Loom Love

A few years ago I was gifted a sweet Ashford Knitters Loom with a 12” weaving witdth. It was a perfect first rigid heddle loom. I wove several scarves , some wash clothes, some table runners, and even a few mug rugs. When weaving the mug rugs, I broke the back warp stick. The loom sat unusable until June, when I finally got a replacement warp stick. But during the six months that the loom sat idle, I developed the itch to weave wider things. I wanted to make placemats. Maybe even some yardage for sewing garments.

But I also wanted to stay with a rigid heddle loom. Today, I got my wish. I drove up to Cedar and bought an older, used Schacht rigid heddle loom with a 25” weaving width. Oh yeah! It came with three reeds (8-, 10-, 12- dents), a couple of stick shuttles, warping pegs, a threading hook, the book, Hands On Rigid Heddle Weaving by Betty Linn Davenport, a notebook with additional articles about weaving on a rigid heddle loom, AND a trestle floor stand! The previous owner, Kathy K, found this loom to be just a bit too big for the space she has in her house.

Boy oh boy, did I benefit from her dilemma!

I would love to spend the rest of the day getting to know this loom, but it’ll have to wait a couple weeks. I’m right now getting ready for the Michigan Fiber Festival, and I’m trying to finish the current energized scarf to show as a sample for my workshop, Spinning With Commercial Yarns. There are a few spots left in that workshop. Join me!