Tools Day: Electric Bobbin Winder

Every time I use my bobbin winder I am reminded of how fortunate I am. It’s electric. No one has an electric bobbin winder quite like mine, because no one else has my Steve to invent things like he does. He watched me using my nifty hand-turn Swedish bobbin winder many times. Steve decided he could make something better. A motor and an on-off light switch, with a variable-speed foot pedal. It’s perfect! I love it. But mostly, I love Steve.

Home built electric bobbin winder. Works like a charm.
Electric bobbin winder holds any length of quill. The quill fits tightly onto a tapered dowel that extends from the bobbin winder.

The leather quilting thimble keeps me from burning or cutting my thumb as the thread speeds by while I guide it onto the fast spinning quill on the bobbin winder.

I am on my very last tube of this shade of light blue. Will there be enough on this quill to finish the last blue section of the last of four towels in this color scheme, plus enough for the light blue hem?? Somehow, I think a tightly- and perfectly-shaped quill will be able to weave just a little bit further… (You can see the beginning of this set of four towels HERE.)

Just enough light blue to finish the hem!
Small amount of light blue left on the quill. Maybe I can use the remainder for a couple of small stripes on another towel.

Yes! Finished the hem with a little bit of light blue left to spare. This is a good day!

To request Steve’s parts and source list for the electric bobbin winder, click HERE to send me an email.

May you always have just enough of what you need.

Joyfully,
Karen

Keep this Picture in Mind

Have you thought of using the camera on your phone to help you recall details in your weaving design? I want the simplest way to remember this narrow blue and honey border stripe at the beginning of the towel so I can weave it exactly the same when I get to the other end. What better way than to take a detail snapshot with my iPhone? It’s handy, descriptive, and quick. There are some things that are best remembered with pictures.

Beginning of another towel on the loom.
After the red cutting line, a new towel begins with a honey-colored hem. The narrow blue and honey stripe will be repeated at the other end of the towel.

When our heavenly king walked the earth, he was a living picture of heavenly goodness. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. These threads of royalty stood out in humanity because of the contrast next to common threads of envy, selfishness, and prideful boasting. Considering this living snapshot of true royalty, we, too, can wear the clothes that are fit for a king (or queen)! Better than capturing a design element with our iPhones, is capturing the design for our lives from the heart of our grand weaver.

May you remember the details that matter.

Love,
Karen

Mistakes Are Not The End

Five towels down, three to go. Or maybe only two to go. Because of my initial threading error, I had to start over. Now, I am not positive if there is enough warp left for three more towels. (Remember the threading error? I wrote about it HERE.) Mistakes cost us. If the warp runs short before the weaving is done, I will have to blame it on my own mistake.

Cotton three-shaft twill with warp floats. Handtowel, Karen Isenhower
Thin black lines separate rows of color to give this cotton towel a stained glass effect. The thin red line will be the cutting line between towels.

Errors have consequences. Even when the mistake can be fixed, we regret the mistake. “I should’ve-would’ve-could’ve” kind of thinking. The good thing about weaving is, you can usually fix your way out of a mistake. And I can make something out of a smaller woven piece at the end. When someone you love makes a mistake, surely you offer kind help and patient assistance to lead them to a workable solution.

What if you were on the receiving end of that kind of loving attention? Good news. You are on the receiving end of kindness and patience. You do have someone treating you like that. Our creator is rich in kindness and patience toward us, even when we keep making mistakes. Even when we think we may have wasted too much of the warp, he lets us start again and get the best out of what remains.

May seeds of kindness and patience be planted into your life.

With kind regards,
Karen