Day One

Loom built ( still no large sized knuckles, so we had to improvise with ratchet straps) and warp on. Three and a half hours on my knees. My loom building slave buddy volunteered to be a warp partner which made it a lot simpler; otherwise I would have been climbing up and down. 560 warp ends. Can you see how the tension has already started to bend the scaffolding poles? Such is the might of a girl with string after a good breakfast. That was the reason for the early start; the buddy was determined to feed us a cafe brekkie.

We had roped off the North Transept for safety reasons whilst we built and strung, but people did stop and ask what we were doing, so I was able to have some chats and encourage people to make return visits once the weaving is underway, or to follow the blog if they live too far away. Every time I left the loom to do this, buddy was left standing on the hop up platform taking the tension so I tried to keep the talks short, not wanting to try the patience of a novice - I might need help again.

Tomorrow is twining, half hitching and starting the selvedge. Rather than having a separate sampling frame I am going to use the selvedge to sample the weft mixes and shading / hatching. I have preselected the colours I am going to use, but plan to work intuitively, responding to the space I am in. I am also without a complete cartoon, and will let the tapestry evolve from the image of a pile of rubble at bottom left. I have drawn from a photograph of the rubble which filled the North Transept almost to the top of the window after the spire collapse in February 1861. Other elements which will be included are a figure taken from the same set of photographs, broken pillars in the South Transept and the Hebrew word 'Rebuilder'. I am much keener on a focus on the positive. More of this tomorrow....

And now it is time for a hot bath and some precautionary Tramadol!

Location:Cathedral