Crispy, Fried Brains

Winding takes an awful lot of brain power, especially the way I'm doing it.

I don't really have a "design" laid out. I set up my palette on a shelf and then wind one section at a time. (See the last post for a photo.) At the end of each mirrored pair of sections, I remove some cones of the color I'm transitioning away from and add some of the color I'm transitioning toward.

This is not so tough on its own, but it's not on its own. I'm also flipping each section for a "bookmatching" effect and tracking another pattern created by supplemental threads. I have only black, two shades of green and two shades of brown for this beam, so these supplemental threads are bearing the brunt of the responsibility to create visual interest.

Along with the design is the very real need for yarn quantity management. With the supplemental threads especially, quantities are limited. I'm trying to get the most bang for the yard from them.

Simultaneously, I'm trying to keep someone busy plying the combinations that I'll need in the coming sections so there's no down time in winding the beam. But I don't want to have too many spare cones wound after the beam is done. Sure, I can use them in weft, but it's easier and more efficient to wind weft from the big cones.

So, all these things are running in my head at once and by the end of the day I'm ready to collapse into bed. It's more tiring than a day of pure physical labor.