with my potholder loom, yarn  and stuff in a project bag .

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

As we rolled down the road, I was not happy to discover that I had left my weaving hook at home. Oh rats! That would mean ~no weaving~ for me.

No no no  no no no!

Luckily, I had an extra chopstick, so I knew I would be able to carve another weaving hook by upcycling the chopstick into a weaving hook.

When we got to the grocery store, my husband loaned me his pocket knife (mine was too dull to be safe to work with) and offered to go get the groceries so I could carve the hook…. what a sweetheart!

He went and got the groceries, and I rummaged around until I found a nail file and a little rock. That gave me all the tools  I needed to carve the hook.

I had my camera with me, and snapped pics as I carved, as I knew that this would be fun to share on hankering for yarn.

By the time he had bought the groceries, I had carved the hook. I was such a happy camper! Bless his heart!

So, here you have it: How to carve a handmade weaving hook from a chopstick – a fun bit of upcycling and DIY!

AND please remember: NEVER  work with a dull knife, and DON’T EVER point the knife towards your hands, fingers, or leg when carving or whittling. Always take tiny little slivery flakes off, and work slowly and carefully, nipping of the tiniest bits possible.

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It’s the Vesterheim Museum Cradle Loom.

 I’ve received letters from people, saying that they couldn’t find the loom on the Vesterheim site. So, I wrote to the Vesterheim folks and asked if the loom had been discontinued.

Good news! Here’s the response:

No, it has not discontinued.  We were temporarily out and financially we
could not order for some time.  We do have it back in and please forward the
message.  Thank you.

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum
Donna Zidlicky

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Grace Hatton then does exquisite weaving on them.

Their work will definitely knock your socks off.

Fred and Grace Hatton 

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I am passionate about small loom weaving.

I have a collection of vintage looms that I dearly love, including Lily Speed oWeave looms and Magic square looms.

Technically, they are not ~weaving~ looms. They are ‘hold your yarn in nifty patterns and go into an altered state of consciousness and tie rhythmically a sequence of interlocking knots’ looms. But, that’s a bit of a mouthful.

Anyhow, sadly, they are not made anymore.

You can still find them in second hand stores and at yard sales – IF you are lucky.

If not, then you pay through the nose to someone on eBay who DID find them.

Well… I am happy as a clam,

because I’ve found the Butterfly looms.

They are a really nicely made collection of flat board looms that replace the vintage Magic Square and Lily Speed o Weave looms.

They’re sturdy beautifully made and really a pleasure to work on.

And they have a lovely little laser cut butterfly, too…. )

I particularly like using the motifs from these looms in combination with crochet.

I’ll post more about them soon. (and more pics, too….)

Oh, the usual disclaimers! No affiliations etc, other than really liking them!

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Weave it looms were made from the 30’s through to the 70’s. They’re wonderful little looms, and people love them.

Sadly, the Donar and then Scoville companies stopped producing them. There was a lot of excitement when Buxton Brooks bought the patent and started producing them.

I’m not sure what’s going on with BB, but a lot of folks are very disappointed that phonecalls and emails aren’t being answered.  I’ve sent several emails, and haven’t heard back.

(

So, imagine my delight this morning, when I was googling for something else and discovered that someone is now making a  version of the 4 x4 loom. They are very careful to not make any references to the old Weave it looms, but …. but….

Arbor loom 

I just sent an email to Jane at The Spinning Wheel Yarn Shop, and they’re planning on working with the Arbor looms for a long time. They’re getting them made in the community where they live, so they won’t have the production problems of dealing with international companies.

I wish them the greatest of success with their looms!

PS: Gotta say it: NO AFFILIATION to the company, and no profit in blogging about them.  Also, I haven’t held the loom in my hand, but the photos look good.

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narrow rigid heddles

This is just great if you have a loom like the

Vesterheim  museum  loom. 

It’s gorgeous, and a joy to work with, but doesn’t come with a heddle. Lovely to know that you can get them! yay!

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