Made in Connecticut, News Channel 12

I recently had the opportunity to film a short segment with reporter Rebecca Surran and her producer from News Channel 12. Rebecca runs a weekly spot called Made in Connecticut that features artists, craftsman, makers, and small manufacturers here in the state. When she first reached out to me I was incredibly nervous about the idea of filming, but decided to go for it. Usually for these features folks are filmed in their own work spaces. However, my tiny home studio is pretty tight for one person to move around in, much less three plus lights and filming equipment. I reached out to the director of Brookfield Craft Center where I teach weaving classes and he graciously agreed to let us film the segment in the BCC fiber studio. The studio sits on the banks of the Still River and is flooded with natural light and is way less cluttered and much more photogenic than my daily work space.

A big shout out needs to go to Henny Penny Farm in Ridgefield, CT. The local wools and fibers that were shown and talked about in the piece are from their farm. I had just finished weaving several pieces for them the day before filming that had not yet had a chance to make their way back to the farm. Whitney and her whole staff do a wonderful job and their beautiful farm stand is definitely worth a little day drive. These pieces will eventually be available through the farm.

Thank you to Rebecca and the News Channel 12 crew for regularly spot lighting local craftspeople. And also a big thanks for helping to make this anxious weaver feel surprisingly comfortable throughout the morning filming.

Click here to watch the Heddle Over Heels, Made in Connecticut News Channel 12 segment.

A screen capture of Rebecca Surran and Katie Strano in the Fiber Studio at Brookfield Craft Center filming for News Channel 12.

Vintage Nilus LeClerc Loom For Sale

Edit: Sold | Several years ago I purchased my first floor loom used from a kind woman named Mary. She, like so many weavers before, was downsizing. It was a Nilus LeClerc 45” four harness jack loom that she had purchased new in 1974. She used the loom to weave blankets and items that she would sale at fundraisers for her son’s school. She liked fuzzy, textural yarns and entrusted me with a tub of yarn that came along with the loom. The very first warps that I put on the loom were with yarn from Mary’s stash. It felt like a smooth transition from one weaver’s hands to the next. The loom is marked with notes written in pencil by Mary to herself noting heddle counts. The numbers are no longer correct, but erasing them always felt like tearing up a sweet picture from the past simply for the sake of tidying up. So the notes have stayed. Through the years I have left me own marks on the loom; from experimental warp dying, to switching out the cloth aprons to Texsolv cord. The life of an item that is made to be used shouldn’t stop at a moment in time. To do so would mean that its useful life has come to an end.

I bought this loom with big dreams of weaving yardage for clothing. Looking back it honestly makes me feel really proud to think of how much fabric—at least several hundred yards— actually came into being on this loom. It allowed me to take on my first paid weaving work and I’ll be eternally grateful.

Like Mary I now find myself not using this loom as much as I should. Whereas Mary was downing I have sized up. Through the years my needs have shifted to where I needed a wider width and more harnesses. I’ve kept this loom as long as I could, for both usefulness and sentimental reasons. I love this loom and thoroughly enjoy weaving on it, but am simply out of room. I need space to move, and room to warp my main work loom.

I keep thinking back to the day I picked the loom up from Mary. Her son, the one she wove for his school fundraisers, was there to help move the loom and load it up. He is of course now a grown man. I kept thinking about the childhood memories that he must have of watching his mother weave on this machine that he was now helping to send on it’s way. My son was three when this loom came home and he just turned 9 this week. I’m sure that his childhood memories will now also be peppered with visions of his mother sitting at the loom and the sounds of the shuttle sailing through the shed, the harnesses falling, and beater at work. Shwoop, clank, thwomp. Shwoop, clank, thwomp.

Nilus LeClerc 4H 45" loom with sleepy dog

My first warp on this LeClerc loom with textural mixed fiber yarns

A close up of the first warp I wove on this loom. It is a light green wool warp with black and white looped weft yarn.

Me weaving yardage on the loom.

My husband working as he attaches a custom sectional warp beam to a vintage LeClerc loom

A view of the custom 1" sectional beam on a Nilus LeClerc loom.

The Nilus LeClerc makers logo on the side of the loom

The scratched treadle base on this 4H 6T loom

The replacement apron rod with Texsolv cord, and some discoloration on the breast beam.

A close up of the side on the harnesses showing a little wear to the wood

The recent through bolt replacement made to the tension brake on the Nilus LeClerc Loom

The Nilus LeClerc in its current state warped with a green sample warp.

LeClerc boat shuttles and a Mattson Mora bobbin winder

A recent project woven on this loom with a hand-dyed warp

A resent warp woven on this Nilus LeClerc loom

The current state of my weaving studio. A 16H Ashford Table loom sits in front of the 4H LeClerc, with a 60" 16H AVL crammed in behind.

Below is the text from the FB and Craigslist listings for the loom. Please feel free to reach out here if you are interested in giving this loom a third life. It will need to be picked up in Southbury, CT.

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This is a 4 harness, 6 treadle Nilus LeClerc loom with a 45" weaving width. It currently has a custom made 1 yard sectional warp beam with 1" sections. The warp beam looks a little unconventional, but I have woven several hundred yards on it and it works greats. If desired the sectional beam can easily be removed and replaced with a more conventional apron. I replaced the front cloth apron several years ago with Texsolv and a wooden dowel. I still have the original metal apron rods (minus the cloth aprons that were in very rough shape) that will go with the loom. This loom has been in regular use the whole time I have owned it and currently has a little sample warp on for folks to try out. There are some cosmetic blemishes that can be seen in the pictures. Again, this is nearly a 50 year old loom and has been used regularly by both the original owner and myself. This loom has been an absolute workhorse for me and I'll be sad to see her go. The only reason I am selling is because I have simply run our out space and now use my other looms more. 

I put a new brake coil on a few years ago. I also recently replaced the original screw that held the brake brackets together with the break coil with a long bolt that now goes all of the way through the wood. My understanding is that this is a common weak spot on these older looms and a common way of securing and updating. 

Made in May of 1974, I purchased this loom in the fall of 2016 from the original owner who was downsizing. 

The loom will come with:

• -Three reeds: 12, 10, and 4 epi (These reeds are the ones that came with the loom when I purchased it. They no longer look shiny and new, but are totally functional and are the ones that I have regularly used)

• -Raddle

• -the original LeClerc Warp and Weave manual book that came with this loom. 

• -A small bag of hand tools that came with the loom. 

• -If needed I will also include a set of lease sticks and an old warping board. 

If the buyer needs shuttles and a bobbin winder I can sell a used hand crank metal bobbin winder and two boat shuttles to them as well for an additional fee. These are only being offered if the person buying the loom needs them to set up shop. I don't actually want to sell them otherwise. 

Either a few parts of the sectional beam, or the entire back beam and warp beam section will need to be taken off of the loom in order to get it out of the door. This loom can fit in the back of a pick up truck. The total width of the loom is 56". Open to weave the current depth is 44" and can fold up to about 36". When the sectional beam is not on it can fold up a few additional inches. 

*A note about the sectional beam. This can be warped using a tension box and spool rack, which are not being sold with this loom. However, I also regularly warp this loom in a traditional back to front method first measuring the warp on a warping board. I would be happy to discuss warping methods with whoever buys the loom.

Raffle Benefitting Adopt-A-Native-Elder

EDIT: Raffle now closed. Thank you to all how contributed!

This year I have chosen to go about this season in a different way. Rather than offering a large discount to shoppers I am holding a raffle to benefit Adopt-A-Native-Elder. This is a non-profit organization that works to relieve food and resource insecurities within the elder population of the Navajo Nation. A-A-N-E helps with things from delivering grocery boxes and firewood bundles, to assisting elder artisans with supplies—such as yarn bundles for weavers.

Raffle Details:

The winner of the raffle will receive a custom handwoven throw blanket. They will get to choose the color-scheme that the weft yarn will be hand-dyed, and also the finishing technique. These blankets will be going on the loom the first week of December and will be sent upon completion. For more information on the blanket click here.

To enter:

1. Make a donation of at least $10 to any one of Adopt-A-Native-Elder’s general funds. Each $10 increment will count as one ticket entry.

2. Send me a screen shot of your donation receipt showing the value. You can send it either via email or Instagram DM.

3. Entries must be received by noon EST, Monday, November 29th, 2021.

4. The winner will be chosen at random at 12:01pm EST, Monday, November 29th, 2021. At this time I will contact the winner and discuss the customization options.

5. Open to USA shipping addresses only. I will cover the shipping costs.

Thank you so much for reading and especially for participating!

Handwoven throw blanket with hand-dyed yarn is draped over a rocking chair that sits in front of a sunny window.

Inspiration in the Everyday - Grass Stains

Inspiration comes in all forms. From literature to social media, from classical music to a ringtone, from the most awesome occurring colors in nature to a fleck of dust. I’m of the thinking that sources of inspiration should not be arranged in to hierarchies. With some lifted high up into the place of lofty ideas, and others tucked away into the folder of random thoughts.

I recently dyed up some organic American grown yarn in a variety of greens. In all honesty I was simply using up the rest of the dyes that I had mixed to use for another project. This yarn was rinsed and wound off into a ball and put up on the shelf, waiting for a turn at something. Upon the shelf it sat, next to a plant as it happened, and it looked absolutely lovely as an object. I was tempted to leave it as a ball to simply be appreciated as a pretty thing. But, I am a true lover of usefulness and the extra beauty found in a job well done. This green yarn brought me such joy and eventually I realized that it reminded me of bright green grass. There seems to be a week or two in spring when the fresh grass looks nearly florescent. That fresh grass is irresistible and begs to be played in with bare feet, picnicked on, and laid upon to gaze up at the clouds as they pass by like etherial shape shifters. A few grass stains are likely at the end of a day like that. Each one containing a smile within. That’s how looking at that green ball of yarn made me feel.

So I decided to weave up some cheerful grass stained hand towels. The hand-dyed green streaks running along with a variety of sizes of natural undyed, and bleached cotton yarns. The result is a group of towels that are cheerful and useful and reminiscent of a fun spring day spent in the grass.

*A note for the fiber folks out there: Two styles of towels were woven on this one warp. One being a traditional waffle weave, the other a checkerboard pattern with plain weave and what I call dimpled waffles. The same yarn was used as the weft in each style. You’ll notice in the finished object shots that the waffle weave towels are twice the thickness of the checkerboard towels. Woven structures are so much fun!

Virtual Weaving Circle

I am going to host an online weaving circle. Due to the recent world events, all upcoming classes have been postponed or canceled. Students are always welcomed to email me with questions, but sometimes there is nothing like a little face to face. I will be trying out an online format via the video conferencing site, Zoom. The idea for this first round is to basically have Q & A time for folks to ask specific questions about their ongoing personal projects. I may also do a little demonstration on the basics of using a pickup stick with a rigid heddle loom since this topic seems to keep coming up. There will of course also be time for sharing some show and tell, as well as general fiber fun gabbing. I am going to try to keep this first session at about one hour long.

Please send me an email if you would like to be put on the invitation list. This way I will be able to send you the direct link to join the circle. An email will be sent out approximately 1/2 hour before the scheduled start time. You will then be able to click on the Zoom link which will lead you through the steps of joining the virtual group. The tentative date for this first session is Tuesday, April 21st, 2020, at 4pm EST.

The Mesmerizing Effect of Weaving

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There’s a pretty common thing that happens when someone sees a weaving demonstration for the first time: First a combined look of wonder and confusion about what is mechanically happening on the loom. Then a brief moment of bewilderment that anyone would have the desire/patience to sit there and actually weave long enough to make something. Then comes the glazed over mesmerized daze, before something along the lines of “I could watch that for hours” is eventually murmured. Many weavers speak to the meditative qualities of weaving. I often refer to weaving as really productive daydreaming. It certainly takes concentration, skill, problem solving, and a lot of planning, but the repetitive nature of the task carries with it the ability to sooth and calm.

I’ve made a sort video for the .0001% who may actually be serious when they say “I could watch that for hours.” For those of you who have never seen someone weaving in person here is a little view taken from the weaver’s perspective. This is a low action and very repetitive video. No fancy special effects, just 9 minutes of the shuttle being passed back and forth, the harnesses moving up and down, and the clank-clank-clank of the dobby box advancing the pattern forward. My feet are positioned under the cloth and they are pressing down on treadles to manually raise the harnesses.

In this video I am weaving on my AVL mechanical dobby production loom, from the early 1980’s. Most of the items for sale in my shop were woven on this loom, the rest were woven on my smaller LeClerc loom. All were woven by me here in Southbury, CT.

Get Your MacGyver On! How to add an apron rod to a Beka rigid heddle loom.

My first experience weaving was on a 20” Beka Rigid Heddle loom. I immediately fell for the craft and the rigid heddle loom gave me the confidence that I needed to go on to learn to weave on a floor loom. I’m certain that part of my quick love for the Beka loom was due to a simple modification that my teacher, Christine Wilkinson, had made to the loom before I ever put hands on it. Christine came up with an ingenious and simple way of adding a front apron rod to a Beka rigid heddle loom that makes the tying on process much easier.  

Beka rigid heddle looms have an interesting and, if I’m honest, kind of cumbersome method of tying on. Most rigid heddle looms have dowels or rods attached to the front and back beams. These dowels are then used to wind on and tie the warp threads. Beka looms use a “tooth” system to organize the warp. The front and back beam are each inlayed with a sturdy plastic strip of, what I call, teeth. These teeth on the back do a great job of organizing the warp ends. I also like this system for the back beam because once the warp is measured and the rigid heddle is sleyed, via the direct warping method, you are ready to wrap the warp. No knots are needed to tie on the back and the teeth keep the warp ends perfectly spaced. 

The front, however, is a different story. The manufacturer intends for the weaver to connect a piece of cord to the front “teeth” to create loops. These loops are what you are then supposed to tie on to. This system can be cumbersome. It also adds one more hurtle to getting even tension across the width of your warp. Below I’ll show you the method I learned from Christine of how to make a simple and inexpensive modification to add an apron rod to the front of a Beka rigid heddle loom. 

*I should note that my loom pictured recently got beaten up by a baseboard heater during a home renovation. The hooks that it, along with another small loom and my warping board were hanging on, got torn off of the wall and fell about four or five feet to the ground. The Beka loom was the only casualty. Some of the teeth were broken off making it now look like a kid waiting for the tooth fairy. Thankfully the loom is still completely usable and I’ll have a good description to give to police if a fiber thief should ever make off with it. 

What you’ll need: 

• A Beka rigid heddle loom. The one pictured is the 20” version. 
• About 1.5’ of Texsolv. (Other cord could be used, you would just need to tie some loops in the cord rather than using the pre-made loops in the Texsolv. If you choose to make your own, you'll want to make sure the knots on each end of the three pieces are even with each other since the end goal is to have a parallel dowel to tie your warp on to. If the knots are not evenly spaced on each length of cord your dowel will be wonky which would lead to warp tension problems.)
• Scissors
• Tape measure
• Comb or tool of your choice capable of pulling Texsolv through a small loop.
• Painter's tape
• A wooden dowel equal to the weaving width of your loom. 

Step #1

Measure out three equal pieces of Texsolv. Mine are about 6”. If you are unfamiliar with Texsolv it is well worth checking out. It is nylon cord that has perfectly spaced loops running throughout. This means that it can be used for many different weaving tasks and no knots are needed. The equally spaced loops do the measuring for you.

Step #2

Bring one end of Texsolv through the bottom whole loop of the other end. Do this to each of the three pieces.

Step#3

Place each piece of Texsolv around one of the “teeth” on the front beam of the loom. Place one in the middle and one on each end. I’ve put each of my end pieces in about 2” from the last slot. The loops will fit snuggly in the slots, but they will fit. 

Step #4

Beginning with one of the end pieces, hold open the last full loop on one piece of Texsolv. Then reach through the opening and pull through a length of Texsolv to create a larger loop.

I’ve chosen to use my trusty hair pick (one of my favorite multi-purpose weaving tools) to do the job. You could certainly use tweezers, a tapestry needle, or even your fingernails. Just make sure that whatever you use will not cut through the Texsolv. 

Step #5

Insert one end of the dowel into the loop that you just created. Insert the dowel as you create each loop or you’ll run the risk of having your loop slip out while it waits. 

Step #6

Repeat steps #4 and #5 for the two remaining lengths of Texsolv.

Step #7

Finally, place a strip of painter's tape across the entire length of teeth. The tape will act as a safety net to make sure that your Texsolv loops do not slip off of the teeth. 

You now have a front apron rod on which to tie your warp. The sturdy and even dowel makes the process much less frustrating. Once you have advanced the warp a few inches, the Texsolv will wrap around the front beam and the dowel will politely tuck behind the row of teeth. I always keep this dowel attached to my loom and have not had to redo it…that is, of course, until a floorboard heater and wall hook decided to tear it off…

Happy warping!

An Editor's Note

I have trouble self editing when it comes to making. I have more ideas than I have hours in the day. I know that this problem of time is not unique to me. I do my best to prioritize, but I find that I am tempted to cram as many ideas into one project as I can in order to try everything. Creative chaos ensues. Unnecessary business in which each idea ends up being consumed by the mess of the whole. I’ve struggled with this my entire creative life. In college I got really into the idea of using men's neckties. Now, I still hold to the idea that something nice could come from this idea, but I was never successful. And man, I’ve got the proof. My niece recently reminded me of the endeavor when she proudly held up a purse that I had made years ago. It was a little handbag with a striped polyester tie used as the handle, wrapped around to create an outer pocket. I was equally parts delighted and mortified. She was really pleased to have it; I was embarrassed to have made it. Thankfully the attempt at a tie skirt isn’t still around. It was so heavy that suspenders were practically needed to hold it up. 

Yet, for all of the ugliness, lessons have been learned. Sometimes a bad idea isn’t apparent until it has had a chance to live. I also try to keep in mind how one’s taste changes over time and I try to be careful not to judge my past taste too harshly. Over the years my ascetic has simplified. It briefly became very “greige”. I love the white and grey aesthetic that is so common these days. Neutral tones as a way of life. But I love it for other people, not myself. Color always ends up slipping in for me. In college I dressed like a gypsy. I could have won a competition based on how many flowing layers of mixed patterns I could wear at one time. In all honesty I still yearn a bit for the style of my early twenties, particularly my crushed velvet jacket, but the practicalities of life keep me from it. I’ve now settled somewhere in between utility and function and organized clutter and I’m pretty happy there. 

Design ideas come in while the ghosts of makes past linger behind me. I try to not be frightened by either of them. The fine line between interesting and timeless is the goal. I’ve missed the goal more times than not. Just because you can make something doesn’t mean you should and just because an idea might not work doesn’t mean that you shouldn't try. Contradictory ideas and a good design waits somewhere within. All of this being said, I’m done with ties and have learned that an intense overshot pattern can be lost when done with a colorful variegated yarn. Onward. I’ve got my red pen at the ready. Hopefully it won’t run dry too quickly and I won't loose it in the mess.