Day 105: Since the arrival of the 16" rigid heddle loom, I have been debating what to put on it as its inaugural project. It wasn't that I was short of ideas, but rather short of the fibers necessary to put any of them into action. I recently found a book I didn't know I had, and within its pages discovered the textural weave my mother frequently used for towels, a pickup pattern I had been trying to decipher for ages. However, part of the character of my mom's towels was dictated by her use of a cotton thread plied with a strand of a contrasting colour. It was something she had picked up at Mill Ends, a Portland outlet no longer in operation, and I have been unable to find anything which would be a suitable substitute (note to self: spin your own using 8/2 with a strand of sewing thread or Nomis). Surveying my fiber cupboard offered no compelling options, so the new rigid heddle stood empty until this morning. I finally settled on a quick-and-dirty worsted warp stripe scarf in colours called "soft purple" and "eggplant," but I am not yet sure if I'll weave it into checks or a surface-textured cloth. I'll play with a couple of ideas until I find something I like.
