Day 273: An empty loom is a sad and lonely thing, and cannot be left to mope for long. Mine seldom stands bare for more than a few days, and in this case, I had a measured warp already waiting. Yesterday, I mounted it on the back beam, and had threaded the heddles and half the reed before I turned in for the night. Threading the heddles is the most demanding part of the process, or rather, the one which requires the most mental focus. The warp threads must be loaded in a precise sequence to achieve a particular pattern. Any mistakes will show up as soon as weaving begins. On the other hand, threading the reed is relatively simple. Each thread passes through a slot, following the order in which they come through the heddles, one after another. In other words, the heddles set the pattern and the reed controls the spacing. For these towels, I am using a 15-dent reed, i.e., 15 threads to the inch. The pattern will be my favourite summer-and-winter "plaid," worked with a cream tabby and whatever colour strikes my fancy. With two shelves full of options, this should be fun.
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