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I love it when my husband is home...
May. 1st, 2012 09:32 ambut it sure makes DOING stuff difficult! :grumble: and :lol: We've gone to basics only in school this week, because SG has planned out chores for every day. Today is barn cleaning day - the kids are muttering about it, but.....it needs to be done. Since I do most of the milking and baby-feeding, it's only fair that THEY do some of the maintenance. SG is planning on doing fence work, and finishing my pantry, AND finishing my reed rack.
Which leads to a minor rant: WHY is weaving/spinning stuff so darn expensive? I mean....I can understand wheels, to a certain extent - they do take a bit of skill not normally needed - but looms and other accessories?
Take weaving benches, for example. Back when I started weaving (1996), you had very few options - and now, you still don't have THAT many. We went to the local weaving mecca, and priced the Harrisville Designs one (the CHEAPEST at that time)...and said No. We built *2* similar benches for about $30 in wood and bolts. (The current price for the smallest? $224. Still only about $30 for 1 (since prices have risen) - but you could build it out of scrap lumber).
Or, take a cone holder - the one from LeClerc is the one we copied. Current price: $144....mine was built out of scrap (and looks almost IDENTICAL!) for the cost of dowels.
Or, our current project: reed stand. We're copying this one....the back and base and "lip" is all scrap, the dowels were our only expense - $6. (Mine has more dowels, so I can keep each reed totally separate. Smaller spacing = more reeds per stand. Plus, I have 3 rows of dowels, not just 1.) They want $205 for it!!! That's......wow.
Why? Why are prices so inflated? Even shuttles - $42 for a small Bluster Bay one (which, they are nice)...but SG said they look super simple to make - they're just blocks with a hole for the bobbin, a metal rod for the bobbin to ride on, and they're sanded mirror-smooth. Not a whole lot of shaping going on, really - just curve the ends to a soft point and voila! A bobbin! But...exotic woods aren't THAT much.......yes, the worker needs to make a living wage....but the "big" companies? They sell enough that they should be cheaper than they are.
I just.....weaving is an expensive hobby - looms aren't cheap, even used, although there's a couple on CraigsList right now for WAY cheap ($150 for a 2H counterbalance that can be expanded to 4H easily - and might have the other 2H; I couldn't tell from the photo)....but the accessories shouldn't be priced so high. It's...outrageous.
Which is why we're in the shop, building. I can't afford to buy the stuff I want/need (I don't *need* a reed rack, it'll just be nice to not worry about my reeds falling down. I didn't *need* the cone holder, but it does make warping easier - and don't ask me about warping boards! $20 in materials for mine....if you're bored, go look 'em up. Easy to build, and outrageously priced.)...and SG wants to build stuff. Any stuff. :grin:
Gotta run - math needs to be checked!
Which leads to a minor rant: WHY is weaving/spinning stuff so darn expensive? I mean....I can understand wheels, to a certain extent - they do take a bit of skill not normally needed - but looms and other accessories?
Take weaving benches, for example. Back when I started weaving (1996), you had very few options - and now, you still don't have THAT many. We went to the local weaving mecca, and priced the Harrisville Designs one (the CHEAPEST at that time)...and said No. We built *2* similar benches for about $30 in wood and bolts. (The current price for the smallest? $224. Still only about $30 for 1 (since prices have risen) - but you could build it out of scrap lumber).
Or, take a cone holder - the one from LeClerc is the one we copied. Current price: $144....mine was built out of scrap (and looks almost IDENTICAL!) for the cost of dowels.
Or, our current project: reed stand. We're copying this one....the back and base and "lip" is all scrap, the dowels were our only expense - $6. (Mine has more dowels, so I can keep each reed totally separate. Smaller spacing = more reeds per stand. Plus, I have 3 rows of dowels, not just 1.) They want $205 for it!!! That's......wow.
Why? Why are prices so inflated? Even shuttles - $42 for a small Bluster Bay one (which, they are nice)...but SG said they look super simple to make - they're just blocks with a hole for the bobbin, a metal rod for the bobbin to ride on, and they're sanded mirror-smooth. Not a whole lot of shaping going on, really - just curve the ends to a soft point and voila! A bobbin! But...exotic woods aren't THAT much.......yes, the worker needs to make a living wage....but the "big" companies? They sell enough that they should be cheaper than they are.
I just.....weaving is an expensive hobby - looms aren't cheap, even used, although there's a couple on CraigsList right now for WAY cheap ($150 for a 2H counterbalance that can be expanded to 4H easily - and might have the other 2H; I couldn't tell from the photo)....but the accessories shouldn't be priced so high. It's...outrageous.
Which is why we're in the shop, building. I can't afford to buy the stuff I want/need (I don't *need* a reed rack, it'll just be nice to not worry about my reeds falling down. I didn't *need* the cone holder, but it does make warping easier - and don't ask me about warping boards! $20 in materials for mine....if you're bored, go look 'em up. Easy to build, and outrageously priced.)...and SG wants to build stuff. Any stuff. :grin:
Gotta run - math needs to be checked!
