On Tuesday Lou Ann took a picture of me with the baby Cambridge rug loom in the back of my car. I had been looking for a 36 inch rug loom for a couple of weeks, ever since I started reading some of the blogs on our list that I had not been reading. I've caught up now, and caught the rug bug once again.
I used to have a couple of really good rug looms, but I got to the point where seven looms were just too much for me. I gave them both away to good weaving homes where they are working happily. One of the looms was a huge Cambridge rug loom that we had dubbed "Carl" after our dear own Carl, because it used to belong to him, I even took a rug warp off of that loom that has been hanging in my studio ever since.
A couple of years ago the Tuesday weavers got a donation of a small loom that was the spitting image of a Cambridge, just pint sized. We promptly named it Carl Jr. and we used it at the Center for quite some time, but as sometimes happens it had been relegated, last summer to the annex when a loom more suited to our needs as a group came along.
I have been looking around for a 36in 4 harness rug loom for several weeks now, and I actually found a full sized Cambridge rug loom at a local antique place, just down the road from the Center in fact. However that loom had been out in the weather for quite some time, it had a lot of rust and the cloth beam was warped. I decided that it was not going to come to my house because it was bigger than I had room for (all looms have to fit in one room!) and it was going to take more than my skill set to get it up and running.
That is how Carl Jr ended up at my house on Tuesday of this week. I thought I would take the time to clean up the wood a bit before I put the loom together, but I couldn't wait and I had to put it together. right away. Within an hour of arriving home I had everything in place, but there I had to leave it until the next day.
(Isn't he cute!) As I was putting him together, I found I was missing the board that goes under the warp beam in the back of the loom, so on Wednesday, when Lou Ann and I were done at the Museum of Appalachia, we went across the street to the Appalachian Arts Crafts Center where we weave every Tuesday from 10-2, and we looked once more in the annex to see if we could find that board I was missing. We did not, but I did find the metal rod that will hold the warp to the warp beam, and I checked out a reed and some extra heddles that I thought would fit the little loom! Yay!
That afternoon, I replaced most of the cordage on the loom with Texsolv cords, I love Texsolv for the fact that you can really get each set of cords exactly the same length, so very important! Then I tied on that same rug warp that I had taken off of the big Cambridge "Carl", set up the trapeze, and started winding on to the warp beam. I was interrupted part way through, so I had to finish up on Thursday afternoon.
Did you ever see such a beautiful sight! (Side note, I was able to find an old Leclerc crank that will fit this warp beam on eBay for a great price. Next time I put on a warp it will be much easier!)
The heddles that I had checked out do fit this little guy, but the reed did not, so back to the Center I went this morning to switch reeds. I had grandma time mid day for a couple of hours, but soon I will be threading this warp for the Hollywood pattern.
The Hollywood warp has been mentioned several times on this blog. We first ran across it when Lou Ann got an Orco rug loom that is 4 harness. It came pre-warped, and she had a terrible time trying to figure out how it was supposed to be woven. Until she tried a straight 2x2 twill, and that was when the magic happened. This pattern is full of chicken tracks and twill runs, and it is a lot of fun to work with. We ran across it again in Janet Meany's book "the Rag Rug Handbook" That is when we discovered that the Orco loom came from the manufacturer with a black and white version of this warp, which is what I have on Carl Jr. right now.
So the warp is in place, the heddles are on the loom, the cords have been replaced, though I need to work a bit on the perfect length on several of the cords. The "new" reed fits the loom and I will get that on once I have all the threads in their proper heddles, I have even picked out a weft pattern that I want to try, the trouble is, I can't find my copy of the Rag Rug handbook, I know it is here somewhere.
I think I could almost look at some of the placemats I have done with this pattern and figure it out, though I know I could look at Lou Ann's book anytime I need to.
This afternoon, everyone has gone home now, and it looks like Dear One is going to mow the lawn, it is my chance to go upstairs and see if I can find that book so I can get a "new" warp threaded on my "new" rug loom.
Until next time, Happy Crafting, Tina
I used to have a couple of really good rug looms, but I got to the point where seven looms were just too much for me. I gave them both away to good weaving homes where they are working happily. One of the looms was a huge Cambridge rug loom that we had dubbed "Carl" after our dear own Carl, because it used to belong to him, I even took a rug warp off of that loom that has been hanging in my studio ever since.
A couple of years ago the Tuesday weavers got a donation of a small loom that was the spitting image of a Cambridge, just pint sized. We promptly named it Carl Jr. and we used it at the Center for quite some time, but as sometimes happens it had been relegated, last summer to the annex when a loom more suited to our needs as a group came along.
I have been looking around for a 36in 4 harness rug loom for several weeks now, and I actually found a full sized Cambridge rug loom at a local antique place, just down the road from the Center in fact. However that loom had been out in the weather for quite some time, it had a lot of rust and the cloth beam was warped. I decided that it was not going to come to my house because it was bigger than I had room for (all looms have to fit in one room!) and it was going to take more than my skill set to get it up and running.
That is how Carl Jr ended up at my house on Tuesday of this week. I thought I would take the time to clean up the wood a bit before I put the loom together, but I couldn't wait and I had to put it together. right away. Within an hour of arriving home I had everything in place, but there I had to leave it until the next day.
That afternoon, I replaced most of the cordage on the loom with Texsolv cords, I love Texsolv for the fact that you can really get each set of cords exactly the same length, so very important! Then I tied on that same rug warp that I had taken off of the big Cambridge "Carl", set up the trapeze, and started winding on to the warp beam. I was interrupted part way through, so I had to finish up on Thursday afternoon.
Did you ever see such a beautiful sight! (Side note, I was able to find an old Leclerc crank that will fit this warp beam on eBay for a great price. Next time I put on a warp it will be much easier!)
The heddles that I had checked out do fit this little guy, but the reed did not, so back to the Center I went this morning to switch reeds. I had grandma time mid day for a couple of hours, but soon I will be threading this warp for the Hollywood pattern.
The Hollywood warp has been mentioned several times on this blog. We first ran across it when Lou Ann got an Orco rug loom that is 4 harness. It came pre-warped, and she had a terrible time trying to figure out how it was supposed to be woven. Until she tried a straight 2x2 twill, and that was when the magic happened. This pattern is full of chicken tracks and twill runs, and it is a lot of fun to work with. We ran across it again in Janet Meany's book "the Rag Rug Handbook" That is when we discovered that the Orco loom came from the manufacturer with a black and white version of this warp, which is what I have on Carl Jr. right now.
So the warp is in place, the heddles are on the loom, the cords have been replaced, though I need to work a bit on the perfect length on several of the cords. The "new" reed fits the loom and I will get that on once I have all the threads in their proper heddles, I have even picked out a weft pattern that I want to try, the trouble is, I can't find my copy of the Rag Rug handbook, I know it is here somewhere.
I think I could almost look at some of the placemats I have done with this pattern and figure it out, though I know I could look at Lou Ann's book anytime I need to.
Until next time, Happy Crafting, Tina
2 comments:
I think I have the hollywood pattern saved as a placemat warp. I'll "snip it" and send it to you. Glad Jr. came together so nicely!!!
What a great Carl Jr. story! :-) And what a handsome little workhorse that loom looks to be. Can't wait to see the rugs in process. I'll have to find that hollywood draft in the Rag Rug book. I have a copy here.
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