It's a beautiful sight

I just had to share this sight. The hand dyed double warp is all ready to thread. You might be interested in my set up. I keep the warps under tension by using cut up tube socks, and looping three inch sections under the harnesses and then slip them under the front beam. This trick makes it a breeze to thread this warp at 36 epi!

Don't you just love how the front of this loom drops to make threading so easy on the back?

My next step will be to raise the harnesses to make the heddles at eye level. I will post photos of the way I set up this as well as my quirky way I thread the reed.

I hope that these photos help you understand my set-up.
~ Sarah

Warping tip from one of you!

Yet another rainy day here in Maine. I am certainly getting much done in my studio these days!! Freshly dyed warps here.

Here is a tip for sectional warpers from Kathy in VT:

"At a pet store, you can buy plastic tubing for use in aquariums. It's about a quarter of an inch in diameter, I'm guessing. It is just the right size to fit over the metal dividers on the sectional beam. Cut it into short lengths (4-5 inches). For each section that you are about to fill with yarn, attach one end of tube to the left metal divider, then bend it and attach the other end to the divider on the next (empty) section adjacent to the section you are filling. Do this for all the dividers on both the left and right sides. Each tube creates a barrier so that threads cannot overstep the divider and wind into the wrong section. Then remove the tubes and do this with the next section to be warped."

The photos here show the plastic tubing and how to set it up on the sectional beam posts.

Thanks Kathy!!
Anyone else want to send me a handy hint?? Please do so. Photos help to tell the story.

Happy weaving, Sarah

Weaving in the rain!!

I know the song is actually singing in the rain....but these days here in Maine we have had 3 weeks of rain, with only four days of sunshine. One of those days was my birthday (thank you very much!!). The good side of this yucky weather is that it has been great studio time. I have had the opportunity to make head way on a commission that has been in the works for months. And here is a photo of a newly finished piece in a show at the Wentworth Gardner House, a historical house in Portsmouth NH.

Here's my artists statement about the piece: "Feeding the Heart" ~ This title is a direct quote from a credo attributed to Wallace Nutting, a NH photographer who once owned the Wentworth Gardner House. "America, with its abundant materials everywhere for dwellings that will outlast the ages, will fail disgracefully unless she can learn that the monuments which are nearer than any other to feeding the heart and enshrining history are old dwellings." This piece is hand-dyed, woven linen, rayon, metallic threads and hand spun paper with photographs on canvas. 26" x 56"

Now some thoughts about Macomber Looms. Many of you write to me about trouble with the little tie up hooks, especially those on the CP portable looms. I spoke with Eddie this morning to pick his brain again about this problem. He said that one typical cause of problems with these hooks it that sometimes folks fold the looms with the hooks still attached. You MUST unhook all the treadles from the lamms prior to folding the CP loom.

If you have an older style CP with the lamms with the dense cardboard on them often the holes get stretched out and do not hold the hooks tightly. If this is the case, you will benefit from switching to the new style hooks. I know I have written abut this issue before, but since so many of you still ask me about it, I thought it worth repeating.

Many folks have also asked me about a manual for the looms. There is no manual to speak of. If you purchase a new loom CP you will get a short booklet about your loom. With the type B looms you will get a 2 pages of information about unpacking your loom. That is one major reason I started this blog...to share information and help folks with their looms.

Keep the questions coming. Fingers crossed for sunshine here! Photo here of hand-over-hand weaving in a health care setting....sunshine for the spirit!
Sarah