Here in BC, intra-provincial travel restrictions lifted a few days ago, and my husband went to the hay farm to see how the cabin fared over the last ten months (read: he went to see if the water would turn on and to kick out the rodent squatters [OMG the rodents š±]).
So the kid and I are home alone, for the first change to our domestic work/life/school experience in those ten months.
First, wow has he grown up. I mean, I knew this. I watched it happen, and noticed along the way. But being alone with him for long stretches for the first time in ages, itāsā¦ well, itās amazing. Weāre just chillinā and having fun; itās been really lovely. He woke me up with a hug this morning, which is super out of character, so though heād probably deny it and might not even notice, heās feeling it too.
I didnāt think having him home would let me do what I usually do on the rare occasions when I have the place to myself for a few days. Usually, I take that time to sink deeply into the silence. Thereās little I love more. Itās restorative and energizing.
Turns out, though, that ten months of everyone here all the time means Iām primed to find that level of deep peace even in small bits of timeāwhen the kidās at baseball practice, or at school, or asleep.
Yesterday, I sorted out my next weaving project. I did not anticipate that I would enjoy the pre-weaving parts of weaving as much as I do. Everyone talks about all the math (ugh) and the warping (ugh), but I absolutely love doing both of those things.
Iām starting my experimentations for my grand tallit-weaving project. Since Iāve found almost no information at all online about doing this (especially on a rigid heddle loom), Iām taking meticulous notes, and I will put the info up online so if anyone else starts searching around, at least theyāll find a place to start.
My first experiment is to use what I have: a ten-dent reed (meaning, it supports ten warp threads per inch in plain weaveāthe warp is the yarn you string onto the loom, over and under which you weave the weft), and two skeins of sock yarn Iāve had in my stash for a long time.
Advice online is to weave sock yarn at a slightly finer gauge than this, but I donāt have a heddle for that yet, and anyway, I want to know what this will produce.
So yesterday I did the math to sort out what I could make with 850 yards of sock yarn. This was surprisingly satisfying to do. Iām discovering I feel about weaving as I always have about crochet: Iāll do whatever I please, because I get it. I didnāt expect to feel this way about weaving, and I think itās part of why Iāve been so obsessed with it.
Then after the kid when to bed, I prepared the warp. After I send this to you, Iāll finish the warp, then Iāll be all set to weave with the remaining yarn.
When Iāve finished this project, Iāll decided if the weave is too loose for my taste. In which case, Iāll wait for the 12.5-dent reed I ordered to come in, and Iāll use that with sock yarn to compare.
Iām grateful Iām finding this kind of peace; Iāve needed the psychological space, you know?
As I tidied up after applying the warp last night, I thought about wanting to read in bed before falling asleep. Iāve written for months and months about how Iāve struggled to get into almost any book. In casually considering this last night, I realized Iāve been thinking about how the author crafted the book. Every time I read a book, I was thinking about how it was written. What an absolute drag!
So last night, I opened a new book, I told myself to just read it and not think about it, dammit, and I enjoyed reading more than I have in ages and ages. Iām so relieved, and glad!
Onward!
Kim
PS Happy Fatherās Day if youāre celebrating; and if you arenāt, I see you.
Items of Note
Publishing this crochet pattern felt so good. I love this designer, and I love this sweater, and I am making one.
And I wrote about crochet for the first time in I donāt know how long ā¤ļø.
Speaking of crochet, these sure are adorable.
And speaking of sock-yarn weaving projects.
What Iām making:Ā A woven stole and a crochet sweater.
What Iām watching:Ā I donāt know. What should I watch?
What Iām reading:Ā The Ten Thousand Doors of January, by Alix E. Harrow, which is the first first-chapter Iāve relaxed into in ages ā¤ļøšš.
The kid and I are slowly readingĀ The Wanderer, by Sharon Creech. Itās lovely.
I am learning about natural dyeing right now, which I've discovered is like weaving in that it requires a ton of prep before you get to the so-called good stuff. But it turns out, I love winding skeins and measuring things out and rinsing mordants and writing in my little notebook. Same as with weaving. There can be a peace in each of these steps that is so different from when you are in the actual production of cloth phase.