onsdag 14 december 2011

Weaving

Something odd happened when I took my first weaving lesson in the 80s. I'm quite sure I had never used a loom before that evening. When I sat down and picked up the shuttle and put my foots on the treadles I new I had done it before. The loom was old and in a bad shape, but it didn't bother me. I was fascinated. The familiar feeling from that first evening never left me during the years I wove.

Some time later one of my friends also wanted to weave, so we bought a big loom together and I put it up in my living room. Yes, I put it together myself without help. I used stools and chairs to keep the different parts in place while trying to lift the very heavy warp beam and secure it. I'm not a big person, so getting a good grip of the beam was difficult, but I made it. My friend was off on a trip and I had no patience to wait for her. When she came back it was time for the warp. I had taken our yarns to a warping service, because warping a towel warp felt a bit scary.

A good advice: keep your puppy in another room while warping... we where a bunch of colleagues from my job having a good time warping the big loom, and suddenly there was a puppy holding on to the linen-cotton warp with her small sharp teeth. We had a hard time trying to fix that later when we started weaving.

Life went on into new directions, so some years later we sold the loom. Hubby and I moved into a small house with no space for a loom, and even if we later moved to a bigger house, I have no loom.

I'm weaving on a mini loom now. I bought one this autumn to calm down, because the weaving bug had bitten me once more and I found myself being restless and nervous because I couldn't weave.

It's fun to make small squares. I sew thread after thread and think of nothing. (As far as that is possible.) If you want to buy one, search Etsy for "mini looms", or buy one of these: Hazel Rose Looms. My 5 inch square loom is from bigfam15.

Here is one of the towels I wove on my big loom, and on top of it four squares woven on my mini loom. I used a very dull handspun woolen yarn that I didn't know how to use until I thought it would be a good weaving yarn.

Drama: December morning light!

10 kommentarer:

  1. Your handspun squares look gorgeous! Good luck with the weaving bug - if you don't watch yourself, you'll have a big floor loom in your livingroom again :)

    SvaraRadera
  2. Yes, there is a very big risk :) Or possibility.

    SvaraRadera
  3. I am trying desperately to keep myself from buying a loom. But I know that one of these days I'll be at an auction and a big floor loom will be going for next to nothing and somehow it will come home with me:-) I really want to make rag rugs like a neighbor of mine made years ago and know that those take a BIG loom!

    SvaraRadera
  4. Haha Sarah ;) Yes, you need a loom! More looms to handspinners! I keep an eye on the Finnish Huutonet (eBay type). There are looms for sale but I haven't seen the one I want yet, only bigger versions.

    SvaraRadera
  5. Kan man inte tänka sig att sy ihop rutor till en matta, kanske tova eller så... Men, vad är det för mått på ramen, om man skulle vilja göra en själv? Finns det någon lämplig liten vävstol för slika äventyr? Jag har också en del garn som absolut skulle kunna vävas med!

    SvaraRadera
  6. Min ram är 10 x 10 cm (5 tum). Rutorna ska sys ihop. Om du tittar noga på ramen så ser du att spikarna sitter i ett speciellt mönster. Man varpar tre sidor efter ett schema och syr (väver) den fjärde. Det bildas ett mönster i kanterna som gör att rutorna kan sys till ett tyg utan glipor. Dina garner skulle bli underbara i en filt! Som matta blir det för tunt i den här ramen, men med en större (sök "peg loom" på nätet) kan du väva mattor.

    SvaraRadera
  7. Oj, Hillevi, en filt! Det låter ju fantastiskt. Jaha, och hur ser det schemat ut tro? Mannen har redan sett att det var ett speciellt mönster på spikarna! Om jag är snäll kan jag kanske få en hjälpande hand med ramarna! Jag tycker att det ser läckert ut! och förr vävde jag lite på vanlig vävstol, så lite hum har jag. Peg loom, skall jag söka på. Hur sitter spikarna?

    SvaraRadera
  8. Den här kommentaren har tagits bort av skribenten.

    SvaraRadera