vaneramos | Scarf

I don't have a photo of the complete scarf, but here it is in progress. I barely finished it by 4:30 yesterday. I had trouble establishing the right tension, so the purple margin is irregular in places. Apparently this is always a challenge in weaving, and with every new project the challenge is slightly different. I look forward to having more leisurely time to experiment and practice.

For the first project, I didn't have time to sew the edges of the pot holders and cut them apart. The teacher showed me how to use the sewing machine yesterday, and I started to work on it, but quickly became frustrated. I decided that learning to sew was not the point of the course, and there was no sense ruining my day over it. Finishing the scarf was more important, so I went back to it.

I have inherited one of Mom's sewing machines, the table kind. We just have to figure how to move it to Guelph. Then I can take my time learning to sew, too. It is a handy skill to have for finishing woven products, but knots and fringe usually suffice.

It was a tiring week. My brain is weary from concentration and taking in so much new information, and my body is worn out from sitting at the loom all day. I didn't sleep especially well, probably because I was more sedentary than usual.

Having a drink at the end of the every day probably was not a good idea. I got lonely in the evenings, more than I do from living alone. I was away from home, surrounded every day by unfamiliar people. Anyway, I suspect the cranberry and vodka disrupted my sleep pattern. In the mornings I was unusually listless and grumpy. For future reference, a couple drinks on the weekend is great, once in a while during the week is okay, but every day is not.

I miss sitting on the dock and watching dusk take over the lake. I won't have much time for that quality of relaxation this summer.

I'm complaining a lot, but really it was a strange and wonderful kind of vacation. Despite the scarf's flaws (which I realize are most obvious to its creator), I am delighted with the results and excited about the new skills I've learned. I'm visiting Danny today, but will head home tonight or tomorrow morning in time to begin planning and setting up the next weaving project.