Getting it right.

This is the beginning of a custom rug. the warp on the spool rack, waiting to be wound on the 7 ft Toika. The order is a 10x12 blue jean rug. It will be made in two 5 ft wide sections, each 12 ft long.
The warp is interesting, mostly blue, but with some cream, some variegated beige, and a touch of rust.






I personally have marked each and every loom I own with an arrow on the side. I am often asked why.
The truth is that some of the warp beams are wound towards the loom, and some of them are wound away from the loom. Winding the warp on backwards is a disaster. You usually only do it once. I did it on the first Union 36 I bought, and as soon as I realized what I had done, I talked my husband into turning the back beam around.
I then proceeded to put arrows on my looms near the crank, and on every other loom that I have acquired.
Here is the tension box, doing its job.
I have intended to buy a counter, so that every section is exactly the same, but I continue to rely on my counting skills, and every time I finish a warp, I am amazed at how really bad I am at it.
I put a little masking tape on each section when I'm done with it.
The warp is on, all 5ft of it, and now all I have to do is tie it on to the old warp that was on the loom, carefully pull the knots through, and tie it onto the front beam.
Then we're ready to weave blue jeans.
Got a chance to see my grandson play baseball last night. He is SO serious. And hard on himself, a family trait I'm afraid.

He is only 11, but very tall, like his Dad.
While we were watching, he had a hit.
Which his attentive Mimi caught with her new camera.
It was a chance for us to connect, spend a little time together. I have the best family.......I can't imagine my life without them.

We used to live two hours apart, and that was difficult. When they came to visit for the day, they had to factor in 4 hours of driving. With little kids in tow, that is tough. So five years ago, I moved an hour closer. We still moan and groan about the distance, but then we remember what it USED to be like, and we are grateful. I don't know how people manage when their kids live across the country. I would be flying back and forth all the time, and I would rather have a root canal than fly in an airplane. I would rather sprout wings and fly solo.

I love this picture. It isn't a great photograph, but I love the hazy look of the late day sun, and the way my mother and my daughter are looking at each other, in conversation, on their way to the rest rooms.
It says a lot to me.
My mother has been very close to all three of my daughters since they were born. Now at 84, she is getting to spend time with their children, and loving every minute of it.
So that is what I have been up to. A relief after all that dyeing.

Just another day in paradise.