A blast from the past.

And you knew it had to do with weaving, right???

Well, even if you don't weave, these old looms are very cool, just to look at, even if you don't understand them.

They are huge looms.  The original was made in Scotland, and the other two were copied here, from that one.
They have flying shuttles, which for you non-weavers means that you do LESS work for the same result.  And you are FASTER.

They were used to make woolen blankets, 60" wide.

But the owners went out of business several years ago.

Now these three lovely old girls sit alone, waiting for someone to come and weave.

Waiting for someone to wind a warp on this sectional warping mill.
It looks like some kind of torture device.

They are very high, due to the dobby system that sits on top of them, and allows you to set up your pattern, without having to tie up multiple treadles.

It has an automatic cloth advance, and the warp on the back is weighted, you can see the weights hanging off the back.

The weights are attached to a leather strap that is wound around the wheel on either side.

This mechanism off the back of the loom is attached to the dobby system at the top, and the treadle at the bottom.

They are equipped with 4 shafts, but there is room for MORE.

 See the cord across the front, that is the one that you snap to the right or left to dispense the shuttle across from one side to the other.

This is the dobby mechanism.

 There are multiple warp beams with these looms, and they are easily lifted up and out, and exchanged.

 Here is the dobby from the other side.

 And here it is up close.

Seeing someone standing next to the loom, you can see how big it is.

Here is the spool rack.
See the hooks on the 'ceiling' of it???

  The dobby here is attached to the shafts.

The bench is different.....because it only has one treadle, the bench is at an angle.  You treadle with your right foot, and your left foot rests on the board next to the treadle, kind of keeping you on the bench.

Here are the dobbys.

These looms need a weaver, or two, or three.

They need a home, and someone who wants to preserve them for generations to come.
They are so unique.

 I googled the loom-maker, and this is what I found.  Arrol Young

Believe or not, I cannot bring one of these looms home.  Not because DH would kill me.  Nah, he is way over that.
But because I have NO ROOM.
These looms need 12' x 8' x 8' 5" H.

They are not for the faint of heart.
There is also a pretty impressive winder that goes with them, so there is NO pirn in the shuttle when you weave.

The thread actually feeds from the center, and the flat metal piece holds the wound thread in the shuttle.

So if anyone has any ideas about a new home for these pieces of functional history, please let me know.

In the meantime, I will try to figure out if I can cut a hole in the ceiling to make it tall enough.

Eek.

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The meaning of it all.

Sometimes, animals and weaving are the only things that make sense to me.

Thus, you get barraged with photos of both.

That's why blogs are optional.  No one says you have to visit.
I'm glad that you do.

I went to the studio with a stack of blue and white placemats that I tied the fringe on at home.
I love the fabric, and because I am hoping that they will be a good seller, I am making a bunch of them.

That may be poor thinking on my part.  Whenever I make just ONE thing.....people want more.
Probably now that I am making multiples of this particular fabric, it won't happen that way.

It goes along with my theory, that you should make what you like, not what you think will sell, thumbing your nose, so to speak, at all those retailers out there trying to please the public.

And it just so happens, that I love these, and so I am pretty much weaving them because I want to.

I confess that HH and life in general have taken their toll.
This morning, like many mornings, I just couldn't dig in to any one thing.
I felt scattered, all over the place.
I started one thing, got tired of it, wnt to something else, got tired of that, started yet a third thing, got tired of that, went on to something I started in another funk a few days ago, got tired of that.
You get the picture.

At one point, I just grabbed my camera and headed outside.

When I bought the studio, I should have left the yard alone.
But NO, not me.  I had to RESCUE it.
And now, I have created a monster lawn, that takes hours to mow.
Thank you, Consuela.
And planted tons of stuff, that need to be weeded.
Consuela, do you WEED???

And of course, I had company, wherever I went.
Meowing.
Next is very verbal.

The labyrinth was one of my better ideas.  I loved it when I built it.  I love it now.

It is behind the barn, with a stockade fence blocking it from the road, and that's where the flowers are.

It is meant to be a not so secret garden.

By the way, I am hosting a Weaving Bootcamp on June 22-24, and I have a couple of openings, for anyone who is thinking that they might like to learn to weave and maybe get away from home for a weekend.

Back in another lifetime, I had 20 years worth of perennials in my home out in the country.
Peonies were a fave of mine, I had every color.

This is my crib of roses, that you really can't get near, for the thorns.

Walking the labyrinth is very soothing, meditative.  See Nexxie on the right??

He thinks you walk ON the stones.

He is meowing at me the whole time.

See his mouth moving.

Why are you following me???

What?????

OK, I was wrong, make that weaving, animals, and flowers.

They make sense to me.

A lot of sense.

Don't you agree??

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Cats rule.

Little Jinksie......we still call her that, because she is the baby, and because she seems to be a perpetual adolescent.  She doesn't respond, or operate, anything like the other cats.  She marches to her own drum.

She and Kizzy were feral, so while they are very sweet, they are skittish.  The least little thing makes them run for cover.

There were, however, very interested in this box, and the stuff L is weaving with.

Jinksie has the longest tail, and the longest body, and because it doesn't seem like it's all attached correctly, she is quite the sight when she gallops through the house.

L is still on those looper rugs.......I knew we had a lot of them looped, not sure I would have guessed this many.

This one really appeals to me.......the mix of purples and blues.

We have had a flurry of sales in the last couple of days.  Just when I start worrying about the LACK of business,  it appears.   And every time, I chastise myself, for not letting it just unfold, without my anguishing over it.

Our porch mascot, Nexxie, throws himself down in front of us, in a crazed bid for attention.

He does this all day.

L just commented on his "brown nose".

Well, brown nose, or not, I think he is very handsome.

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