Just off the Loom

I always have odd feelings when I finish an artistic piece that I have been working consistently on for a long period of time. There is always that sense of accomplishment and the pleasure of seeing an idea that was in my brain be there visible for all to see. But there is also a sense of disappointment for having no more warp to weave; somewhat like the loss of a good friend.

This morning around 7am I finished the last taquete piece with absolutely no room to spare. The warp would not move forward another centimeter. I was able to fit nineteen different permutations of colors and beetles. All told the total length was 12-13 feet. There are a potential 57 bookmarks. Here's a picture of it rolled out on the floor. The green between each piece is a spacer made of thick paper.

I cut through the spacers and trimmed off the extra long pieces. Now the weavings are resting pending finishing. I have time to finish them since they are not due until the end of May. I will store each in its own plastic holder so the threads will not catch on anything and I will not be tempted to tweak things. I find I often want to trim the threads exactly here and there which is a waste of time. Each must be trimmed individually during the finishing process so it pays to wait. Also, it avoids any mistaken cuts with those scissors. This careful organization will also make it easier to keep track of which color/beetle combination was used for each piece.

Well, that's that. Hmmm...I feel a bit lost...now what should I work on?