soaking

Last night I wound a bobbin with the singles linen and began to weave. Immediately I remembered why I always used to soak linen bobbins in water before putting them in the shuttle. I got a few inches done, but every pick the wiry yarn leapt off the end of the bobbin and twirled around the tension pegs. After a few inches I cut the weft and stuck that bobbin in a jar of water overnight. This morning's attempts were much easier. I love linen! It has a character which is not always easy to tame, but it makes beautiful fabric and is probably my favorite fiber to wear. The weave structure is coming out the way I designed it to, which is good, but I can't yet tell what effect the handspun will have, if any. If it just lies there like a slubby thread, it will still be pretty, but at some point in my weaving life I want to get a clear understanding of yarn energy.

Because the handspun is so thick in places, this is sleyed in an 8 dent reed, which means most of the fabric has a denting pattern of 3/4/3/4... the reed marks are very obvious right now, but I am pretty confident that they will wash out.

My mother is coming to visit me at the end of this month. She's a passionate knitter and has recently taken up Navaho weaving, so she can't come to Massachusetts without visiting WEBS. She told me to start making a list, as if I needed a list, or as if that would help curb the expenditures once I got there! Here's item one: check to see if they have very short reed pieces.