In the last couple of weeks I’ve sold two looms. First the Voyageur 16 shaft table loom, which was just too big for the loom room, and was bought by a weaver in NSW who was very excited to have it. Then the Osbourne 4 shaft floor loom, which became redundant once I bought the 8 shaft Lotas, and was adopted by a new weaver to weave rugs from the fleece of her sheep – for which it will be very well suited.

I hadn’t used the Ozzie since the Lotas arrived, and what I missed about it the most was the removable castle shelf. Recently I asked Paul if he could make me one for the Lotas, and though it isn’t quite finished (the wood for the edges that prevent things rolling off is out of stock at Bunnings) it’s finished enough to be used and, oh my, am I delighted to have one again! I can put the project draft there, or an iPad while Zooming, and tools, and I don’t have to twist to the side for all those things any more.

So now I am down to 8 looms: two inkles, two Knitters Looms, two 8 shaft table looms, the Lotas and a 16 shaft table loom in the garage awaiting rebuilding. I could get that down to 7, since I don’t need two 8 shaft table looms. But part of me worries that while the Jane is reserved for the 8 shaft course next year I might need the Katie for one-off workshops.

Hmm.

On the other hand, if I get that 16 shaft loom rebuilt and it proves light enough to carry, I won’t need the Katie as my ‘spare’. Trouble is, my left hand is still very painful and I won’t be doing any woodwork for some time. I’ll be having a cortisone injection in a month’s time. Maybe, if it’s successful, I could get the loom fixed up by the end of the year. But I don’t want to undo any of the benefit of the injection by overdoing it. It’s not so much a matter of deciding whether to sell the Katie, but when, and that’s something I can’t predict yet.