Open Studios, and Moving Day (Part 1)

Last weekend was San Luis Obispo County Open Studios (for those of us in the North County) so the days leading up to that were filled with cleaning, stowing away the mess, and other tasks to get the studio to a state I wouldn't be ashamed of. It was a busy weekend, with quite a lot of visitors (didn't get an exact count, but at least 60-80 people, maybe more) and some sales (mostly wood, including several of DH's beautiful rolling pins and a new product - pepper grinders).

I demonstrated weaving on the 24-shaft loom, to the delight and amazement of most visitors, to whom the concepts of "computer" and "loom" don't belong in the same sentence. So I spent a lot of time explaining the direct link between the looms of the Industrial Revolution and today's computers, ending by saying "so I'm just taking the technology full circle." There were a few visitors who understood the relationship between a mechanical dobby bar with holes and pegs, and the Hollerith card, more commonly known as the IBM punch card, but not a lot.

Next weekend is Open Studios Encore Weekend, for both North and South County, so it'll be another busy weekend.

However, in between the two weekends, the topography of the studio has changed. On Monday, we did the first two steps of the planned reorganization. The work table has rotated, and the shelving unit has moved to its new position:



There is now plenty of space for a walkway past the 24-shaft loom (which if you remember, will shift to the approximate position currently occupied by the Glimakra, on the left in the photo above). In fact, I think the 24-shaft loom can be positioned several inches to the right of the blue tape marks in the photo below, and still leave an adequate walkway:



Those are 16-inch tiles, just for visual reference. Plenty of room, right? You might have to click the photo and display the full-size version to see the blue tape mark clearly...

I'm almost done threading, sleying, and tying on the warp on the Glimakra that will become a Pendleton selvedge rug. By next weekend, I'll be able to demonstrate weaving on that loom, too. Then as soon as the rug is woven and cut off the loom, I'll post notices in various places to sell the Glimakra. When the Glimakra is disassembled, the 24-shaft loom can move into its designated position, and we'll be ready for the Jacq3G to arrive.