A Loom Tale

  Our "barn loom" sits right up front in the Studio here at the Appalachian Arts Craft Center.  People often stop and want more information about this lovely old loom.  Yes, it is OLD!  The family that donated the loom to the Museum of Appalachia reported that it was hand built around 1800.  The Franklin family lived near Morristown in Hamblem County here in East Tennessee.  They were an early pioneering family in that region.  The loom came from the attic of the log structure of the original home and donated to the Museum in 1970.  It was then loaned to the "Community Craft Center" that later became the AACC.
  You can see that it has a built in bench.  Since it isn't adjustable, that means that not everyone can weave on the barn loom.....my feet don't reach the treadles, for example!  And, it can be a challenge to get into position to weave, and dismount from the loom.
 

 For these reasons, Carl is handing over the barn loom to Pat, who will be weaving more rag rugs.  Carl is going to weave placemats (Carol keeps saying we need more!) on this Harrisville.  Yes, it's missing a treadle, but we only need the plain weave ones!!!!
  It's about time this loom went back to work!

   


  We have this roll of fabric that is just begging to become placemats!!!  We'll get the warp wound and start winding it on next week.

  YES....this is Peggy's celebration dance!  Her placemat warp is finally done!

  Cut that baby off!!!!!


That's ELEVEN placemats for the shop!

  It sure is a good thing we had loads of goodies to keep us going today!!!!

  Ashley shared her banana pudding.....Sharon made cookies.....and that's my birthday cake!

Isn't it great to share.......


Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Remember?

Pearl and Patty have added Pizza Delivery to their resume.

Remember that pizza from last week?????

  We found out that it was delivered to the Museum of Appalachia by mistake......but, they brought us a feast this week!!!
 
  Thank you to Steph and Andy at Pizza Plus here in Norris!  We really enjoyed all the pizza (and the cinnamon bites were out of this world!!!)
  

  






    Laura's sunny yellow warp just screams summer!  It's hard to remember that she is new to weaving!!!!















  Betsy wound this warp awhile back, and then couldn't remember which pattern she was thinking about.  But, she found her sample that she wove, and it's all coming back to her!!!







  That's a respectful roll of placemats on that beam, Mary!!!












  Marilyn tried a new technique with her weft for the black placemats.











  Look at the difference:  she added a little twist to the weft before she beat......I'll have to remember that!







  Peggy is getting close to the end of her warp, too.  Just look at her roll of placemats on the cloth beam!


















   The colors keep changing on Sharon's scarf warp.  This scarf will be a longer one.

 

  Would you believe Jocelyn found another threading error????  I know these towels will be lovely....you just have to get it going!!!













   There is a "method to her madness."  This is the back of Ms. Ila's loom....oh, those slippery threads!!!













 Marie took a moment to check in with The Ladies before she had to leave.  (We missed you, Bonnie!)   Ms. Ila has decided that she is going to retie her warp when she finishes the shawl she's weaving.
  Hummmmmmm.....wonder why???

 That's ELEVEN towels that Linda cut off her loom today.  Five red towels and six green towels will get hemmed and go upstairs!

   Anna had an audience as she set up her tablet warp.  She's ready for some fancy bands!!!
  This will be a practice warp for Anna....she said it has been awhile since she wove with cards.  I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product!

So much going on.........

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

 

Anticipation

Ahhhh.....anticipation....the art of waiting!

  Today was the day we were going to be treated to a pizza lunch from a local shop, and the weavers were looking forward to having lunch brought to the Studio.   We had plenty to do to keep us busy while we waited for lunchtime.

  Our anticipated yarn order came quickly--we just ordered last week, and here it is!  Great Northern does a great job.  Marie checked the cones off the list while Pearl put them on the shelf.

  Carol was kept busy helping the weavers plan projects and calculate yardage.  She kept an eye on Lou Ann as she finished threading the heddles and started to sley the reed.  (This means she'll be weaving next week!!!!)

(*******Yummmmm.....how long until lunch???)











 

  Carl wove two full shuttles of blue jean weft...it might be time to weave in a heading a start a new rug!










  Don't those warps look great!  Liz and Jocelyn were focused on their looms as we waited for lunch.

   Oh....those Ladies!  They sure do keep things humming on their side of the room.  Yes, and they weave, too!!!

 













  Ray has been weaving on the second double weave table cloth.  This one is going much quicker than the first one did!
  Mary keeps cranking out the white on white placemats....always a good seller!

 



  Team work!!!!  Betsy is putting a new warp on the Macomber for another set of placemats.  Pat and Charlotte jumped in to help.

  Is it time for lunch, yet? 

We waited......and waited..........

No delivery.

Guess we won't be recommending them to anyone.

It's a good thing Bonnie brought a bucket of tomatoes to share with the weavers.

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Never A Dull Moment

Tina, Ray, Liz and Charlotte warped the looms for Kids' Camp.

  I bet you think that we just get together on Tuesdays and sit at our looms and just weave and weave........

  You would be wrong!  Sometimes we have days like that....but, not today!!!

  When we left the Center last week, only one child had signed up for Kids' Camp on July 13th.  Liz is in charge of the weaving segment of the camp, and we put off warping any looms until we found out if it would be canceled.
  When we came in today, we found out that we have 7 (maybe 8) kids coming on Saturday!!!!  That kicked everything into high gear, and the looms were pulled out to be warped.  Pat took over for Charlotte after lunch to finish warping the last loom.

  We're still working on Inkle bands for the key rings for next year's Convergence conference.  Pearl found a spot to weave after lunch.
  Polly dropped off a band that she had finished, and Connie and Dickie dropped by to get help to wind another Inkle warp.













  Lou Ann is carefully threading her first warp.  (She got distracted watching Tina warp a loom like a whirlwind, and we reminded her that she is only doing ONE thread at a time!)






  Ms. Ila always has a few extra threads in her shawl warps that she can use as repair threads if needed.  She takes time after each shawl is woven to make sure those threads are not getting tangled with the warp threads.
  Peggy is still weaving on her warp.







    Linda is going to rethread her towel warp when she finishes the one she is weaving now.  There's still a lot of warp left on that loom, and it's time for a new design!
  Anna is getting closer to the end of this scarf!















  Take a look at the little Mexican gherkins that Linda grew!  They look like wee watermelons, and taste like cucumbers!

Liz is just taking care of business.............

















  Guess who had a birthday on the 4th of July???

Happy Birthday, Betsy!!!!

We sure did enjoy your fruit pizza!!!!

Marie got the thread order ready to go......
     never a dull moment...........

Happy Weaving!
LouAnn

Maze

    Today was one of those days that you had to plan your route around the studio.  Although we had a few folks missing, it looked like all hands on deck! 
  With the looms pulled out, and loom benches in place, it can get a wee bit tricky getting a photo op.
  Pearl finished her warp, and she's trying to get an idea for her next one.  The Tom Knisely book should be a big help!
  Betsy's husband fixed the crank on the Macomber during the weekend, so she'll be back to work on it soon.  Right now, she's finishing up her Inkle warp.



   Carl and Pat cut the weft for more blue jean rugs first thing this morning, and he got back to work on the loom. 




















  Frieda has been VERY busy at home with her Inkle loom!  She brought in 119 finished key rings for our project!!!!  Thank you, Frieda!

  Bonnie and I had a long discussion about adding sectional rakes to our looms at home. (Don't you just love to talk weaving with your friends?)

  Ms. Ila agrees that she hates it when the finer threads decide to have a party when you're trying to thread!

  Ray offered his help and advice to Jocelyn.  She had a missed thread last week.......

  Peggy and Helen found spots to unfold their looms and weave. 

  On the back row, Bonnie and Marilyn kept their looms humming. 

  Our new weaver, Lou Ann, got her warp wound on her loom, and she's starting to thread.  (You can barely see her on the back left.)  Laura was working on her warp, too.

  Sharon, Margi and Alyce look like they are fully immersed in their projects.















  Liz is through threading....time to tie it on and start weaving.  This will be eight placemats and two table runners. 

  So much going on in the Studio!  Stay tuned!

LouAnn