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jeanweaves

~ Jean Williams, Handweaver

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Monthly Archives: March 2016

Loom Therapy

30 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by jeanweaves in creating, Looms, Weaving Inspiration

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Creativity, Damask, handwork, Projects, Weaving

Another damask warp off the loom!

Another damask warp off the loom!

Life happens, and there are seasons when it demands attention. We have all experienced them. Parents age. Children struggle. Friends face crises. Sometimes it’s joyful distractions: weddings, graduations, new jobs, new children–or grandchildren. All these pull at our energies and keep us away from the work of our hands.

In the past, physicians recognized the healing properties of working with the hands. There are images of hospital patients, adults and children alike, weaving at looms, making baskets, painting. Occupational Therapy is only one of many fields in which arts and crafts are used to soothe. Who among us hasn’t found peace in the gentle rhythm of the shuttle or knitting needles?

The past several months have been full of distractions, and yet whenever I sat down at the loom again, it felt so good, so peaceful to throw the shuttle, listen to the gentle thump of the beater, to watch the pattern grown at the fell. And while I was away from the loom, knitting brought some peace at the end of the day. Each row, each stitch, helped unknot the tensions.

Just this past week, I finished a warp that had been on my loom since September. It’s rare for a warp to take that long, but how gratifying to throw the final shot and cut the web! How satisfying to see the yards of damask unfold!

There are other warps that have been languishing as well. I’m looking forward to continuing some linen towels that have been patiently waiting on the Baby Wolf! And then there’s “Junior” waiting to have the shafts properly balanced for the opphämta weave I’ve been wanting to try.

And all of these are my therapy, soothing my mind and soul. Whenever life winds itself up tight, it’s good to pick up the shuttle again and re-center.

What do you do to calm your spirit?

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Progress Report

11 Friday Mar 2016

Posted by jeanweaves in Looms

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Damask, Loom, Textiles, Weaving

Lovely imprint of the maker

Lovely imprint of the maker

Junior is coming together. After almost 30 years of moving around, disassembled from coast to coast, Junior landed in my home, purchased this winter from a retired weaver.

Junior is a 10-shaft Glimakra countermarche loom, 47” wide with a drawloom frame on the top. I say “on the top” because that is its proper position, but it lay for many years in so many pieces along with a multitude of wooden sticks and metal bars that comprise the loom.

And I have to guess a little on that proper position, because this draw attachment is an earlier version of the one I have been using since 1993 which is a more robust design.

One of the replacement wheel ratchets

One of the replacement wheel ratchets

The first thing I did when getting it to my basement was to give it a thorough cleaning with wood conditioner. The wood was so very dry and dusty. Cleaning meant taking off yards of tangled Texsolv cords and washing those too. And I did a quick inventory of parts to be sure I could put it together. Ah, two vital missing components: the wheel ratchets to turn the cloth beam and the warp beam, and the wooden wedges that hold the frame together. Ordered those and waited patiently.

Yesterday, my kind husband helped assemble the frame and square it up. Then it got a second go-over with wood conditioner. The loom fairly glows now, although the wheel ratchets are a decidedly lighter color than the rest.

Junior Coming Together

Junior Coming Together

Now I’m sorting and matching which cords go where. They all were cut to specific lengths for specific purposes; it’s just a matter of finding which ones fit on which component.

All along, I’ve been pondering what the first warp will be. I know there will be a fair amount of adjustment as I get it threaded and balanced, so the first warp should be simple. And since it has the drawloom frame, I might as well set it up for a drawn design. Perhaps just some cotton yardage that I can use for towels or aprons will be the inaugural project.

I will keep you posted.

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