Tea time

When a project changed my mind

Six tea towels, three 12-harness patterns

I vowed I'd never knit socks or weave towels. I knit socks now so I suppose it was only a matter of time before I confronted my other 'never.' 

The project this year for the South Jersey Guild weaver's study group is....you guessed it. Tea towels.  

I admit to being somewhat disappointed, but wanted to support the initiative. I wasn't exactly unenthusiastic, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money on yarn, either. I looked for the best value--and found one pound cones of 8/2 unmercerized cotton offered by The Lunatic Fringe. (I was unaware of the company until seeing their participation in the upcoming MidAtlantic Fiber Association's 2017 conference this summer in Millersville, Pa.) I ordered three cones.

Towel #1. 12-harness pattern, Ryall pg.364, no.4

Confession

I now admit it. I enjoyed the entire process--from planning through to the finished towels. The colors--peach, molasses and stone--weren't my first colorway choice, but they work just fine together. And I am reminded: They were 'good value.'

Towels #2 and 3. 12-harness, Ryall, pg.363, no.3.
Upper: stone weft; lower, peach weft

As this would be the first project on my new-to-me 12-harness Ahren's & Violette Loom, I wanted to put all the harnesses in action. Planning for six towels, I warped a six yard length in  alternating colors of peach and molasses and dressed the loom with a straight-12 threading sleyed at 24 ends per inch. I had 400 threads (including two threads for floating selvedges each side) and a 16 inch width in the reed.  

Using a sampler in my personal library that I'd woven based on a series of tie-ups from Pierre Ryall's Weaving Techniques for the Multiple-Harness Loom as a starting point, I began to play with peg patterns (tie-ups) and color on the loom. (Ryall is a classic resource for owners of multi-shaft looms.)

Patterns that work--or don't

Towels #4, 5, 6. 12-harness, Ryall. pg. 363, no.4
Upper: peach weft. Middle: stone weft.
Lower: peach, stone and molasses check

As I began to weave the first towel, it was very clear very quickly that the pattern that worked well with different colors on my sampler got lost in the two-color warp. So I  wove it as an evenly-balanced check in the same colors as the warp. It will dry a dish just fine but the pattern is definitely 'meh.'

Much more effective are the two twill variations. Towels two and three were a simple straight twill (Ryall, pg.363, no.3). Four, five and six were based on an advancing twill with wefts in warp or a third color. (Ryall, pg.363, no.4)

The effects of varied weft colors is a reminder how much different colors change the look and feel of the fabric. 

After weaving six towels, I wanted to see how far I could weave to the back bar, so I kept weaving. I cut off the warp with only 12 inches of loom waste on the back end and now have a tray cloth, too!

I was particularly pleased with the towels after washing and drying them. They don't really need to be ironed!

After weaving the six towels, I have about one and a half pounds of cotton left. I think I'll make a warp and....weave some more tea towels.

Ahrens & Violette No. 00129

Ahrens & Violette loom, No. 00129

I hit the weaver's lottery!

I've owned four floor looms to date and have experience weaving with jack, counterbalance, and countermarch mechanisms--but I have none--zero, nill, nada, zilch--experience with a dobby loom. Of course, I know of them. I know people who own them. One has just never come across  my path. Until now.

Last month at a guild meeting, an AVL dobby loom was posted as a giveaway. It was free because it was missing key components--namely, the dobby bars. The loom belonged to Sara Henderson, a long-time member and librarian of the Jockey Hollow Weavers. Her family was prepared to put it on the curb and, in the meantime, was offering it free to anyone who would haul it away. 

Ahrens & Violette loom identification

I said yes. Then I went home wondered what I'd gotten myself into. And then I contacted AVL Looms. Bob Kruger responded immediately. Yes, the dobby bars could be purchased and the company sells parts to older looms. I felt a little better about the acquisition. But still, this loom was sight-unseen. I knew about the dobby bars, but what else was missing--or wrong? Still, I was excited at the prospect. 

Before we headed out to pick up the loom, we studied the manual, which is available online from AVL, and I asked members of AVL groups on Weavolution and Ravelry for advice. Following their suggestions, we assembled tools and prepared for a complicated disassembly. 

All round bests for my new-to-me loom

1. Condition. Overall, the Ahrens & Violette loom is in excellent shape. The well-made loom pre-dates the company's name change from Ahrens & Violette Looms Inc. to AVL Looms so is commonly known as a pre-AVL loom. 

AVL Loom's Bob Kruger estimates the loom was made between 1980 and 1982. The number, which is on the brass plate on the castle, identifies it as number 00129. 

2. Provenance. As suggested, the loom came from a school. Specifically, F.I.T. (Fashion Institute of Technology) in NYC. The inventory label from the New York Board of Education is still attached to the castle. There is also a stamped number on the dobby base: 86400H, but I have no idea what that means. 

3. Transport. The Weavolution and Ravelry AVL communities were awesome and provided excellent suggestions for tools and how-to disassemble. Another best: We didn't have to! It fit (just) in the back of our Ford Ranger pickup with cabover.

4. Bench. One wasn't in the original photo so I expected to need one. I don't. The bench was in the bathroom. And it's a beauty!

5. Shuttle. In a box of leftover weaving tools that we left  with was a shuttle--and not just any shuttle. It is the original end-feed tensioned hand shuttle. It still has the Ahrens & Violette label and its inventory number, stamped on the bottom, is the same as that stamped on the loom, '20.'

Dobby bars, extra pegs and pirns

And the best of the best?

In the last 'look' for weaving bits before the estate clearance people came, Maurice found the dobby bars! They were in an Easter basket, along with an extra bag of pegs and two pirns for the shuttle. Up on a shelf, they'd been hiding in plain sight.

The challenging part now is figuring out the mechanism and returning the loom to working order. So far, each day brings at least one new 'Ah-ha' moment. And the clever man who discovered the dobby bars just keeps figuring out things. 

There is definitely more to come.