Weaving

I need a new camera! I took several pictures this weekend (including an insanely adorable picture of Gwen and Judy cuddled up together), I made sure there was plently of sunlight, since usually they come out way too dark, and the flash is way too strong. Instead I ended up with too much light (as though I'd used the flash), and so have only a couple of pictures which are only sort of presentable. I'll keep them small so they don't hurt your eyes.

This is a warp I finally got all the way onto the loom. White, yellow and green striped dishtowels in plain weave. I should have enough warp for four towels and am planning to make one towel in each color, with the fourth as anyone's guess.

This is a really bad picture of a really pretty Inkle Loom that my dad made me for Christmas. It looks a lot like the Schacht loom, is made out of various hardwoods.

There is a bit of a story behind this loom: My dad's parents took up weaving when they retired. I remember them having one of these looms and that my brother Ken and I got to use it when we went to visit them; I don't remember what either of us wove on it, and am very sure that nothing survived. My dad made this loom out of wood from his property, wood left over from a project he did for my grandparents (many many years ago) and wood from Oregon (my grandparents met and married in Portland, Oregon, and my aunt Penny, who is a weaver and knitter, lives in Corvallis, Oregon). This loom, though new, has history.

One of my greatest regrets is that my grandmother never knew that I could knit or weave, since I didn't learn either until after she was gone. It's a great gift that she gave me. I'd like to think that wherever she is, she does know, but she didn't believe in an afterlife (at least I don't think she did). I do know that that part of her (along with her crankiness) lives on in me. So that is something.