[weaving] Kromski Harp

After returning from Florida, I went down to The Fiber Studio in Henniker, NH with my sister to pick up a 24" Kromski Rigid Heddle Loom. I love The Fiber Studio and they've got anything and everything you need if you're a knitter, crocheter, beader, spinner or weaver. I walked around the shop, inspecting the woven items on display with an appreciative eye. They were all so beautiful.

Saturday morning, I started putting the Harp together.

Before (morning):



After (afternoon):



Here, the loom is warped and it's ready to begin weaving. I used the written instructions that came with the loom as well as the DVD, which features an actual person putting it together on screen. That helped so much.

I started weaving a bit at the table and it wasn't pretty. When I first started knitting, it was hard to remember the differences between making a knit and a purl. Now, with the loom, I have to go slow and think, "Beat the weft, move the heddle away bottom-first to the bottom rung, slide the shuttle, beat the weft, move the heddle away top-first to the top rung," etc. It's very slow going. But it should be second nature after 300 hours of weaving or so.

I put the Harp's stand together and (after many frustrating exclamations of "This loom doesn't fit in this stupid stand!") managed to secure the loom.

Later (night):





And my first woven strip (only about 3 inches wide):



I'm still doing all kinds of things wrong but I'll get better. The books that have helped me the most have been Hands of Rigid Heddle Weaving by Betty Linn Davenport and Weaving Made Easy: 17 Projects Using a Simple Loom by Liz Gibson.

Here we go with another fiber related hobby :)