Looming and Learning and Life: Creativity Cures!

The loom creation project was wonderfully enjoyable!  I spent a few minutes rummaging around inside and outside of my dad's shop and luckily I was able to gather all of the necessary supplies:  wood (from the frame around PCV pipe delivered for water wells), metal poles (cut from the flower display stands from my Grandpa's funeral in '09), nails (probably left over from when my dad was building their house in the late '80's), and wood screws (my dad had these on his service truck).

With the supplies ready to go, my dad helped me get the project started.  The first thing he did was show me all of the splendiferous power tools he had to help make this process easy and FUN! And, since he's a rather decent collector of tools, he had everything I needed and more!

Frame and poles laid out during frame design brainstorming.

Then we took a few minutes and laid out our design.  I was using pictures I had found on the interwebs and ballparked our measurements since this isn't an exact science.  The size of the loom can vary depending on how large a rug you want to produce.  We decided to go with a three ft horizontal piece and a four ft-ish vertical piece (just used the boards the length they were, cause I liked the length).

My newest love, the power miter saw!

Next we cut the horizontal pieces down to three ft using this lovely little tool. It's a power miter saw, and I'm in love.

Then we began the process of actually putting the frame together.  We pre-drilled holes for the wood screws to prevent the boards from splitting (they weren't the newest boards).

Pre-drilling for wood screws.

Makita makes my heart melt!

After drilling, we put the frame together with the wood screws.  Dad headed off to check his deer feeder and left me to work out the rest.

I cut the metal rods down to the right size, using my dad's Makita metal cutting saw, and my heart fluttered once again!  After cutting the rods, I polished the sharp edges with my dad's buffer/grinder, and sparks flew (literally and figuratively)!  ;)  Have I mentioned I my affinity for power tools?

With the frame together and the rods cut and polished, I moved on to hammering in the nails for the warp of the rug.  I placed the nails one inch apart and hammered them in across the top and bottom of the frame.

Nails one inch apart

The only thing I did not find in my dad's shop was eye bolts.  I needed them to hold the rods in place along the sides of the frame (to keep the tension, when weaving, from accidentally causing the to rug hour-glass in).  I was able to purchase a set of eye bolts for the whopping price of $1.00 at Fred's in town.  Once I added the eye bolts, the loom was done!

Pre-eye bolts,  the rods are just hanging on one of the nails.

Warping the loom.

T-shirt yarn!

I used some yarn my friend Amy gave me for the warp (the material wrapped vertically from nail to nail).  After I put the warp on the loom, I began weaving with the t-shirt yarn I had made (I'll post about this process soon).  I'm not sure how many shirts I'll need or what color combination I'll use, but I am thoroughly enjoying the process.  It's definitely a learning process.  I'll blog about the finished product once it's complete.

But, what I have learned so far in this process is that creativity keeps my soul alive.  Life is shit sometimes, and there are days when all you can do is breathe and endure.  It's in the midst of these moments that a project like this helps keep me going.  At times, life can feel utterly exhausting and almost pointless.  When the dark cloud settles in, I need something that's gonna bring a ray of sunshine into my soul.

That's when this loom helps me the most.  I look forward to seeing how the rug will turn out.  I enjoy the process of repurposing old t-shirts into something that puts a smile on my face. I love learning how to do something new and envisioning ways to make the next rug.  My mind and my soul are creatively engaged, the dark cloud begins to life, and the world looks a little brighter.

Come walk with me (on my new rug, soon) and we'll see what excitement the next project holds!

My daddy and I in his shop,
 working on this project.

Green, light gray, blue-gray, orange, navy blue . . .