Scarves today, scarves tomorrow

Okay, so here's the deal. I've been toying with the idea of a Scarf A Day blog for a while now. Then yesterday I wanted to learn something about the way Blogger blogs are set up and I created the Scarf A Day blog to test my idea, figuring I'd use it when the time came, if it came. Silly me, I thought it could sit there, unnoticed, until I needed it. Here it is, mere hours later and, lo, it already has a follower!¹ Which is GRATE, and exciting, and inspiring -- some of the reasons I was considering the project in the first place, so it's all good. I just wasn't ready to actually do anything with it yet. Now I figure I'd better post a little bit of expo to explain, to tantalize, and to cement my intentions to go ahead with this beastie.

The basic idea is pretty simple: I'll weave a new scarf every day and put pics online. Beyond that, the details and ground rules still need work. Am I really going to do this every single day, or just on weekdays? For how long a period? Do I have to warp the loom every day, or am I allowed to weave more than one scarf off a single warp? If so, how many from one warp is okay and how dissimilar should they be? Am I allowed to wind a bunch of warps ahead of time or does the entire idea have to happen in a single day? Does the scarf have to be finished (i.e. fringes done, wet finished, pressed, whatever) the same day that it's woven? Do I post the hot-off-the-loom scarf before finishing, or the finished scarf, 'cause that can take overnight. Do I post progress shots so people can see the scarves under way or just finished product shots? Etc. etc.

There are other kinds of questions that need answering, too, like how do I manage this project with the other production and guild sampling that needs to happen on the same loom? How do I manage this project with all the other stuff going on in my life, like getting ready to open the shop in four months, or the other people in my life? My husband has said, "I don't care if you do a scarf a day, but I don't want to have to," meaning that he doesn't want to be pressured into keeping me company as I desperately try to finish a scarf by midnight or when I get tired of the idea but feel like I have to keep going. Fair enough. He's also worried about scheduling - what if he wants to go on a trip, what then?

At the moment, I'm thinking of these answers to all those questions: I'll just do the month of February, and I'll only commit to doing week days. I will try to put on a new warp almost every day, or every other day, but won't make any promises in that regard. I'd rather warp for three or four scarves at once and I'll still have blankets and other production going on the big loom, so it might take me a couple days to get four scarves off the small one. I'll make sure that every scarf is unique but it might just be a change in weft colour that sets one apart from another. And, if something really important (family is important!) comes up, I'll just miss a few days. Big deal. As for the other stuff, I'll make up answers to those questions as I go. I'm making the rules here, after all.

And now, since a post sans pictures is boring, here are some shots of the scarf anna half from yesterday. Guess which is which!



As you can see, another really critical question I have to deal with is "how the heck do you take good pictures of scarves?" Here's a better close up of the fabric:



1. Hi, Laura! Thanks! :D