My weaving friends joke that I have "crossed over to the dark side", referring to the fact that I now weave with a dobby and a fly shuttle.  I always said that I loved to throw the shuttle and touch my fabric, and had no interest in a fly shuttle.  I enjoyed treadling and pooh-poohed a dobby also.  But I have to say that now that I have been weaving on my 3 AVLs  for approximately 6 months, I am hooked.  I just love watching the beautiful patterns appear so quickly and with so little effort.  When everything is set up and adjusted properly I seldom have an error in my weaving.  I love not lying on the floor tying up treadles.  I am just getting too old and the studio (basement) floor is too cold for that.  While I do miss the tactile aspect of weaving with a standard shuttle, which I can use if I choose to, I find that for a weaver that sells my creations, this is so much more efficient.  I never considered myself a production weaver, but I guess I am.  I was able to complete an 83" shawl with an intricate pattern in a 24 hour period.  I might actually make more than $5 per hour on this one! 

So "from the dark side" this weaver is all smiles.

Comments

Thu, 11/03/2011 - 17:15

laurafry

I could not have done what I have done without my AVL.  :)  And once I get into the 'zen' of weaving, it doesn't matter if I don't actually touch the shuttle, although I do still hand throw on warps less than 30" wide - like the towels I'm currently doing.

cheers,

Laura

Thu, 11/03/2011 - 17:42

Bonnie Inouye (not verified)

I certainly appreciate my AVL looms! Like Laura, I could not have made such progress without them. I also appreciate having good weaving software and feel lucky to be weaving in the present time. Laura and I started weaving when computers were enormous and exceedingly expensive. We know how to make drafts on graph paper and have done plenty of those.

I am fond of non-repeating treadling sequences. I have been weaving for 44 years and now I find it fun to see the cloth grow and change as I make my way through a draft that keeps changing. I like to design for a specific piece. This would be much harder on graph paper- and also hard on a loom with treadle limitations, in many cases. I bought my first AVL in 1987, partly because I was weaving to sell.

I love having more than 8 shafts and reaching the treadles! I am short and could not comfortably weave on a loom with 14 or more treadles, but my AVL looms have 16 and 24 shafts. No problem.

Bonnie

Fri, 11/04/2011 - 00:54

loomroomcat (not verified)

I took a class from you thru Michigan Weavers Guild in Livonia Michigan a few years back.  It really inspired me to weave more complicated structures than I was doing.  Expanding my horizons.  A class with Jennifer Moore this spring was another springboard.  Cannot imagine my live without looms and spinning wheels.  No bars or casinos in my life, mostly wool, cotton and bamboo!

Fri, 11/04/2011 - 16:04

Lauries (not verified)

I like my AVL because I can weave patterns. I wanted to be able to weave pattern on 8 shaft or more. I have a 8 shaft Kessenich but I found I couldn't lift more than 3 at a time. I still use the Kessenich for now. I don't have a fly shuttle on the AVL so I still throw a shuttle on that.

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