Sitting up straight.

(click on any picture to see it larger)



I have an excuse for my messy desk. It isn't just me. It's fat butt, here, laying in the middle of all my papers. And does she care? Not one little bit.
Have you ever noticed? Cats are entitled. And Miss Puss is the Queen of Entitled.

Anyway, I am still walking somewhat crooked, but not in quite the agony today that I have been in since last Friday. So I allowed myself some playing time at this small loom, where I am making scarves for Christmas. In particular, I am trying to get them done in time for the Christmas in the Country tour, which is the first weekend in December.
Forgive my multiple pictures of the same thing. I was incapable of choosing just one. The light was so perfect, and this warp that I wound with a paddle was just too pretty.
When I first used a paddle to wind a warp of multiple threads, I was a total incompetent, and ended up throwing it all out. But I am getting better at it, and for certain projects, it is exactly what I need.
I sampled and sampled to find just the right thread for the weft. I wanted something kind of silky, and soft, but something that would let the warp show just a little.
For the first scarf, I used this peach/blush earthy shade.
For the second scarf, I used a taupe color, in the same silky thread.
And for the third one, which is not finished, I used a lighter shade of beige.

I don't much make fancy scarves. It is just plain weave, and I mostly enjoy mixing up the fibers that I have on cones, to come up with something that appeals to me. And it doesn't hurt that I have lots and lots of cones in every color.
Now, whether or not it will appeal to anyone else, that is another story.
But I totally enjoyed myself, and as long as I didn't bend at the waist, my pain level was tolerable.....makes for the BEST posture.
I can hear my mother now (stand up straight).
Being tall from age 13, I heard that a lot.
Some days I can't turn my mind off. Especially when I am worried about something, or more specifically, someone. Even though it is exhausting, once my brain has started down that path, it is very hard to derail it. It doesn't matter that worrying doesn't get you anywhere.
And this year has been another life lesson in letting go, accepting what you don't have any control over.
Brings to mind that favorite line of mine, from Mark Twain. "A man who carries a cat by the tail, learns something that he can learn in no other way."
But today was a mindless day. Throwing the shuttle, over and over again.
And sometimes, mindless is pretty cool.