There is nothing quite as satisfying as seeing a cloth beam filled up with cloth. There are eleven placemats rolled up on there, plus one more stretching from the breast beam on down. All that’s left to do is cut them off, wash, hem, and press. We’ll have new placemats on our dining room table in no time. Yippee!
After only four hours at the drawloom I have a porcupine! That’s an hour a day, four days in a row. I enjoy the design-making process. It is rewarding to work out the details on the computer. The next reward is to see the printed version ready to take to the drawloom. When I first see the feet of the critter woven on the loom, I do a happy dance. And now that the porcupine is moving on around the breast beam, this feeling of accomplishment is the greatest reward. Nine more critter napkins to go, with many more rewards. Jackrabbit is next!
Look for daily rewards. What rewards are you seeing lately?
It’s a temptation to hurry up when I am this close to the end of the warp. There is only one more placemat to weave, plus a little extra warp after that. I remind myself that there is no reason to rush. A steady pace helps me avoid careless errors that I’m prone to when I’m in a hurry. I’ll have all twelve placemats soon enough.
The Lord shows us how to live. He directs us in a way that sets a steady pace for life. No need to hurry. Enjoy each moment as a gift from his hand.
Gray Fox is complete. Porcupine is the next critter in line. We’ve seen evidence of a porcupine in our backyard, so he belongs in this drawloom parade.
It pays to check your work. I have reached a new level of experience in distributing patterns shafts. I know how to do it backwards and forwards now. Literally. Unfortunately, I moved almost all of the pattern shafts before noticing that the spacing between units is not quite right. Uh oh! So, one by one, I reversed the distribution of pattern shafts to get back to the point of error—the very beginning. The reverse move was …more complicated.
Lesson learned:Check my work. I am off by only one unit of threads. That small miss, however, is enough to sabotage the whole project if not corrected. The sooner I check my work against the master plan the better. Fortunately, everything at the loom is fixable. It’s never too late to start again.
The sooner I check my life against God’s master plan the better. Fortunately, everything is forgivable. It’s never too late to start again.