And the Loom is Ready!

A (wo)man is a very small thing,

and the night is very large and full of wonders.

~ Lord Dunsany

The last step in preparing the loom for weaving the Christmas rag rugs was tying the warp threads onto the front apron rod.  This went very quickly.  I learned a trick in my Craftsy video - the more threads you have tied on, the easier it is to tie them tightly (because the other bunches of threads are helping you hold the apron rod in place) - and you want all the threads to have the same amount of tension on them...  

So, my instructor explained that you should tie on about one third of the threads like this:  

And then tighten the apron rod a smidge, before tying on the rest of the warp threads.  

Notice in the picture above how the threads are tied in bunches on the rod and form a series distinct segments?  To weave, I want them evenly distributed - so first I put in a few weft rows of a thick yarn (actually, I think this is the stuff that we used to have in all of our mops).  

Voila!  Now the threads are evenly distributed!  And I am ready to weave!  

More than a month before Christmas!  

Will wonders never cease?  ;)