Is thread yarn and a new toy..................

I am wondering if you consider crochet thread to be yarn?  I mean it can be used for making similar things but is it really the same?  Because if it is I have officially gone off my yarn buying ban in a big way.  I have not bought any yarn in seven and a half months, that is like a lifetime to me, and I would really like to stay on track with that.  Crochet thread is not something I have ever purchased and there is a big reason for all of this recent thread purchasing (there is a lot more of this hiding under my craft table).

Can you guess what it might be?

My dear friend Beth P contacted me a few weeks ago asking me if I would be interested in her Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom and Stand.  Beth's loom is a wonderful 32 inches wide, as opposed to my 20 inch wide, Ashford Knitter's Loom.  You see Beth talked to me in detail about my loom purchase a year ago before I bought it.  She told me not to buy a loom that was going to be too narrow.  I thought for sure that nothing I would ever want to make would be wider than 20 inches.  How wrong I was.  Very soon after I bought my loom, I realized my error.

Beth knew something that I didn't as a very novice weaver, that the width of a project is always narrower than the width of the loom, sort of like the Zick Zack Shawl in my last post.  My loom is great to make things like scarves and table runners, but not so great for a blanket, place-mats and wider projects like big shawls or even napkins.   Beth had not ever even used her loom and was offering it to me at a wonderful price.  I had to grab it when I had the opportunity.  I thought that even if I didn't use it anytime in the near future, I would have it when I actually had time to weave.  The loom arrived last weekend, and this week I put it together.  It is gorgeous.

Somebody else was very busy with his tools while I was assembling the loom and the stand.  I absolutely love the stand.  I do not have a stand for my Knitter's Loom, but I am thinking of saving my pennies to buy one.  It makes it so much more portable, and so much easier to weave in various places in and out of the house (well that is when the weather gets nicer).

  While I thought about saving this loom for a time when I actually had time to weave, like any new toy I had to get it all set up and ready to play with right away.

Now you can understand why I bought the thread.  I was thinking of  making thin, woven place-mats and had no idea about what to order online as far as weaving yarns that are sold on a cone.  So I decided to make a trip to Joann's with my 20% off coupon.  Not only did I get a LOT of thread at 20% off, most of it was in the clearance bins so I was able to get this all for a steal!  For that reason alone I am not considering it yarn, because it isn't adding to my yarn stash, I am just starting a thread stash!  I mean thread is thread, and yarn is really yarn.

I have no idea how these place-mats will turn out, I have a plan in my head but it could all go drastically wrong as this thread is acrylic and it is a bit slippery.  It is a learning experience and I am having fun so that is what really matters.  Beth also sold me a Boat Shuttle and a Bobbin Winder, I have no idea how to use these so I am using my plain old wooden shuttle sticks for now.  Wish me luck with my new toy much wider loom.

Oh, and somebody I know wants to blow you a big kiss, did you catch it?