Loom Envy

Loom Envy (PixUp), originally uploaded by ambrosianbeads.

The other day, I was at a meeting at a weaver's house, and she gave me a tour of her loom collection. I first spotted a Macomber Ad-a-Harness loom which is the same as mine. Then she took me downstairs to the loom room which had, I believe, a small Schact loom and then showed me the colossus pictured here, an AVL compu-dobby loom. I wanted to see it in action, and she showed me how she calls up the current pick (row) on the computer and sets it in motion. She uses a type of "flying shuttle" which she is holding in her hand. She justs "flings" it from one side to the other and it sends the shuttle across with little effort. The mechanism raises the right shaft and there are no treadles. There is still alot I have to learn about weaving and all its terminology. Once I get my loom in working order, and get some practice, I'll be able to speak with more confidence about weaving. For now, I'll just ooh and ahh over the fabulous handwovens at our gallery.