Many of us who weave spend a lot of time in the planning stage. Planning a new project is exciting. Picking the yarns from our stash. Settling in with graph paper or computer program to figure out structure. Finding those small victories when you only have enough yarn in one color for 7 warp threads but manage to find a way to showcase them in the structure. Deciding on a finishing technique. Hunting beads or other accessories to use in the finished product.
Then comes the warping. That's incredibly exciting because you see the vision unfolding. And the tie-on. Then the final glorious moment where you throw the first shuttle.
Unfortunately, many of us find that as soon as we weave off enough weft to truly see the pattern, we lose a substantial amount of that excitement. In fact, after that, it becomes just work to get it off the loom. The rhythm and soothing meditative nature though, makes the process worthwhile and relaxing. You lose sight of the 'work' aspect when you are lost in the hypnotic peace of actual weaving.
Unless something goes wrong with the warp. If you can't fix it quick, you may be facing a dreaded 'dawg on the loom.'
I've had a dawg on my loom for 4 1/2 years. And it's a beautiful color blanket warp in 10/2 mercerized cotton threaded to an overshot threading. But one color was fraying in the reed (wrong reed for the sett and one color was a softer twist yarn). I also found that there wasn't enough weft yarn to finish it in the same colors. I ordered more yarn, but the dye lots were so significantly different that it ruined my finished vision. And there it sat. Until 4.5 years later when I fixed the reed, and decided that I needed a camping towel for our camping adventures. A couple of cones of tropical jewel colors in unmercerized 6/2 cotton later, I'm weaving off a 27"x65" camping towel really fast.
The excitement can make or break a project. And while I do slow projects, I'm one of those excitement-in-the-planning sorts. My favorite meditative process in weaving happens at the warping board. I use one instead of a warping reel simply because those arm movements and counting to wind the warp are one of my high points in the process.
4.5 years is a bit long in the life of a dawg. Many succumb to scissors in short order. My husband and I are a "100-hour couple" and have a small child. So pleasures for self have narrowed down to measurement in minutes. This warp was too lovely for me to cut off. Threaded in a versatile structure. It just took 4.5 years for me to finally get the "Aha!" moment and find the right use for the warp.
And yes, the edge of that towel is a hand stitched blanket stitch in a space-dyed 5/2 cotton. It stiffens the edge and hopefully will keep the edge from fraying. I'm not quite finished stitching one edge of the towel as you can see in the full scope photo of the towel. (The towel is laying on 2' square tiles in the kitchen to give the piece some scale.)
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