My loom is a bit unusual. Generally, looms are either table looms or floor looms. Floor looms are more solid and bulky and usually have treadles that raise and lower the shafts. Table looms are lighter and have levers that raise the shafts. Mine is a table loom on a stand, lightweight, somewhat wobbly, with large levers on the sides that raise the shafts.

 

I finished the rag projects, experimenting with different widths of jean material and quilt fabric. I wasn’t sure I liked the end result, though I think someday I may want to try another. In the meantime, I wanted to get back to weaving something more cloth-like.

I attended a weaving conference in Milwaukee, mainly to see the exhibits and the marketplace. I bought a couple cones of Swedish thread (in blue & yellow) but realized after I got home that it was probably too fine for a beginner project. I bought a couple of magazines and tried to find a good next project. I finally settled on a sampler and found thread that was a bit more sturdy.

At the conference I also met a Kiwi representative from Ashford, the company that made of my loom. He thought I got a very good deal and hoped that I would visit the company (South Island) on my next trip. He also told me that my loom was “very old…from the 80s!” I told him something from the 80s was NOT old!

My loom is a four-shaft loom and apparently there are 62 different combinations of treadling patterns which create a wide variety of patterns in the cloth. I’m already up to #19 and enjoying the process of seeing patterns develop.

I’m also hoping that the repeated action of changing the large side levers (which looks like this) will do give my bingo arms a workout. It certainly feels like it.

 

 

P.S. One more adventure: Last weekend I was in the Detroit area for my high school class reunion. I followed my GPS down a long country road and up a long driveway to two long low buildings. I waved to a friendly farmer on the way, but otherwise found it a little unnerving. I hesitated before I rang the bell and once again before entering the building. (I could see familiar weaving equipment through the window.) A middle-aged woman led me inside to the one lighted spot where she and an old man were sitting at a table. I told them what I was looking for and he showed me a large side room full of colorful cones of thread–at least a thousand of them–mostly from UKI Supreme, which is what I hoped to find. We slowly picked out the colors I needed for my next project. He pushed a walker with a seat (and a cardboard box on the seat) to hold my cones. He moved slowly, eventually weighing the fibers and calculating the cost. Mid-point, I learned that he only took cash or check, but I had almost the exact change in my pocket so I was able to complete the transaction and get on my way. As I pulled out, I regretted that I hadn’t taken any pictures, but here is one of all my new cones of color and a peak at my sampler: