We’ve had a bit of Spring cleaning at Berwick Weaving Co.   About a month and a half ago now, we returned from our trip to Belize.  It was cold, as Nova Scotia can be in late January, but the ground was clear of snow. It was kind of great. We felt like that snow-less arrival was a bit of a gift.

Then the snows came. And came again. And again. It was an extraordinary amount of snow.

Look, see how pretty?

It was pretty at first. The novelty made it okay. Then it snowed again. And again. The picture below is my “Weavery”*  right before it started leaking from the infernal ice dams (please see poll, below).

sigh.

That was kind of funny, until it all started to leak into my Weavery. Onto my loom. At seemingly random times, and with surprising volume.

So sad. So… Miss Havisham’s Loom Room. Boo.

I have commissions I’m working on, commissions that are difficult to do while underneath plastic, to the steady drip…drip…drip of the ice dam damage.  Water and looms are not natural friends.

While I wrung my hands and moaned and gnashed my teeth, better people than I climbed onto the roof, under the roof, and then did it again and again, until we think it is solved for the moment. I will have to do a ton of work, later in the year – new drywall, ceiling (and possibly roof) repair. Repainting. Cleaning.  It’s a big fat drag. Houses that are 116 year old have charm, but require a lot of work.

There ARE good things that came out of this. I had to look at my workspace with a fresh eye. I realized that it was trying to be a sitting room/weavery – a nice idea, but not really practical in such a little room. Also, I have been refurbishing a new-to-me Mira loom (sectional warping beam!) that I got last summer – it was ready to move into the Weavery and earn its keep. A flurry of activity, some creative problem-solving, and the Weavery is now home to my Millville and the Mira looms both.

THIS is a kick-ass weave room. See the Mira, at 1 o’clock. Such a cute little thing!

I have been cleaning and organizing (and watching the ceiling) and I am almost sure that it will not leak any more. I took the plastic off and hope to return to my regularly schedule weaving program asap.  Phew! One cannot live by rigid heddle alone….

* Re. “Weavery”.  I like the term – I borrowed it from somewhere online. But it feels a bit… twee.  What the heck do I call this room?