Well, I finally did it.  I bought my Mirrix Loom, a 16 inch one with a Shedding Device, if you don't know what that is, don't worry, neither do I, except I saw this beading video with the Mirrix Loom and they used the shedding device and the beading was SO EASY.

Of course, now I know that is not the truth.  The beading is easy, but it's the setting up of the loom with the thread that is a ... well, it's very hard to do.

So here I thought I'd have hundreds of little beaded purses all made by this time, and I am still preparing my loom for the first one.

I bought it from Fire Mountain Gems and Beads instead of the Manufacturer (Mirrix Looms) because Fire Mountain does an incredible job with packaging.

I think, perhaps I am more dissapointed with the fact that the loom was not a MAGIC TOOL that helped me make thousands of beaded projects in an instant.  Thruth is, I prefer peyote stitch to loom, because I feel the work is more secure than with loom beading. Either way I need to use the loom on something, and I will probably be doing those purses without the shedding device, using the loom like a normal loom (not like a weaving loom) and using my round czech beads, which are more difficult to use with peyote stitch (at least for me).

The one advantadge of the loom is that you can leave your project for a while without your thread getting tangled, your beads getting stepped on by your cat or losing the project altogether in the endless heaps of materials you have bought (perhaps that's just me?).

The second advantadge is that the patterns are easier to read.  Peyote's stitch first three rows are a nightmare sometimes and with loom, that is not an issue.

The loom itself does not take a lot of room, it just needs a nice clear table to be set upon. So pretty soon I will let you see what I have done with my latest purchase.  Meanwhile, Margie Deeb has a couple of magnificent books for loom beading and there is another bracelet book that has different designs but they do not chart the pattern, only show them.