Rya, Rya, How Does Your Garden Grow?

Lay the groundwork; add a row of rya knots. Because of the coarser sett, and the thickness of this doubled linen weft, this rya weaving is progressing faster than the previous one. Tying all 36 knots across the warp is still the slowest part. But I can see progress. I like to see something happening, don’t you?

Rya knots (wool and linen) covering coarse linen cloth.
Green strands of thick Åsborya wool, fine Mora wool, and 16/1 linen, sit in a cluster, ready to be separated. Each rya knot is made of three strands, one of each type of yarn/thread.

I weave about an inch / 2.5 cm of point twill linen background first. It provides a framework to hold the mixed wool and linen rya knots. This means throwing the shuttle at a good pace for a short distance, and then stopping to add another row of rya. Through this moving – stopping – moving – stopping, progress is made. A little green and beige garden is growing on the surface of the linen structure. It is during the slow part that the “growing” happens.

Are you troubled about anything today? Don’t lose hope. If progress seems slow, you may be in a growing season. The Lord rebuilds ruined places and replants desolate fields. It feels slow now, but in time, you will look back and see a garden covering what once was ruins. Keep going, you’re going to make it.

May your garden grow.

(I did finish the previous slow rya project and turned it into three fun pillows. You can find two of them in the Warped for Good Etsy Shop!)

Making progress,
Karen

3 thoughts on “Rya, Rya, How Does Your Garden Grow?

  1. This is beautiful!
    I’m weaving a rya bench cover, using the yarn/draft from the Big Book of Weaving. One thing that never gets mentioned anywhere, is that do you wet finish this bench cover?
    Thank you-
    Lori

    1. Hi Lori, I had the same questions when I was working on my rya pieces. I tested a small piece and that helped me decide NOT to wet finish the rya pieces. The wool came out fuzzy in the one I washed, very gently, with little to no agitation. I like the more pristine look of the unwashed wool, so I chose to leave the rest unwashed.

      I hope that helps!

      Happy weaving,
      Karen

Leave a Reply to Rya Pillow in the Rocking Chair | Warped for Good Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *