Wary Weaving
- By Karen
- November 19, 2019
- 3 Comments
Sugar Pie has been waiting in the wings. Now, his nose wriggles up to the fell line. The day that Ari and Lucia went with me to visit my neighbor, their attention went to the cute furry thing in the rabbit hutch. At first, the bunny was wary, but before long, Sugar Pie was nibbling carrot slivers from Lucia’s hand.

Now, I’m the wary one. The rabbit will make or break this tapestry. I made notes when I wove the rabbit on a narrow sample warp several weeks ago. With careful review of my notes, I am inching forward, giving attention to value contrasts that shape and define the animal. The good news is that when I reach the end of Sugar Pie’s soft, furry back, I will be at the tapestry’s finish line.


In trying times, our senses are heightened. Will we flourish, or merely squeak by? In all the confusion, where is clarity? In the chaos, where do we find calm? The Lord extends an open hand. The open hand is an invitation. Come and taste. Trust. Find deep satisfaction that reaches the soul. Courageously inch up to the greatest challenge of your life.
May you step into a worthwhile challenge.
With you,
Karen
3 Comments
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Quiet Friday: Tapestry in Transition
- By Karen
- August 24, 2018
- 10 Comments
There is no room for timidity at the loom. It takes courage to dismantle a loom that has a tapestry on it. Dismantling and reassembling a loom doesn’t scare me. But taking a loom apart in the middle of a cherished project? That’s another question altogether. The hardest part was the waiting in between. You can imagine my mix of emotions through the tapestry transition—up, down, and every which way! And then, the moment of truth…Finally…When the warp is evenly tensioned, and the butterfly wefts make their first pass through. The lizard has been awakened. Hallelujah!
This slideshow video takes you through the steps of taking the loom down…And putting it up again.
Weaving continues now as if there had been no interruption.
May you see the rewards of your courage.
Happy Weaving,
Karen
10 Comments
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That is a great slide show. I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the tapestry. Joanne
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I so admire your weaving, patience, and organizational skills. Can’t wait to see more!
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Cute expression on the face of the lizard. Remarkable to accomplish with yarn.
Nannette
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I agree with Beth’s comments above and also want to add “courage”….
I don’t think I would have been brave enough to take the entire loom apart. I would have been renting a biiiiggg truck and would have found every friend of our sons possible to load the entire loom into the truck!!
Well done, you! -
Courage was your husband taking apart and putting back the loom! God blessed you with a loving, wonderful man! Love that the lizard went right back where he was wanted! Enjoyed your video!
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Quiet Friday: Linen Chair Seats
- By Karen
- May 25, 2018
- 32 Comments
This week I crossed something off my Weaving Bucket List: Use handwoven fabric to upholster chairs. Remember the color-and-weave linen fabric? It’s part of my collection of fabrics designed specifically for our Texas hill country home. I covered four barstool seats with this linen upholstery fabric!
Weaving the fabric is the easy part. But I’m a newbie at upholstering. As such, using my “precious” handwoven cloth is unnerving. But I was fortunate enough to receive terrific advice and encouragement from friends, including one who conferred on my behalf with professional upholsterers she knows. And another friend generously loaned her power staple gun to me. I also referred to a book (Matthew Haly’s Book of Upholstery, by Matthew Haly) that I picked up a few years ago in hopes that I might someday reach this item on my bucket list.
I count this as practice and a first step of experience. Eventually, I may work up the courage to reupholster our eight dining room chairs. Hmm… the thought of getting to design the fabric makes that challenge rather appealing.
May you cross something off your bucket list.
Your amateur upholsterer,
Karen
32 Comments
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They look fantastic, Karen!
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You did a great job. I`m sure your dining room chairs will turn out just as good.
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Awesome! Have you put a Scotch Guard on the fabric. I would be afraid to use the chairs. lol
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From your photos, it looks like you were given good advice. It is nice that you had flat seat bottoms to work with first. If you ever work with curved bottoms, make sure you staple the front and back in the middle first and then work out toward the sides. Sides are next from the center towards the corners. Corners are last, just as you did with your seats.
For a first timer, they turned out beautifully. Start planning fabric for those dining room chairs!
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Beautifully done, Karen! Congratulations on your “new” stools!
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You inspire me – thank you. I have upholstered chairs but planning fabric for a stool my husband stained for me years ago – I can do this through your inspiring blog. God bless your fingers and mind as you share your talent.
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One bite of elephant, and before you know it…. The project is complete. Great job.
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Very “clean” and elegant. That fabric would fit with classic to contemporary style. They look lovely!
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Whoa, that’s a lot of work. You did a fabulous job. They look perfect. Congratulations.
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Oh wow! Perfect!
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Karen
They look wonderful. I just love them. I’m so proud of you!
Liberty -
Wonderful job, Karen! You’re braver than I am. I wove the fabric and had the chairs covered professionally.
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Those turned out incredible. I’m going to need new seat cushions, just the kind you tie on, I might have to give thought to weaving the fabric for those.
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What fun! The chairs look great! I encourage you to continue to create cloth for upholstery! Yay!
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They look Fantastic! Maybe one day I will have the courage to weave the fabric and then redo our barstools and dining chairs.
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Nothing amature about this project! You are a professional and so talented. Lovely, lovely work. Blessings
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Four-Shaft Tapestry Adventure
- By Karen
- May 1, 2018
- 7 Comments
Most of my preparation for this project has been separate from the loom itself. The loom is dressed and ready. That’s the easy part. The lion’s share of the work is in developing the cartoon. This project is my first four-shaft tapestry. My usual tapestry work is on a small portable tapestry frame. This is BIG in comparison. 93 centimeters (36 1/2 inches) in the reed.

Linen warp is tied on. Treadles are tied up. Sheds are clean. This Glimåkra Ideal is ready and waiting for the weaver.
After finding a subject for the tapestry, I have been drawing the cartoon and a cartoon key. And I have the yarn. Now, I am determining colors, distinguishing values, and arranging my yarn into a workable order. To tell the truth, the cartoon scares me. It shows me how grand a task I’ve signed up for. But there’s no turning back. I’m committed. (I will show you the cartoon when I’m further along…)

Wool, mostly 6/2 Tuna and 6/1 Fårö, with a few other wool yarns thrown in. These are some of the colors going into the planning of the cartoon.

Black and white photo helps distinguish between the different values of the yarn colors. Contrast in values help define the woven image.
The cartoon shows the intent of the tapestry designer. Likewise, heaven shows the Grand Weaver’s perfect plan. Heaven holds the true picture. Heaven and earth, two parallel realms. Jesus came to earth to bring us into that heavenly version of the tapestry. When we put our trust in him, our colorful threads in various hues and values are woven together in the grandest tapestry ever.
May you take a bigger step than you have before.
Courageously (with knees knocking),
Karen
7 Comments
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Oh wow. You really are in the deep end. Good for you!
I’m not so brave but I will live vicariously through you.
Betsy -
Good morning,
Now that Spring has become a verb in SE Wisconsin my weaving goes back one more seat while I try to undo the neglect of the yards here and NE Wisconsin. Yesterday I took out and re-wove ~ 10 rows of rosepath rag rug because I mis-read the pattern. Once done I realized this project is not as scary as I imagined it to be.
Today there is a quiet book to be put together for my granddaughter’s 1st birthday. And… once again I am delaying the work because I have not worked out the details of construction. We all know that in the end the quiet book will be completed and the tapestry will be completed and the rug will be completed and the maybe … just maybe this year I will be able to keep ahead of the weeds. But, boy oh boy… from this side of the project that does not seem possible.
May God bless both our hands with creativity and love.
Nannette -
I’m a tapestry weaver too. I’m quite interested in seeing what your 4 shaft piece turns into. I have a brand new Glimakra Standard, 4/6 so I am hoping, in the future, to expand my 2 shaft images to 4 shaft. I’ll be watching with great interest.
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Thank you, Karen. It’s such a pleasure to read your blog.
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Dream Weave and Slow Reveal
- By Karen
- April 24, 2018
- 10 Comments
This project is a slow reveal. I am showing what I am doing now, but I am waiting to tell what this will become. There is a flurry of preparation behind the scenes. In time, you will see what develops on the loom. You and I both will find out if I am jumping in over my head. Or, if I can, in fact, pull this off.

Warping reel with 16/2 line linen for a new warp.
This is a gorgeous linen warp, with three shades of 16/2 linen: sable, northsea blue, and persian blue. I am dressing my Ideal loom to almost full weaving width: 93 centimeters. The sett is 3 ends per centimeter in a 30/10 metric reed (equivalent to 7.6 ends per inch). I am intensely eager and cautiously optimistic regarding this weaving adventure.

Linen. Sable, northsea blue, and persian blue. Bockens linen comes with color numbers only. It is interesting to see the names given to the colors by different suppliers. These creative color names are from Vävstuga.

Pre-sley reed is in the beater. It’s time to grab some warping slats, slide the lease sticks forward, and beam the warp.
Love is like a hidden dream in your heart, awaiting expression. Love goes with you. It is a treasure you get to bestow on others. In some cases, your treasure may be their only hope. The God of love with us weaves the love of God in us, as his faithfulness is revealed over a lifetime. If we could see the end result the Grand Weaver has in mind, most certainly it would make us smile.
May the God of love and the love of God be with you.
Secretly,
Karen
10 Comments
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I’ve no doubt whatsoever that you will be completely successful in this endeavor. You’ve shared a few detours in your weaving, but I’ve yet to see a failure.
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This is fun for me to watch as I’ve never warped with pure linen.
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I’ve worked with a linen warp before on a rag rug and had issu s with fraying and breaking until I wet the warp while weaving. Will you have to wet this warp to weave without fraying? Gorgeous colors. Whatever this becomes will be beautiful.
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I’m looking forward to following this project. You’re using a very open sett. I have an idea but I will keep it to myself and see if I’m right. I like your use of a multi colored warp. It’s going to add some visual interest and depth to the … whatever. I’m quite sure you are not jumping in over your head. You are a very strong swimmer!
Betsy -
Hmmmm..
Monochromatic ‘starry starry night’ blues going on the warp. A visual surprise. I was expecting the high contrast of the plum blanket as I scrolled down the posting, instead of my go-to color pallet. As always the colors are wonderful (and grown up).
~ a yard wide— That width could be used for much. Clothing, drapery, household linens… …. I will have to wait as you share to progress.
You are going full steam ahead with a new challenge.. Oops CHALLENGE. I am dragging my feet getting back to the new warp on my loom set up for rosepath rag rugs. I will be brave and go forward, after I complete the patched baby blanket with lime green and turquoise turtles. 🙂
Nannette
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Amen
Thank you so much for your words of wisdom today. The lord is with us all and loves and encourages. May your day be blessed with joy.
Hi Margaret, I appreciate your thoughtful words. Thanks for the joy!
Karen