Weaving Reminders
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Trying to remember where you are in either the threading or treadling can be a challenge, particularly if you are often interrupted. That's where weaving reminders come in to save your sanity.
Numbered Beads
Mary Weinzirl shared this with Robyn Spady who shared it with the folks on the 4 Shaft Weaving group on Facebook. It's absolutely brilliant. I had to try it. I love, love, love it. I use it for both threading and for treadling. I got the beads at [Amazon]. I got colored ones which I thought would also come in handy for when I'm doing plaids, but you can get them in just black and white too. This is a must try . Seriously. Just try it. I won't be going back to my magnet board!
Here it is on the castle at the back of the loom where I do my threading:
Here it is on the top of the beater to keep track of treadling:
Magnet Board
Until you can get your beads, the next best thing is a magnet board. You will often find these in the counted cross stitch section of most hobby/craft/fabric shops. What I do is write down the sequence I need to weave and use a magnet to mark off the last thing I completed. This helped tremendously when I was weaving this Scott family tartan. In addition to the color blocks, I also left a section for the treadle I last used since I was doing a 2/2 twill.
You don't necessarily need an official "magnet board" for this...anything magnetic will work. You will probably find galvanized steel sheets at a hardware store that will serve the same purpose.
Clothespins or Paper Clips
Most people usually have these things readily available. All you need is paper or Post-it-Notes and a clothesepin or paper clip. You write down the sequence in blocks of 4 (especially if you like to use the Laura Fry's method of threading) and adhere them to the castle of your loom. Then, using a clothes pin, paper clip or other item (that can be taken off and put back on again) you may easily keep track of where you are in the threading or treadling order.
Enjoy your reminders and happy weaving!