This Studio now.

1970 -  THIS OLD HOUSE was a 'crafts room' for selling local handmade goodies to the tourists.  It was a small clapboard house with a water well on the back porch.  It had to be over a hundred years old.  It had a mountain stone fireplace dividing two front rooms. In the back room was the 'work area'.  It was there I spotted it! I knew what it was immediately, and all I wanted was to touch it - the LOOM.

The first time I ever saw the loom - it was layered in stripes of vivid 1960's colors, just like I imagined Joseph's 'coat of many colors'.  The lime green, lemon yellow and orange orange were wild.  I really wanted to touch it, but my Mother said I should keep my hands in my pockets.  I was 11 years old and I minded my Mother.  The room was filled with wonderful wares, earthenware pottery, stained glass, intricately woven baskets, bundles of handpieced quilts; but my mind held the image of that loom. 

Life. It's a funny concept to think we know where life leads - we have choices, but we can never really be sure where those choices take us. There is no straight and narrow path.  Several years later, I'm still not sure how it happened, but I fell for the most handsome, intelligent, fun loving fellow on the mountain. The amazing part is, he fell for me! Ha ha, I like to think it was the spirit of that loom weaving our lives together.  It just so happened, his Aunt Bill owned This Old House - and the LOOM! She had it set up in a spare room in her home now.  This Old House was closed, but she was still weaving.

And a few years later, when our son Colin was born, Aunt Bill played with him while I played on the LOOM.  Finally 12 years after I first saw the loom, I was allowed to touch it.  She had it warped with some nice solid polyester yarns - the bold hippie colors were gone - but the loom still called to me. I struggled to keep the selvedges even and the ends tucked.  But my mind was so busy figuring out treadling and patterns, hours went by.  I finally pulled myself away, gathered up my son and asked when I could come back for another lesson. "Oh anytime you want" , she said.  Wonderful!

I went back to the loom many times over the next two years, then one day Aunt Bill asked if I wanted the loom.  Oh wow, you mean I could have it?  We lived in a small 4 room rental house while we built our home.  Where could I put it?  In my excitement I almost missed the tears in her eyes.  "But why are you getting rid of it?"  She had just been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and she wouldn't be weaving anymore.  What devastating news.  Then came another blow - I had no where to store the loom.  And so, I cut off my sample piece.  The loom and I went our separate ways.  I heard she sold it for $100.  I immediately disliked the person who got my loom. They took advantage of an elderly lady who was ill.  Everyone knew it was worth more than $100.  I hoped they would lose their creative urge and never even dress the loom.   

Well, life's path takes another turn.  I have two children now.  It's several years later and they are enrolled at a local Christian school.  I met their classmates, friends and other room mothers.  I heard that one of the other mom's was a weaver.  When I met her, it seemed we had a lot in common  - and eventually she told me, "I bought that LOOM". I almost fell out of my chair. "Could I come by and see it sometime?"  I asked.  She said, "Sure".  Over the next few years, we became friends.  I opened my working studio. A lot of other looms, spinning wheels and supplies came through the doors.  I taught and so I held spin-ins, weaving weekends, cabin fever days.  Eventually my friend decided she wanted a smaller loom.  She asked, "Would you assemble it for me? I'll give you this old Loom back. I never made anything on it anyway."  Sure, no problem!  And then, finally it was mine.   

I brought the tired old loom back home.  It was in bad shape from too many children playing with it.  But my dear husband said he could fix her up.  There is an old Navaho belief, a loom that is left undressed loses it's spirit.  I think the spirit of love, family and friendship are all permanently woven into this loom!