First Project On My "New To Me" Glimakra

In a previous post I wrote about my Adventures in Overshot. In that post I mentioned Helene Bress whose coverlet books were so helpful to me. Helene will be our guest speaker at tomorrow's guild meeting. I am so looking forward to it.

The project was still on my Loomcraft and I decided to cut the warp off the loom and move it over to the "new to me" Glimakra. Boy was that an exercise. I recreated the cross on the Loomcraft then created a warp chain. I attached the trapeze to the Glimakra and weighted the warp.
The rattle was attached to the back beam.The cross was pulled forward and tied it to the loom frame.The harnesses were hung and the heddles threaded.The reed was sleyed. The warp was attached to the front beam. The countermarch unit is installed, the cords are in place and the treadles are all tied up.

I used the method described in a white paper by Madelyn Van Der Hoogt called Everything You've Ever Wanted To Know About Tying Up Your Countermarch Loom.
The method I used is definitely not in the Swedish method. Next time I plan to dress the loom the Swedish way.

Here she is all finished. The pattern is best known by the name of "Pine Bloom" (an old Appalachian draft). The warp is 10/2 unmercerized cotton, the weft is 20/2 unmercerized cotton and the pattern weft is 5/2 mercerized cotton. I have enough warp to weave another one.

The Glimakra is an absolute dream to weave on.

Glimakra Update

After my last post I got busy cleaning my "new to me" Glimakra. When they say the Glimakra is just a bunch of sticks this is what they mean. It's amazing how the loom can be broken down into a bunch of sticks. I cleaned every wood surface. Joanne Hall recommends cleaning the parts with vinegar and water. I did this until I ran out of vinegar then switched to Dawn dish washing soap and water. I then wiped the wood surface with 100% Tung Oil from LeeValley.To learn more about the construction and care of Glimakra looms visit this page on Joanne's site.

I didn't really need any parts per se . I did purchase a 10-shaft countermarch from Becky Ashenden. I also purchased two books from her, Damask and Opphamta with Weaving Sword or Drawloom and The Old Linen Closet: From plain weave to damask. The loom came with 9 heddles (18 sticks) so I ordered another 2 sticks to give me 10 shafts. It also came with 11 treadles. I thought 9 heddles was a little odd but 11 treadles was very odd.

I set her up all by myself in the spare bedroom but already moved her to the living room. This time with the help of my DH.I'm in the process of outfitting her with Texsolv tie up cord. After washing and organizing the Texsolv heddles I ended up with ~ 850. I ordered 200 more from Earth Guild because that is what I will need for my next project. This loom is typically sold with 11" heddles but mine were 12 1/2". I guess the shorter length will give you a larger shed. Any shed on this Glimakra will be bigger than what I had on any of my jack looms. I cut this warp off my 45" Loomcraft. It started out as 6 yards. I'm using a trapeze. I need to decide if I will set the loom up as counterbalance or countermarch. My project is a 45" square Overshot. I should still have enough warp for 2 squares.

I Have a Glimakra!!!!

Did I need another loom? Not particularly. Did I want to own a Glimakra? You betcha! It helps having friends who are bad influences. I got an email about a loom in the Philadelphia area for a very good price. It was a 40" wide, 8-shaft, counterbalance and countermarch Glimakra with no extra accessories like reeds. Turns out someone else got the loom.

I looked on the Spinners', Weavers' & Knitters' Housecleaning Pages and found a 47" 8 harness, 10 treadle Glimakra for an even better price. This one is counterbalance but came with 6 stainless steel reeds and a few other extras. If I add the countermarch parts I will still come out ahead. This loom was located about 30 minutes north of Philadelphia. My bad influence friend and I went on a road trip a few days later and brought her home.

Here she is before taking her apart. The loom needs a good cleaning. It was filthy. Here is the bad influence helping me load the loom into my SUV. This is everything. I actually had room for another Glimakra with room to spare. I was pretty tired by the time I got home so she had to sleep in my SUV last night (The loom not the bad influence!) Actually she may have to sleep there again tonight. The bad influence and I had a fun time. I picked her up at 7am, it took a little over 3 hours to get there, we spent about 2 hours taking her all apart and loading her up, we ate lunch at Olive Garden, then had a long drive home. We got hung up in some slow traffic. I pulled into the driveway a little after 6pm.

I did manage to wash all the Texsolv heddles and cords last night. The water turned black instantly. They are all nice and clean now. I don't want to bring the other pieces into the house until they have had a good cleaning.

It has all its original parts including the owner's manual but the lady did keep the packing sticks. Grumble, grumble. It was made ~ 1981. It is missing a few pieces here and there. Just minor stuff. I've already been in touch with Joanne Hall about replacement parts. She responded to my email quickly. I've only heard good things about Joanne and her husband Ed. It's refreshing to get good customer service these days. I'm working on a list that will include the countermarch upgrade. I plan on getting her up and running as counterbalance then transition to countermarch.

I think I shall call her Emily!