Hey, wow! Math works!

I finished the second brightly-colored panel today.  I had calculated (based on my samples) that a 70-needle row was almost exactly equal to a single 23.5″ pick of weft, and that at 64.5 picks per inch, 290 rows should yield 4.5 inches of woven fabric.  And, thus, 11 sections of 290 rows apiece = 11*4.5 = 49.5 inches.

And then I knitted the blank, dyed it, unraveled it, and wove it up.  Finished a few minutes ago.

And behold!

(In case you’re wondering, the yellow “measuring tape” is actually a ribbon with measuring-tape markings printed onto it, courtesy of Joann Fabrics, which sells it in three-yard rolls.  Handy for weavers!)

I’m also pleased to say that I benchmarked my weaving speed again, and it has actually increased from last time – 1.7 seconds/pick (hand thrown shuttle across a 24″ warp) as opposed to 1.8 seconds/pick previously (and 2.5 seconds/pick when I first measured!).  This may not sound like a huge deal, but you may recall that my CompuDobby IV was originally too slow to keep up with me, and I had worried that even the sped-up version was going to slow me down.  This is proof positive that it doesn’t.  Even if I speed up by another 10% (which is the absolute best I think I could do), I’m certain the CD IV will be able to keep up.  So I am very happy.

(For me, it’s not so much about the absolute speed, as it is about smoothing out the movements and making them more “elegant”, in the mathematical sense – which is to say, smooth, with exactly the amount of movement needed – nothing more, nothing less, and no wasted effort.  But speed is a goal as well – since I weave yardage in fine threads, cutting the time for each pick lets me weave more, faster.)

At any rate, I am now done with weaving the second panel.  I unraveled the blank for the third panel last night, so tomorrow morning I will start weaving the third panel and also start knitting the blanks for the next set of panels.  At this rate, I may be done weaving by the time I see Sharon again, which will be in late October, and done with the project by the New Year!