... a month later

Okay, so I've been a bit distracted. But, I haven't been totally idle. Here are some shots and explanations on the bits and pieces of progress I've made getting my loom dressed.

This first picture show the weights I came up with to hold the first stage of the warp at an even tension. Normally, I would enlist a friend to hold the warp while I wind it on the back beam, but if you know me, you know I am headstrong and self-sufficient.

This next pic shows all of the warp meticulously threaded through each slot and hole and tied on. The tricky part of this, is getting it all tied on at the correct tension. You do this by "feel" -- literally bouncing your fingertips on the threads. I tighten or loosen each group until they all feel like they are the same tension.

In this last pic, you see what I call the "header row". Essentially, it is a bit of trash weave that will be pulled out of the finished piece. It serves two purposes: 1) to evenly spread the warp threads and 2) to give you a bit of extra room to finish the ends when it comes off the loom (hemming, twisting, etc.).