Pages

Crazy as a Loom

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Crazy as a LOOM

Ah, Saturday.  

Acupuncture yesterday.
Doable day today.
Maybe I should just do acupuncture three times a week, every week.

I spent the day at the studio, just me and the cats.   I had a lot to do.
Yesterday,  we moved the Toika.  Yes, we did.  It took four of us......me, Lois, Tammy, and Claire.
We just had to be smarter than the loom, and we decided that we were.





“There is nothing, nothing, nothing, that two women cannot do before noon.”

Which means, basically, that moving a 7 foot wide loom was pretty much cake for us.

It just had to be taken apart in a certain order, and put back together the same way.  And it is big, and very heavy.



Syd Supervisor is sneaking up on the left.


I call this the 'rose room'.  It's plenty big enough.



The Toika is fine in its new home.  More than fine......it's perfect.



We do have to put the harnesses on and tie everything back up.  I thought that we could keep them all straight while moving them, but that proved to be a mistake.
But all in all, I am very pleased.
This bedroom is on the front of the house, has lots of lovely light, and is a perfect place for the Toika.

In the old dining room, where the Toika USED to live, we now have room for the Reed Ideal that we just rescued.
Here it is, in pieces.


Claire has the incredible talent of being able to implement my schemes.   I can dream up some pretty wild stuff, but I am not always capable of making these ideas come to life, especially if it involves carpentry.
But Claire can.
Here is the Reed Ideal with its brand new production wheel, made by Claire.  This beam will hold 750 yards of warp, which is going on SOON.


Oh, heart be still, isn't she a beauty??

Yes, you too, Syd.

So today,  I cleaned the loom.  It was dry and soaked up  a LOT of my Feed-n-Wax.  It also needed nuts put on the bottom bolts, which required me to put something under the loom to raise it up enough for me to get my fingers under it.  I also made new cords for the treadles.


Strangely enough, I had these strips of canvas with grommets in them, lying in a drawer, perfect for tying onto the warp beam.


This big wheel spins so freely, you would never know how heavy it is.


I lashed a new rod onto the front.


The wood gleams.  I swear I heard this old loom sigh.



Brand new shiny heddles.


And the part that made me the happiest........suggested to me by the cute little clerk at the hardware store who is young enough to be my son.......(when did THAT happen?)

A lawn mower pull, cord and all, for the brake release, which was missing. Total cost: $3.99



Here she is.......ready to get to work.  There are 252 rolls of off white poly cotton rug warp waiting.



I told you I was crazy.
NOW do you believe me???
No????
Well, for all you weavers out there....I threaded this for pinwheels, but when I started weaving it, I realized that I had last done M's and O's on this loom, so the treadles were tied up for that, and not pinwheels.
So I don't know what you call it, but I kind of like it, so I'm going to let it fly.



10 comments:

Anonymous said...

MY GAWD!!! What a monster of a loom. Can't imagine moving it from one room to another. You ladies are incredible!

KarenInTheWoods said...

Wheeeheeee LOVE LOVE LOVE that Howards Feed N Wax!!!! Chris turned me onto that stuff, my oh my it's great!

That old loom is sighing a huge sigh of relief being put back to work and getting new heddles and wax! ahhhhhh he is saying "That feels sooo good!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Beautiful! Someday I will learn how to weave on a loom!

Teri said...

You've created your own new design, takes lots of notes and pictures, you may want to duplicate it sometime.

Need A Latte Mom said...

That loom is freakin huge! I would love to have one of them.
I told my husband tonight that I wish my loom was easier to move and he gave me the dirtiest look as in DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT MOVING IT look. I quickly had to clarify myself in that I am liking working in the garage right now but I know in a while it will be too hot and the basement is going to be perfect.
I do like the modification you made on the other though. This idea of being able to put that much warp on at once, glorious!

Anonymous said...

Well if you're crazy then we should all be crazy. Your enthusiasm for what you do is wonderfully inspiring. The loom in the rose room is totally beautiful--looks like they were made to go together, and I can tell how light and airy the room is. Happy weaving, and keep getting that acupuncture. Sounds like it's doing something right.

Becky

Shuttle, Hook and Needle said...

You always amaze me! I am happy that you rescued the old loom. Unfortunately so many of them are lost so I know this one is going to be happy in its new loving home!

There is only one more loom I would like to own if I could ever find one that is in decent shape and that I could afford. That would be the Blue Union Special.

I love seeing pictures of your wonderful studio/house.
Louise

Country Girl said...

Now I'm wanting some Howard's Feed-N-Wax. And you continue to amaze me. Some day, I'd like to see all this in person!

Caroline M said...

750 yards! And there's me counting 14 yards as a long warp.

I don't say much but I read every day, I came here originally on a search for a photo of a Compact with the sectional warp beam. Mine is shoehorned into the dining room and folding is very much a necessity so I don't think sectional warping is in my future.

Nancy said...

The Toika is one "big ass loom!" Have never see such a large loom. It makes mine look like a miniature!

Welcome to my world.

Because every thread counts

Because every thread counts