When I started my weaving classes, I knew I wanted a loom. I thought I wanted a small loom, maybe a table loom. I found a small floor loom...a 22" Minerva. I haven't seen it yet but it sounds nice. Good price.
Now, I have choices. There's a nice 36" loom 4 harness that sounds really nice too. A bit bigger than what I originally thought of getting. And there's a 45" 4 harness that's even better. I've been told that big is good because it means more possibilities. And then there's a 45" 8 harness for a bit more money but still good especially if I want to weave complicated patterns in the future.
The problem is that I do so many different things. How much time will I have for weaving? The reason I thought of getting a small loom is that it would fit nicely in a corner of the family room. I can weave and still be with the family. The larger looms will have to go upstairs. It's lonely up there and other than using the room as storage (or when I'm doing something messy) I don't do much up there. For me to weave up there would mean that I have to set aside a block of time to just weave. I'm used to leaving my projects all over the house for when I have a few minutes to spare. The 36" might fit in the space in the family room but the 45" definitely wouldn't fit.
All this might be a moot point as no one has returned my calls yet. All the looms might already be sold and I have to wait all over again.
Thankful for:
1. Coffee.
2. Roof is not leaking.
3. Family who puts up with my fibre addictions.
Honestly, I'd start with a small loom and if you still want to weave after a year or two, move up. I had one, in fact, an 8 harness table loom, and a 4-harness leclerc, 45 ". That's one big loom for a house. And I find that weaving is noisy, so the family area, may not be too useful, if they're wanting to talk or watch TV. The table loom clinked and clanked as I shifted its bits, and the noise became tiresome. The 45" needed me to have company, a weaving partner or something. The suggestion of a guild would be my route.
ReplyDeleteGillian