I've vented on here several times about my declining physical 'fitness' and health.
Over the past few months I have also been fighting with an elderly AVL Production Loom which is showing signs of also being worn out.
Thing is, I am not done weaving. I'm not nearly done weaving. I want to weave and so I had to come up with a plan that would allow me to continue to weave.
When Louet premiered the Megado, I had the opportunity to weave on it at a conference I was attending. I was impressed with the other Louet looms I had seen and at times woven on in workshops, so I was curious about the Megado.
For one thing, the Louet looms are well engineered. I had woven on one while Doug had the flu and he had no idea I had been weaving it was so quiet. The loom was in my dining room, so if he was going to hear it, it was close enough to bother him as he slept, trying to recover from a rather serious flu.
So I was familiar with the 'floating' beams, the small footprint and how quiet they were. However, I was also familiar with the AVL and how noisy it was so I wanted to see if the Megado had continued it's engineering in that regard.
They did not disappoint.
So as I thought through my options, the Megado kept rising to the top of my thinking.
It's not a cheap loom and they are not readily available on the second hand market, which kind of tells you about overall customer satisfaction.
So I gripped my credit card tightly and ordered one. I just managed to time it so that the loom ought to arrive sometime in August or early September.
Since I am pretty much over fighting with looms, as soon as I can get the current warp woven off, the AVL will get disassembled and we will inventory the parts that others might be interested in buying because perhaps they have a loom that is wearing and need new gears. Or more shuttles and pirns. Or heddles. I have about a bazillion heddles. Plus the dobby bars I kept in case of failure of the compu-dobby.
Life is too short to fight with equipment, and I can't take money with me. My brother would approve of my spending my inheritance on something to ensure a better quality of life...and weaving...
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5 comments:
Laura, you won't regret having a Megado (or any Louet loom). They are truly well designed, well crafted tools and a joy to use. Quiet and efficient.
I have a 36" Spring 90 (12 shaft/ 14 treadle) and its my favourite. Its never empty...
I have a 45" 16 shaft Megado 110 and I added the special springs to lighten the treadling action and have no regrets. I do recommend you order it with all the heddles you feel you will need per shaft so it arrives with them all set. Getting them on is not easy... the shafts are tightly spaced together and its awkward! But doable.....
Congratulations!
Oh, my, congratulations, Laura!! I hope you will be blissfully and unutterably happy with the new loom, and that you will have a fabulous autumn/winter for starters!!
Good point, Susan. I think it says it comes with 1600, which should be enough for my purposes, but I will crunch numbers. Meg, I am looking forward to ending this year with a fresh new outlook. What that will consist of I don’t yet know. But I have also learned that in order for a new door to open, I need to close the door on the old...
Glad to see you have decided on a special purchase to make your life easier and more pleasurable. I have always believed that an inheritance is well spent getting something special.
Laura, I SO understand any wish to avoid fighting with the equipment. As we age, and the energy level gets gradually lower, so does the willingness to combat the loom. Congratlations on your decision. I've heard nothing but good about the Louet looms.
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