grand weaver – Warped for Good

Everything Is Fixable

April 1, 2024April 1, 2024 Karen

Every now and then I forget where I left off. This happens when I get interrupted when I am not quite finished with a sequence at the end of a weaving session, or when I get interrupted when I am just getting started back on the loom. Often, the interruptions are my own thoughts going in different directions. The only loss is a few dozen weft threads that get pulled out one by one, plus the time it takes to pull them out and weave the right ones back in. Everything is fixable.

Sometimes it is necessary to backtrack. I was at a pause in weaving. When I came back to it I forgot to put in the gray weft stripe. Pulled out more rows than I wish, then resumed weaving, starting with the gray stripe.

No more troubles, just attentive weaving.

Still several meters to go on these bathroom curtains! 24/2 cotton, M’s and O’s, gray stripe is 16/2 cotton

I have come to the unfortunate realization that I am probably short on blue weft yarn and green weft yarn. This project is using yarn from my excess, and the warp yarn was measured out just so. I miscalculated on the weft yarn. My solution is to space the blue and the green weft stripes further apart. If I still run out of either color I will finish with the colors I do have. I may end up liking it better that way. Everything is fixable.

Blue weft at the front edge makes a lovely contrast with the poppy and the pumpkin warp colors.

Cart by the loom holds shuttles and yarn. You can see that I am using a 120 cm reed in a 70 cm loom. I can get away with it by having the loom in the corner of the room.

Winter wool indoors and spring blooms outdoors. Brage wool for an autumn/winter cape. Goose-eye twill on four shafts.

I did not imagine that one of the single-unit draw cords on the drawloom could snap in two while I am putting it on the hook bar. But it happened! Now what? I’m able to finish the 6-thread unit by tying a knot and maneuvering threads this way and that way. This is not acceptable for weaving the rest of the warp, however, nor even for the rest of this napkin. I just so happen to have a fancy clip that Steve brought to me a couple weeks ago, saying, “I thought you might be able to use this somewhere.” It is the perfect temporary fix for this shortened draw cord. I will replace the broken draw cord before starting the next critter napkin (roadrunner). Everything is fixable.

Wild turkey is running with his head cut off for a few days. The single-unit draw cord that raises the threads at the turkey’s chin snapped when I put it on the hook bar. I finished the 6-thread unit for that chin by tying a knot in the end of the draw cord. I need to make a permanent fix, though, because the knot makes the draw cord just a little too short.

As a temporary fix, I found a double caribiner clip that is just the right size to hold the draw cord. Before I start weaving the next critter, I will try to replace this broken draw cord with a new one.

Chart beside the loom shows my row-by-row plan for the image being woven.

Yesterday we enjoyed Easter, the day of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We are lost without Him, suffering from our own errors, miscalculations, and brokenness. The Heavenly Father raised Jesus from the dead to prove to us that Jesus is Lord. Everything is fixable in Him.

May you find the solution you need.

Your weaving friend, Karen

Extraordinary Animals on the Drawloom

January 6, 2024January 6, 2024 Karen

Armadillo, fox, porcupine, jackrabbit, and deer are leading the critter parade. The twelve napkins will include the most common, the most interesting, and the most unusual animals that visit our backyard here in Texas Hill Country. The white-tailed deer are the most common, by far.

Feet first. The white-tailed buck is taller than he is wide, so his feet touch the bottom border. Pulled single-unit draw cords are seen on the hook bar pegs above the beater.

Just past the midway mark on this napkin, as seen on the measuring ribbon pinned on the side.

Having a large chart beside the loom helps me keep track of each row as the weaving progresses. One pattern shaft draw handle is pulled, which forms the pattern on the side borders. The single unit draw cords form the center image.

This white-tailed buck is one that Steve photographed on our property. I use Affinity Designer on my computer to turn a photo into a silhouette that I can use for my drawloom chart. It is a thrill to see the image emerge in the threads on the loom. From animal in our yard, to photo, to graphic chart, to threads on the loom! The common is made extraordinary.

The draw handles are pulled for the checkerboard pattern that goes across the bottom and top borders of the napkin.

Antlers of the buck reach nearly to the top border. Hem area is teal blue.

Before the buck, there is the jackrabbit. And before the jackrabbit is the porcupine. And the fox and armadillo before that are in hibernation on the cloth beam.

Even more extraordinary is what our Lord Jesus does with a common human like you or me who puts faith in him. As you look at the threads on his loom, you begin to see that it is his image being woven in you.

May your days be extraordinary.

Happy New Year,
Karen

Bright Yellow Rug Warp?

August 11, 2023August 11, 2023 Karen

Finally, one bright yellow tube of rug warp is coming off the shelf! Bright yellow is subdued by pairing it with tan, making a creamy neutral warp for my next set of rag rugs. I bought the tube of yellow 12/6 cotton for half price on a clearance sale a few years ago. What was I thinking? I haven’t used yellow in a rug warp before, but it looks like this is going to work.

Winding a warp on the warping reel is my kind of fun. This warp chain is ready to take to the loom.

Warp is brought to the loom in three bouts. This series of rag rugs will be an exploration of Jamtlandsdräll.

Keep an ongoing conversation with the Lord. Sometimes it takes a while for us to understand the direction he has for us. It’s like looking at that yellow tube of thread, until finally you gain the courage to take it off the shelf. Right then, you notice the tan thread. The answer has been there all along.

May you enjoy a good long conversation.

With you,
Karen

Eleventh Broken Twill Placemat

August 1, 2023August 1, 2023 Karen

It’s a temptation to hurry up when I am this close to the end of the warp. There is only one more placemat to weave, plus a little extra warp after that. I remind myself that there is no reason to rush. A steady pace helps me avoid careless errors that I’m prone to when I’m in a hurry. I’ll have all twelve placemats soon enough.

Green 22/2 Cottolin warp, and 8/1 tow linen weft in dark blue, green, teal, and black. Orange “cutting line” between placemats.

Glimåkra Julia, using eight shafts and eight treadles. Cloth beam is filling up nicely.

Eleventh placemat out of twelve. One more to go, plus a little bit of extra warp.

The Lord shows us how to live. He directs us in a way that sets a steady pace for life. No need to hurry. Enjoy each moment as a gift from his hand.

May your days be free from hurry.

Happy weaving,
Karen

Check for Accuracy Now or Backtrack Later

May 2, 2023May 1, 2023 Karen

It pays to check your work. I have reached a new level of experience in distributing patterns shafts. I know how to do it backwards and forwards now. Literally. Unfortunately, I moved almost all of the pattern shafts before noticing that the spacing between units is not quite right. Uh oh! So, one by one, I reversed the distribution of pattern shafts to get back to the point of error—the very beginning. The reverse move was …more complicated.

Distribution of pattern shafts is part of the setup for the drawloom. It is a multi-step process that moves the pattern shafts, one at a time, from the heddle bar at the back of the loom to the pattern shaft holders just behind the ground shafts at the front of the loom. Sound complicated? It’s not that hard, and is fun to do after you’ve done it a few times.

Lesson learned: Check my work. I am off by only one unit of threads. That small miss, however, is enough to sabotage the whole project if not corrected. The sooner I check my work against the master plan the better. Fortunately, everything at the loom is fixable. It’s never too late to start again.