The actual weaving on the Macomber loom has begun. The first night I added a couple of inches, then took it all out the next night to try to improve the edges. Meanwhile I took the electric motor and foot control to the hardware store, along with Maureen’s plan for a home made bobbin/quill winder. While I had been puzzling for two weeks how to connect the pieces and get the winder working, the young man at the store had no difficulty. In about 3 minutes he had the thing working, and it cost me 36 cents. When I set it up at home and tried to wind paper quills, the motor spun so fast that everything just flew off the end! But after a few tries, I was able to wind my yarns onto a couple of plastic bobbins. A few days later, I had mastered the paper quill, and had the blistered fingers [caused by the yarn passing through them so fast] to show for it.
So much to learn: using the boat type shuttle, the quills to hold the yarn, and the above mentioned electric winder, using the mysterious cable brake to advance the warp, developing the feel for tensioning the warp, sitting on the high bench, wrapping the edge firmly and then laying in the yarn loosely so the edges don’t pull in. There is no finish line when it comes to learning to weave. I am just beginning.
