I have a floor loom. It was a gift. I was going to say a gift from the Universe, but I don’t think that broad word really gets to the heart of the matter. This gift was from my community and I think it represents the very best of that concept.

The story begins a little over a year ago when my friend, Jo, brought me a birthday present. She brought over a long term loan of a rigid heddle loom that she and her husband built. It came with the offer of a weaving lesson date. It took a whole year before we were able to spend the day together weaving, but we got there. Jo is an incredible tapestry weaver and all around artist. She spent an entire day teaching me the very basics of setting up a rigid heddle loom. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure if I was going to love weaving, but when I got home and found that I could not stop, I knew this skill had to go into my fibre arts basket.

Soon after my weaving date with Jo, I took a trip to Toronto to visit my mom. I stopped in at The Textile Museum of Canada, where they had a room full of floor looms. This is where I discovered that a floor loom needed to come into my life. There’s something about the feet and hands working together that is so meditative. There are also so many more weaving possibilities on a floor loom.

Once I set my sight on a goal, I can become rather relentless. I knew I needed a floor loom, but I also knew I was in no position to be purchasing one. I figured there was somebody out there with an old floor loom languishing in their home. I reached out (made a complete pest of myself) on social media, asking if anyone knew of a floor loom that needed a good home.

My talented friend/neighbour, Mary Anne Donovan, of The House of Wooly Thyme, shared one of my many loom requests on her Instagram stories. Beth, from the top of this post, saw the post and reached out to say that she had a floor loom, and really wanted to gift it to someone who would use it. What truly blew my mind was that Beth was as excited to give the loom to me as I was to receive it. She also threw in a library of weaving books. It was so much fun meeting Beth. You would never guess from the outside of her apartment that the inside was a veritable colour explosion. Beth is a true artist. Every wall was filled with colourful quilts and hand dyed fabrics. The pillows! Oh my lord. I just wanted to sit down and let it all seep in. Best of all was the tattoo on her arm…Wonder Woman! Need I say more? She even had sewn up Wonder Woman curtains. The possibility had never even occurred to me.

There’s one more unsung hero in this tale. The man I Married, Tony. The loom needed some parts to get it up and running and Tony always makes me what I need to keep making hats and making fabric. Yes, he does sometimes file complaints about my territorial yarn take over of the kitchen table, sofa, living room….. every flat space, but then he resigns himself to his fate and gets to work. I suppose this is called, love.

So, there you have it. This loom has made itself right at home and I am overwhelmed by the generosity of the people around me. Today, the one missing part that had to be purchased is scheduled to arrive and I am so excited to add weaving to my repertoire. Stay tuned for more handwoven hats.

Thanks for spending some time with me,

xoxo,

Anna