I first tried weaving when we were still living in the Chicago area. I have knit for 8 years or so now, and I love it and find it soothing, but somehow weaving was different. For whatever reason, I connected with on a deeper level. Maybe it was because I learned how to weave from a woman, in a room full of women, whereas I learned how to knit from the internet. Whatever the reason, I had a sense of doing something that women have been doing for centuries and of being connected to those women. It was all very Womyn Power, in a way that I hadn't ever experienced before.
Fast forward last Thanksgiving weekend, at a gas station in northwest Indiana, where I arranged to meet a woman from Craigslist. For the sweet price of $30, I got a Spears Weaving Loom, Size 4. It's vintage, from the 60's or so, made in England, and it even came with an instruction manual. Here it is:
I'm not going to get into the problems with tension, yarn breakage, and the like that I experienced. ("The like" being a phrase which here means "brief periods of white hot rage and hatred for that stupid loom and stupid yarn and stupid me, followed by longer periods of drinking and crying, followed by moments of joyous self-satisfaction at my genius in problem-solving".) I am just going to say that while I quite like the yarn I picked, it probably wasn't the best for what I wanted. There was at least one point at which I was sure I wasn't going to finish the (damned, stupid, evil, wretched) scarf.
One difference between weaving projects and my other crafty pursuits, though, is put-away-ability. The loom does break down to fit in a box about the size a board game, but not until either the project is finished or I've decide that I'm not going to finish the project. I can stuff a frustrating piece of knitting in the back of my closet for years, but the loom, she taunts me. And since I have more than enough things dwelling in my head to make me feel bad about myself, I decide to prioritize finishing up one of the things dwelling in the physical realm.
All of which is to say, "Ta-da....."
For the record, there will be a next time for the loom and me. With luck, it will involve less cursing than last time.
1 comment:
I just bought a Spear's 4 loom, and I have put it together. I know that this posting was years ago, but I could use your help.
How did you keep the heddle at the two different heights required to separate the threads? I am used to a holder when I tried weaving, and this doesn't have one.
I sure could use any help you could provide. (I have looked high and low for videos on weaving with this loom, to no avail.)
Post a Comment