Welcome to the Family, Baba Mary Meigs: A Vintage 8-Shaft Kessenich Loom

The new arrival is a beautiful 8-shaft cherry wood Kessenich floor loom! 

Was that your guess?  It could have been a long-arm quilting machine, too.  That's what I always sort of planned on doing with this room when Oliver left home, but given the chance, I took a different path.  And here we are ...

I made arrangements to purchase an 8-shaft (I have 4 now) Kessenich floor loom that has about 12 more inches for a weaving width -- which means I can do wider projects with more complicated weaving patterns.  A lady in Red Granite west of Oshkosh was selling one for $700.  That's an excellent price! And one that I could not pass up.  Oliver's room is a vacuum that demands filling!  A new ceiling light - touch up the walls where OKL whapped holes in the plaster (What the heck was he doing?)   Maybe even a new coat of paint now that there's room to breathe in there.   

The Mountain Cucumber Coverlet project has been such a positive challenge for me in making me think bigger and strategically about weaving -- pushing the limits of what I can do on a 4-shaft loom.  It will take about a year to finish all 4 panels of that coverlet on the 4-shaft loom ...  It will be nice to have a 2nd loom set up with other projects like towels or even something as simple as rugs.   I have a few kits I purchased and haven't worked up yet because I needed to convert it to the narrower weaving width I have on the 4-shaft.  This way I'll be able to do those kits without recalculations.  And no one says I have to use all 8 shafts every time.  This is a whole new stage of development for me as a weaver -- on to my PhD in weaving! 

Weaving Corollary 1: When the student is ready, the teacher appears. 

Weaving Corollary 2: The Loom chooses the weaver.

I see Kessenich looms occasionally on FB Marketplace or for sale in the weaving groups, but it's usually another 4-shaft, or they are too far away to practically purchase and transport.  This one is in my back yard!  And the price is fantastic for an 8-shaft loom.  New, it would be $4,250 to purchase one -- That's not including shipping.  This one is vintage -- Prob. older than me, built in Wauwatosa when they were in the Milwaukee area. (They are in Michigan now.)  They are built so solidly that anything wrong with them can be fixed. They are work horses, and I'm already familiar with the basic set-up on a Kessenich, so there's that much I won't have to re-learn on a different model/brand loom.  I'm pretty sure we'll have to hire some movers with a truck to get it here and get it upstairs. That's ok.  

I purchased an area rug to go under her, and welcome her to the space.  I hope she's happy here!  I'll have to give her a name ... but that will come as we get to know each other.

The specifics: 

• 8 shafts; 10 treadles.
  
• 54 inches wide, with a 42-inch weaving width.  
• 46 inches deep when set up
• Beautiful warm cherry wood, with a closed grain (My favorite wood!) 
• Weighs about 200 pounds
  

 

These looms fold up for storage and transport.  But are very heavy.  We had to rent a Uhaul van to go and get it -- Too big to fit in either of our cars.  It cost about $100 to rent the van for the afternoon, including 69 cents per mile.  Not bad, really.  

Mary Maegs Atwater's Recipe Book: Patterns for Handweavers

I have to give her a name ...  What should I call her?  Meigs, I think!  

The lady I got her from also sold me a Mary Meigs Atwater Recipe Book to go along with it.  Meigs -- similar to Maggie, but not to be confused with my beloved 2nd-chance Newfie.  Meigs -- a variant on Magestic.  She is elegant, but not overdone.

Squee!  I'm so excited!  We will be partners in this new adventure!

No plans to buy an RV or a hot tub in retirement. 

But weaving looms: YES, please!

 

Next step -- She needs a few small repairs ...