Towels

Every now and then, I like to think that I really have my ducks in a row.

A week or so ago, I realised that I was going to have an empty loom for a little bit, as I had several custom orders that are all in the design stage.

I thought to myself, “Great! Now I can get a towel warp on the loom, and I will get a head start on stock for the holidays”

(You might be thinking that I am a little off balanced for planning so far ahead, but I really do things like this. I weave mainly custom orders, which means that I do not have an empty loom regularly, so when I do have one, I make sure to get some towels done, as they are popular for gifts, and it is more efficient to weave many at a time)

So I sat down with my “want to weave” spreadsheet (yes, I do have one of those, don’t you?? LOL) and picked out a draft. I did the math to figure out how much yarn I needed, I got out my sample books, and looked at what colours I wanted to use. I made lists, and calculations, then I checked the budget. All was well, everything was looking great.

I realised that I could order half pound spools for my warp, which while a tiny bit more expensive, they are easier to store, and they fit right onto my spool rack, and from 24 spools, I would be able to split them onto another 24 spools, and I would have enough yarn for two warps. (that is 40, 320 yards of warp yarn, in case you like to know these things). Then I realised that I could order the larger 1 pound cones (slightly cheaper, but harder to store due to their size) in 6 of the colours I wanted to use, and by the time I am done the two warps, they would be used up, so I wouldn’t have to store them!

I sat back at my desk, with a satisfied grin, and placed the order with my favourite yarn supplier.

A few days later, I received a surprise. It was my expected yarn order, but it was a toddler weight of yarn. 36 pounds, to be exact. That was more than I had ordered, I thought. A LOT more.

Turns out I had made a rookie mistake. The large cones that I ordered, that I thought were one pound? Well, turns out that they are 2 pounds. each. I ordered double the weft that I need.

So now I need to figure out what I am going to do with 12 pounds of extra yarn, that I don’t really want to store, and don’t have a plan for.

Does anyone want some solid coloured towels??