Like Running Through Water

School has started and admittedly we have been off to a poor start. Apparently my kids have all forgotten how to be organized for school. I try my best nagging coaching them only to find that somebody forgot her tapshoes, his homework etc. It is simply frustrating. Well, I hope we all figure it out soon!

But there are also good news: my resident weaver has finished her scarf! She had picked a real complicated twill pattern and I think it overwhelmed her. ( And almost me, when I had to warp it at 9:30pm). There were weeks with almost no progress and then I had the idea that she could have plain weave in the middle and the twill only at the ends. That was all it took and she finished it within a few days. Yeah!

Crossing the Line

People say that you cross a line when you have more than 2 cats, especially if you are a single women. Last week I think we crossed a different line, when I bought a table loom. We now have 2 sewing machines, 1 serger, a spinning wheel ( I do not own it, but it’s here), a yarn stash, a fabric stash, a button stash, yarn dyeing equipment and all kinds of fibre related tools and now a loom. I think the only thing missing at this point is a sheep in the backyard ( or maybe an angora rabbit?)

As I have mentioned before my 10 y/o daughter has fallen in love with weaving. ( Maybe it has something to do with the fact, that this is the one thing I do not do?) I bought her a small loom last year and they also did some weaving in school. She told me the other day, that she would like a larger loom. She had some birthday money left so I started searching.

I looked at new looms and used looms on E-bay and Craigslist. I found out quickly, that looms are not cheap and it was hard for me to figure out what she needs. In the end I called someone who had listed a table loom on Craigslist at a very reasonable price. When I saw it I could not believe how big it was. I thought table loom meant portable, but I was wrong. The loom has the size of a child’s desk. It comes with its own stand. The weaving width is 32 inches and it has 4 shafts. It is made out of pine, is about 40 years old and from Norway. It is beautiful.

I just stood there for a while and stared at it. Then I asked every question I could think of, trying to find out if we could make it work. The owner of the loom was very patient and finally found a book for us as well. It is Learning to Weave by Deborah Chandler and I think it is great.

Later at home I took a crash course in weaving, figured out how to warp the loom for thicker yarn and off she went. ( She likes this style of weaving: thinner yarn for the warp and thicker yarn in the weft.) She is now weaving her second scarf, this time in a twill pattern and is absolutely in love with her new loom. I am astonished how fast she is and how quickly she figured out the pattern.

Do you think I can borrow it some time? I have already subscribed to Weavecast.