Inspiration or Stupidity

Your guess is as good as mine.

This weekend my husband and I searched around town looking to work on building the tapestry style loom featured in the Craft: magazine. We found most of it and putting it together is a bit of trial and error.

Trial: Finding 9/16" screw hooks, 2" long (4)
Error: Going to the Ace Hardware and purchasing screw hooks that are 9/16, 1 3/4"

First, when they say screw hooks they mean hooks.... like Captain Hook. Regardless of what the box states a screw "hook" that resembles an Alan wrench is not the correct type of screw hook. Remember, think Captain Hook. Then go to Lowe's they have a much larger selection.

Trial: Finding Uni-Stretch embroidery frame stretcher bars (2 pairs) sizes 22" and 18"
Error: Purchasing "2 pairs" of size 22" stretchers and "2 pairs" of 18" stretchers. Yes, the other set is still in the plastic waiting to go back to the Michaels. Sure, I could make another one but $7.00 in supplies is $7.00. Especially when its the middle of a pay week. That's like a full gallon of gas or something!

Trial: Bending screw hooks over backwards with a bench vise
Error: Well lets start from the beginning on this one. First, even with a picture in the magazine (pg 59) I still had no concept whatsoever of what a bench vise was, how heavy it was, or how expensive it was. I now know that it is a clamping tool that is screwed, nailed or clamped to a work table. It is very heavy. (Well, heavy looking since it was screwed to the table I didn't feel the need to pick it up or even injury my back thinking about it to much.) A bench vise is also very expensive, so unlike the stretchers, screw hooks or wood glue we were not in any position to purchase one. Oh, we also don't have a place to permanently mount it either.
Second, place the screw in the vise far enough down when clamping that you are bending the hook open and not actually bending the straight portion of the screw. In the event that that happens to anyone else, I hope you are as fortunate as we were. My husband insisted we purchase an extra pair of screw hooks in the event we made a mistake working with the vise. Boy Howdy! I sure do love that man.

So, since you read this far, this is what it looks like now.



Only problem though; its time to warp.... *sighs* this may take a while.