Rethreading the Tied-Unit Weave Warp

It's been a low-keyed winter, but I have finally made some progress getting back to the Tied-Unit warp, so I'd better write a few things before I forget.

Over a year ago, I sampled a tied-unit weave warp on my 16-shaft computer dobby. It was meant to approximate the super random tied-weave I've woven on my small table loom, but wider, and theoretically faster. I wasn't happy with the pattern threading. It was done random-ish, but looking at the piece I realize there was definitely a regularity. (This may also have been due to the sample lift plans, which I make orderly at first so I can see the distribution of ends/shafts, and thinking back, I could have made the threading look interesting by making more interesting lift plans, but at the time, I didn't think of it. At any rate, I found making the lift plans nearly impossible as I was typing something I do organically/randomly.)

Instead of using the maximum number of shafts, as I am wont to, I decided to simplify the threading, (and therefore the thinking/lifting;) I have been rethreading with Shafts 1 through 3 for tie down, and 4 though 9 for pattern; that's six shafts, the same as on the table loom. Pattern threading is random, and this time really random. 

Once I got used to rethreading, it became faster, but I also have some problems. Three times so far, I skipped the tie-down shafts and threaded t-P-P. This is not a problem if I had intended to do this, but I hadn't, and I was so annoyed I've been correcting them.

On the table loom, I thread from the front. On the big loom, I sit between the back beam and the shafts, threading from the back. This makes the tie-down shafts fartherest away. When I thread the next tied-unit warp, I might either leave one shaft between tie-down and pattern blank, or thread the tie-down on the back shafts, mirroring threading the table loom. The big loom has a big shed, so this won't be a problem weaving, until the last 30-40cm of the warp.

I weave Summer & Winter on the table loom, so Shafts 1 and 2 are saved for tie down, 3 through 8 for pattern. I thought emulating how I weave here in the lift plans would make life easier; 3-5-7-8-6-4 or 4&6-3&5-4&8-3&7-6&8-5&7, and so on. Long time ago I found this lever arrangement flummoxing and the loom was useless because I couldn't follow written drafts, but once I switched to random Summer & Winter, divorcing the shaft numbers from the shafts felt freeing.

I did a lot of thinking when I made this and another tied-unit weave warp to go on the computer dobby, but I don't like these colors at the moment. I keep fantasizing hot pink, gold, or blues in pattern wefts. I'm keen to start sampling, and unless I make more mistakes, I hope to finish in two more sittings on warm days.

It's been a warm winter, but I've felt the cold more acutely these last couple of years. I can't work in the basement for too long as my lefts get zingy, and if I turn the heater on, only my head/face get hot. I've taken a break from the clasped weft since early July, but with spring starting tomorrow, the basement should start to get warmer longer, and I can get back to that as well. Fingers crossed.