Christa
putting in the headerOn Saturday, October 23, 2004, my daughter, Staci; my sister, Nancy; and I went to The Flying Shuttle weaving studio in Findlay, Ohio, to learn how to set up a loom and weave a simple scarf. We had a great day and learned a lot.
We had to be in Findlay around 9:00am, so I set my alarm for 5:15. I got up, got dressed, and woke Staci up. I called Nancy around 6:00 just to see that we were on schedule. Nancy arrived at our house just before 7:00 and off we went. We stopped at Burger King for breakfast and headed down US-23, only stopping once before hitting Findlay. We arrived at the studio at about 9:15.
We were met at the door by the owner/teacher, Christa Gupta and Jiffy, her brown tabby cat. After hellos and introductions we headed down to the studio in her basement. It was bright and cheerful with 3 smaller looms arranged in front of a large loom. She showed us the looms and gave a brief description of them. Two of them already had an inch of the warp sleyed. She showed us how to measure warp by doing the first inch of Nancy's. We all got to do at least an inch worth of ends.
After the warp was all measured and she showed us how to tie the cross, she took it over to Nancy's loom where she showed us how to sley the first inch. Then we all sat at our respective looms and sleyed the rest. she then showed us how to thread the heddles and wrap the warp. It didn't take long to have all three looms ready to start weaving. Jiffy assisted with each step just to make sure we did it correctly, such a smart and friendly kitty.
Christa then showed us how to weave the header, leaving room for fringe on the finished scarves. She then turned us loose to start weaving while watching to give guidance where needed. Soon we were talking and asking questions while she gave us hints and gentle corrections, to the rhythmic sound of the beaters setting each shot of weft.
Christa
putting in the header
We spent an hour or so weaving along, enjoying the process, when Christa said that it was almost time for lunch. At this point Staci noticed that she had a loop of thread hanging underneath her scarf about 5 inches back. Christa looked at it and asked Staci if she wanted Christa to try and fix it or to have it unwoven to that point. She chose the unweave. When Christa finished unweaving the scarf to the point of error, we went upstairs for lunch.
While we were eating lunch, we talked about life and weaving. We got to meet Christa's husband, Vijay. He is just and nice and friendly as Christa and Jiffy. After lunch we headed back downstairs to finish weaving.
| Staci at her loom | Nancy at her loom | Glenda at her loom |
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Before we knew it Staci was finished. Christa took Staci's scarf off the loom, tied the fringe, trimmed it and handed Staci a beautiful new scarf to add to her collection. Staci played with Jiffy while Nancy and I finished weaving.
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Not long after, my scarf was finished, off the loom, and fringed. Shortly after that Nancy's scarf joined Staci's and mine. We took them upstairs where they were wet finished by spraying with water to dampen them and putting them in the dryer to dry. We talked while they were in the dryer and asked about advanced lessons at a later date.
Christa taking my scarf off the loom.
Before we knew it the scarves were dry and it was time for good-byes. We agreed that it was a wonderful way to spend the day (although Staci has requested that we have a slightly later start for the next time) and we will probably go back for further lessons. Shortly after 4:00pm we were on the way home. Staci and Nancy with new scarves to keep out the winter chill and me with a beautiful, handmade Christmas present ready to wrap up for my mother.
My finished scarf ready to wrap in pretty
Christmas paper.