Tag: endurance

Ten Centimeters of Tapestry

Karen

Slow weaving is even slower when a full week goes by since you last touched the loom. If only I could sit here and do this every day, hours at a time. But other responsibilities…and other looms call for my attention.

Four-shaft tapestry in progress on the loom.
First ten centimeters of the tapestry is complete. Plastic baskets hold the wool yarn beside the loom, sorted by color and value.
Color blending by combining various colors and weights of wool yarn.
Color blending is achieved by combining various colors and weights of wool yarn.

We don’t see much of the main subject yet. I am intensely eager to see a distinguishable image. I suspect you may be eager to see it, as well. But I know it’s coming, so I gladly pursue this adventure, one row at a time.

Four-shaft tapestry beginning.
Elements of shading and texture in the beginning background of the four-shaft tapestry.
Tapestry, woven from the side.
Tapestry is being woven from the side. So, this is the direction the tapestry will hang.

Gladly. We need strength beyond ourselves to endure and be patient—with gladness. Endurance and patience with a glad attitude is an indicator of maturity. Strength for endurance is one of the treasures that God supplies when we ask. And he reminds us that he sees the completed picture. And that it’s worth the pursuit. Aren’t you glad?

May you find patience for waiting.

Gladly weaving,
Karen

What the Shadow Reveals

Karen

Sometimes things do not go as you hope or expect. I thought this color-and-weave effect would be more distinct. Yes, I chose low-contrast colors. I wanted the pattern to be subtle. But this may be too subtle. I have to use my imagination to see anything other than a faint checked pattern. It’s not a complaint. It’s just not how I thought it was supposed to be.

Linen on the loom.
All 8/2 linen. Stripes in the warp and stripes in the weft. I intended more than a simple check pattern.

I am taking pictures from all different angles, thinking the camera lens might show more than I can see with my eye.

Warp and weft stripes in linen.
Detail of warp and weft stripes. A simple, yet pleasing pattern.
Weaving 8/2 linen upholstery fabric.
Crosswise view.
Linen upholstery fabric on the loom.
View at an angle. No significant difference.

And, to my great surprise, there it is! The pattern I am hoping for shows up when I snap a photo of the underside. What happened? It’s all in the lighting. In this case, I need shadows to reveal the pattern in the weave.

Color-and-weave effects in linen upholstery fabric.
Pattern shows up underneath.
Color-and-weave patterns in linen.
Same fabric, different look. This is what I intended all along. Hidden in the shadows.
Shadow reveals the pattern in this linen color and weave.
To test my hypothesis about the shadows, I cup my hand over the fabric. Where a shadow is formed the pattern is revealed.

Endure. When you walk through shadows of life, the patterns that are woven in you become evident. If you depend on the Lord’s might to walk through and endure day-by-day challenges, that same power will be with you when you walk into a major shadow and need endurance the most. In fact, it is in that shadow that the image of Christ is most clearly seen in you.

With you,
Karen