Weaving is Here

Dorothy has arrived. She's my new (used) LeClerc loom that I purchased on Ebay. She arrived in beautiful condition and 100% complete. I've never woven anything before. And frankly was not too keen on all the obsessive compulsive stuff that has to go on in order to make weaving happen. Then, one day, I awakened and I just had to have a loom. I had to learn how to weave. I bid on several looms but was getting frustrated because I would miss them by $5 here or $2.50 there. When this one came available at the "buy-it-now" price that I wanted to spend...I bought her. She's mine now. I love her already. Plus, it's kinda nice that my beloved grandmother's name was Dorothy, too.

Yesterday morning, Carol, President of the West Alabama Fiber Guild, came over to help me warp the loom. It took a couple of hours. But I have no doubt that she showed me the right way to do it, and I will certainly beneft from her vast experience. My first assignment is to weave one inch in each of the first 59 patterns in the Anne Dixon weaving book called The Handweaver's Pattern Directory. It is specifically for 4 harness looms like Dorothy. You can find this book on Amazon.com for $23.07. It has great color pictures, plus it is written clearly enough for me to follow the very first time! See the picture below. (Ignore the teal yarn...it is there to get the warp to line up straight.) I'm weaving the black cotton that you see in bands of different patterns. From spinning to dyeing to weaving...and it is not even my 1 year anniversary until December 27th!!! Have I mentioned how much I love fibers?