Dobby.... and not the one from Harry Potter!

I can recall my friend Margaret telling me that when she went to Convergence in Vancouver in 2002 that she decided to buy a Louet Megado loom to play with. She had seen a demonstration  and ordered a narrower width  loom with 16 shafts.   Due to an oversell,  they upgraded her to a '110' 16 shafts. Nice upgrade!   😁

Margaret had many happy years weaving on the loom, when in 2012 it became my loom.   The original dobby box is as shown below.   Nicely crafted wooden box that held all the magic that makes your loom run!

A sign that it was ageing technology was the fact it used a serial port at the box to USB connector at the computer end.  Margaret had used a small Palm Pilot to run it.    She had sent it away to be 'tuned up' and so I wove happily for the most part.  I had issues but that was simply me adjusting to a loom that did all the thinking and I just threw the shuttle.    I'm totally fine with it now.   I realize that I do all the thinking part in advance and so now can enjoy watching the pattern form up and listen to music at the same time. 

That went along well until March 2020 when one minute it worked and next, it didn't. No warning at all. Just up and quit....

There was a big thing happening then called a Pandemic and life had narrowed us down to our 4 walls!   I had discussions about  a repair, and they just laughed.   It was explained to me that no one had any of the parts in the dobby box any longer....  the loom has been purchased in 2002, but the parts inside were designed in the 1990's!   Later after opening up the box, the pitiful pile of wires and such showed they weren't kidding!

I had two choices: a new Version 2 dobby at $5K ..... or a reconditioned dobby version 1 at $2500.00.   Since nobody expects this to happen (well, I didn't 😳)   I went with the reconditioned dobby, which they assured me was one year old or less. The former owner had decided to upgrade to the new Version 2.

So it arrived and I set it up and got busy weaving to pay for it!  💰  The box this time was this black metal thing...

I did have issues but they were related to Fiberworks, loom drivers and Apple messing with their programming but I eventually reached a place where I have that all handled and resolved. I can at least weave. (*someone reading this and having difficulties with their dobby and a Mac can reach me via the email address in my profile*)

Roll the clock to 2024 and Louet is having a 50th anniversary celebration!    They are offering 10% off looms and dobby's if ordered by July 31st.   It was late June / early July and I thought I would look into it and see what the new Version 2.2 dobby was all about.    It has wifi !

But after talking with a weaver who owns one , she basically does what I currently do which is to do design work on one computer with Fiberworks, then, put the new draft on a USB stick and take it to the computer that runs the loom and plug that in and bring it up in Fiberworks  and run the loom from there. 

So I was thinking: "my dobby works, the process is basically the same to run it.... so why spend the money?"

Then in a conversation with one of the staff at Jane Stafford Textiles who are Louet dealers.... she dropped  a bombshell comment that the version 1 dobby is no longer supported by Louet for repairs.     

That got my attention.     I have had my version 1 dobby for four years and it was a year old before that.  So, am I feeling lucky?    Or not?  

If I use it as a trade in, I get 10% off and they can deal with the older dobby.    Selling it privately just went out the window as who wants to buy a dobby that can't be fixed?   I know I sure wouldn't !

So now I'm leaning to buying the shiny new Version 2.2 dobby.      I checked prices at various Louet dealers on line here in Canada and it seems Jane Stafford Textiles has the best price.   I had questions about running the on board proprietary Louet software program so they recommended me talking to another weaver (the same weaver as mentioned previously).  I had a list of questions and we went through those and  had a great chat...

Her:  does your current dobby work?

Me: yes, no issues.

Her: so why get rid of it?

Me:  to get 10% off

Her:  why not keep it as a back up then? That way if the new one needs repairs, you have something to use while you wait.  Its that worth the trade in $$  ?

Me:   😳   Heck Yeah!

Pictures from the internet of the new version 2.2 dobby.

So I have paid a deposit and told that it will arrive sometime in October when they get a big shipment in.   Meanwhile, in the studio I have gone through every book,  all equipment and such and listed them into my Etsy shop and downsizing.    You simply can't do it all, read it all or need it all.....     Besides some extra cash will be nice to help offset my new purchase and as of today's date I have raised $1500.00 which isn't too shabby!

I plan to weave off the two shawls on my Spring loom and once empty, she will be cleaned,  tickled up and made to look pretty.... and then she'll be up for sale.  (Full details, price to come but it will be pick up only)

I lift the loom up to do the tie up's but it still requires bending forward and my spine literally slipped forward off the spinal column and I'd rather not tempt fate again. The pain was simply dreadful and I'd rather not repeat that.   A change in direction and goals happen from time to time and you adjust to the new reality and carry on. 

So my Megado and I are to become a closer team, a slower team.   I will be weaving for fun and not letting the pressure of filling a shop push me to over do things. 

😁🎉

Then in this morning's emails.... I got a notice UPS shipping notice.  The dobby is being delivered this Friday!

So.... a bit sooner than I was expecting.... but hey!

🎈🎉

With a Little Help From Your Friends 🎶

 Some of you long time readers may recall my memorial for a friend Rev. Wayne Nicholson. He died tragically in June of 2019.  He was a friend to many, an active weaver and fibre enthusiast, and husband to Harry.   He touch a lot of lives, especially through his good works at his church.

His posts at Warped Weavers, a group of weavers that carved out a (large) niche at Ravelry endeared him to many all over the world.   One group, the Woven Dishtowels hold an annual towel swap in his memory, as Wayne loved to weave towels and gift them.  The rules are simple: advertise you would like a swap partner and someone teams up with you. Normally it's one towel but you could agree to swap more. Some swap with one other weaver, and this year I'm shaping one towel each with two weavers.  One of my towels has arrived in the mail, just in time to help cheer me up after our recent family events.

Wayne seated at my Woolhouse Tools loom  and having fun!

My towel swap partner, Jessica, in Vancouver BC sent me this lovely set of goodies and canvas weave towel.  Jessica says she has been weaving 5 years and I must say that her weaving is lovely!   Great choice in colours that all pair nicely.

 

The goodies?   Premium Earl Grey loose tea from the East Vancouver tea company.    Sachets of ginger tea and divine shortbread cookies from The Bench Bakehouse, half dipped in white milk chocolate to nibble on. They were yummy!

Jessica is taking classes from Jane Stafford's on- line weaving school, and given Jane's love of colour, Jessica has taken to it very well! I hear back from weavers world wide about the classes and they seem to really make a difference from being a newbie who is hesitant, to a more confident weaver who embraces colour and gets a good grasp on weaving theory.....all at your own pace if you follow the videos sequently.  I sure wish this had been there for my start back in the 1990's!  There was only in person classes, books and helpful friends then. The internet has opened weaving up to a much wider audience.  Take a look at the link and see if it's right for you.

A warm thank you to Jessica! Your towel will be along soon....  😁 🌺

On the Wing

As promised, here's the second scarf from the grape silk warp. I think you can see now why I separated their debut's! Its dramatically different from the first scarf  (in the previous post). Definitely fraternal twins with a common warp, but the similarity ends there.

I had a hard time deciding whether I liked either scarf as I wove them as for a time I could catch glimpses of both and it really confused the eye.  I was committed to the weft colours and so soldiered on.

The change happened once they came off the loom and cut apart. I left one on my work table and set the other scarf down elsewhere to wait its turn for fringe twisting.  One scarf by itself was stunning.... as was the other.  But close together?   Not so much!

So here we have 20/2 bombyx silk which has been hand dyed a grapey purple and I purchased it from Jane Stafford Textiles earlier this year. The sett is 28 epi but I now feel 24 epi would be better next time round.   This weft is 8/2 tencel from Webs called deep teal.

This picture shows the overall length before any twirls around the neck.  It was woven to approx seventy four / five inches and it wet finished out to seventy two plus fine fringe.  The width is six and a half inches. 

The is a natural shine or sheen to both fibres and together they just glow! They go that bit further and create an iridescent  effect like on a butterfly's wing. Both colours have similar depth of shade or intensity of colour.  A good pressing encourages the sheen and maximum refection.   Its magic!

Another warp went on straight away and is progressing nicely.  Yet another old classic, by request, to be revealed next post.   

We have had some special house guests for the past four or five days and had a wonderful time with them.  My daughter and her husband came from Colorado  and fly home out of Vancouver tomorrow.  

We visited Goats on Roof in Coombs 

.....and then stopped and admired the gentle giants in Cathedral Grove.

There's a tree there that 20 people can stand and hold hands around the base. Its 1000 years old.  It was 300 years old when Columbus came to the New World in 1492.  Its a very humbling experience to stand among the trees and survey all the huge tree trunks surrounded by five- 6 foot giant ferns on the forest floor. The trees are so tall you can't view the entire tree if you look up.   Here's a brief video:

This is Colin, our son in law, and our daughter Carrie  along with Calli our Airedale, checking out the 1000 year old tree.  Colin is 6 foot 8 inches (no kidding!) for some perspective.... you can see where many people have climbed up on the fallen 'younger tree' and touched the old giant.

I'll leave you with some more wild wonders.... first, a tiny brown bat who has tucked himself into the crack of the garage door today.  We are very happy to see him and his friends on the property as they eat a ton of bugs!   White nose fungus has appeared to the south of us in Washington state, so hopefully this little fellow stays healthy.

Then this is the view from my kitchen window this morning as I was hand washing dishes:

Her boyfriend came along about five minutes behind her.... he has little 'prongs' started, still in velvet. 

Island Hopping

I had one day to get over my whirlwind 3 day trip to Vancouver and then I was back on a ferry again! This time, a short hop over to Salt Spring Island with two guild members, Lois and Dawn. We're heading to Jane Stafford's weaving studio with our Louet Jane looms in tow. We are there to get our Jane's autographed! Oh, and some retail shopping therapy... Its a bit of a changeable day with rain squalls dashing through and the wind picking up as the day progressed.

Here's our boat in the process of loading cars to return to Crofton on Vancouver Island. We stopped and had a bite of lunch in Vesuvius Bay and then headed to the north part of the island

When we turned down a trail through the woods to the studio, we were greeted by Jane's "official greeters". The girls were pretty much busy looking for good eats and the rooster was all about guard duty and making sure they didn't go too far. Their plumage was beautiful!

Once inside we were in heaven with looms, all Louets of course except for one lone Leclerc Fanny and yarn, books, yarn and people who spoke our language!

Jane is known for her British mohair throws and also for her chenille throws. I found a colourful stack waiting for finishing that caught my eye.

Dawn was happy to be able to review some difficulties she been having with her Hollandia with Jane and get suggestions on how to remedy them. This is a Delta above. There is pretty much every model Louet makes all around the room: a David, a Spring, and a 32 shaft Megado.

I didn't get this lady's name but she is busy tying onto a dummy warp with some luscious mohair for another throw. Her loom is the Leclerc Fanny counterbalance.

Here Lois is perusing the cones for a project she has in mind. She wasn't disappointed! She has some Christmas runners to warp up with a view to being ready for gifts and the guild sale. Now that's smart!

This picture and the one below show the rainbow selection! Each colour has the various sizes ( 3/2, 5/2, 10/2 etc) all in behind one another. So you choose your colour, then your yarn size. She has cottons, linen, fine wools, wool/silk blends....and mohair of course.

The bags on the shelves are for knitters and have wonderful storage compartments. If there had been a suitable colour, one would be great for me as an everyday purse!

So yes, I did some shopping and I bought some 10/2 mercerised cotton in white and natural for lace weaves and another in a Christmas red. Lois apparently got me thinking!

I also bought a book for my library:

This book has come down in price from when I first saw it 18 months ago and so I picked up a copy. I guess its the various exchange rates between Canada and England perhaps? If you click on this link Janet Phillips , it will take you to Janet's web page where she explains her book in far better detail than I could. I'm looking forward to reading it in depth!

I mentioned earlier that we had just got back from Vancouver. We had gone over to see my father and also to help my brother with his move. As soon as I saw my Dad, I knew he was better! You can see it in the eyes ...

He still has a long road ahead to get stronger before he can go home but he's well on his way!


The owner of the dog kennel where we left our senior terrier said that she could not believe that he is 13 years old as he played with the other big dogs like he was 2 years old... and ate like a horse. He came home and headed straight for his bed and slept 6 hours , ate supper and then went back to bed. He wore himself out pulling the wool over those youngsters!


So with all our spring showers, I'm hoping to hit the looms and have something to show you soon.