You're not gonna believe this...
Just last week I was commiserating with a friend about how hard it is to find good deals on old spinning wheels & looms in the Age of eBay. Then this came home with DH after work today:
Apparently someone was throwing it out. A friend noticed it on the curb, and called DH before he left work (thank goodness he drove the pick-up today!). It appears to be homemade, we think. At least I can't find a manufacturer's name on it, and it's made of different woods. The beams seem to be made of pine, some pieces are oak. 
The reed is missing, and one side of the beater is broken, but we can replace that (that rope is holding the pieces of the beater up, which is why it looks crooked). 
Other than that, I don't know enough about floor looms to know what else might be missing/broken. It does have string heddles, which I'm not crazy about, but we'd have probably have to change the heddle set-up to change to metal heddles. And I'm probably going to need boat shuttles eventually. It folds, thank goodness, so I won't trip over it leaving for work in the morning. :-D
Though I'm interested in tinkering with it, it's going to be awhile before I can do anything, as I have way too many projects ongoing right now. Plus it is so big I don't know how much I'll end up using it, but we'll see. Thank goodness DH cleaned out the basement while I was away visiting my family! Happy anniversary to me!! (Our anniversary is tomorrow - what timing, eh?)
Now back to our regularly-scheduled topics. :-D While visiting the family I finished spinning the first bobbin of alpaca (YAY!) and carded the second batch (wow do those cards hurt my hands!). I also took the 'secret' knitting project, and did a few rows on that; and I took the small loom and worked on that. Setting it on the stand DH made sure makes the weaving go much faster! I thought of some stand improvements as well, such as a ratcheted cloth beam, but that will be a future improvement. Surprisingly, all that stuff fit in my car - including the dog - probably because both the stand and the spinning wheel come apart easily for travel (have I mentioned I love my Babe wheel?).
It was great to see the family again; they are far enough away that I don't see them nearly as often as I would like. The dog was on his best behavior, and we tried several new recipes and made some old favorites. All-in-all, it was a very good Thanksgiving.
We hope you all had a good Thanksgiving too! :-D
Apparently someone was throwing it out. A friend noticed it on the curb, and called DH before he left work (thank goodness he drove the pick-up today!). It appears to be homemade, we think. At least I can't find a manufacturer's name on it, and it's made of different woods. The beams seem to be made of pine, some pieces are oak. 
The reed is missing, and one side of the beater is broken, but we can replace that (that rope is holding the pieces of the beater up, which is why it looks crooked). 
Other than that, I don't know enough about floor looms to know what else might be missing/broken. It does have string heddles, which I'm not crazy about, but we'd have probably have to change the heddle set-up to change to metal heddles. And I'm probably going to need boat shuttles eventually. It folds, thank goodness, so I won't trip over it leaving for work in the morning. :-D
Though I'm interested in tinkering with it, it's going to be awhile before I can do anything, as I have way too many projects ongoing right now. Plus it is so big I don't know how much I'll end up using it, but we'll see. Thank goodness DH cleaned out the basement while I was away visiting my family! Happy anniversary to me!! (Our anniversary is tomorrow - what timing, eh?)Now back to our regularly-scheduled topics. :-D While visiting the family I finished spinning the first bobbin of alpaca (YAY!) and carded the second batch (wow do those cards hurt my hands!). I also took the 'secret' knitting project, and did a few rows on that; and I took the small loom and worked on that. Setting it on the stand DH made sure makes the weaving go much faster! I thought of some stand improvements as well, such as a ratcheted cloth beam, but that will be a future improvement. Surprisingly, all that stuff fit in my car - including the dog - probably because both the stand and the spinning wheel come apart easily for travel (have I mentioned I love my Babe wheel?).
It was great to see the family again; they are far enough away that I don't see them nearly as often as I would like. The dog was on his best behavior, and we tried several new recipes and made some old favorites. All-in-all, it was a very good Thanksgiving.
We hope you all had a good Thanksgiving too! :-D
Labels: floor loom
posted by CL at
20:14
4 Comments:
Wow what a find!!! I've picked up an old chair here and there or a side table from the streets when I was living in a city, but THIS? WOW!!! You'll get to know your loom real well once you start giving it some loving care and repair. Looks great to me!
By
Maus, at 11/29/2006 7:44 AM
Thank you, maus! I was pretty shocked as well, as our town isn't all that big, and I didn't think there were any weavers or spinners around here!
Taking it apart and cleaning it will be a learning experience, but I'm looking forward to it - I think. :-D
By
CL, at 11/29/2006 9:40 AM
Wow, you can't beat that for the price! It will probably be a dandy, and shouldn't cost much to repair it. Are the heddles string or texsolve? You might try them before you invest in metal ones. By the way, you have the twin to my dog Heather, only mine is a fat cow...just eats and sleeps. Love those Springers.
By
Anonymous, at 11/29/2006 3:18 PM
Yes, it's an awfully good deal, especially since DH presently has some spare lumber in the shop - his lumber stash is like our fiber stash. ;-)
I'm not sure what the heddles are made of - they look like thin very-stiff nylon or plastic.
I had no idea Springers could just eat & sleep - my guy (our first Springer) is the Energizer Bunny of Dogdom! LOL
By
CL, at 11/29/2006 9:26 PM
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