And spent ages researching same, all the way from handbuilt wood from organically sourced forests, hand sanded and with inlays, to rather simpler stuff.
All you actually need is something at each end to hold the warp so you don't have to. I don't need it to be portable, which a lot of simple looms are designed to be. And I came up with this:
the hook I drove into an old heavy plank thing will hold the far end of the warp, and the handle on the little cabinet door in the foreground will be where the near end of the warp is tied, and you'll see it better when my threads arrive and I can set it up.
This way both hands are free, the tension stays even when I have to leave the work for a bit, and the cards are held up enough not to tangle, but at the near end I can rest them on the board to turn them more easily.
Tonstant weaders will know that this is another of those cabinet doors I removed from the kitchen a while back, made one, on a suggestion from dogonart, into a rolling plant stand, and here's the other, doing duty as a tablet loom part. Not patented, feel free to swipe!
The whole loom is at one end of my worktable, so there's still plenty of room to work on stitching on the rest of it. The table top was foraged from the dumpster many years ago, and has seen service as a dining table, a bedhead, a desk and an art table.
Then there's another piece of diy cheapo home improvement, here. The window in my loft, which is my studio, is incredibly awkward to cover. Since it faces due east, the sun shines straight in your eyes in the morning, so you need a little something. But the window opens with a crank, so you can't put up anything that would stop you from reaching in a cranking it open and shut. And it's sharply angled, being under the roof. Here's my solution:
two tension rods, and an upcycled pillow slip, stitched and rods slid through, like a cheerful awning. It blows a bit in the wind, very nice to see. I could tighten it if I liked a more tailored look, but I like the sails in the wind effect.
The friend who yesterday gallantly replaced my attic fan motor when it died, even helping with the computer search and deciding what was needed and shopping for it, what a gem, admired this window treatment.
He lives next door, has exactly the same window, so guess what he's getting as a little thank you. He rarely reads this blog so it won't be a spoiled surprise. I have a lovely piece of Japanese silk in manly colors, bronzes and browns and golds, and I ordered two more rods. Simple bit of sewing, and I'll install it for him. I think he'll like it.
For nonart related diy, all cheapo of course, go to Field and Fen! More cheapo home improvements, the kind you won't find in the glossy mags
Brilliant window covering solution I must say. Would be somewhat mesmerizing when there's a breeze and you're sitting contemplating life (and the next piece of art).
ReplyDeleteyou are the person to come to for solutions as you solve all hurdles. Will share the window one with Helen she has 2 windows like that and has been in her house 2 years and no curtains in the spare room which she often has people staying in
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