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.

Antiques Roadshow

Antiques Roadshow came to D.C. and the Washington Convention Center on August 21, 2010. The D.C. show received nearly 23,000 ticket applications (more than any other locations on the Summer 2010 tour). They estimated 6,000 attended the show with approx. 70 appraisers. There will be three Washington, D.C. episodes that will air sometime between January and May of 2011. I got an all day ticket from a friend whose friend is one of the appraisers.

One of the items I brought was a Jacquard coverlet I purchased at auction on Nantucket for $200. It was made by J. Cunningham in 1844. It is woven with white cotton and red wool. On the interior are four large floral medallions. The borders have the New York State seal with "Under This We Prosper" above and George Washington on horseback in the corners. It also has the slogan "United We Stand Divided We Fall" and J. Cunningham Weaver N. Hartford Oneida Co. N. York 1844. (Click picture to enlarge.)

I brought along the book "American Coverlets and Their Weavers" where James Cunningham is listed with his bio and a picture of this coverlet done in blue and white. The coverlet was appraised by Beth Szescila who specializes in rugs & textiles and decorative arts. Beth said it was one of the nicest she has seen and because of the condition she appraised it, at auction, between $3,000 - $4,000.

I really had fun at the Antiques Roadshow. It was great to see all that goes on behind the scenes and to see many of the appraisers you see on TV. To see what goes on at Antiques Roadshow watch this video.

If you want to see one of these old looms in operation check out this fascinating YouTube video.

We Love You So Very Much!

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.