Canny Cat: Art, Crafts, Life!

February 21, 2010

First weaving!

emoticon

So I picked up another loom at the weekend – a Weavemaster 4-shaft – and also came away with a Dryad 2-shaft! Not bad for £30! The Dryad is in super condition and came ready-warped with orange cotton, so I grabbed some waste-yarn and got stuck in:

I’m finding that a raddle is a necessity – I don’t have one, and I’m really struggling to keep the edges even. I’m also finding that stick shuttles are a huge pain in the bum – I am spending more time fishing around in the warp trying to reach my shuttle than I am weaving – so a boat shuttle is another must.

There’s not a whole lot one can weave on a 2-shaft loom, however, and the weavemaster needs work. So, having mulled over the reality of my purchases, and taken account of the cost and amount of work that restoring them will take, I’ve decided to instead sell these looms on fleabay and buy a brand needs-no-work new one new.

My mother will be pleased to hear that I have been having a huge clear-out of craft supplies (can you believe Tom told me I was a fire hazard?!); it’s the first proper sort out I’ve had in several years – probably since before I learned to knit – and I’ve actually managed to de-stash my way to the price of a brand new loom in the space of three weeks. Shocking. (But in a good way.)

I sold some fabric, a whole heap of yarn and sacks of fleece that I knew I would never get round to using, along with a few “larger” items like my Golding Spindle – far too pretty to have been sitting in a cupboard for so many years; I am really pleased it’s gone to someone who will use and enjoy it. I stopped short of selling my Ashford Traditional (despite complaints about space from Tom). I barely use it now that I have my Joy, but I feel really attached to it since I bought it brand spanking new – it was me who waxed and assembled it, and it’s only ever been used by me. And it’s just so pretty! Howard agrees, see?