It all started in early 1990 when I realized I had always wanted to learn how to weave and had never been able to figure out where & how to start. I did not even know what a harness or a heddle was, but it made sense that it would be easier to figure these things out (including how to weave) if I owned a loom. My father was a big believer that one could avoid a lot of implementation problems by using the highest quality tools. I bought a 4 harness modular 40" Folding Dobby Loom from AVL and followed the AVL weaving instructions precisely. Within a couple of months I had upgraded my AVL to a 16 harness dobby. Because it was a spectacular loom & I followed instructions carefully I never had any technical problems. My tension was even & selvages smooth. The books I bought from AVL (e.g., Handbook of Weaves by Eleanor Best) helped me learn how to draft. I did, however, have a lot to learn. My early weaving featured flimsy place mats & stiff napkins. The color choices that worked so well in needlepoint & machine knitting rendered woven fabric that looked like a muddy mess (2 different hues with the same color value).
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