This 'n That

I had a lovely phone call from my sister today, and she posed some excellent questions about some things I have written in my blog. I figured that others might have wondered the same things, so I thought I'd answer them here.

"What's this about white peacocks? I've never heard of such a thing!"
White peacocks are a sub-species of regular peacocks. Offspring of two white parents may or may not be white.  Technically they are called "peafowl," as only the males are peacocks. The females are called peahens. But just as we refer to cows (which are only the female cattle), most people just say "peacocks " when talking about this type of bird.

"What are white doves raised for?"
White doves are kept as pets, and are also released at weddings, funerals, and special events. They are trained to fly home to their roost after being released, like homing pigeons.

"What's a color gamp?"
In a gamp,  the warp is threaded with wide stripes that start with one color and progress through the colors of the rainbow. The same colors in the same order are used to weave with. Thus, you will end up with an interesting set of color combinations.

I finished my first woven panel and spent the last couple of days getting my loom ready for the second one. Actually, while I had my warping board out, I measured out the third panel as well. That way I could put away my warping board and not have to bring it out again next week. I carefully cut off the first (completed) panel, then tied the second warp on to the leftover threads that were still on the loom. It saved me quite a bit of time, since I didn't have to thread the heddles or correct mistakes. I am getting pretty good at tieing a weavers knot, which is a specialized knot used just for this purpose.  I'll show photos of this warp section after I have done some weaving on it.

Today I also made a scissor holder out of a pirn (a kind of bobbin used on a specific type of weavers shuttle) that my friend Joan gave me. I had purchased beads in Las Cruces to use on it. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.

I have several small pairs of scissors that fit well in it. I was able to deconstruct a brass chain I had to extend the leather cord.

Tomorrow I weave!