Inkle loom!

 Hubby gave me this wonderful little loom for Christmas. It was out of stock then, so I got it this week

Am I happy? Yes! Thank you so much Kari!

It's a Schacht inkle loom. The size is perfect, you can have it in your lap and sit in your comfy armchair if you have a suitable table to lean it on. I have a piece of board on my lap to make the weaving more steady.

I have already woven two ribbons, so far simple ones. Of course I had mislayed my shuttles, it's a long time since I last used them. So I bought two new ones from Toika Looms. When I was carrying them up to my study I saw - the box with my looms and shuttles... it's been there all the time I've been looking for it.

If anyone knows what those kind of looms are called in English, please tell me! It's a kind of backstrap weaving. They have been common all over Scandinavia, and I think elsewhere too. I found my cards too, up to the left in the picture. I'm not good at using them. I find the technique difficult to understand and to figure out where I'm going during the weaving process, but I also realize they are very handy and highly useful tools when you want to weave intricate patterns. The blue-white ribbon I wove on one of the backstrap (?) looms. That's a technique I'll recall in my next ribbon, for now I only have a faint memory of how you do it.

As you may have noticed I'm badly struck with weaving fever. As if Toika would have known that, they sent me their catalogue for this year with lots and lots of goodies: looms, equipment, yarns, weaving programs if you want to go digital with your loom. Sigh... See the small pretty loom down to the right? I think it would fit into my study if I do some fixing and organizing first...

But, so far, so good. The inkle loom and the small weaving frames I showed in an earlier post will cure the worst of the fever. Here's the first ribbon I wove on the Schacht loom:

Wooden antique flask with ribbon of hand dyed sock yarns

The Schacht loom is far more handy and easy to use than my old ones. For one thing, you warp on the loom, and it's ready to use. You can put it away for a break, and the warp doesn't get tangled up. I'm so very satisfied with it! I'm now looking at my handspun odds and ends. I need 2.5 meters for one warp thread, so as you can figure out, almost any left over can be used. I see endless possibilities.

Only I have to finish a color blending workshop for Online Guild first... :) And a few SALs and KALs on Ravelry... and a cardi for my little nephew.

Edited to add Feb 27 2012:  The two looms I show above are called "rigid heddle" in English. The English term "rigid heddle loom" refers to the heddle loom you keep on table. It doesn't have a back strap and it's bigger. Thanks to Birgith in Sweden!