Tuesday 1 March 2016

Fan Reed Book

I have been working hard on my input to the Fan reed book by Norma  Smayda Staley. I have sent in the section on the mechanics of my fan reed. Last night I found myself in Leamington Spa with a spare evening and spent it  in writing up the other two sections, on the history and on my weavings with a fan reed. The history is distinctly dodgy. I have completed the European/American section and am now dealing with Japan which has a language problem!

One thread I am still pursuing but have been really unsuccessful are the archives of the US loom maker, Crompton and Knowles, which I have tracked down to Worcester Polytechic in New England. It is all in the Gordon Library and, if you search the website very carefully, you can find a list of the archive contents. But they have not been digitised and the librarians do not appear to bother answering emails from foreigners. Woe is me!! The trouble is that I do not feel like paying out for a trip to Boston when I am not 100% sure there is anything there. Bah!! And yet I am sure there must be something  relevant in there.

1 comment:

  1. I live about half an hour from Worcester Polytech. I'd be happy to go take a look at the archives for you. If you're interested, contact me at lrognsvoog [at] verizon [dot] net.

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About Me

I am weaver and - -. I dye my yarns with acid dyes, I paint my warps, put fabric collages and stencils on my weaving. I have three looms, a 12 inch wide, 12 shaft Meyer for demos and courses, a 30 inch Louet Kombo which is nominally portable but has a stand, two extra beams and a home-made device containing a fan reed. And last a 32 shaft Louet Megado which is computer controlled, has a sectional warp and a second warp beam and I am the proud owner of an AVL warping wheel which I love to bits and started by drilling holes in. I inserted a device for putting a cross in. I have just acquired an inkle loom and had a lesson from an expert so I can watch TV and weave at the same time. I am interested in weaving with silk mostly 60/2 although I do quite a bit with 90/2 silk. I also count myself as a bookbinder with a special interest in Coptic binding.