Shine's Thyme

Daily ramblings of a ridiculously happy housewife and mother. Come in and see how sweet life can be!

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Weaving help!!!!!

I hope some of my weaving friends will see this post and give me some of their much respected opinions. Last summer, I bought a gorgeous Norwood cherry 4-harness floor loom. It is a beautiful loom and weaves like a dream.
I have been smitten with it's beauty, I just love it.
Made these gorgeous cottolin towels.....just love it. I have definitely been bitten by the weaving bug. Loving all fiber crafts, however, this came as no great surprise. I planned to just get to know my beautiful little loom and live happily ever after. That never happens though, does it? Soon after bringing home my beautiful Norwood, a friend told me they had found out about 2 old looms, hidden away in an old abandoned house, that might be for sale for a bargain. I couldn't resist! I HAD to go see! Hubby and I drove to the boonies, trekked in a very precarious looking old house and found two beautiful old looms.....long abandoned and forgotten...but with an EXTREMELY rich history.
The story goes something like this.
Our area is full of local history....generations of talented families of craftsmen. weavers, spinners, dyers...basket makers and so on. The looms I found came from a family of weavers whose father was a Methodist minister. He had three daughters of whom he was crazy over protective. He never let them date, drive, or hardly leave their "holler". So the three sisters spent all their time weaving. They wove fabric for clothing of course, but they also wove bags and rugs. They would spend an entire year weaving bags and rugs and each year, they would send their stash of wares to sell them at the local craft show. Years went by....as the sisters grew older, the father passed away and their nephew began taking them along with their looms and wares to the shows to demonstrate and sell. They did this until they all died of old age. I have pictures of them weaving and tons of their old supplies.
 Here is the smaller loom. This is the one they would take to demonstrate on. It's really quite pretty. Although it was covered with years of dust and dirt when I found it, I think it cleaned up quite nicely. It is solid oak and made by the sisters grandfather in the early 1800's.
This is the bigger loom, primarily used for making rugs. It was in pieces when we found it, but, we're figuring it out :) It was also made by the sisters grandfather...out of yellow pine. Not as pretty, but very usable...I think.
We still don't have this one totally back together, but I think we can manage to get it when we get the time.
Now, my dilemma is this. I would love to keep ALL of the looms. I know there are people who have many looms, and I would like to myself, but at this time in my life, finances say it's a bad idea. The Norwood loom was not inexpensive....pretty pricey. The old looms were not. I could either sell my beloved Norwood, and keep one of the barn looms, or sell both of the barn looms and all of their rich history. I am just very torn as to what needs to go! My instinct is saying keep the pine loom, because it is the largest and I could weave anything, and also weave the widest with it, but my heart loves that oak loom AND my Norwood. Also, it seems as if Norwood looms are not that easy to come by, as they don't make them any more. Weavers....HELP!!!!!!!!!
Me thinks me has bitten off much more than me can chew :)
Have a nice evening ladies.....and stay warm!!!!!
Blessings~~Shine

9 comments:

Teri said...

oh my, so many looms ... so little time.
They are all beautiful! tough choice.

Jeanette said...

Oh what a lucky girl you are! I haven't gotten into weaving but it looks very fun and satisfying! I don't know what to tell about which loom to keep. They are all so beautiful and special in their own way. Maybe you could figure out a way to keep them all? I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Blessings to you and your family!

Sandra said...

What a neat history!I am not a weaver and have no advice :) I just wanted to comment and say that I LOVE your towels!!!
Good Luck with your looms!

thecrazysheeplady said...

I sold one loom to buy another and even though I ended up making a lifelong new friend from the deal...I've regretted selling that loom ever since. Not the answer you were probably looking for, just my two cents...

Valerie said...

1. do not sell the Norwood loom if you know you love it.

2. do not make a decision about either of the other two looms until you have them all together and have put warps and woven on them.

You may find that one of them suits you more than the other. It may be the size of the loom matching your body type. It may be that the loom is best for rugs and you don't want to weave rugs. Whatever it is, you won't know until you have dressed the loom, sat at it and weave a length of cloth.

Delisa said...

Hi Shine! What a beautiful loom and what an interesting history. I have always wanted to learn how to spin and weave. It is something that I plan to explore seriously one of these days. What a lovely work space you have too. Have a wonderful evening and happy weaving! With Love, Delisa :)

Deborah said...

Oh Shine how beautiful and they seem to have been there just for you! What a gift from Him.
Im with Jeanette and hope that maybe you can keep them all too!
Love your towels and that you are enjoying this so much sweetie!
What a blessing you are xo
Hugs and smiles

All my heart,
Deborah xoxo

Anonymous said...

Just a thought---keep the two antique, unique, beautiful "barn" looms together as they share a common history and they should be preserved together, complete with their past owners' documentation. Deep six the Norwood as you can always replace that. Or alternately, keep your Norwood and sell both of the other looms to someone willing to keep them together. I love the towels, too. Yeah, I own MANY looms, my most recent discovery is a Dutch handloom, c.1660-1770's, solid oak and extremely heavy--purchased for $10.

An At Home Daughter said...

Hi Shine, I just clicked through to your blog from Chris's and am clicking the follow button.

I like the story about the looms. It always amazes me what things people will sell or giveaway that have such an interesting past.

Kimberly