JIM HOKETT BOAT SHUTTLES
The find-of-the-day was these beautiful 15-inch wooden weaving shuttles made by Jim Hokett. I was in the booth for The Weaver's Loft, sorting through a box of shuttles when some other weaving ladies were interested in the same. One called the owner over, and we discovered that she had bought out Jim Hokett's remaining stock in weaving shuttles. She was selling them as a great discount : $30 each for these beauties! One still had a price tag on it for $85. Wow! This was certainly the find of the show -- if you're a weaver.
I purchased 2 of the Jim Hokett Shuttles (1 Bird's Eye Maple and 1 Bubinga). My friend Lynda got 3 of them! She just couldn't pass this up either. She got Bubinga, Cocobolo (a little more expensive), and some kind of wood that was mostly black with a little white, and quite heavy. She is looking forward to working with these on her largest loom.
I've seen Jim Hokett shuttles online (Pinterest and blogs), but they seem to be hard to come by if you're actually trying to purchase them. Now I know why ... If you want to get one for yourself at these prices, they may have some left at The Weaver's Loft.
The only other thing I purchased was this lovely little commercially-made acrylic diz. Very elegant, don't you think? I remembered these from last year at Mielke's Fibers. They come with a handy threader--a loop--not the usual hook.
I might still try to make some of my own dizzes. It's an easy thing to do if you have a big button and a drill press. Anything with a hole will work, really. Still, it's nice to have an official one.
"What?" You say in disbelief. "You went to the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival, and did NOT come away with any fiber?" It's true! There were plenty of fibers to touch and feel -- Plenty of beautiful dyed locks and color combinations (Oh My! Patty Reedy from Rainbow Fleece Farm among others.) The funny thing is : I feel like I've been "spoiled" by spinning alpaca. Even Merino (which I used to think of as the cotton candy of spinning fiber) feels a bit rough next to alpaca.
And silk --- We learned about silk lap at The Thorntree Pass booth where the lady had beautifully dyed Wensleydale locks and silk lap. Silk Lap is a batt that builds up on a drum carder while processing for other silk products. It peels off and can be dyed and spun. I'm really interested in exploring this more ... She had some beautiful color combinations on her dyed goods. I hope to see her again someday.
As for my lack of fiber purchases : Never Fear : I have plenty of fiber at home waiting to be processed, and a few more bags set to be delivered via mail order over the next week -- some with silk! That will be a separate post. ;-)
Even the catalog is a useful reference to keep around the rest of the year, as it lists the vendors with contact info, and lots of other useful info.
