Alice Can Stay

The loom is safe. The problems I was having were - surprise! - operator error. Deb showed me some tricks, like sitting on a very low chair when warping, and I had very few back issues today. Just some tiredness from sitting too long and a few twinges from previously unused muscles.

Yesterday's mess of thread resolved itself into a disciplined warp. The workshop project was to make a sampler, experimenting with color, texture and basic weave patterns. For my weft, I chose a purple worsted weight yarn, a gold slub yarn, and the same brown cotton as the warp. I was most surprised by the gold yarn; it appeared to be much thicker when used in a twill pattern than in plain (tabby) weave and the twill pattern almost disappeared under the yarn's texture.

My favorite, though, was the brown on brown. I love how it emphasizes the pattern. I thought my first project was going to be baby blankets. But I think I'll do tea towels instead; I want to do more tone-on-tone weaving.

Alice has her own space in the family room. I have the bench I bought in a Guild silent auction, my Ott light, and a small table. I can watch TV with Dick while I weave or plug in my iPod for some tunes.
My main concern is how much damage the cats are going to do to my warp before they get used to Alice. Oreo has already been exploring the treadles. Anybody have a sure-fire way of keeping cats off a loom?