Category: Weaving

The super, amazing 4″ loom story

April 19, 2009 horsenettle No Comments

I don't know what else to call this post… I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! It's super! Amazing!

Last fall, when I found the Wonder Weave in a nearby thrift store, I decided that's it–I probably found my quota of good bargains and I'd never get an actual Weave-it loom. So I bought a Hazel Rose loom, and it's really nice, but you know how it goes, each time I enter an antique store or thrift store, I scan the aisles for those little square frames. Matter of fact, when I'm back in the store where I spotted the Wonder Weave, I hesitate in that very aisle, looking around, just hoping maybe…

And then it happened! Yesterday, in the same store (different aisle), I found this box marked $16.95. "Weaver Set," it said. "1933 – 1945. Books, and etc.":

I grabbed it so fast I think I scared the lady next to me. But I didn't care. I had a treasure, and true to human nature I paused to study each shelf around me. Greed set it. Maybe there was more! Nope, but no matter, I had found a true bargain, a real find. Once, in my initial Weave-it frenzy, I nearly bid $40 on one Weave-it loom on ebay! And here I was, holding not one loom but two.. and whole bunch of stuff besides.

So, what's in this special Weaver box? I'll detail it all in later posts, but for now here's a peek:

4" Weave-it Loom
4" Simplex Loom
Two needles
11 Pattern booklets (for Weave-it, Simplex, and Loomette)
15 finished squares
9 Sample cards with 2 squares apiece, each square featuring a different pattern

I love discovering crafting supplies from days gone by. I like thinking that we share a common fascination with all things loomy with crafters from seventy years ago. Plus, finding this also shows that they're still out there–bargains in dusty aisles of thrift stores, just waiting for you to find them, call them special, and bring them home.

Coming soon: a closer look at the looms, the booklets, and the samples.

Categories: Vintage Weave-It Loom Weaving

Tags: loom, simplex, weave-it, weavette, weaving

Crazy Daisy Winder

March 23, 2009 horsenettle No Comments

This winter I ventured outside of loom knitting by first purchasing a cheap, plastic potholder loom and then, after a few disasterous attempts at making my own, a professionally-made 4" square loom from Hazel Rose. With the potholder loom, I made a potholder (gasp!) and also a scarf. With the Hazel Rose 4" multiloom, I made several squares with different yarns, but then became focused and made a hat from the 1936 Weave-It pattern book. I also made several dolls.

Along the way, I discovered this cool, retro plastic loom in a thrift store, the 4" Wonder Weave! I liked it so much that my husband and I made a video, which is nearing 6,000 hits on Youtube. I know that isn't a huge number, but considering I didn't think it would have 100 hits, it's pretty remarkable.

The idea of looms got me dreaming enough that my Christmas present was a 2' triloom from Hideaway Homestead. It's lovely, and it works like a charm. Within just a few days, I made a shawl!

So, that all led into my new interest–flower looms. The first time I saw flower looms, I yawned and turned away. But then… I just became interested, all at once. Much to my surprise I realized I owned one–the small flower loom Knifty Knitter. (So that's why the pegs come out!) And then, while walking through an antique store yesterday, I saw this interesting little box marked Crazy Daisy Winder. It was $.10. Yes, that's ten cents… a dime. The small, round brass disc has a knob in the center that, when twisted, makes 12 tiny metal rods come out. Those little spikes hold your yarn/thread/metal while you wind on your "petals." Then, you secure the center with a series of clever stitches (the backstitch), and viola! You have a flower. A second twist of the knob, the metal spikes disappear, and the flower comes off the loom. Pretty nifty. From what I can find out, these tiny flower looms were made in the 1940's.

Because my box and loom were missing instructions, my first attempts are pretty sad, so I'll share them with you another day. In the meantime, I've I discovered many wonderful sites dedicated to flower looms. Here are a few:

Knitting-and-com: http://www.knitting-and.com/small-looms/index.html . (NOTE: This page has a nice variety of flowers and looms.)
The Daisy Looming Flickr Group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/crazydaisies/
Cathy of California (focuses on vintage looms): http://www.cathyofcalifornia.typepad.com/ . (NOTE: Cathy was recently on the Martha Stewart show.)
Hana Ami loom video: http://www.clover.co.jp/cgi-bin/link_cnt/link_cnt.cgi?cnt=139 . (NOTE: This is in Japanese, and yet it demonstrates the flower loom so beautifully, that you probably don't need a translation.)

Coming soon: A Winter Recap (those felted mittens, a really floppy hat, a real picture of my shawl, and a slanted cupcake.)

Categories: Loom Knitting Vintage Weave-It Loom Weaving

Tags: crazy daisy winder, flower loom, knifty knitter, knitting, weave-it, weaving

Triloom Shawl

January 20, 2009 horsenettle No Comments

My first "real" project from my 24" Hideaway Homestead triangle loom is this shawl. I wove nine individual triangles and then joined them together to create a shawl that is roughly 5.5' across. I used my Berocco Colors (herb garden) and came close to using both of my two skeins.

At first, the joining of all those edges made me a little uneasy. I'm a novice crocheter, but I found that simply looping one side to the other was easy. The only area I messed up was the junctions of three triangles; those sections got a little bunchy.

Once I finished joining all the tris, I used a tapestry needle to weave in the ends. I then had to decide how I wanted to finish the edges, and decided that easy was best. I did a single crochet around the entire edge, but worked in a strand of yarn to give it a little more definition.

I've never blocked anything yet that I've made, so I was a little nervous to wash this and block it. Thankfully, it was easy, and it gave the shawl a nice, clean look. I washed it in the bathtub with a tablespoon of Ecover wash for delicates, and then I rolled it in a towel to get most of the moisture out of it. I then put a blanket and towel down on my bed and pinned it into place. It dried very quickly, within a few hours, and now I own a pretty shawl.

Coming soon: pictures of the finished shawl!

Categories: Finished Object Weaving

Tags: shawl, triangle loom, triloom, weaving

Santa visited a little early this year…

December 17, 2008 horsenettle No Comments

…and look what he left for me!

It's a two foot triangle loom from Hideaway Homestead. A few weeks back, I knew I'd end up with a triangle loom, but just like I always do, I decided to try to make one myself, even after the mess I made trying to create a 4" square loom. This time, though, I decided I'd try it with cardboard. It doesn't cost a thing, and believe it or not, talented people can actually make looms out of cardboard and then create lovely shawls with them.

I'm a not one of those talented people. My loom looked okay, but I didn't have any pins so I decided to cut notches on the top, or the hypotenouse. Believe it or not, this worked, but it made the weaving so slow that after a few hours, I gave up, and followed the sage advice my dear husband had given me after he stopped laughing when I showed him my failed 4" square loom… "Leave it to the professionals."

So, I emailed Hideaway Homestead, an off-the-grid loom maker from Arizona, on Friday evening, ordering their 24" loom from Etsy. And guess what? I was opening the box on Tuesday morning! Hooray!

My loom is lovely. The pins are straight and the oak is smooth. The two foot size is just large enough to weave a triangle in about 30 minutes, plus you don't need an easel. And, just like the 4" Hazel Rose Multiloom, I find I can do one short project and then turn around and begin another right after. There's no setting-aside-to-finish-later-which-turns-into-a-year-later syndrome, if you follow me.

Last night, I finished two test triangles, one in an older Yarn Bee blue I had lying around, the other in Lion Brand Homespun. If these had fringes, they'd make cute shawls for dolls.

Because the loom was so economically priced, I was also able to saunter into my favorite yarn store and purchased $20 of stunning yarn, Berroco Peruvia Colors in Herb Garden. My plan is to weave about nine tris and stitch them together for a shawl. I'll then felt it a little, but I'm going to do a test one first to see how much it'll felt.

Merry Christmas!

Categories: Finished Object Weaving

Tags: hideaway homestead, shawl, triangle loom, weaving