Yesterday I got the next warp beamed and started threading.
As my eyesight gets worse, I am having to make sure I can see what I'm doing. Over the years I worked out processes that were efficient for me, and when I changed looms, had to adapt some of those processes but by and large, they remain about the same. They differ only in details.
The Megado is different from the AVL in a number of details. The sectional beam is much smaller, smaller even than the AVL small beam. It is also placed much lower than the upper AVL beam that was my preferred option. The back beam is slanted and the Louet tension box is different, so I asked Doug to mount the AVL tension box rail to the Megado and I continue to use the AVL tension box.
The space to work in is much smaller so I have had to make some changes to how I get the warp onto the beam. The rest remains much the same.
Once the beam is filled, I tape each bout to a stick and the stick then carries all the bouts to just behind the heddles and gets taped to the loom frame.
At the front of the loom, the reed and beater top and the breast beam get removed. I use a shorter height stool to sit on to thread. It's not ideal, but I have yet to find a loom where threading isn't cramped or uncomfortable in some way, so...
I have supplemental light to illuminate the area where the heddles are. I don't mount lights onto the loom itself because that doesn't seem to work for me. Instead I have long arm lamps, one of which I use during weaving, mounted to the table that holds the laptop and one on a movable stand. I can move the lights to where they are needed as I thread.
The point is not specifically what I or someone else uses, the point is illumination so you can see is A Good Thing. Keep looking at options until you find what works for you.
As my stack of tea towels grow, there is a little voice niggling in the back of my mind - why am I continuing to weave more?
Partly it's a form of therapy. I feel better for getting to the loom a couple of hours a day. Mentally, that is. Physically? I seem to be managing two hours but don't feel like I can push beyond that right now.
Partly it's a persistence of hope. That this too shall pass and things will get better. That at some point people will want to buy hand made items again and small indulgences to brighten their lives.
Partly it's because I have All This Yarn and it needs to get used up. Having dealt with now four weaver's estates, I'd much rather I get to have the enjoyment of turning that yarn into something useful, maybe even attractive, than leave it for someone else to deal with.
Partly it's because I have been using them as gifts or items to trade. One friend supplies me with jam and puzzles but she doesn't weave. She does cook - a lot - and seems to enjoy having my towels in her kitchen. I also give my textiles to my health care 'team' as a thank you for letting me continue to do this thing that I do.
If I stopped weaving it would be because I had lost hope that things will get better. So I persist. And I hope.
3 comments:
We all do what we can to get through this, to come out on the other side, whenever that may be. I, too, am weaving, although I have absolutely no confidence that there will be a market for my work for some time to come. But still...all that yarn. Will my kids have an easier time dispensing finished objects than bins of yarn? Perhaps not, but still I weave.
You've put into words why I continue to play the organ. I hope. I have a need to fill the air with music. There is much I've performed I can no longer play. I've even had to buy fresh copies of favorites so that I can re-finger passages. But I play because I hope. And people seem to like to listen. My practice sessions are limited to about 30 minutes, stretching, 30 minutes, long break, then a final 30 minutes.
As for lighting my work area, I use clip on lights sold for musicians to use in the pit. They are battery powered and quite bright with a natural spectrum. Somehow they don't seem to cast shadows or glare as often too. I also confess to relying on touch and feel. But then, I'm working on a 4 harness. Is there that much difference when using the AVL?
Not really. Just more shafts to keep track of. But I can misthread the four shaft Leclerc, too. ;)
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