Looming Progress

After a couple of false starts and a review of YouTube videos again, I started working with my wood and nail loom. The first project, which is going to get turned into a cat blanket, has some problem areas. The first couple of rows are wonky because I really didn't have a good grasp on what I was doing. That can be fixed though. Once I'm finished with it, I'll just do some reinforcement on that edge.

I think the key to why this is working for me now lies in the weight loss I've experienced over the last year. The loom requires a certain level of motion in order to function properly. It also has to be continuously held. I think the thing was just to tiring before. Too heavy for me to mess with long enough for me to understand. Now I have the strength to really learn the rhythm of it.

My first day impressions.

Cons:

• It is awkward. There isn't an intuitive way to hold it. You spend quite a long while just bumbling around with the thing until you find a series of ways to make it work for you. My leg went to sleep a couple of times, so I'm guessing I've yet to really discover the right way for me to hold it.
• This isn't mindless knitting.You have a lot of nails you have to wrap and it's easy to miss them. You really have to pay attention to what you're doing, or you'll find yourself redoing the same line a couple of times. With this many nails to wrap, it slows you down.
• Wrapping the nails is a time commitment. Mind you, not a long one. I'm sure I'll get faster with more practice. However, this isn't like knitting needles you can just sit down. Once you start wrapping the nails, you need to be committed to finishing the sequence. If you don't, you're running the risk of everything unraveling on you. 

Pros:

• The knit has a nice feel to it. It's thick without being bulky. It's firm without being stiff. 
• Once you get the knack of the rhythm, it produces fairly fast. 
• My roommate pointed this one out and I think it's a good observation. Looming involves a series of repeated steps, but not the same steps over and over. Your hands don't get tired or cramped from being stuck in the same position for hours on end.
• This one may not be important for all people, but it is for me. One of the reasons I love knitting is because it gives me a nice feeling of being connected to the past. Something made from wood, nails, and screws certainly gives one that feeling. I could be a Shaker with this loom.
• It's more sturdy than the plastic looms. My plastic looms have a problem with pegs pulling out. The wooden loom has nails hammered deep into it. Those nails aren't coming out any time soon.

When I get further into the project, I'll take some pictures to show you my work. It's probably not going to be that pretty because the cat blankets are being made with all the bits and pieces of yarn left over from other projects. I'm killing two birds with one stone here because not only am I getting to do some practice runs on the loom before I start on my serious project, I'm also putting the billions of stray balls of left over yarn to good use. And no, the cat blankets won't win me any awards, but I don't think the cats will care.