In this post, I’m taking a look at a particular loom in my collection: a table loom made by L.D. Crandall for Lorellyn Weaver’s. This is essentially a 4-harness counterbalance table loom with 4 treadles and approximately 20″ inches of weaving width. The weight is around 25 pounds and the legs are detachable, making it an option for workshops and travel. Instead of the hand levers found on many table looms that lift the harnesses to open the shed, this loom uses treadles that pull the harnesses down. Quick and easy to warp, this little sinking-shed loom is perfect for learning 4-shaft weave str ..read more

If I had a dollar for every fiber artist’s blog with a year long gap between posts, I could support myself and spend my time updating my own abandoned blog. Sadly, most of us cannot pay the bills with our passion for fiber and textiles, hence the need for a day-job. Don’t quit your day-job My day-job is technical writer/editor. I love it, and a full-time project has kept me pretty busy for the last year or so. Between the job and family adventures, I’ve had very little time to don the bonnet and share my love of fiber arts history. I have satisfied the itch in other ways though. Fiber arts are ..read more

One day Bill Farmer – historian, blacksmith, and fort manager at Fort Boonesborough State Park (Richmond, Ky) – walked in my cabin and said, “You’re good with string. Reckon you could make me one of these gill nets?” Bill has solved many problems for me (including making me a custom horse-brain scooper-outer tool – a story for another day), so I certainly wasn’t going to say no. Bill Farmer doing his thing. Image source: Richmond Register Staff Report Aug. 26, 2014 He handed me a ball of hemp twine, a book called “Primitive Technology: A Book of Earth Skills” (Edited by David Wescott), and the ..read more

I’m going to use this post to share a few efforts or links I have found helpful during the 2020 Coronavirus outbreak. Feel free to add efforts or links in the comments. You know, I shouldn’t have to say this, but I will because for every Helper in the world, there is a Naysayer. If your idea of being helpful is to say, “This effort is pointless because…”, DON’T bother commenting. I guarantee you the organizers of these efforts already the know about the caveat you feel compelled to mention and have moved heaven and earth to adapt. These people are doers – help them or get out of their way ..read more

Election Day (Tuesday, November 3, 2020) may seem like it’s a long way off, but across America hundreds of busy knitters are celebrating their right to vote. A craft event known as 100 Years Shawl Along is inspiring fiber artists to make shawls, scarves, and even hats that celebrate the 100th anniversary of the women’s vote. Hundreds of knitters, crocheters, and weavers have already joined in. What is the 100 Years Shawl-Along? Jessica Faulhaber of Kentucky Fiber Stop in Lexington, Kentucky (formerly Jessica’s Creations) started the shawl along as a way to unite polarized women voter ..read more

“I saw this old wheel on eBay…”With the abundance of internet resources, finding older wheels for sale is the easy part. The trick is recognizing if a wheel has living history potential. Part 3 of this series looks at what resources you can trust, and offers some tips for buying your spinning wheel. If you can’t trust Disney… Thanks to pop culture, most people can’t tell a spinning wheel from the paddle wheel at Hanson’s Mill (come on, that’s where Pa worked on Little House.) Case in point, Disney’s 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty featured a wheel with no spindle, no flyer, and no soul. Th ..read more

“Help! How do I know which wheel is right for ME?”Living history tells a story. Like your clothing and other gear, your spinning equipment can make or break your historic portrayal. Part 2 of this series defines some common terminology related to your wheel search, and asks a few questions about your impression (the 5 W’s). Your answers should point to the best wheel for your needs. Types of wheels used for living history Re-enactors and interpreters use a variety of wheels. They take into account which historic sites they frequent and may use different wheels for different events. Wheel ..read more

“What type of spinning wheel should I buy for reenactment/living history?”I hear this question a lot. My answer is always, “It depends.” If you take living history seriously, your fiber arts impression demands as much attention to detail as the rest of your persona. Part 1 of this series helps you get started, and includes a primer on historic spinning wheels. Does historical accuracy matter? In a word, yes. In the absence of historical accuracy, you’re just playing dress-up. And probably badly. So, what does it mean to be historically accurate? Like it’s cousin ‘period correct ..read more

Remember Betty from the first part of this blog post? If not, take a moment to read Top 5 Ways to FAIL at Spinning Yarn: Part 1. Go ahead. We’ll wait. OK, you’re back. When we last saw Betty, she was busy learning NOT to spin. And if you are still reading, you probably don’t want to be like Betty.   Let’s look at the top 5 ways Betty fails at spinning, this time in a bit more detail. She doesn’t spin enough Betty leaves spinning group frustrated. When she gets home, she parks that wheel in a corner, so it can think about what it’s done. She may not look at it again for month ..read more

I know this chick. Let’s call her Betty. The good news is, she is trying to learn to spin. The bad news is, she has been trying for over 5 years, and still cannot make yarn. While I appreciate her stick-with-it-ness, it doesn’t make it any easier to watch her struggle. Instead of learning to spin, Betty has learned how to fail at spinning. And she’s really good at it. Betty’s Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Once a year, Betty wipes the dust off an antique spinning wheel in her living room, straps it in the back seat of her SUV, and lugs it to one of our spinning group meetings. Her old wheel h ..read more