Busy day in the studio

Outside of time happily spent with my family at meals and such, I've been here in the studio almost all day. Which, come to think of it, doesn't mean I haven't seen a lot of my loved ones. I timed it--I had an average of about 15 minutes at a stretch without one of the four popping in for some reason. I am loved. But it also makes it hard to really bury myself in my work. Ah well, school starts in two weeks. I'll enjoy the kids while I have time with them.

That isn't to say that I didn't get a lot done today, mind you. I spent about an hour at the floor loom, before my tennis elbow spoke up. That gave me time to sample, and start the next White Scarf. I like this pattern--it shows up very clearly, and is just challenging enough to treadle that it keeps me on my toes. I didn't have as much trouble with broken warp threads either. (Knock on wood!) I can get into a nice rhythm with this one.

When my elbow spoke up, I switched back over to the tri-loom. That uses a different set of muscles, so I was able to go to town. I spent most of the day working on the shawl. The weaving portion is done, and I have half the fringe completed. I expect the rest of the fringe will take about 2 hours tomorrow, and then I can do the finishing work along the top and take it off the loom. I am really eager to see what happens to the weave when it isn't under tension any more.

I suspect I'll have to hand wash this one to wet finish it. This is Lion brand Homespun, which is actually acrylic. They say that the yarn is machine washable, but the fringe is long enough that just throwing it in the washing machine would probably lead to a tangled mess. Ah well, I'll worry about that one tomorrow afternoon, after I get it off the loom.

With the amount of time in on this project, and the cost of the materials, initial estimate of selling price would be around $150. It would probably take less time with a different yarn, because I'm having to knot the end of every fringe so the yarn doesn't fray to bits. But, this yarn is sooooo snuggly that the extra time is worth it. I'm looking forward to wrapping up in this one, just to sink into the softness of the fiber. It is incredibly cuddly stuff.