Elsie’s Loom

This past June we spent a week at Homestead Heritage for their 50th Anniversary celebration. There were really fantastic conference sessions for the adults all morning, and while we listened and were edified, our youngest kids splashed in a kiddie pool with new friends. At the same time, Ivar was welcomed into the woodshop and Elsie was welcomed into the fiber arts building where she found her people. She was beaming all week long—so happy to have found a pastime that she loved.

When we got back home all she could talk about was saving up for a loom. I would tell her, “I can see in your brain right now and all I see is “Loom, loom, loom, loom, loom, loom, loom.” And she would laugh and tell me I wasn’t that far off. For both her birthday and Christmas she asked for money towards her loom. She earned money helping at a wedding reception and finally, just after Christmas, she had saved a sum.

We had been watching the listings for a while, and that day there was the kind of rigid heddle loom she wanted for the exact amount she had saved. I contacted the woman in Wisconsin, and as it turned out she and a dear friend had bought the loom in 2020, thinking they’d get into weaving. They never did, but still wanted their loom to go to a good home. We had a great conversation and I said we’d take it.

We waited a few weeks until one of them was coming to the twin cities, where Elsie and I met her on a Friday afternoon. It was such a fun outing for me and my girl. We drove into the city and Elsie was so excited—this was really happening.

On our drive home I tried to set her up for reality. I told her we had three big hurdles ahead: 1) We had to build the loom as it had been taken apart for transport. 2) We had to learn how to warp the fiber and 3) Learn how to weave. I tried to warn her that any one of those steps could be full of trial and error and we needed to be ready for things not to go right. Mostly, I was talking to myself, trying to fire up for all that was ahead.

But you know what? Elsie had no fear. She and Rory built the loom before dinner. And then after supper we watched a video of how to warp a loom, and she took to it with total confidence.

This is the fun part of being a mom and having kids that are so uniquely their own. She wasn’t going to stop that night until she was weaving. She told me as much and kept saying, “Mom, will you stay up with me until we are weaving? Don’t go to bed until we are weaving.” So I did. And we had such a fun time working through every step.

I had asked her to make me a Valentine’s Table Runner for her first project. On our way home from picking up the loom, we stopped at Northfield Yarn to buy some light pink and hot pink yarn. We only had one shuttle though, which seemed problematic, so I figured out that we could carve out a wooden ruler to make a second shuttle. (I’m pretty proud of this creative solution…)

That opening picture is Elsie’s face when she weaves. She is so happy to be creating. So far she has made me and my mom Valentine’s table runners, an orange plaid table runner for Mimi and matching scarves for me and her and Hattie. (Hattie’s is still on the loom…)

What fun. Elsie is a delight. This whole season of saving, learning, researching and now creating has been so full of wonder. And we have been so grateful for our friends in Texas who have helped answer our questions along the way. Plus the two friends in Wisconsin who set us up for such a good time. We text them pictures of each project and they have become fun cheerleaders one state over.

Lots of relationships were woven together to make this girl’s dream come true.

Dishtowels are next!