Lizard Tapestry Disruption

I started the Lizard tapestry right before our big disruption. Selling your house means that every in-process project instantly becomes vulnerable. Yikes! After a sleepless night, I contacted my friend Joanne Hall. Can this weaving be saved? Yes!, she assured me, as she gave me instructions for dismantling the loom.

Getting ready to dismantle loom for relocation.
Yarn supply is packed up, including all the wool butterflies.
Getting ready to dismantle loom for moving.
Cartoon is removed.

Everything is logical about the process. Undo things, tie parts together, take things apart. And I don’t have to cut off the weaving? No. Remove the beam cords from the cloth beam. It’s that simple.

Lamms and treadles removed for moving the loom.
Lamms and treadles have been taken off.
Moving a loom without ruining a tapestry in progress!
Beam cords are removed from the cloth beam.
Removing the warp beam. Relocating the loom.
Steve unscrews a bolster that holds one side of the warp beam so I can remove the warp beam.
Warp beam removed! Hope to put this back together.
Holding the precious bundle!
Taking the loom apart.
Taken apart. Tapestry, reed, and shafts are rolled and bundled up in the fish beach towel.

Now all I have to do is wait

Relocating my loom.
Everything fits in the car, ready for transport.

All the dust has settled, the house transaction is done, and the loom has been re-located and put back together. It’s the first thing you see when you enter our ground-floor apartment.

Getting ready to re-assemble loom.
New location for the loom is in the living room of our apartment.
Simple Swedish loom assembling.
Simple Swedish loom assembling.
Re-assembling my loom after relocating.
Re-attaching the bolster to hold the warp beam.
Re-assembling loom after relocating.
Tapestry in view.
Using a spare heddle as a cord threader.
Spare Texsolv heddle works as a cord threader (I forgot to pack the “real” cord threader) to re-attach the cords on the cloth beam.

What about the Lizard? Can I resume where I left off? Good news: IT WORKED!

Ready to weave after relocating the loom!
Everything is put back together. Beam cords are re-attached. Yarn is unpacked. Warp is tensioned.
Lizard four-shaft tapestry.
Lizard foot grips the breast beam as weaving resumes!

When have you had to wait? Something you dearly long for is unreachable for a while. Waiting for the Lord is always waiting with hope. I trusted my friend’s advice. So, my hope was strong while I waited to see this lizard take shape again. In a similar way, I can trust the Lord when there is a disruption. Wait with strong hope. Wait for the grace to begin again.

May you wait patiently.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

12 thoughts on “Lizard Tapestry Disruption

  1. It looks like your move went pretty smoothly. Your tapestry looks so fun. I look forward to seeing completed. I treasure your posts.

    1. Hi Kay, It didn’t feel smooth while we were in the midst of it all, but now that things are relatively quiet again, I guess you’re right— It did go pretty smoothly.

      This tapestry is fun indeed. I’m looking forward to long uninterrupted sessions to enjoy it!

      Thank you for your sweet words.
      Karen

  2. Joanne is such a help! I took my Julia from TX to WI for a workshop last May and went through the same process using her instructions. At least I didn’t have to worry about a project, just the header had been woven. The Julia gables come apart, so everything fit in a box except the back uprights. So cool.

    I will be looking forward to seeing that lizard emerge further.

    1. Betsy, Sounds like the Julia is a perfect workshop loom! Joanne has a wealth of knowledge and experience. It’s sweet that she is so willing to help.

      This lizard is going to get a lot of my attention in the next few weeks.

      Happy weaving,
      Karen

  3. Good morning.
    I set up my new to me home made floor loom at a weekend house. There was 12″ of my first project on it when we decided to sell that house and look for our future retirement home. As it was dismantled each connection was marked with the same number using a sharpie. When it was put back back together 1 was matched up with 1… and so on. Now it is set up to dismantle and take anywhere.

    The people who designed looms were remarkable inspired.

    Blessings to all.

    Nannette

    1. Hi Nannette, Yes, it’s remarkable that we can so easily take looms apart and then put them back together again.

      All the best,
      Karen

  4. I love the advice to “Wait with strong hope.” There are times when that advice is sorely needed.

    I, also, look forward to hearing about your adventures, Karen. And this one was a big one! It is a good thing that your apartment has a large living room!

    May you enjoy your temporary home.

    1. Hi Annnie, I, too, often need a reminder to wait with strong hope. When things are difficult, hope can begin to waver.

      I don’t know if I would say this apartment has a large living room. The loom takes up a pretty good chunk of it. Fortunately, the room is large enough. 🙂

      All the best,
      Karen

  5. Thank you for for your posts, I have learned so much by reading them. And right now, just what I needed to deal with my own transitions. All the decisions and disruptions related to remodeling, selling a loom, and buying a new loom have been weighing me down. I have my eyes on a used Glimakra Standard, but it’s 1,800 miles away….. The pictures of moving your loom have been very helpful. Perfectly put, I can now wait with strong hope.

    I’m happy that your move has gone so well & you are temporarily settled.

    Thank you!

    1. Hi Barb, I do understand the impact of life transitions. It can be stressful when you’re in the middle of it!

      I’m glad to hear that you are holding onto strong hope. Remember, just about everything is temporary.

      Hugs,
      Karen

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