Weaving Nirvana

Over the weekend, I spent some time organizing and decluttering the studio. I even decided to swap the placement of the looms to afford myself a bit more space around them. 

Once that was done, I dedicated myself to weaving!

Each loom has a 13 yard warp on it, and I was able to complete two towels on each of them, as well as weave on the one in the dining room for a while. 

It bugged me that neither of the looms were centered on their respective walls, but I did not notice that while I was actually working at them. So, I may learn to live with the lack of symmetry.

One thing I realized when flitting from the Beast to Lil' Miss and back is that the body motion and rhythm between these two looms are virtually the same, as they are both Macombers. The treadles are slightly different in size. The weight of the beater bars, as well as the force necessary to depress the treadles vary, but the motions are all the same. 

The Leclerc Colonial 60" loom in the dining room has treadles hinged on the front, rather than the back, the distance between the breast beam and beater bar is greater, and the entire loom has a different feel to it. It is still fun to weave on, without a doubt, but I have to position myself differently on it and it requires contrasting motions to weave. A lot of this, of course, is what I am accustomed to. My body is used to weaving on a Macomber. 

When Lil' Miss came to join us, I was charmed and delighted with her size, but I was afraid I would not love weaving on her as much as I did the Beast.

She has been with me for almost three months, and I have the second warp on her. 

I can honestly say, she is an absolute dream to weave on. 

While sturdy and firm, she is responsive and quick, much like a high performance vehicle nimbly moving in and out of traffic.

The Beast is steady and massive. I liken him to a Mercedes semi-truck. Top speeds when he finally gets going, but it takes him a bit to work up it. He is also built for millions of miles. In fact, they are both built for miles and miles.

Even before I bought her, I knew the 32" Macomber would be my retirement loom. I had not seen them available for sale second (or third or fourth) hand very often, and I had decided that I may have to save for a new one. When I spoke to the husband about it, I had described it as 12-shaft loom and called it "my retirement loom" for two reasons a) it would be my gift to myself for decades of hard work and faithful service and b) I thought there may come a time when the Beast would be too big for me. 

Now, I am another 10-12 years from retirement and the Beast still fits me just fine, but I am pleased to have Lil' Miss. I anticipate she will be the one with whom I actually spend more time on as I age.

With that in mind, I continue to invest in her. 

She came to me with 4 shafts and a plain beam with the dreaded ratchet and pawl brake. Before she had even arrived, I placed an order with Macomber for a second sectional beam with a friction brake.

This arrived last week. 

Firstly, it was intact, unlike the one for the Beast, which had an end piece broken off in transit; however, it ended up being no big deal, as they immediately sent out a replacement end plate.

Secondly, as soon as I uncrated it, the husband helped me attach it to keep it safe and out of the way, although the brake has not been installed yet. She still has a warp on her that I would like to finish first. 

Thirdly, I have saved almost enough pennies to order shafts 5 through 8 for her, as well as a lamm depressor kit. 

As she was made in 1968, she has a very simple wooden dowel tied to her with cotton rope to push down a lamm when doing tie ups, which only leaves one hand free for said tie up. It is much easier to do when the lamm is depressed and secured in place with two free hands to do the tie ups.

Fourthly, the new apron for the cloth beam and beater pads are en route (they did not make it into the box with the sectional, unfortunately). 

Once the new shafts arrive and she is free of the current warp, the darling husband will get to work (I am so lucky) with all the upgrades. 

The current shafts are well worn and scuffed, although quite functional. There is only a hint of rust, but they could certainly use a fresh coat of paint. 

I am toying with the idea of taking them for sand blasting and powder coating, but I may just rub them down with steel wool and spray paint them with Rustoleum Hammered paint. 

The new ones should not require any attention, but it might be fun to paint the first four a different color. It I mess it up, I can always go the sandblasting and powder-coated route. 

Lastly, she will need new heddles, at least for the four new harnesses. The flat heddles she has now are no longer made, and I do not have enough for all eight shafts. They are also not my favorite, as I prefer the inserted eye heddles. 

Once all that is done, she will be done!

Both the Beast and Lil' Miss have room for 10 shafts each, but there are fewer drafts for that many harnesses, than there are for 4-shaft and 8-shaft. I honestly do not think the extra expense is warranted or justified. 

One additional note, I came across a video from Weaving Basics on Weaving Ergonomics. After watching it, I tried to pay attention to how I weaved, specifically, how I moved my body while weaving. I discovered I tended to pivot on my pelvis and naturally sat on the edge of the bench, but I was using my arms to beat more than necessary. While strange at first to make the beating movement with my arm basically rigid, I noticed far less fatigue over time. It is well worth the three-and-a-half minutes to view. 

If anyone is looking for me during my off time, check the studio!