Energy levels are still low so I’ve been concentrating on low energy activities – spinning, getting inventory ready to ship, fringe twisting. Napping. I still have a mountain of twisting to do and a small hill of knotting on the silk gimp shawls to do, too. But I’ve got enough of the silk gimp shawls ready for immediate sales so it’s back to the twisting.
I weave some waste yarn to use as a cutting line, then roll the warp forward about 6″ and weave in a few more picks of waste yarn. The waste yarn nearest the weaving gets cut away in small amounts – about 3 to 4 inches worth at a time – then gets pulled out. And then I twist all of the loose fringe before I pull out the next bit of waste yarn.
The book is an atlas and provides enough weight that I can pull against the cloth to keep the threads all nice and neatly in alignment while twisting. I use a small hand held twister (manual, not battery) that Doug built for me, and count how many twists per bout. If you can’t be perfect, be consistent! After wet finishing I trim the wisps of the yarn away so that the fringe looks like it’s beaded, not fuzzy.
It’s a lovely day today with the sun shining brilliantly. Not too hot but finally, a taste of summer. And the lovely brilliant reds/oranges/yellows of this shawl are happy colours, too.
P. S. – did you know it takes fewer muscles to smile than frown? 🙂