White and blue wall hanging

December 2022 and I’m struggling to come up with an idea for a Christmas present for me from my mum; she isn’t online and also isn’t very mobile so I always have to sort out presents for my other half and me. It’s one of those I’m happy to do it but I hate doing it tasks. After a lot of online browsing (during which I did manage to find a suitable gift for my other half), I was pondering something crafty I could do in the evenings with the TV on.

Three years ago I picked up a small, very basic acrylic frame loom and had a try at weaving. I had another go a few months later and then left it to one side. I had enjoyed making them but the loom was fiddly and a bit limiting.

So, I thought, why not get a new loom.

Of course, me being me, I couldn’t just do a quick search and get the first thing that looked like it would be okay. No, I had to research types of looms — I did ponder getting a small rigid heddle loom at one point and then I watched a video of someone setting up the warp thread and quickly decided against it — and then I ended up creating a spreadsheet comparing various available tapestry looms…

So now I have a Schacht Lilli frame loom that I bought from Weft Blown in the UK. It is just small enough to work on sat on the sofa (especially if I put my feet up) and this white and blue wall hanging is my first creation. I made it following a tutorial from Spruce & Linen; their YouTube channel is an absolute goldmine of weaving information and projects that will happily keep me occupied for as long as I want to keep on weaving. At some point I will create something to my own design, but first I want to get comfortable with the techniques involved.