The Gift - Glimakra standard Floor Loom

I was contacted recently by a former customer who moved to Virginia.  Denise could no longer weave and wondered if I would like to have her floor loom.  I asked what kind of loom it was, and she replied it was a Glimakra Standard Loom with a 63-inch weaving width.  --  I almost dropped the phone!  This loom was always my dream loom!  I made arrangements with her to come and get the loom; and Monday, we went to retrieve it...

This beautiful loom was Denise's "Baby."  She loved weaving, and I can only imagine how hard it had to be for her to give away something so near and dear to her heart.  She just wanted to make sure it was going to a good home.  With that in mind, I wanted to ensure it will be loved and used with care.  Since this loom is of Swedish origin, I thought I would call her "Ingrid."  I will confess that Ingrid Bergman was always one of my favorite actresses, so naming the loom after her seemed appropriate.

Our trip home from Virginia was uneventful, and we were able to unload all the pieces of the loom and place them in the shop.  On Tuesday morning, I proceeded to sort out all the parts and get prepared to put them together.  At that moment, I felt pretty over-whelmed looking at all the piles..  But I began to sort out everything according to the assembly instructions and get Ingrid back to working condition..

By the end of the day, the majority of the loom was put back together. On Wednesday, I started to work on putting the shuttles together and figure out the tie-ups. I didn't make much progress on Thursday and Friday as I had shop "stuff" to do. By Saturday, I did have the upper and lower lams connected and started working on the daunting task of doing the tie-ups. My plan is to do the first two treadles and test how they work to ensure I have connected everything correctly. The main thing is that "Ingrid" is ready to go to work. I think my first project will be a smaller one using a "Crackle" pattern.

This particular model is the Standard Countermarch Loom, and I was amazed how it went together. There are very few nuts and bolts used. Most of the beams and frame pieces go together by inserting one piece into the other. Everything is tightened and held together with shims. I have always been fascinated with Scandinavian weaving techniques, and this loom reinforces my opinions of their exceptional weaving abilities. It is quite an amazing machine, and I feel so blessed that Denise thought of me when she decided to give up weaving.