I started weaving eight or nine years ago, when I went with my partner to Halsway Manor in Somerset for the weekend. He was teaching Northumbrian Pipes, and I was going for an Introduction to Weaving with Janet Phillips in Nether Stowey, just over the hill from Halsway. By the end of the weekend I knew I had to buy a loom…

Eight years later, and I have completed Janet’s Masterclass in weave design, and have several looms. Two Louet Janes and an Erica, which I use for basic teaching, and a new Louet Megado 32-shaft computer dobby.

The Megado arrived last week, in several heavy crates

My previous loom was a Louet Octado, so putting the Megado together wasn’t too much of a problem.

Once the loom was set up, the dobby box needed a bit of adjustment. It then needed to be connected to our wireless network so that Louet in Holland could update the software – this was all very painless! I can now use the loom in two ways – log into the IP address of the dobby box and use the Louet interface to drive the loom, which can be done wirelessly, or connect my laptop with a cable so that Fiberworks can drive the dobby.

My first warp is on, and I’ll share it and my plans for this loom in my next post.