Backstrap Lessons

Backstrap July has been filled with high hopes.
I've even made a couple of things I quite like. 
 Certainly every warp has taught me something new
--even if I'm not always thrilled about it.

This one, for instance, was supposed to be an experiment in word direction.
Upside down, right side up, sideways--which would I like best?
Could I compose at an angle?

To make it easy on myself I used familiar wool warp and weft.
To make room for horizontal words I made it seven inches wide.
To ensure I could really get into it and write something fabulous, I made it long. 

Initially,  all went as planned,
The warp was more forgiving than the linen I'd just been using
and I started the first letters with satisfaction -----
only to find that I just couldn't get the the tension tight enough for finger picking.

I moved the backstrap down and and I moved it up. 
I added string heddles
I changed the angle of the loom.
I leaned and I sat and I pushed --
​but the strong, highly twisted springy wool just kept stretching.
The letters wouldn't grow under my fingers as I have grown to expect.
The brilliant thing I was going to write vanished from my head.

 Finally it occurred to me to attach the loom to a door on the other side of the futon frame, brace my feet against the side of said frame, and push.

It worked -- quite well in fact.
Until my legs started to go to sleep.
and my feet to hurt.

Turns out I don't really like weaving letters upside down either.

Eventually I rolled it up, set it aside, made a different warp (linen)
and comforted myself with a long narrow band and sideways woolen words.

 This time I had both easy tension and a satisfying way to compose.
Granted, the warp didn't feel as good on my hands, 
but I decided to try line linen next time (instead of tow) 
and who cares about finger comfort when the words show up of their own accord?

But when I finished, the wool warp was still sitting there.
I didn't want to unroll it.
 Should I ditch it? 
Call it a failed experiment?
Make it an endurance test?
Or, duh, build a pipe loom and strap it on.

Much better.  
​The tension is excellent and the process comfortably familiar.

Short string heddles make pretty good leashes.

And now that I've ditched the phrase idea and am simply working my way through a section of the dictionary, there's only word direction to worry about.

And look --I'm done with the words worry and worse
so there is only the next backstrap lesson to wonder about. 
​