Hoist, scrape, dust, mend, then breathe and weave

The rocky coast of Deer Isle Maine

Lesley scrapes off masking tape.

     In late May I went up to Haystack Mt. School of Crafts to volunteer for their annual spring clean up and studio maintenance. I was happily assigned to the Textile studio. When I was asked if I would mind going through the looms and see what needed repairs, I replied "Are you kidding?" I jumped right in and was even given a few comrades to help with the moving and cleaning of the looms.

     Now mind you, these loom see far less action than they did when I first attended Haystack in the 1970s. The Textile studio now is used for all sorts of surface design and textile arts. So these looms get used maybe once a season. And over the years they have been rather neglected. As with many communal studio spaces the equipment does not get the TLC one would give their own loom. So these looms had YEARS of crusty masking tape gummed up all over them. That was our first task, to remove the tape.

     We discovered that Silicone spray on the old tape would work really well to help loosen up the stuff. Then using a scraper we could usually easily remove most of the old tape.
     Please remember to REMOVE all the tape whenever you put it on your loom!! Your loom will love you back for this effort.

Silicone spray helps loosen old tape

Many hands make light work, thanks team!

Hoisting the looms down from the loft

Over the period of two days we scraped and cleaned, washed and dusted over 15 Macomber Looms. A few years back Haystack Mt. School made the wise decision to convert the weaving equipment to all one loom brand. This makes it easier to teach weaving and maintain the equipment. So with the help of a few of wonderful friends, we made light work of a long over due task.

Now because the Textile studio is used for many other techniques besides weaving, about ten of the looms are stored in a loft. Here's how we got them up and down! No easy task!

Misty evening on Haystack shores.

Yes, the color of the water is really this green!

Next week, I will head back up to Deer Isle to bring the parts that many of these looms need to be brought up to working order, including ten beams that needed new aprons strings! My dear husband Ben and I will spend another two days working to install beams and other parts. I look forward to breathing in the salty air and resting awhile down on the granite shores.

Sarah at Sunapee NH Crafts fair

     Now most of you know that I have been at this business of weaving for a very long time. So when I was at the Macomber shop last week, the guys handed me this photo, taken in 1983(?). I hope you get a good laugh at the glasses, hair and the skirt. I know I did! Here also is the first page of an article written about that photo. A healthy sense of humor about one's self is very important as we travel along this road of life!
  

Computing Magazine article

On a final note, I get many calls from people that are re-habbing old Macomber Looms. Most folks want the short cut version of what to do. So here you go:


MACOMBER LOOM REHAB AND BASIC MAINTENANCE LIST:

• Clean all the wood with Murphy's Oil soap
• If any of the wood is "raw" apply a light urethane to seal it
• Vaseline all connections between bronze and steel (jacks, etc)
• Spray metal parts with silicone spray (Heddle bars, etc) (NEVER use WD30 or 3 in 1 oil!!)
• Spray lamms and guides with silicone spray
• If cast iron parts are rusty, use Rustoleum paint

That's the important stuff. Thanks to everyone for your comments and photos of your looms. Happy weaving!

"I never thought it could be so fun"

The thank you letter

I've been spring cleaning, and I mean a massive studio cleanse. I have been heaving out piles of yarn, drawings, layouts for tapestries, mat board, slides, assorted weaving materials, notebooks and computer parts. Amidst all these cast offs, I unearth at least one treasure a day. Yesterday, I found a folder full of letters from a school where I had been an artist in residence. This letter is a real gem.....my favorite part reads: "I never thought it (weaving) could be so fun. I thought it was only a old lady woman thing. Thank you for teching us to weve."

samplers from over 25 years ago

samplers from at least 20 years ago

Well, there you have it. "An old lady woman thing". Stereotypes abound, but never mind, even if I am getting older and I am a woman, weaving (or rather weveing) still fills my day, lifts my spirits and challenges my brain.

sampler from over 30 years ago

Among the stuff I sorted through yesterday, I found decades of samplers. Now as a weaving instructor I am always in favor of sampling a weave structure and the materials before launching into a full blown project. But Good Lord, now I have decades of samplers filling boxes, baskets and bins. I always advocate to my students to never throw these out. I still believe that as these are a record of your research, your successes and your failures. There might be a few here and there to toss, but for the most part, roll them back up and store them as you would any good resource materials.

part of a bed covering that I never completed, 35 yrs old

As someone who has been weaving for over 40 years, there is much to review in these bins stored up high in my studio loft. Each bin reveals memories, treasures and yes...trash! Or perhaps something to pass along to other weavers.

Things at the Macomber shop proceed along. Thanks to everyone for their kind thoughts about Rick and the Macomber family. Thanks to everyone for ordering your looms and parts from me. Although it is possible to call the shop directly and do the same, I believe that I offer a weaver's wisdom and knowledge, at no extra cost to you. So I want you to know I truly appreciate your business.

Speaking of business, I have a new one! I am now an official sales person for Gowdey Reed. I have started a blog just like this one where you can learn about reeds and heddles. Check out my new blog ~ Gowdey Reed, heddles and handweaving.

I promise that in my next post, I put up some more tips about our beloved Macomber Looms.

Thanks again to all ~ Sarah

A history lesson

 56" 4H fly shuttle

Yesterday someone posted this question to the blog: "Hi Sarah, I love my Macomber loom, B5 1223 the metal plate reads Saugus, Mass and not York, Maine, what is the history behind the two locations"

Well this calls for a brief history lesson! I am actually going to quote an old newspaper interview with Rick Hart. This article was printed in the York Coast County Star on June 13,1979.

It is with a few smiles and chuckles that Rick traces the family business back to 1934 in Massachusetts when Cousin Della who was a well known weaving teacher in the Boston area and Uncle Leroy (Macomber) an engineer for General Electric teamed up to design a loom. 

R 10 1950 12H 56"

"She was trying to build looms on her own and not being very successful" said Rick. The partnership broke down in 1936, however, when Cousin Della and Uncle Leroy could not agree on the design. The Hart family still has a file of correspondence between the two. "It's interesting to see how it developed" said Rick.

     Notwithstanding the disagreement, there are no hard feelings, Cousin Della, now in her 80s, distributes parts for looms from Boston and receives mail for Macomber Looms. After the split, Macomber proceeded to open a small loom factory in his basement in Saugus. He worked with a few helpers three nights a week and on Saturdays producing a then one-of-a-kind 24 harness loom and making looms so that extra harnesses could be added on when the weaver became ore experienced or wanted to try something different.

      Fred Hart (Rick's father) joined his Uncle in 1945 and Rick joined the operation which had become more of a full time business in 1962 when he was only 14 years old. He worked afternoons and Saturdays and vacations for the company which had by then moved to two floors over a gas station in Saugus. Leroy Macomber passed away 1967 and the Harts bought the business after their aunt had run it in the interim.

    But Rick Hart yearned for the country life, so Macomber Looms moved from Saugus, Mass. to York in July 1977.

1950 R10 12H 56"

 So there you have it....the reason some looms were built in Saugus and some were built (and still are) in York.

Look as this: #1!

Look at these odd jack levers.

Number #1 Model B

Ironically right now in the shop there is the #1 Macomber Model B loom! This loom is in for a total make-over. The jacks are rather odd. But with some investigation Eddie found out why: the old harnesses were made of wood and this system allowed for adjustments.

Basically this loom looks the same as they are currently made, but the wood is quite dark.
So there you have it...a brief history of Macomber Looms.

Thanks for asking Erin!

Happy weaving! Sarah

Rick Hart

Sunday evening Rick Hart, owner of Macomber Looms passed away at his home. He was 63 years old. You can read his obituary in the local paper.  Our sincere condolences are extended to the Hart family. Eddie is keeping the shop running, so no worries about getting any orders you may have placed recently.

I am LONG over due with an newsy update. Holidays, family, travel and work have kept me busy.  So hang tight, keep weaving and calling me with your orders. I'll be back with photos and loom info soon. Thanks to everyone for your Manual orders!

A tip of the hat, or rather shuttle, to Rick for his many contributions to making Macomber Looms the loom of choice for generations of weavers.
~ Sarah

Replacable parts

I am sure that you know that every part on a Macomber Loom is replaceable. In our plastic throw-away culture, this is truly a unique phenomena. When people ask me about getting parts for old looms, I reply, YES! I even had a request this week about parts for a loom built in 1939!  

Loom built in 1939

My Macomber Looms Manual has received good reviews. Many thanks again to Sue Jensen for her part in organizing the materials. You can order this PDF download here...just look for the buy now button to your right. I'll send you the download within 24 hours. Thanks to everyone who has purchased the manual so far! I truly appreciate your support.

And here in my studio, I continue to wrap up "Woven Voices"  and to focus on my thesis for the Masters of Art and Healing. My website has a mini-blog that has more studio news. Check it out!

Thanks to each of you for your kind words of support and compassion. I feel so incredibly fortunate to be amongst this tribe of supportive weavers. I welcome your questions and orders.

Happy weaving! Sarah

From tidal wave to charting a new course

Me and Wes on our trans-Atlantic crossing

As a sailor, I know that one can set a course, navigate to the best of one's ability and still not make your destination. As in real life there are many influences to throw one off course. The course I set back in July, on my last blog post, was to take three months off to conclude "Woven Voices: Messages from the Heart" , to evaluate my relationship with Macomber Looms and to complete my thesis for my Masters of Art and Healing. It seems that the universe had other plans for my three month sabbatical. On August 18th, my dear brother Weston was tragically killed at a constructions site in Searsport, ME. Needless to say this event altered my intended course in an unexpected and new direction. You can read how this event affected Woven Voices by checking out the project blog. As far as my thesis, well, I have had little to no progress. For much of the past three months, I have felt like I have been submerged by a tidal wave. If any of you have had a sudden and tragic loss such as this, you know that it feels hard to breath, you feel disoriented and turned around.

Fall colors

The good news is, that I am emerging. Slowly and surely each day, I make motions to move forward with intention, love and purpose. Thanks to everyone who has reached out during this difficult time with kind words of support.

As far as my relationship with Macomber, I am returning to sell parts for looms. However there is one change, all reed and heddle orders will directly go through me, payment via PayPal or check. Prices for these items will remain as listed in the price list.


Now for the REALLY GOOD NEWS....drum roll here.....an angel has stepped forward to help create the long over due Macomber Looms and Me blog/manual!! Sue Jensen is my angel. She reached out to me about a month ago and has compiled all the blog posts into one document, including photos and any comments/questions. I will be posting this PDF soon, available for a small fee. Thanks Sue!!


So that is it for now. Thanks again to everyone for reaching out and for your continued support of my efforts on this blog. I look forward to hearing from everyone.

I know that over these three months, the process of weaving has kept me from going way off course. I hope that for each of you, the time you spend with threads brings a quality of peace, grace and hope to your days.

Times they are a-changin'

As the great folk poet Bob Dylan sang, the times they are a-changing. Beginning August 1, 2011, I will be taking a sabbatical from my job as a sales rep for Macomber Looms. There are a few reasons I have decided to take this break, but the primary one is that I must focus more of my time and energy to "Woven Voices: Messages from the Heart", the global community peace project that I launched almost four years ago. This project is at a pivotal point and demands my full attention.

Community woven prayer flags

In addition to this global peace project, this fall I will be completing my master thesis for my degree in Art and Healing from Wisdom University. 

So for at least until early November, I will no longer be taking orders, answering questions or problem solving for you dear weavers. I feel very torn about this decision, but I know in my heart it is the right thing to do at this time.

I will continue to follow and support folks who have placed orders and are still awaiting delivery.

So if you have orders that you would like to place before I sign off....please give me a call or email me until  Saturday 8/1/11.

You can keep up with my work my projects and my teaching through my other blog and my website.

Peace and goodwill to each of you ~ Sarah