Threads of Rain and Grass

I'm finally weaving again!  I'm using fine wools in rich jewel tones.  These deep, beautiful colors I keep returning to remind me of my family's garden after a rain.  That's when the light brown tree trunks darken to a near-black, the grass is an unmatchable green, and all the flowers darken a little from the water, before they brighten in the sun.

The colors in the warp (the vertical threads that the weft - the horizontal threads - get woven into) blend from blues to purples to greens, with a touch of yellow as a highlight.

Bad news is, I'd forgotten just how long it takes to set up the loom!  Each strand of yarn goes first through the reed (essentially a really long comb) in front, which you can see in the picture above, and then through an individual heddle, which you can see in the picture below.  That's what the loom looks like when you're hunched over the back of it and pulling each individual strand through.  I have less than 200 of the 840 strands threaded through the loom so far!  Luckily, this is a rather meditative process, and I zone out to music.

 

I'll be keeping track of my progress - hopefully by next posting I will have the first bit of fabric woven!