My 'New' Loom

Thought I'd post a photo of the loom as it is right now. It's a Macomber B5 Add a Harness loom. Weaving width is 40 inches and it currently has 4 harnesses. I can add up to 6 more in the future, but for now I will settle for getting it working.

All I've had a chance to do to it so far is to vacuum off the worst of the dirt and debris, cut off the weaving sample that was on it and check it out. Here's what I'm going to have to do to get it into working order:

• Either replace the iron end piece on the cloth beam or replace the entire cloth beam. I'm hoping I can just get the iron part that's broken and replace that.

• Get the rust off of the reed, and various other metal parts of the loom. I've ordered some special rust removing blocks from a woodworking store for that task, though I'm sure I'll be buying naval jelly at some point for the reed. It's completely rusted. I'd just buy a new one, but I'd really like to have two different reeds for this loom which would enable me to vary the yarn I use. I like the idea of using a heavier yarn sometimes.

• Sand down the frame in spots. It's got some water damage here and there that needs to be addressed.

• Replace the aprons on the cloth beam and the warp beam.

• Replace the handle on the warp beam.

• Add more heddles.

• Replace the lease sticks. It only came with one.

• Purchase a raddle for warping the loom.

• Purchase or build an adjustable height bench.

As I get into this project, I may find more to do before it's usable. I still need to unwind and cut the old warp off the warp beam. It's a really heavy well-built loom (the original owner purchased it new in 1974 and I think it has a lot of life in it yet.

New Year. New Plans.

It is a shiny new year. Admittedly I've got a few unpleasant tasks ahead of me in the weeks to come (haul out the dead Christmas trees, do the taxes, file the FAFSA for my daughters), but I also have a few projects that I am looking forward to doing. Such as:

• Restoring the 40" floor loom I lucked into at Thanksgiving,

• Finally creating a studio space in my house,

• Taking a writing class,

• Creating things and maybe even selling them to people.

It's a shiny new year. Anything is possible.

Creepy

Among the many bits of motherly advice I’ve given my children over the years is included the following injunction: ‘Don’t do anything that will result in you becoming a joke on David Letterman.’ This bit of wisdom was handed down about the time that we all found out just what Monica Lewinski’s internship duties at the Clinton White House entailed.

This week, it came out that David had done what I had warned my children about: He found himself in the unenviable position of being an embarrassing joke on his own show. Faced with a threat from a CBS employee that the world would find out about the incredibly ‘creepy’ things he had done during his tenure as host of a late night talk show, David decided to break the story himself, pulling his audience in w/ a ‘little story’ in which he not only detailed the attempted blackmail attempt, but admitted to sexual liaisons with several female employees during an unnamed point in time.

While I admire David’s honesty (and the clever way he used it) in coming forward and admitting to his misdeeds before someone else could expose him as a lecherous employer, I also have to admit to being extremely disappointed in the behavior that made it necessary. He, of all people, should have known better. And I will have another bit of advice for my daughters: If the opportunity should ever arise, think twice before accepting a job with David Letterman. No one really wants to work with a lecher.

In the meantime, I offer my sympathy to David’s mother on her son’s behavior which resulted in him being a joke on Late Night with David Letterman. If she needs to commiserate with someone who understands how it feels, I suggest that she call Monica’s parents.

Life's Little Bombs

Yesterday morning I got a lovely surprise. It’s been at least two years since I ceased being a viable breeding device or rather, stopped having periods. It’s called menopause and while certain aspects of it were a bit bothersome, on the whole I thought I’d gotten off fairly well. Until yesterday when I discovered that I was spotting. Very, very light spotting, but spotting nonetheless. Having recently read somewhere that any sort of bleeding after the complete cessation of periods was usually a sign that things are ‘not good,’ I decided, after an attempt at denial, to email my doctor this morning. His reply was basically, get thee to a gynecologist and get this checked out. So, I called the wonderful doctor who delivered the girls eons ago, confirmed that he is on my insurance plan and made an appointment for mid-October. Between now and then I will endeavor to refrain from searching medical websites for what this might mean as those types of searches usually just manage to increase my blood pressure and my panic level.

As there is a bit of a history of ovarian cancer (two cousins on my mother’s side), I am concerned. Especially since my very recent pap smear came back clear.

When I’m thinking positively, I allow myself to believe that this is just a hormonal reaction to my newly empty nest and my body is just trying to bring itself back up to reproductive speed. Not that I’ve ever heard of that happening to anyone. But there was the dream the first night Emily stayed in the dorm that I was pregnant again.

At any rate, I am taking action and not sticking my head in the sand, despite my fears of what might be causing this. A few weeks ago when I was in a major funk over the whole empty nest thing, I might have been tempted to leave this to fate, suicide by denial as it were. (I’ve always been good at procrastination, though this would be a rather extreme way to use it.) But I still have an extremely healthy fear of death (nothing like reading “Charlotte’s Web” when you are 7 years old after your father has dropped dead in front of you to keep you doing what it takes to keep living) and that fear keeps me going.