I like the task of sleying the reed. By the time you get to that point in the process the planning has all been done, the warp has been measured and wound onto the back beam of the loom and each warp thread has been threaded through it's heddle. Dressing the loom is almost complete. Once the reed is sleyed the only thing left is to tie the warp in small bouts onto the front beam. Interestingly, I hate the tyeing on. That's the point where you need to get the warp tension even. It doesn't have to be tight but it should be totally even so the cloth you weave will be straight and even too. Sleying the reed means you are almost ready to weave.
A number of years ago we were lucky enough to travel to Australia and New Zealand. I could go on and on about how lovely and different the two countries were. New Zealand really is Middle Earth and Australia is as vast and changing as our own country. I would go back to Australia and New Zealand in a heartbeat if given the chance.
Ron and I were in New Orleans last weekend. Ron had lots of meetings to attend and I had a couple of days to eat and shop. Whenever I travel, I try to google fiber, spinning and weaving shops in the area to find fun things to do. For this trip we had no car and were staying at a hotel just west of the French Quarter so I looked for places within walking distance. I guess there aren't a lot of spinners in New Orleans because I couldn't find anyplace that sold spinning fiber. I did find a great weaving shop!