And More Progress...

The weather is still too cold for painting warps; the Procion MX dyes for cotton want to be in the 70-90-degree (F) range while the colors set, and the studio isn't usually kept at that temperature all the time. Also, it doesn't have an ideal setup for messy activities. Usually, I use a table outdoors, but near-freezing nights and 50-degree days make that less than ideal.

In any case, I've begun winding the bouts of warp. It has been a while since I used the warping mill, and it took a few  times around the winding path to remember the hand movements to get the threads in the right order at the crosses. There is a thread-by-thread cross at the "front" of the warp (at the top of the mill)), and a 2-by-2 cross at the "back" of the warp (the lower right in the photo below. I'm winding a bout for each pattern area of the design. The grey-green stripes went first, then undyed chains that will get painted later. There's still a pale grey to be dyed and wound into its own bout.

Here's the warping mill with a bout of yarn wound onto it:

...and a pile of chained bouts waiting for the next step in the process:

The yellow tags indicate the number of threads in each chain, according to the design.

Kelsey, the way the mill works is this: You measure a length of strong cord the length of the planned warp (7 yards, in this case, which includes the inevitable waste) with loops at each end to go around a peg, and then wind it onto the mill such that the cord is taut. The cross-pieces with the protruding pegs can be moved if necessary. I keep a basket of pre-measured cords: 8,  5, 3, and 1 yards, and one half-yard. By looping them end to end, I can make almost any length warp bout (in 18-inch increments) that is feasible with this warping mill, which can accommodate up to about 20 yards (if it's fine thread). Then, as you wind the warp bout, you follow the path of the guide cord. Presto, a group of threads the same length.