Eight-Throw Pinwheels

Day 16: You might recall my use of the word "challenging" in yesterday's post. This is it. I am weaving a pattern designed for an eight-harness loom on a rigid heddle. That means that out of the eight sheds required, only two are loom-generated. The other six have to be manually picked up with a pickup stick. One pinwheel (eight passes of the shuttle) takes about ten minutes to create. It's easier to see the design from the side like this. Looking straight down on it (the weaver's perspective), your eyes tend to go all M.-C.-Escher-ish, only allowing you to see either green whirligigs or blue ones. However, at this stage of the game, the weaver is focused on individual threads: lift two, push one down, lift one, push another one down, lift one, push two down, repeating the sequence for that throw across each colour. The six pickup rows are all different, three starting with "lift," three with "push down." It's amazing how many times your mouth can say "lift" even as your fingers push down the threads. Which was correct? Pause, regroup, begin again. Focus is mandatory here. Destined to be a runner for the harpsichord, the spring colours are apropos. It may take me until April to finish it!