Exciting delivery......

My new loom is here!!

Backstory--Back in the Dark Ages of Time, I was a production weaver. I worked in designers' studios and did commission work out of my home when the boys were small. It wasn't unusual for me to crank out 20-24 yds of fabric in a workday. I had a 64", 10 harness, 12 treadle Glimakra loom with a fly shuttle beater. I loved those hours spent in the studio. Life changed and I sold the loom to a lovely lady in Ohio, who has since passed it on to a weaver in Kentucky. Back in 2005 I bought a 48" Gallinger 8H loom and worked on restoring it. During the process I discovered that it was just too big for me to use comfortably (I'm 5'1") and so I sold it to a lovely new home nearby where she'll be well and caringly used. All I had left for weaving was a rigid heddle loom, which is wonderful for what it does with it's two heddles, etc. But I really wanted that feeling of doing marvelous twills and rocking with the beater (Bob Seger's Greatest Hits is a great CD for setting your weaving rhythm).

While visiting family two weeks ago I made my annual pilgrimage to WEBS, only this time I wanted to talk looms. Barbara and Art were SO helpful (and it was a pleasure to chat with someone who knew all that weird weaving terminology like 'tromp as writ'). My one concern was something a good friend in Holland brought up--climbing under a loom to do the tie-up when you're moving into the arthritis years can be a big consideration. And Barbara solved the issue by mentioning that the Toika loom could be adapted at a later time to a computer loom, eliminating the tie-up issue completely! Yay!

I suggested the driver back down the street so he'd be closer to the garage and not have to face the challenge of backing out of my long driveway.

Yikes, that's some big crate!



It just fit on the lift gate. Be careful it doesn't roll off onto the ground.

And here it lives in my garage for the week.

This weekend I'll have help opening that Norwegian birch crate (saving the wood for future woodworking projects). I'm hoping to have it together by Sunday evening, although I have no idea what I'll put on the loom first. I must go find my copy of Davidson's book and pore over it with a cup of coffee--all those lovely twills to be re-explored after a 25-year absence.