Now I know this is The Spinning Shed, and I know that we are nuts for all things fluff, but I used to be a weaving nut, and also adored all things yarn. I lost the weaving bug a couple of years ago. I had a George Wood 16 shaft dobby loom, that lifted shafts I didn't ask it too, and created faults in my work that drove me mad. I had a Louet Jane 8 shaft table loom that was slower than I would have liked using my hands instead of feet, so then invested (and I use that word correctly) in an 8 shaft Louet dobby, brand new. It was smaller but just as big a weaving width and had a raddle included in the top shelf. Ahhhhh, I could breathe out as I had found, finally, THE loom. Except it wasn't the loom. It had strings holding it together, performing major tasks, that required really huge amounts of effort to get them working correctly. I also didn't like the friction brake on the back beam - my god that thing could slip!! Now I know at this point that I will have already upset some people. Louet are great looms, but they weren't for me. I then had a 10 shaft Glimakra that was so big, it never got made up properly. Blimey! There are two looms that I have loved. I borrowed my weaving teachers George Wood 4 shaft, which was an amazing loom, but huge and she also gave me "Ken". This is the other floor loom that I still own and has now been put up in the spare room upstairs. He isn't fully sorted and functioning yet, but I know this will not take me long when I am ready to sort him out. Ken is a simple 4 shaft floor loom, fairly small footprint, counter balance. He works hard, can do everything I currently want and more and I hope will be used in the not too distant future. I have unpacked the enormous number of boxes of yarn into shelving, and feel really bad that it has been packaged for the last 3 years!!
Here he is in the flesh. This is not in his current situ, as he is not put together, and I think the bottom is wrong here (I will have to see when he is up and running, but it looks wrong), but he is, nevertheless, something to fall in love with. My twill thrills weaving book is back in business!!! Love and light. |
Archives
July 2022
Categories
All
|