maiden warp on the baby wolf

After a two and a half year hiatus on weaving, a soul-sucking job in the fashion industry, a long adjustment to city life and several apartments later, I find myself with a studio and an 8 shaft Schacht baby wolf. When one of my aunts found out that a loom was in the works, she came to our July family reunion armed with a two-pound cone of blue/green/turq yarn and a request for a shawl. After a lot of life organization, the test warp is on the loom!

I am happy to start with this shawl, as I need to start out simply and slowly so as not to throw myself into an insanely complicated project (which is quite typical) that will only end in frustration and multiple starts. The yarn is unmarked, but it seems to be a mohair blend: it is a three-color space dyed yarn. It has a great hand and weight, but I am not sold on the space dye. I am afraid of ending up with one of those striated patterns dictated by the color sequence, so I will try to use structure to evenly break up any chunks of color pattern that will result from the yarn. Thus, the test warp for choosing a construction: I will probably go with a straight draw twill or herringbone twill, but will keep experimenting to get to know the yarn in case I end up with leftovers.