Hillevis Trådar: december 2011

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!

It's the time of the year when you have to look very closely to see any colors but faint grays, beige, and white. On my walks with the dog I can get overwhelmed by the beauty of a landscape where the colors are so sparse.

Kasper can disappear in a moment. He's the same color as nature this time of the year, and if he's standing still it's difficult to see him. On an open field it's easier to keep an eye on him, but there are interesting things like hares also. He's fast, he's a herder, he starts in no time at all.