal.  So I am happy I made the leap.

And the folks at The Woolery have been beyond awesome!!  A woman named Taevia went through all sorts of info to help me get the pieces I needed.  She went above & beyond.  Measuring things at the store to make sure I got the right size for things I needed.  And she & other people at the Woolery were ROCKSTARS about correcting the issues of the items I had ordered that weren't going to work since it is a 15" & not 20".  They contacted Schacht about the reed & stand I ordered.  They are getting the correct lease sticks & refunding me the difference in the price.  They really are terrific!  I am so glad I ordered from them.

I am hoping that perhaps I can start working on getting the warp on the loom tomorrow after work.  But Elder Munchkin has dance class.  So I will be home with Little Guy.  So it is unlikely.  But I can dream, right?