onward and upward--a month after the accident

My hand is recovering well.  I've had three physical therapy sessions now and have another one in a week. After that I'll probably be on my own.  I've been weaving almost daily since the accident happened although slowly at first.  I'm still not putting in as much time at the loom as I normally can but knowing that I'm going to be able work the way I want to again is very encouraging.

Yesterday I decided to put a warp on the Baby Wolf loom (now named Cujo) and so I decided to use 12/6 cotton seine twine in a deep red color.  I want to use it for tapestry in which I combine setts and also use thick bundles of weft.  The warp will show somewhat, I expect, and the colored warp will be less distracting than white or natural linen.  It's now tied on, header is woven and a cartoon is stitched underneath.  I'll talk more about the design for that once it gets underway.

Today I also made a warp for the Fireside loom and beamed it.  I'll thread it later in the week.  Having warps ready for weaving is like having blank canvas to paint on.  I don't like to have looms sitting empty for too long.  I also wanted to see how my hand would hold up to warping and dressing the looms.  So far, fine.

Yes, those are C-clamps and a hammer hanging from the warp bundles for weight!

During the past two and a half weeks I've been working on a challenge weaving... I'll call it a "stream of consciousness" tapestry because that was what was suggested to me by my challenger.  I'm weaving approximately 5" square each week with no predetermined plan in mind.  I set a few rules for myself, sort of like I do for the daily tapestry diary.  For instance, I'm only using wefts from my left-over bins and baskets for the weekly pieces.  Here are two weeks completed and a couple of days of weaving on the third week:

Not all my time has been in the studio over the past couple of weeks.  I was able to spend a lovely day and night with friends last weekend.  Here we are at my friend's property in Western NC:

Noel, Denise, Tommye, and Erika sitting by Dorothy's Falls

And one last thing has taken quite a bit of my time lately... the roast and toast for charity that my husband and I were part of happened on the 17th.  Am I ever glad that's over with!  What a lot of work went into the event by everyone involved including Thomas and me, the roastees.  Quite a bit of money was raised for the effort, though.  And that was what was important.  Thomas and I, before the roasting started (my red cheeks are from rushing around throughout the afternoon to help with set-up--not from drink--that's water in both of our glasses!  I was in my work clothes about 30 minutes before the photo -- just rushed home to change and get back before the start of the festivities.)