Becky came in the night before and did a little sample on all but the Rep Rug.  I walked around and took pics of all the samples.

She gave a quick lesson on bobbin winding — watch those angles on the linen pirns — too steep an angle from the end to the middle and the thread just starts to fall over — not good. She demonstrated using the shuttle, Throw, Tug, Droop, Squish, Smack — to tell you the truth (honest confession here), I’m only going to double beat on projects that REALLY need it — like the placemats, rug and Rosepath — all the rest – one beat’ll just have to do!

I started on the Goose eye placemats — on the prototype loom.  A temple is a MUST and had to be moved after about 8 picks  — which is better than having broken edge threads.  The warp is tow linen and it really made my sinuses miserable.  I won’t be using Tow anymore.
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We were all weaving like weaver’s possessed.  I was hoping to be done by 4:00 pm but went to 5:30.  Looks like this’ll be a pattern (haha).  They are full sized projects — so we have to work hard!
If the body holds up and I finish each day — I’ll be pretty pleased.  At that point I’ll know that I’m one of the Masters of the UNIVERSE!

We were a tad behind by the end of day 3.  Becky had hoped that some of the sleying would be done, but the threading is a big job and several of the projects were either wide, or had a lot of threads.  
No worries — it all works out in the end.  How will it? I dunno, it’s magic.
It was a total work day, only one class,  no breaks.  go Go GO!!

We are back on “schedule” and ready to weave tomorrow.  1 Project per day per person.  Cool.  I’m starting on Becky’s Prototype loom — a Goose Eye Twill Placemats (4) — or one could do 4 towels.  
Here is the blow-by-blow for today

• All of the looms were threaded and needed to be sleyed into the reed — Over night the looms were all set up with reeds in place for individual or partner based sleying.
• Once done the looms had to have all the harnesses and reed moved from the back of the loom to the front and the reed placed in the beater.
• Once in the beater the warp needed to be tied onto the cloth bar.
• Next we started crawling around on the floor, tying up the lamms and putting in the treadle cords.
• Lastly the treadles need to be attached to the treadle cords.
• Sheds had to be checked, crossed threads had to be — uncrossed!

It was VERY quiet in the barn, lots of concentrating and working going on.  Once we got onto the floor though we sorta let our hair down and chattered away like a bunch of magpies!
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We really earned our dinner tonight.  Becky fixed her traditional Swedish dinner and
we all had a lovely time.  Thanks Becky!

​We had a very lovely day threading our project looms and working on Pattern drafting (Goose Eye) and Material design — Coloring blocks!  I love to color.

So an easy day for me — which is good cause I seem to have a little chest congestion going on and I’m kinda tired today.  

I love threading, for me it is satisfying and relaxing.  I just have to be sure of the pattern and then I just do it by groups and check as I go.  On a few of the looms we worked in pairs, one person handing the warp thread to the other person who was threading.  Now THAT is nice and it really goes much faster, and — huge BONUS you have someone to chat with!
“Many hands make light work”

Lunch was a yummy carrot, raisin, walnut salad, bread, crackers, condiments, pickled herring, olives, cheese, ham, and a veggie plate. It was really good! 
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I’m staying at the Water Street dorm tonight and someone is bringing me back my dinner.  I just need to rest and decompress a bit, so I can get my immune system to cooperate.  I don’t want to be under the weather while at  my dream camp! No SIR!

So … I’m sitting here drinking wine, thinking — holy shit — is this only the second day??? I’m in BIG trouble.  Yep — pretty damn exhausted.  Beaming is VERY physical.
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We came in this morning and some weaving elves had been busily finishing off the winding from day one.  It was really impressive seeing ALL of these mills full of long warps.  

Here are the stages (including yesterday’s)

• Wind the warp on the warping mills.  This might be done in one bout or in two bouts, creating either one FAT warp chain or 2 skinnier warp chains. — already did that on Monday.
• Pre-sley the warp into a reed to prepare it for winding onto the back beam.
• Load the pre-sleyed warp onto the tie on bar
• Move the lease sticks from the front side of the reed to the back side of the reed.
• Set up the Trapeze – or pass the warp (over, down and through) to the back of the loom for holding by a partner)
• WIND that warp — which is no small thing with 30 meter warps!

So it was a pretty busy day.  We also had 2 classes, one in materials — lots of samples of woven items and figuring which yarns were used — and a design class — based on the Rep Rug we’ll be weaving.

The weather was REALLY nice today, so we weren’t collapsing from heat exhaustion — which is a good thing.  
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Oh — did I mention that we had a FABULOUS lunch — thanks so much Kim and an “OMG this is a great dinner” — topped off by chocolate mousse — thanks again Kim — You’re the best!

​Remember, I told you that you HAVE to prepare for Weaving Boot camp — it is like any extreme sport, you have to train for it.

I’m tired today! Not DEAD mind you, but pretty dang tired! Am I going to knit or spin tonight? I just don’t know, maybe, maybe not. I am sipping on wine as we speak.

Day one:  We have 10 weavers and 10 projects to do in 15 days.  YEE-HA.  Three of the projects were in a partial state of readiness.  The Daldräll curtain was beamed and ready for pre-sleying.  The 8-Shaft Blanket (THIS is the one I’ll be making more of — remember that comment about making everyone — i.e. family a blanket??) was beamed and ready for threading, and the Finnish Opphämta is ready to be tied on.  All the other projects (including a Shaft Draw loom project, which currently has no example, and is just an empty waiting loom) need to be started from scratch — the first step being, you guessed it, winding the warp.  There are a LOT of warping mills in the barn right now.

The morning was spent starting on the blanket threading and winding, winding, winding.  Shelburne Falls is having a little heat wave, so the temperature and the humidity started building.  At first, I’m thinking “hey this isn’t so bad, it’s warm but not oppressive” well that started to change around 12:30ish, the air got so thick you thought you were breathing water. The thunderstorm is building, I can feel it.   It is 4:56 now  and it really looks dark out there — the skies are about to open. I can hear some rumbling — Oh GOD – – let the northern air in!
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Yeah — it’s raining now, wrath of God rain … thinking about the Ark rain.  BUT the air is getting cooler – YAY

After a great deal of anticipation, THE DAY finally arrived.  Now all I had to do was manage a 10 hour drive — piece of cake.
Got the car packed up and ready to go.  Clothes, books, electronics, food, spinning supplies, toiletries, pillows, blankie — everything I needed (?) for a 3 week stay at weaving school. We averted a near disaster.  Once the car was packed, (no I did NOT need a car top carrier) I went up to take a shower and get dressed.  Then it was just a matter of hugs and kisses for Lou and zooming off.  As we were walking down the basement stairs I noticed the WINE and the COFFEE fixin’s at the bottom of the stairs — we ALMOST forgot them!  HORRORS!

I had every intention of leaving EARLY, but spend most of the night after 2 am awake, so I had to sleep past sunrise — which is really unusual for me.  After walking the dogs, doing my Tai Chi, making coffee and having Lou’s most excellent Buckwheat pancakes, we checked the LIST (how did we miss the coffee and wine???) & loaded up the car WITH the wine.  After giving Lou lots of hugs and kisses I was pulling out of the driveway!  BTW — Lou didn’t sleep at all — guess it was the coffee at dinner, the prospect of being without his split apart for 3 weeks, and some MILD concern about my drive.  Though I am independent and fiesty, I haven’t taken  …. well … ANY long trips by myself! (how in the world did that happen???)  And … I kept asking him “do you think I can DO this drive???”  Of course, he said, “sure, no problem”  SO he might have harbored a few doubts — I know I would.
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The plan was to stick to the freeway and avoid the google maps suggestion of driving all over the place, on Fred’s Road or Bob’s road.  I took 90 East until it ran into 91 North — easy peasy.  

I’m happy to report that, uncharacteristically for Sierra and travel, all went smoothly.  Whew!
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I listened to music in the morning, then started in on an audio book — Dune, my all time favorite Science Fiction story — of ALL TIME.  Worked great!  I stopped for RR breaks and gas and just kept driving – enjoying the scenery and the story.  Unfortunately, because of the late start, I totally missed the welcome dinner at the farm.  I went straight to the Water Street studio, grabbed a bottle of wine, the wine key and a glass, and had a lovely time.

How does one prepare for an intensive 3 week weaving immersion program at Vavstuga? Like any intense physical experience — you TRAIN for it!  By weaving?  — well maybe.  I have taken a different tack.

Staying in one position, often with a less than optimal posture can cause various maladies.  Neck ache, upper back (shoulder blade) strain, Shoulder joints can get “pinched”, wrists ache, lower back pain.  About the only structure that holds up well are LEGS.

For the last year — since the Basics and Linen classes at Vavstuga, I have been in training!  I walk in the morning (dogs), then do 30 minutes of Tai Chi and Shoulder exercises (from my physical therapist) and a few core exercises (Lower back and abdomen).  Later in the day I do either 30 minutes of one of two different yoga routines (one for bone density and one for muscle strength) at home, or I go to a 75 minute yoga class.  I now have lots more strong, dense, muscly muscles.  I am stronger and in better shape than I have been my entire adult life!  I am now ready for Weaving Boot Camp!

Have I been weaving?  Yes — once back from Basics class, I dressed my loom with an AMBITIOUS checked table cloth in 4 colors and started weaving — using the full length of my loom (120 cm) — so that was cool and the tablecloth’s turned out great.  I also wove a few old standby’s – towels.  I also wove a few  blankets (using double wide weaving) with Tuna wool (wow, what a nice, warm, cozy, soft blanket that made!) – and I am in the process of weaving 3 different types of towels as gifts for friends and family.  

I am also spinning a LOT — I want to make EVERYONE a handspun, handwoven blanket, so I’m currently spinning projects what would make good warp.

What else am I doing to “get ready”?  Well …. it’s all about THE LIST (I have been working on this since I signed up for the Mini Immersion class — I think I was actually the FIRST to sign up).  Yes folks — a list of supplies.  What should I bring?  There will be some down time in the evenings (that is … if I don’t crash and crawl into bed at 8:00 pm every night — like last time — BUT I have been training, after all, right??)  I need a List because I obsess, I hate to forget anything (obsess) and I really don’t like shopping (Lou does all the shopping).  

THE LIST has all the normal boring stuff on it (Clothes, toiletries, meds, notebook, electronics … yada yada yada) and things like a Knitting project, a spindle project (I’m spinning lace yarn for the opening of my Etsy shop), my Hansen MiniSpinner with its supply bag (Zuca), yoga mat and blocks, music, COFFEE supplies, some food … AFTER ALL I am going away for 3 weeks … I should feel comfortable and at home, yes?
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I am less than a week away from VAVSTUGA and I’m starting to feel — weird, happy, excited, anxious.  I have cleaned up my music room and prepared it as the staging area for the physical manifestation of THE LIST (Pics to follow)  Lou says “Yer gonna need a bigger car” — maybe I should go out and get a car top carrier?  What was I thinking when I bought the Honda Fit?? I shoulda bought the Pilot, or maybe the Ridgeline – Rats!