I started
writing this post a few weeks ago, but life – in the form of a really nasty
head cold – intervened and it was all I could do to get to work and home
again. I knew I’d been under the weather
when I realised that I hadn’t lifted a shuttle in weeks.
Last post I
wrote that my loom needed new cords and then for good measure my sewing machine
and serger both needed new globes. I
suspect my 1975 Elna which has made everything from underwear to tents is only
on its third globe. It’s not that it
hasn’t been used, it’s been used most weeks and has never missed a beat. I think it’s because changing the globe is
such a challenge that it trains me to turn the light off as soon as I’ve
finished sewing. I managed to get the old
globe out with some difficulty and then managed to buy a close – 15 watt – but
not exact – 25 watt – replacement.
Getting the new globe in wasn’t going well as it’s a very restricted
space and even my small hands were not small enough. Of course it took me a while to admit defeat
and consult the book and I had forgotten the important step of putting a
screwdriver in the hole on the top of the machine to push the whole lamp
housing down. Once I did that and after
several more attempts, the globe eventually clicked into place. It will take quite a while to forget how hard
it was and by then I will have been re-trained to turn the light off when not
needed. Fortunately the Bernina serger
has a screw in globe and went in without any drama.
The 4 shaft
loom now has new cords and a rub down with furniture oil. Getting the cords around the pulleys, 4 for
each shaft, is a pain although this time I used venetian blind cord and it was
much easier than the heavy cord I was replacing. I sealed the ends of the new cord on the gas
jet on the stove and they were firm enough on the ends and still flexible on
the rest of the cord that I could work them round the pulleys. Last time with the heavier cord I had to
thread the curved upholstery needle with some strong yarn and sew it to the
cord, thread the needle and the attached yarn round the pulley and then guide
the cord through the rest of the pulleys.
It took ages and a few days after I finished we had very heavy rain, so
heavy that the drains blocked, water went into the ceiling and the plaster
sheets started to come down. That was
bad enough but the wet insulation all over the newly refurbished loom just
added insult to injury.
Here it is
with new cords and a good rub down with furniture oil, I do hope there are no
storms on the way. It was made here in Melbourne
in the 1970s but it looks surprisingly like the Dorset loom, the predecessor of the Schacht's Baby Wolf, on
Weavolution. I can’t say it’s a copy but
I do wonder if there was a common ancestor somewhere.
I decided to
put just one last warp on the loom before I replaced the cords. I had a bag of mixed yarns, one of those
treasures from a workshop, a guild meeting or live in course where someone had
cleaned out their studio and made up bags of leftovers to be sold for a worthy
cause such as guild funds or scholarships to help textile students attend the
event. All the yarns were in shades of
pale aqua and I knew I would have plenty in similar colours at home to add to
the mix. There was enough for warp for 4
scarves and weft for one, some of the recycled wool and silk from the wardrobe
clear out was the next weft and I bought a couple of balls of knitting yarn for
the other two.
As I wove them they reminded me a lot of the
glaciers I’d seen on the West coast of New Zealand on a trip years ago. So here are my 4 plain weave glacier scarves, whipped up
from a mystery bag of leftover yarns, a few yarns from the stash and a couple
of balls of knitting yarn, and all posing in front of the village of miniature china
houses at the back of the kitchen bench.
Time to get
ready for the Hawthorn Craft Market on Sunday, at least we’re inside, it’s no
fun being outside in the middle of a Melbourne winter.
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