Weave in the Midst of Beautiful

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.

Stamped warp on the loom.
Freshly-wound quill in the boat shuttle replaces an emptied quill. The new weft thread will overlap the end of the former thread, and be secured with the swing of the beater, and changing of the shed.

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

8 thoughts on “Weave in the Midst of Beautiful

  1. Thank you for this blog, Karen. I am a new subscriber and I so enjoy your description and photos of your weaving! I am a new band weaver which is what guided me to your blog. I am doubly Blessed by the way you connect what we do with our hands to the Great Creator! Thank you, Kris

    1. Kris, I am so happy to hear your thoughts! Thank you for letting me know you find meaning in things that I write.

      I plan to do a post on band weaving in about a week. Stay tuned…

      Karen

  2. Thanks Karen; I really think your blog has kept me interested in weaving during periods when I wasn’t well. Rag rugs are my favourite, and I am halfway through one now. I love the reminder that God is the Creator, and, since we are made in His image, we are most like him when we create something as well. I know that weaving makes me feel light and happy.
    Of course the ultimate (and most challenging) creation is a gentle, grateful heart in the midst of life’s circumstances; wouldn’t you agree??

    1. Hi Fran, I absolutely agree! A gentle, grateful heart is a very beautiful thing.
      I’m sorry you’ve gone through difficult times. I’m glad you have weaving to give you something for your hands to do – therapy for sure.
      You’re a woman after my heart – rag rugs – 🙂

      Happy weaving,
      Karen

  3. You’re making me want to do some painting on the loom again – I put the idea aside due to having to wait for it to dry and worrying about mess while applying it but seeing your weaving is making me move it back on the to-do list for the future.

    1. Cindie, I found that I don’t have to wait very long for the paint to dry. At least with this Tulip fabric paint, which says to let dry for 4 hours, it is dry enough to continue weaving after just a few minutes. After stamping, I press the treadles to separate the threads, so they won’t stick together, and then I use a blow dryer over the painted warp, again separating the threads with the treadles. After that, the warp is dry to the touch and I continue weaving. I haven’t had any paint get on the reed at all. (I do, however, have a few colorful texsolv heddles after a couple of oopsies 🙂 And for the mess–I do have tarps and old sheets covering everything, but I haven’t had any spills at all…so far…

      Karen

  4. I so understand what you are saying. I have a really old shuttle that a friend got me on ebay. It was hand carved and you can only use quills with it. When I weave with it I feel the grooves in the wood and think of the maker and the women who used it before me. It’s such a beautiful experience.

    Kate

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