Enough Already!

This last winter was a long one; there were no big storms to entertain and challenge us, just boring, unending precipitation, usually frozen.  Today, it's snowing again.  Not sticking really, but enough to be really discouraging.  Enough already!  

Magic is showing signs of settling in well and even starting to play a little.  We've brushed off our obedience training and have started to train her to the invisible fence.  She seems to pay attention to it pretty well, but we haven't tested her off leash yet.  We need to work on "Come" and that's a hard one to learn.  I'm not above using bribery, so just a matter of finding the bestest-treat-in-the-entire-world.  

We've also learned a couple of things about Magic...she is bird crazy.  Totally nuts for them.  Will attempt to climb trees.  She feels the same way about rabbits.  The training directions for the fence say to create a distraction that will really test your dog.  I'm trying to figure out how to get the birds and bunnies to cooperate.  So far, they are not placing themselves in just the right spot and staying there.  

Since the weather was just so dank the last few days, I decided it was time to put together the loom I bought over a year ago.  It's a much bigger loom than my LeClerc 24-inch Dorothy.  It is a 4-Harness Studio Art loom made by Newcomb Loom with a 42" max weaving width.  The interesting part of this project is that I had no directions; only a couple of pictures from the internet.  Trust me, it was something like crossing tinker toys, lincoln logs and tetris, while at the same time not sure if you really have all the pieces or not.

The good news is that, yes, I had all the pieces (except for one nut, replacement easily found in DH's stash) and I seem to have gotten it all put together properly.  I'm washing the apron, have taken off the old warp and am seriously contemplating getting new heddles.  The ones on there now are the flat style and are just full of lint from the mohair that the previous weaver liked.  Never mind that they're full of fuzz, I'm not sure that I like them at all as they seem to catch on each other and bend very easily.  Any one have an opinion on wire, flat or string?  This loom will be used primarily for rag rugs and saddle pads, although I wouldn't rule out other textiles.