new weaving started

I am attempting my first "fine" weaving. It is a simple, plain weave, but I am using a lace weight yarn. Lace weight means thin, fine yarn. In this case it is a blend of baby alpaca (70%) and silk (30%). It comes from knitpicks and is called "Shimmer". It is like a cloud -- so very soft.

The warp is about 80" long and 9.5" wide. I was a bit nervous about using this fine of a wool in weaving. Generally speaking, I am a bit of a klutz and I was afraid the yarn would break on me. So far, so good; no breakage (knock on wood!).

I think I made big progress on this project -- I finally learned how to do a direct warp! I should have taken pictures, but I was just too excited by how fast and easy it was. Direct warp saves a great deal of time and repetitive motion (winding by hand, tying, unwinding, holding, threading, yada yada). It just 'clicked' and I figured it out.

The weaving itself, on the other hand, is progressing quite .s.l.o.w.l.y. Yowser... it will take me till spring to get this finished! As I learned in kindergarten, slow and steady wins the race. That will be my mantra for the next several weeks. An inch or two a day would be a worthy goal.

I am motivated to get this finished since I have other fibers I want to try out too. Like the skein of Laura's handpainted sock yarn. Yay... can't wait.