Weave-It

Weave-It Loom

The other day Mark and I went to a small flea market in Lyme, NH where our friend Marianne McCann was selling some work. She had this little box labelled Weave-It, and when I opened it I found a gold metallic cloth that was three-quarters done on the loom. It was sort of like a pot holder loom but finer. She insisted on giving it to me, and my greedy little hands accepted gladly. I did help her the next day on her gypsy wagon (we traced and cut out the ribs for the roof), so in a way it was a Vermont barter transaction, except she really did give it to me with no strings attached (except the ones on the loom).

Working on Weave-It Loom

When I googled this loom, I found several sites with information, including booklets about projects and instructions. Apparently the loom came with a needle, which mine was lacking. But I had several long needles up in my studio that I always wondered about. I thought they were netting needles. I have no idea where or when I got them, but they certainly have moved with me from one state to another to another. So I went and got them and used one of them to finish the cloth. The previous maker had made some mistakes in her plain weave, and maybe I made a few too. I definitely heard myself saying, "no wonder someone came up with a heddle system," and "I would already be done if I wove this on my floor loom."

Detail of needle weaving on a Weave-It Loom

Of course, I can't stick my floor loom in my purse, but i can take the Weave-It with me anywhere. It also has the advantage of making a cloth with four selvedges. On-line you can see some projects where people assembled these little squares into afghans and sweaters. It reminds me of crocheted vests I made in the '60's. It also reminds me that I have about six knitting projects partially done that I can also stick in my purse and take with me. I wonder where I am going that I need portable projects?

Finished first, and maybe last, Weave-It project

I finished my Weave-It cloth (collaboration with an unknown weaver) and promptly made it into a collage birthday card for Edith House. There was a surprise birthday party for her at Red Hen Baking Co. in Middlesex, VT yesterday. I should have had my camera ready when she arrived--her face was appropriately pleased, shocked and surprised. Lucky for all of us she thought she was coming to a small weaving studio group, and had brought a stack of her latest weavings--beautiful silk rag scarfs. Our society makes it difficult to see the numbers increasing as we get older (a friend suggested feinting dyslexia which would make the number more palatable) but I think it is like getting a higher grade in a test--you don't get an A until you reach 90. Edith isn't there yet but her life is an exemplary A+.

Life in New Mexico was full of great bread. I could cry just thinking about Sage Bakery. But Red Hen is a good substitute and yesterday, at Holly's suggestion, I bought their sprouted grain rye bread (Sprouternickle), which is only made on Thursdays, and it went perfectly with the lentil soup we had for dinner.