Put the Linen Back to Use
- By Karen
- October 1, 2019
- 12 Comments
Almost in tears, I chained off the remaining linen warp, a handful of ends at a time. I had come to the end of the Lizard tapestry. There was still enough warp to weave another small tapestry, but because of our move, there wasn’t enough time. Oh, beautiful linen, what am I going to do with you? Too precious to hide or throw away. See Quiet Friday: Lizard Tapestry.

Linen washcloths, made completely from linen leftovers. Now, almost a year later, this is the answer for my precious linen warp—now weft. A single thread, or two or three bundled together. What a glorious way to put the beautiful linen back to work. See how these colors—blue, turquoise, and brown—influence the warp colors (also all leftovers)? It’s delightful.

Where have your dreams and hopes been cut short? We all have times when disappointments make us wonder about our purpose. The Lord isn’t finished with you. As the Grand Weaver, he knows how to put leftovers to use. The Lord weaves us into connections with people. Influence a few for good. Your kind touch makes a difference in those lives with whom you personally intersect. The outcome is delightful.
May your connections be worthwhile.
Love,
Karen
12 Comments
Leave a Reply
Beaming Double Weave
- By Karen
- February 26, 2019
- 4 Comments
This is double weave on twelve shafts. One layer is the gorgeous lapis lazuli blue. The other layer is neutral almond for contrast. I am spreading and beaming this 6/2 Tuna wool warp with two sets of lease sticks—one set for each layer/color.

When you have two sets of lease sticks, though, it is a serious challenge to get the two colors to alternate correctly as you move the end loops to a separate stick. The ends on the stick are then transferred to the back tie-on bar. I did breathe a sigh of relief when everything was finally lined up and in order.


And I’m reminded again how beautiful a beamed warp is. It’s worth the challenges.


That beautifully ordered wool on the back tie-on bar, now hidden from view, is an essential element for quality handwoven cloth. Kindness is that way. It’s a core trait deep in one’s character that is revealed in interactions with others. Kindness makes you beautiful. It’s not something you try to be. It’s something we wear. It’s our inner being dressed in the character of Christ.
May you be dressed in kindness.
Affectionately yours,
Karen
4 Comments
-
So much more to learn.
Thank you for showing the way.
NannetteOff topic… My goal today is to post photos of the Wasaukee February 15, 2019 snow fall that the fuel truck had to deliver to. And my Yooper husband played in. Thank you for the the intense color of your post. White on white is nice in small doses.
-
Beautiful! What are you making? And, what is on the back beam? It looks white and the beam looks wider. Your posts are inspiring in so many way. Thank you
Leave a Reply
Drawlooms in Montana
- By Karen
- February 5, 2019
- 16 Comments
Montana is beautiful, with snow-capped mountains and big-sky sunrises! It’s there that I took Joanne Hall’s fantastic drawloom class last week. My confidence level about setting up and weaving on my drawloom shot up 100 per cent! (And Steve got to experience fishing on the ice with Joanne’s husband Ed!) Please continue all the way to the end of this post to read about submitting a question for Joanne to answer.

Cathleen and Deborah and I wove on the shaft drawloom, the single unit drawloom, and the Julia loom set up with half-heddle sticks to weave opphämta. What joy! …even in the challenges of learning new things.







Joanne taught us how to understand patterns and drafts, and how to make our own patterns. And we dressed the drawloom—we threaded pattern heddles and ground heddles, and distributed pattern shafts. Boy, did we students make mistakes! But with quiet Joanne, there is always a way to fix anything that matters. She is a picture of grace.





Striving to look good to other people, we face unwelcome judgment. Striving to please ourselves, we face demands of perfection. But when our heart strives to please the Lord, we receive grace. Our failures fade in importance as our confidence in his faithfulness grows. Know who you are working for. The imperfect images we weave in the cloth are a humble gift of gratitude back our Grand Weaver.





Please excuse me now while I go wind a warp!
May your imperfections be greeted with grace.
Love and grace,
Karen
~What are your questions? Joanne has answers~
Are you curious about drawlooms? Are you considering a drawloom for yourself? Do you have a drawloom and wish you could ask an expert for help? Please put your question about drawlooms and/or drawloom weaving in the comments below, or send your question to me through Get in Touch. Joanne Hall’s answers to two selected questions will be included in next week’s post. Please submit your question by this Friday, February 8.
16 Comments
-
Oh, how lucky you are! I am searching for the loom, then take her class. It seems to be taking forever!!
-
Karen, my brain tingles at all the learning you did last week! The picture of Montana way lovely too, but I added to that my knowledge that it was bitterly cold in that part of the country! Have fun playing with your drawloom when you get set.
-
Good morning Karen,
The draw down loom is something I did not know existed. At first glance, confusing. As I continued reading, exciting.
I look forward to your adventures.
Blessings,
Nannette
-
Amazing! The complexity and beauty and feeling so empowered to make beautiful textiles.
-
I am so happy you got your drawloom, and that you were able to take Joanne’s class this soon.
Your weaving journey har been amazing, and it is such a pleasure to be invited into your weaving world through your blog!Elisabeth
-
I enjoyed seeing the pictures and reading your commentary, Karen. Is that your drawloom in the last photos? Have a wonderful time learning and weaving, and thanks for sharing your journey.
-
I’m so excited to hear about your recent trip, Debbie and I are headed there in April and I can’t wait!!
Janet -
Thank you for sharing your experience and photos. Beautiful work. I am heading out there mid April and so looking forward to it. For some unexplainable reason I am so drawn to the big Swedish looms and the drawloom. I have an older Glimakra standard in storage and getting time with kind Joanne and the class I will know if it’s something for me or not. I will likely be less experienced than the other participants and your last paragraph is a reminder to not compare myself or lack of expertise but to enjoy.
Leave a Reply
My Four-Shaft Tapestry – Will it Work?
- By Karen
- May 4, 2018
- 6 Comments
Is this going to work? Yes, I think so. I am testing things out. So far, so good. Can I follow the cartoon? Yes. Do I have a good way to hold the cartoon in place? Yes. And to put the color and value key where I can see it? Yes. Do I have enough yarn in each of the colors, values, and thicknesses that I need? No. I see some gaps, especially in the mid-to-dark value range. I am ordering more yarn today. Is four-shaft tapestry going to be as delightful an experience as I’ve long hoped? Most probably, yes! Word of the day: Yes!

Blending yarn colors and thicknesses gives interesting results. This is practice for some of the background area of the tapestry.

Finding out if I can follow details on the cartoon. Experimenting with adding floats in places as texture to enhance the design.

Will I be able to handle multiple yarn butterflies? I think so.

Testing some of the green hues for part of the main subject of the tapestry. Also keeping an eye on selvedges, so they don’t draw in.

Plenty of warp is available for practice. I want to test all the critical elements before I start the *actual* tapestry. This tapestry will be woven horizontally.
Words. I am affected by words—spoken by others, and spoken from my own mouth. Grace in our words can be an invitation of kindness and relief to someone who is testing our framework. When Christ’s words dwell in us, the richness of his words affect our being. And then, our words of yes and no are grace-filled bearers of hope.
May you see hope on your horizon.
With hope,
Karen
6 Comments
-
The practice weaving is lovely. Timeless….
May the fourth be with you– 🙂
Nannette
-
You have a great start on this project. Keep sending us updates. Joanne
-
I’m interested in how you attached your cartoon to the loom. I’ve never done it on a horizontal loom so I’m not sure what I’ll do when the time comes.
Love your practice piece. I can’t wait to see what you actually weave.
Leave a Reply
Weaving a Gift
- By Karen
- February 27, 2018
- 10 Comments
For Christmas, I gave my daughter and two daughters-in-law a piece of paper with options for a custom handwoven article from me. This new project is the start of fulfilling those promises. Marie, my youngest son’s wife, chose a throw in vivid colors.

Each recipient gets to customize her gift. As maker, I retain design decisions and final color selections.
Opening a package with new tubes of thread is like Christmas all over again! This shipment brings the 8/2 cotton thread for Marie’s double weave throw, adding to what I already have on hand. From promise to conception of an idea, to collecting threads and dressing the loom, to weaving a gift—it goes from intangible to tangible. Threads turn into cloth!

My apprentice happens to be here when the package arrives! She shares the excitement with me of opening the package to see the new thread colors.
Love holds us together. Threads of love create a sustainable cloth of connected people. Be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving, as an imitator of God. Not an imposter, who pretends to be god. But an imitator, like a loved child becomes an imitator of their dad. Consciously and subconsciously. Let the character of God become your character. And let the threads of love that he has woven in your life reach into lives he’s given you to touch. Let his promise to you become tangible cloth to others.
May you be wrapped in love today.
With love,
Karen
10 Comments
-
I love your ideas for Xmas gifts. Can you share what the choices were and what you wove for the ladies?
I make tote bags with groceries bags, it is one of my contributions to help save the planet.
Baglady, Lise -
What a wonderful idea!
-
I love this idea of letting the recipient choose what they’d like. Ok if I borrow your form idea?
-
Just want to say how very much I enjoy your blog, and how often I’ve used your “helps”….like the red thread between towels, the suggestions for ways to repair weavings that aren’t perfect. And the newest, unfortunately, a shorter way to remove weaving down to the fault by cutting…rather than unweaving! These, plus all your inspiration…I’m so happy when I open my emails and see an update! Thank you!
-
I may borrow your idea. I make dish towels every year for my girls, and one year i did something similar. I chose a darker teal warp and had each of them choose three of my yarn colors they each liked that would look nice with the warp. I did a monks belt threading and each towel turned out so different. It was a fun project. If you are interested, you can see the final photo of them in my blog here:
http://jennybellairs.blogspot.com/2013/12/annual-christmas-towels.htmlI enjoy your blog posts and am glad I subscribe so I don’t miss any. Keep them coming!
Jenny B
What a great way to turn lemons into lemonade! The towels will be beautiful!
Hi Beth, It’s rewarding to find a way to use up something that would have gone to waste.
Thanks!
Karen
Karen, your message is well taken.. I hope you will be taking your own words to heart…as they so reflect who you are! You do, indeed, influence others, in your witnessing!
I am totally amazed at your Beautiful Lizard; (he does deserve a name!) But even more, I am amazed at how you put the remaining warp to use, and at the same time, use left over threads, connected all along, for your weft.
May God continue to bless you..and your husband, as he transitions into retirement and as you make adjustments, so both of you may enjoy time together.!
Hi Joyce, Your thoughtfulness shines through in all your words! Thank you. I do aspire to be a positive influence when possible, so thank you for that affirmation.
A name for the Lizard? Haha. I think I named him once, but I can’t remember what the name is. To me, I think he will always be Lizard, with a capital L.
Steve’s retirement has been a blessing to both of us so far. We thoroughly enjoy the time we have together.
All the best,
Karen
I am a brand new weaver and my instructor recommended your blog. Thank you for weaving life’s lessons into all that you do. God bless you!
Hi Tena, I’m so thankful you decided to check out Warped for Good! (And please tell your weaving instructor I said thanks to her.)
Feel free to ask questions as you wander into this weaving arena. You’re in for some great experiences at the loom!
Happy weaving,
Karen
Beautiful solution Barb… very impressed that the small chains are being used and the towels are really special!
bethany in Kingston ON
Hi Bethany, I couldn’t throw them away. And I didn’t want to let those linen chains stay in the box too long. So I’m glad to have found a solution!
All the best,
Karen
Karen, my waste not want not German grandma would be proud of you. Not only useful. Beautiful.
Nannette
Hi Nannette, My German grandma was the same way! I must have it in me genes.
Thank you,
Karen
Waffle weave washcloths are a wonderful way to use those leftovers and bits! How big do you think they will be after wet finishing?
Your reflections on the ‘Grand Weaver’ are part of why I follow your blog, thank you! One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 31:13, “She seeks out wool and flax and works with willing hands [to develop it].” (Amplified Version) It is deeply satisfying to make-with our own hands-things that are not only beautiful but useful and necessary to our homes. Plus weaving lends itself to so many metaphors!
Hi Lyna, I have never done waffle weave before, so I made my calculations based on an article in Väv Magazine for linen waffle weave. It said to expect 20% shrinkage. I have it at 44 cm on the loom, so hopefully, they will end up about 35.2 cm / 13-14″ wide. We’ll see… 🙂
Yes, the verse in Proverbs 31 means a lot to me, as well! It’s sweet to make a connection with you in this way. Thanks so much for sharing your heart.
In Him,
Karen