So, um, I bought another loom. Another TC-2 jacquard loom, in fact.
If you’re a new reader of this blog, you’re probably wondering if I’m nuts. (If you’ve been reading for awhile, you’re not wondering – you already know I’m nuts. Nothing to do with the mental illness, of course. 🙂 ) Why on earth would I feel the need to buy a second TC-2?? Especially now, when I’m so busy building a business??
Well, the short form is that I was thinking of buying a dobby loom with which to weave samples for my online courses, and a used TC-2 came up for sale, incredibly cheap – in fact, at roughly the price of a used dobby loom.
At moments like these, you don’t think (well, not if you’re me!) – you leap bodily for the keyboard and type the words, “I’ll buy your loom!”
Afterwards, you sort out the trivial details, like where on earth you’re going to put the monster (a LOT of garage-rearranging, stuff-purging, etc. is going to have to happen), how you’re going to finance the deal, and whether or not you’ll survive the giant impulse purchase (fortunately, I have a VERY tolerant spouse!).
Fortunately the ad had only been up for an hour or two when I saw it, so I beat out the other interested party, and this lovely creature is now mine, all mine:
She’s a 29″ weaving-width TC-2 jacquard loom with 880 heddles, and she’s in New Mexico right now. So my latest project is working out how to ship an 800-pound loom packed with delicate electronics 1000 miles. If you know of a shipper that handles large, delicate items and will take an item from Albequerque, New Mexico to the San Francisco Bay Area, please leave a comment on this post with your suggestion! I’d really appreciate it.
The next question, of course, is what to name the new TC-2. Fortunately, that is easy…I had already decided that my next loom (if I got one) would be named Maryam, after Maryam Mirzakhani, a brilliant mathematician and the first female recipient of the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award in mathematics (it’s the “Nobel Prize” of mathematics). Tragically, she died of breast cancer in 2017, at the age of 40 – she did so much, in so little time, that it would have been wonderful to see her contributions for another 50 years!
So Maryam she will be. I can’t wait for her to get here – probably in mid-August, as it will take time to sort out shipping and clear out space in the garage.
Speaking of clearing out space – if you are interested in purchasing an 8-shaft Baby Wolf in the San Francisco Bay Area, leave a comment (that will give me your email address). I will, alas, need to part with Lady Ada sometime in the next 6 weeks to make room for the new TC-2…so I will be selling her. She comes with a castle and stroller, and weaves beautifully. She is not a fine-furniture loom, which is to say she has plenty of scratches and one leg doesn’t match the rest because it had to be replaced – but she will be priced accordingly (once I have a chance to assess fair pricing). So if you are looking for a workhorse loom, suitable for workshops, that isn’t fine furniture, drop me a line. (EDIT: Lady Ada has been sold.)
Now, of course, I can’t help wondering – will Grace and Maryam have babies together, and if so, will they look like this 3D-printed, DIY jacquard loom?
What an adventure! I can’t wait for my lovely Maryam to arrive.
Since Maryam is currently in Albuquerque, which has lots of hi-tech, the University and Medical Center; plus not only Fed govt offices but geographically near Los Alamos, I am sure you will not have to worry about experience in shipping large delicate electronics. Should be easy to get recommendations. Just make a few calls if no one in the fiber community steps up.
Congrats, by the way on newest family member.
Hi Tien
I volunteer at a museum. When items for a new show arrive, they are transported in special trucks with extra shocks, extra padding and much more to assure that the delicate items are not harmed during transport. There are also temperature controls.
Perhaps these special trucks and their specially trained drivers and handlers could transport the latest edition to your loom family from New Mexico to California.
congrats!
Wow! You just got the other one threaded. (Sorry sewer not weaver). I would think you would want a simpler one around for those test out projects. That said congrads hope it works out for you.
HI Tien if only I lived near you I would have grabbed up the baby wolf, but living in South Africa with a limited budget for weaving , I just can be envious of your endeavors and stick to my 8 shaft Varpapu looms which I do love, but would have loved to have bigger choices of looms to buy at reasonable prices.