Small Steps

I would like to thank all the well wishers who left comments here or sent to me personally. It's most encouraging. I will be posting pictures of my work / weavings as they are planned, prepared and woven so that you can see the entire process. I like to think of every step along the way as 'weaving'. If you don't work out some compromise with yourself, you tend to think of some of the steps as the nasty things you must do so you can get to the good parts, like throwing the shuttle. That part can be the shortest, depending on how long the warp is! I also hope to show how I do certain things such as my hybrid warping, and things like finishing techniques... even ironing! To share what I have learned... (more on teaching at another time)

So while my loom is being 'serviced' perhaps I can show you some of my other equipment? ( I have managed to get 5 shafts threaded for the tie up assist, but it's tough on the joints. You are crawling under the loom for ages and I must say that it doesn't look good on a mature woman of my age :)

I have posted two pictures here: One is of my table loom which is frequently naked. I primarily use it for workshops and it looks like it will be busy this year with two major classes with Jane Stafford this spring. I love my Woolhouse Tools table loom and tricked it out ( over time) with the stand and one year, Santa bought me the bench. The funny rig on the top is called a 'Which One' for keeping track of where you are in the treadling.

The next picture shows my main loom, which has a name by the way, Emmatrude. The tartan is Mackenzie Seaforth and was for an exchange organised by the Guild of Canadian Weavers (GCW). It's not the tartan, but the tools I want to show you. I use an end feed shuttle and a temple or stretcher for most projects. They are used all the time by European weavers and they don't think twice about it. But for some reason North American weavers consider it a crutch and soldier on without them. Silly, if you ask me! I use what ever tools I need to accomplish the end result.

Think I'll get out the camera tomorow and show you what is going on under my loom...

Susan