I'm making progress with the new loom! Today the UPS man brought me some parts I ordered. Even though the loom has 8 harnesses, it was missing the lamms (aka "harness lifters") for two of them, plus it only had 8 treadles. Thanks to the UPS man and a little hard work, it now has 8 working harnesses, and 10 treadles! I must say, as well, that the Macomber people are wonderful to work with!

Last night I disappeared into the cellar for a while and made myself a raddle for the loom (I've never used one before, and don't know if I'll use this one yet, but I have one!). I also made a new warping board - my last one was on loan from a good friend, and it was returned quite a while ago. I am now winding a warp with 8/2 tencel from Webs - one cone of solid purple, one of a jewel-tone variegated. I'll be warping the 8-harness loom for scarves in a shadow weave pattern. This is the pattern I'll be using:



This gives a vague idea of what the scarves will look like. The variegated thread will make it look a lot different, as will the size of the thread/fabric etc. I've been reading up on weaving with tencel, too, as what little I've woven has been done with cotton. Apparently tencel won't work well if woven at the same tension as my cotton, so I'm sure I'll be learning quite a bit as I work with this material! It is lovely, though, very shiny-pretty. Reminds me of silk to a great extent.