So, as luck would have it, I'm short on space, cash, and time but managed to bring another loom into my life. I have a wee loom addiction and have now added another large loom (this one a floor loom) to my repertoire. I started weaving on rigid heddle looms and have gradually worked my way up to "real" looms. This isn't intended to be pejorative. There are some amazing rigid heddle weavers out there but I found that I was always having trouble with tension - especially because when I warp a loom I want yardage! I'd warp too long of a warp for the loom to keep good tension. Don't have a clue about what I'm talking about? Rigid heddle looms are a simple loom - two shafts, and direct warpabe, and easy and fun to use. But like I said, they also have challenges. Here's a good video showing the use of a rh loom. So while these looms are fun and great for those of us in small houses, I am really interested in weaving more complex patterns with out the fiddliness of doing that on a rh loom as well as yardage. I had always convinced myself that I sucked at warping from a board and, much like I do with math, made it this overly complex process that seemed too daunting to be achievable. Well recently a friend of mine was selling her tabletop loom and I thought "now or never". I have had a few tabletops pass through my hands. I buy them with good intentions and move them on. This time, this one stayed, got warped, and woven on. And, the warping was so easy, I now use a warping board to warp my rh loom rather than taking up all of the useable space in the house haha. And, I did find the tension a bit more even. So the other day, I'm on fb and there's an ad - estate sale, floor loom. I'd seen the previous ad - way overpriced but this one was literally down the road from my friend's house so nice and close, someone I kind of knew, and not too high a price. I went to look at it and it seemed all of the pieces were there. I thought it was a LeClerc (as many looms in Canada are) but the assembly isn't quite right. So now I have this puzzle: that requires re-assembly.
Fortunately, the folks on Ravelry, particularly Warped Weavers, have been awesome. I'm hoping that I'll have it set up this weekend when the Woodsman and the Young Man can assist. Until then, it's back to work and dreaming of weaving. You know those times when you may have over committed? Yeah, I am that person, yet again. In addition to all of the home stuff I do, I also work full time. And I own a small business. And I teach textile things. Oh, and I scaled back my regular job to do more private practice work so I went to part time and added in part time. Sheesh.
I share this not for sympathy but because I'm so often curious about how people who are living this homemaking, sustainable lifestyle pay the actual bills, I thought you might be as well. I know that I often wonder if they know some secret that I don't? I'm here to tell you that there are some who have sold a house in an urban area and had enough equity to make it all work. I know a few people in that category. More often than not, at least one of the adults has an off farm income of some sort to pay things like the mortgage; you know, the things we can't pay for in eggs, or herbs or other such things. Anyway, all of this working off farm work and the on farm work, has meant I've neglected the lot of you and I'm sorry for it. Rest assured, this morning brings with it another big shift that will should mean I'm back on track for regular updates. For now, I offer you this - a kitten in a basket (and yes, drying yarn, and a spindling wheel). |
AuthorI'm a 40-something writer and smallholder living in the wilds of BC with my family, our small herd of Nigerian Dwarf Goats, chickens, ducks, dogs, and cats. Archives
August 2017
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