Ready to Rumba!

I finished up my new heddles and have warped my big Shannock....hmmm let's see that's warping it for the third time I believe. And I have yet to weave anything but a hem. I am now using a 6 epi sett and since I used the same warp...I now have an even larger piece for my first tapestry on this new loom. I am targeting a squarish piece on the order of 22 to 23 inches. I am not sure how much pull-in, if any, I will have.

I should know once I finish the hem. On the tapestry list someone said they wove their hems with slits to avoid some pull in. I am going to try that - it will keep me from the temptation of simply weaving all the way across. I get so impatient at the beginning...it seems to take so long to set up the loom, straighten out the sett, tie off the bottom with double or triple half hitches and weave a hem. All before reaching the fun part of actually creating the piece.

I did finish up my cartoon and selected different yarns and colors for different sections. I am creating a tapestry of Saturn. A couple of years ago I did one of Jupiter. One thing I might do to make the hem a bit more interesting is to blend some of the yarns I have so I can look at the different combinations and see how they look. That should amuse me through two or more inches of hem creation. [hmm... that idea was well worth getting online today and blogging!]

I figure I will be weaving for a month or so before this puppy comes off the loom. Hopefully there will no be surprises in using the loom for the first time. Here's the loom all set up and ready to rumba. It sure is huge! I am thinking of naming it Moby Dick; although I am not sure about the potential Ishmael tie-in. Barbara suggested the Big Kahuna. Neither are quite right. The name will eventually come to me.