a handweaver's journey
I need only a few simple shapes to stamp the warp. Fortunately, my woodcarver husband agreed to make the wooden stamps for me. Steve asked me to draw the shapes on white paper, and said he would take care of the rest. The result? Superb wooden stamps for making painted designs on the warp while it is on the loom.
May you be the recipient of hand-crafted love.
Simply,
Karen
Thread on a carefully wound quill comes off effortlessly. I love the feel of the boat shuttle chasing back and forth between my hands, with no resistance whatsoever from the unwinding thread. I wind a few quills at a time and drop them in the loom basket that hangs on my bench. Then, when I empty a quill, I simply reach into the basket and quickly replace the thread in my shuttle, and continue weaving. It is satisfying to do something as enjoyable as weaving, and have it end up as lovely cloth.
I do hope to make beautiful things, but it’s more than that. The weaving procedure, itself, seems beautiful to me. Such strategy. Such alignment of movement and function. There is a deeper satisfaction than merely being pleased with the final results.
Beauty serves a purpose. Beauty points us to our Maker. Yes, purple mountain majesties and intricate iridescent hummingbird feathers do point to a masterful creator. But I am also talking about the beauty of how things work, and how people are responsive to love, and how everything in our solar system fits together. It’s amazing. It’s beautiful. What a Grand Weaver we have!
May you find yourself surrounded with beauty.
With amazement,
Karen
This pattern is not as complicated as it looks. Remember, this is plain weave with only two treadles. How can plain weave look so intricate? Using two sizes of threads does the trick. Really, it’s that simple.
The treadling is the easiest it can be. The shuttles, on the other hand, are more complicated. With two shuttles, you must interlock wefts around the outer warp ends. When the order of the shuttles is reversed every few centimeters, as it is here, it keeps you on your toes. And then there is the double bobbin shuttle. Are you able to wind two quills that have nearly equal amounts of thread? Not to mention catching a shuttle that has two quills unwinding.
We look at the detail and busyness around us and see our lives as intricately complicated. But zoom out and take the view from heaven. From that perspective, a thousand years goes by in one day. Humans come and go, generation after generation. My seemingly complex life is simple plain weave with the grand weaver skillfully throwing the shuttles to make meaningful patterns. Let this breath of time that we call life leave a mark of virtue that lasts for generations.
May you leave a lasting impact for the good of others.
Happily Weaving,
Karen
The stamped fabric print is subtle and ethereal. The print goes through to the reverse side, too, which shows that the color is saturating the threads. Thankfully, there is more than just surface color, which means I can expect the woven-in print to last for the life of the fabric.
I had hoped for brighter colors, but with this fabric paint the intensity of color fades as the paint dries. And then, when the weft crosses the print it reduces the brightness even more, of course. That said, I am not disappointed. It is different from what I expected, but it will still make a pretty tiered skirt.
Prayer can be different from what we expect, too. Believing and praying brings amazing results. It’s not always the results we had in mind, though. The truly amazing thing is this: The prayers of believing people are somehow combined with the power of God to bring about his will. It’s his good will that gets printed deep into the fabric of our lives. Disappointment gives way to thankfulness as we see results over time that are more than just color on the surface.
May your disappointments be few.
With you,
Karen