Also known as day 1 of this 100 days of Rope experiment, took place on Friday 21. I am writing on Sunday from some notes I took on the session alongside my recollection.
I began to tie at 16:58. I had all my current gear surrounding me: a few hanks of 30ft and 15ft rope in various colors to aid differentiation, safety scissors to cut away rope in case of emergency and my venue. I wasn’t planning on tying particularly tight as this was my very first session back. There would be no suspensions, nothing too fancy either; just practice. My venue was a bed which had pros for setting the scene: it’s a very comfy and relaxing location. There are a few cons though which can be remedied: a very fluffy blanket that was fluffy to to point of being too hot on the day after the summer solstice. So I put down a large lavender colored towel. I wore clothes with range of motion that were comfortable and not too tight.
I began with a single column tie and It came out pretty well I think. After that I just kinda played with the rope making a looping ladder up my leg that was based on holding tension. I di begin with a 15 ft rope here and ran out when it came to my upper thigh. Then when it came time to attach to my torso I was ready.
On my second leg I did the same in reverse, but starting out with a 30 ft rope. I also used a 30 ft Hank to belt my torso to connect both legs to. My torso length of rope had quite a bit extra that I could have done something with if I had been faster or less hungry for food.
That is perfectly okay though as I was just experiencing the rope again and how comforting the feel of self administered bindings can be for me when I know that I am able to shed them whenever I want. I really do crave the feeling of being wrapped up and held in this way. When I am the one tying me there is something that comes out of it for me about trusting my own authority and knowing my own boundaries better and quicker than anyone else does. I’m sure it comes up for many rope enthusiasts when they are tied. I mention it mostly because it feels personal and the dynamic is different when someone else ties you. In both situations the scene is hopefully negotiated well, but here I am negotiating with myself. I guess I am just realizing how much this affects me to be able to negotiate my own parameters of binding and tension to mirror my mental barricades so that I can have some moments to hold a conversation with myself about some of the most deep seated and hard to admit or even talk about things that I have been allowing to impact me for so long.
Maybe after I get into the swing of tying I can come up with some journaling prompts to reflect on after I slowly come out of it (the scene and being tied).
I finished tying myself at 17:55 and just kinda relaxed for a bit like that then undid everything because I had wanted to check how the situation would take moving from sitting to standing. It didn’t. The tension held ladder parts just fell. My knots held though. 3 single column knots. I am wondering how much sense it actually makes to do a single column tie around the torso. It worked, But I’m trying to not teach myself bad rope habits.
At 18:28 I had taken a few pictures, untied and wrapped the hanks of rope up well. I learned that 30 ft of rope can be started with for leg length stuff and I could probably have gotten away with a 15 ft hank on my torso.
<3
