Weaving it Forward

Today is a little bittersweet. My first loom has found it’s next home!

On Feb 18, 2017, I welcomed a Leclerc Fanny loom into my home. I made it a lovely space in my guest room turned Loom Room. I was so in love with her, and I always will be even though she’s not longer mine. But it’s a good thing! She has a really great story, too.

When I signed up for my first weaving class at Heritage Spinning and Weaving it was late winter 2016, I did it on a whim. I had always found weaving fascinating, so I talked my wonderful husband into taking a weekend class with me. I couldn’t stop talking about it, even though I didn’t have a loom and wasn’t sure how I could fit one into the budget at that time. What the heck, I didn’t need a loom to take the class. I was absolutely smitten.

Then I got a message from one of my dear ‘friends since second grade’ asking me if I would like to come take a look at this lovely 4 shaft Leclerc Fanny from the 80’s that she had at her home. I think she mentioned that I could have it, but it didn’t quite register that this was a real possibility. So I made plans and was ready to make her an offer.

On February 18, I picked up the loom and my friend and brought them home. Kate spent time helping me put it back together and get started on my first project.

This loom came to me with everything I needed to get started. It had reeds, extra heddles, sley hooks, weaving books, yarns on cones, a warping board, bobbins, fresh aprons, and literally every thing I needed to sit down and get started. It was the very best thing EVER! I was so thrilled and it gave me the start I needed to become a weaver.

Now…this is the thing that blew my mind. The cost.

The cost was a promise to find someone in need of a loom with a desire to learn. And to pass it on with all the bells and whistles so that they could experience the same generosity I was shown.

That was much harder than it appeared! A lot of folks were interested in letting me show them how weaving works, but no one was eager enough to go the next step. So even though I had acquired 3 more looms, I’d kept this first loom in working order, polished and appreciated, while waiting for the right person to show up.

That happened about a week ago. I was lamenting about my last visit to Forma Fiber Arts after Charles had passed. The family was closing the store and it was my last visit. One of my Facebook friends told me how she remembered going to Forma when she was in college at CCS. She had taken classes in weaving and they did a field trip to get fiber at Forma. She remembered the incredible vibe in the store and had hoped to one day buy a loom from Charles. So she was feeling the feels of a lost treasure. At that moment, I felt like Charles had a hand in guiding me to the right person.

Anna and I had a conversation where I asked her “do you want to weave?” and she sounded like I did when I realized what an opportunity it was to take on this loom. She asked, like I did, what the cost was, and I told her what I was told “No cost except the promise that when you’re done with it, it gets passed on the same way you got it.”

The loom adventure continues on! May she bring you as much joy as she brought me, Anna. 💚🧶