It is awfully nice to have a spouse who not only "deals" with my hobbies, but also helps me get started with new ones. For the past year or so, I've been thinking more and more about weaving. I've watched Julie play with her looms, Dr. Steph has been weaving scarves, I've heard Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood of Craftsanity podcast fame and Syne Mitchell of Weavecast talk about what weaving has added to their lives. I've played with my Weavettes as well as an introduction for myself. I liked it a lot, but as is usually true with me, while I liked the Weavettes, it was clear that I wasn't going to be able to make anything happen quickly, and there would be lots of seaming involved.
Today something special arrived. Can you guess what it might be?
I know my preface has probably given it away. It's definitely not a spinning wheel!
That reed should be a dead give away.
Yep, yep yep, it's a 25" Schacht Flip rigid heddle loom with a 10 dent reed. My dear husband got it for my for my birthday with the help of the ever fabulous Toni Neil of the Fold. It comes not quite assembled, so after I took it out of the box I had to do a few things to get it set up.
Here it is, most of the way to being ready to be warped. Even though it is ready, I am definitely not! I think there is some reading in my future -- there are detailed instructions in the manual, and I will have to do some thinking about the yarn I want to start with.
Why did I choose this loom? Well, The first consideration was budget. Since I've never done much weaving on any scale, I wanted something that wasn't going to break the bank if it didn't quite work out. The second consideration was getting something that I could learn to use without much assistance. The only weaving instruction I've seen in Chicago is rather far away from where I live and the schedules don't tend to be that compatible with a full-time job, so I needed a loom that I could learn to set up on my own. I also figured that a simpler loom would introduce me to the basics, and that after I understood the basics it would be easier to learn more complicated things. The final consideration was portability and storability. Space is not unlimited in our house and I thought it might be fun to be able to take my loom with me on the occasional trip.
From what I could see, this left me pretty much with two options: the Ashford Knitter's Loom and the Schacht Filp. Why did I pick the the Flip? Well, the primary reason was flexibility. There are more reeds available for the Flip, so there are more yarn size options for the warp. I also really liked the 25" width. That really makes the loom capable of doing a lot more than funky scarves, and simple scarves are still eminnently do-able. The Flip also has been built with two heddles in mind -- so if I really take to it, there's growth potential. The last reason is strictly aesthetics. The Flip is almost all solid maple except for the nylon ratches that handle the tension control. So it's not only a functional tool, but an attractive one as well.
I'm very psyched to get started with my new toy, and very thankful that my husband not only puts up with my hobbies, but supports and encourages them.
If any of you out there have experience with rigid heddle looms and want to recommend your favorite books and sources of weaving information in the comments, I'd be very appreciative.
Thank you so much to everyone who left me good wishes for my birthday. John and I celebrated with an exceptional dinner at Schwa (Michael Carlson's food is absolutely incredible and there is nothing quite like having the kitchen staff, including the chef serve dinner!) one of my favorite Chicago restaurants and I got to spend the day with my beautiful daughter. All your bloggy birthday wishes helped to make a good day even better. Forty doesn't seem like such a scary milestone when you have so many happy thoughts and good things happening in your life!
Today something special arrived. Can you guess what it might be?
I know my preface has probably given it away. It's definitely not a spinning wheel!That reed should be a dead give away.Yep, yep yep, it's a 25" Schacht Flip rigid heddle loom with a 10 dent reed. My dear husband got it for my for my birthday with the help of the ever fabulous Toni Neil of the Fold. It comes not quite assembled, so after I took it out of the box I had to do a few things to get it set up.
Here it is, most of the way to being ready to be warped. Even though it is ready, I am definitely not! I think there is some reading in my future -- there are detailed instructions in the manual, and I will have to do some thinking about the yarn I want to start with.
Why did I choose this loom? Well, The first consideration was budget. Since I've never done much weaving on any scale, I wanted something that wasn't going to break the bank if it didn't quite work out. The second consideration was getting something that I could learn to use without much assistance. The only weaving instruction I've seen in Chicago is rather far away from where I live and the schedules don't tend to be that compatible with a full-time job, so I needed a loom that I could learn to set up on my own. I also figured that a simpler loom would introduce me to the basics, and that after I understood the basics it would be easier to learn more complicated things. The final consideration was portability and storability. Space is not unlimited in our house and I thought it might be fun to be able to take my loom with me on the occasional trip.
From what I could see, this left me pretty much with two options: the Ashford Knitter's Loom and the Schacht Filp. Why did I pick the the Flip? Well, the primary reason was flexibility. There are more reeds available for the Flip, so there are more yarn size options for the warp. I also really liked the 25" width. That really makes the loom capable of doing a lot more than funky scarves, and simple scarves are still eminnently do-able. The Flip also has been built with two heddles in mind -- so if I really take to it, there's growth potential. The last reason is strictly aesthetics. The Flip is almost all solid maple except for the nylon ratches that handle the tension control. So it's not only a functional tool, but an attractive one as well.
I'm very psyched to get started with my new toy, and very thankful that my husband not only puts up with my hobbies, but supports and encourages them.
If any of you out there have experience with rigid heddle looms and want to recommend your favorite books and sources of weaving information in the comments, I'd be very appreciative.
Thank you so much to everyone who left me good wishes for my birthday. John and I celebrated with an exceptional dinner at Schwa (Michael Carlson's food is absolutely incredible and there is nothing quite like having the kitchen staff, including the chef serve dinner!) one of my favorite Chicago restaurants and I got to spend the day with my beautiful daughter. All your bloggy birthday wishes helped to make a good day even better. Forty doesn't seem like such a scary milestone when you have so many happy thoughts and good things happening in your life!
I don't have any advice about books for weaving, but I loved my opportunity to use a loom. I didn't get to try a rigid heddle, so I've been looking for a completely different loom for my starter. Though at the rate I'm going, I won't be getting a loom for at least 2 years!
Welcome to weaving! You will love it. I have had a 24" Ashford Rigid Heddle since December and I am more than a little obsessed. Rigid Heddle Weaving by Betty Linn Davenport and Weaving Made Easy by Liz Gipson are my two favorite books.
Don't stare at it and psych yourself out - just jump in. It goes much faster than knitting and the only way to learn is to practice. Pick some less-loved yarn for your first try and give it go. (And join the Rigid Heddle Weaver's group on Ravelry, where you can see other people's weaving and get questions answered. See you there!)
So when are you coming over to weave? I can't wait to check out your loom! And like I said, it will get me motivated to get working on my next weaving project :)
Glad you had a nice birthday!!
Happy belated birthday and good luck with your new hobby! =)
That's so cool! Congratulations on your new toy--a loom is another thing on my "list," too. So far, I'm stuck at the Weavette stage.
And, happy birthday, too, since I apparently missed that the other day!
A belated, but heartfelt,
*H*A*P*P*Y* *B*I*R*T*H*D*A*Y* !
What a fab present ! Hope you have lots of fun learning to weave.
Happy belated Birthday!
Mine was the 5th.
Enjoy your loom!
and keep us updated on what you make with it!
how exciting! my hubs buys me new hobby stuff too. i love it. how boring would life be without hobbies?!?!?
i am excited to see the things you make. though, i wish you bravery. the very picture of that equipment scares the bejesus out of me. i am relatively sure that I would not only warp it but get a limb caught in it.
Congrats and welcome to weaving land! you will soon outgrow the loom and head for more complex and wonderful lands. Have fun in the process.
www.handweaving.net
Search by topic and you will find lots of FREE OOP wonderful weaving books for rigid heddle looms. There is one in particular about Brocade....and so it goes! Don't miss the gallery. Download Mary Meigs Atwater books. They all have wonderful basic information.
Happy Belated BIRTHDAY!
I'll be very interested to see your weaving posts...you always present *technical* information SO well!
Enjoy your new toy! I can't wait to see what you do with it.
Very happy belated birthday. I've wanted for years to learn to weave but classes and the size of getting a loom (which I would want to do, I know it) have always stopped me. But maybe a little one might work. I will watch your posts about your new toy with interest. I really have enjoyed watching Z grow up - I've been a reader since long before she was born. She is a sweetheart and I'm glad you post on her as much as you do.