If a Warp End Is Frayed…
- By Karen
- May 30, 2017
- No Comments
I noticed that a warp end was starting to fray, but I kept on weaving. I thought I could make it past the weak spot. Well, I was wrong. The warp end broke. So much for happy weaving! A broken warp end at the selvedge is no fun, especially on a weft-faced piece like this. Looking back, I wish I had taken time to splice in a new length of thread when I first noticed the weakness. But at the time, I didn’t want to be bothered with that. I just wanted to weave.
Weaving right along. I start to notice some abrasion on the warp end at the right selvedge. I’ll be extra careful. I can keep weaving and enjoy myself, right???
Warp end on the right selvedge frayed to the breaking point. Gone! The weaving must be removed far enough back to reach at least 1/2″ of the warp end in front of the break. That reaches back into the red portion–the first section of the sampler.
Pin is inserted to secure a new selvedge warp end. The fourth end from the right showed some fraying, so I am splicing in a new piece of 12/9 cotton warp. Learned my lesson.
Original selvedge warp end is now being spliced back in (green flathead pin). Second splice is complete, with thread tail hanging out, to be trimmed after this is off the loom.
We tell ourselves if we do what we want, we will be happy. That’s a delusion. Happiness will fail you. It doesn’t last. I was only happy weaving until the thread broke. There is something better than happiness. Faithfulness. It’s better to be faithful in the moment, even if it puts a delay on being happy. Faithfulness lasts. Next time, I hope to choose the long satisfaction of faithfulness over the short-lived gain of happiness.
May your broken selvedge ends be few.
Faithful weaving,
Karen
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When to Start Over
- By Karen
- May 2, 2017
- 2 Comments
I have started this tapestry sampler three times. The biggest problem was the header. I had so much draw-in that warp ends were breaking at the selvedges. Cut off and tie back on. I knew what to do–bubble the weft. But again, the second time, I had too much draw-in. Maybe I can ease the width back out to where it should be… Nope. After several hours of weaving with beautiful linen butterflies, and breaking more warp ends, I gave up.
Texas hill country wildflowers fill the landscape with color.
I carefully removed all of the linen weft, and took out all of the header. Start over. Again. I did what I should have done from the start. Bubble the weft MORE. It works! Now I have a great starting place for the tapestry weaving to flourish. Until I had a good header, I was wasting my time trying to make the tapestry work.
Successful header is the foundation for this hem of bleached and unbleached linen. Tapestry sampler begins with some color shading, using butterfly bundles of linen in vivid colors, borrowed from the wildflowers.
Windows let in the Texas hill country sunshine.
Monksbelt cloth on the table borrows the colors of the wildflower bouquet.
Words are like a header for our view of the world. Words shape our thinking. Listen carefully to test words, like you test food on your plate by tasting it before eating the whole thing. Test the words you hear. And only swallow what is right and good. If the header is good, your tapestry can flourish.
May you hear words that pass the test.
With you,
Karen
As a follow up to Quiet Friday: Favorite Weaving Books, Besty Greene sent me this picture. I love it!
Hi Karen
I am sending you this message in the theme of your last blog post. Ta da! A rug inspired by your project in Handwoven.
Betsy
Rag rug by Betsy Greene.
2 Comments
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Twenty-Seven Mug Rugs
- By Karen
- March 28, 2017
- No Comments
Twenty-seven coffee mugs sitting in a row… on these new mug rugs! Wouldn’t that be a lovely sight?! Twenty-four of the mug rugs are identical. The last three, however, are different. I ran out of string yarn near the end of the warp, so I switched to fabric strips for the weft. There is just enough spacing between warp ends that some of the fabric print shows through. I love the results! These last three mug rugs are set apart. Brought about by a shortage of string yarn.
Fabric strip from a past rag rug project is used for the thick weft in this rep weave mug rug. The cotton fabric strip is 3/4″ wide.
Cutting Off! Six yards of mug rugs.
Finished with machine zigzag stitches and a short fringe. 25 mug rugs with black string yarn weft. 1 mug rug with fabric strip weft. (Not shown: 2 mug rugs from the set-apart pile that have already been dispersed as gifts.)
Realizing our personal shortages is the beginning of humility. It’s not easy to acknowledge shortcomings. But humility begins with honesty. And it’s the answer for those who want to find the path to God. It’s our honesty about our shortcomings that catches His attention. God hears a humble prayer. The God of the universe gives one-on-one attention to the person who comes to Him in humility. Amazing! We come to the end of our personal supply, and He supplies the needed weft that sets us apart.
May your humility make you different from the norm.
With you,
Karen
~ATTENTION~ Towel Kits ~
Thank you for your fantastic response regarding the towel kits I am offering! Many of you have expressed an interest in knowing when the kits will be available for purchase.
A small number of towel kits are ready! The River Stripe Towel Set, Pre-Wound Warp and Instructional Kit, for $150 per kit, will be listed in the Warped for Good Etsy Shop tomorrow, Wednesday, March 29, 2017, around 10:00 am CT.
If you are not already on the Towel Kit notification list, and would like to be notified when the next batch of towel kits are ready, please send me a message HERE.
Thank you!
Your weaving friend
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Quiet Friday: Risky Way to Fix a Threading Error
- By Karen
- February 24, 2017
- 22 Comments
We all have threading errors from time to time. This time I completely transposed the threading on shafts one and two. I saw the error when I started weaving; the pattern in the cloth was not as it should be. After a few days of contemplating, arguing with myself, and studying the error, I decided on an ingenious and risky fix (I hinted at it in My Best Weaving Stunt to Date!). Switch the two mis-threaded shafts. Yikes! One slip up could bring the whole warp down–figuratively and literally. I caught myself holding my breath several times through the process. Gently hopeful, but not 100% sure that my plan would work. Thankfully, it did work.
The threading went from this…
Shafts 1 and 2 (counting from back to front) have been threaded incorrectly. Shaft 1 should be 2, and 2 should be 1.
to this…
Shaft bars 1 and 2, upper and lower, have been switched. The operation was similar to transferring lease sticks in the back-to-front warping process.
Here’s a short video that shows the maneuvers I did to correct the error. No re-threading needed! The kuvikas square within a square wins!
May you be brave enough to take appropriate risks when needed.
Happy Problem Solving,
Karen
22 Comments
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Beth Mullins says:
Whoa! That was some ingenious maneuvering!
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Brilliant! Of course in the video it looks completely smooth and safe! The dramatic music helps to relate some of the risk that was involved, however.
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Julia, It makes me smile that you mentioned the music. I was hoping the music would help convey that risk factor.
I did feel quite accomplished when I finished the operation and found it worked!Karen
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Marie says:
A quick thought, if shaft 1 and 2 are in the wrong threading sequence, why not change the tie-up. Risk factor very low.
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Marie, That may be what I should have done. But when I tried changing the tie-up on my weaving software, I got confused and couldn’t get it to work out. I could visualize the results of switching the shafts, so I went with that. On one occasion at Vavstuga, I watched Becky do a masterful switching of heddles from one shaft to another, so I think I was inspired to try something heroic. 🙂
Karen
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Marcia Cooke says:
Having actually dropped shafts (don’t ask), I am not brave enough to do it on purpose! Kudos!!
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Hi Marcia, I have *almost* dropped shafts before, so I know how it can happen! But this was not much different than transferring the lease sticks to the back of the reed. That always makes me nervous, too. Every step, I stopped, looked, and thought it out before making a move.
Karen
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My question was just like Marie’s. Seems like a much easier way to go. Maybe the fact that you were on a countermarche loom made this more complex????
But your fix was impressive!!
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Hi Peg, I don’t think the countermarch made a difference. My problem was I couldn’t quite figure out how to change the tie-up. Seems kind of simple now, but it stumped me at the time…
At least now we know this can be done…
Karen
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ellen santana says:
way over my head, but congratulations. maybe you should work for nasa. es
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Hi Ellen, I’m afraid NASA wouldn’t want me. My math skills are just strong enough to plan a weaving project, and not much more than that. But, if they need someone to move heddles around, they can call me.
Karen
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Karen says:
Now, that made me hold my breath! Well played…..
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Martha says:
Whew, I was holding my breath just watching the process. Well played!
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Martha, These Swedish countermarch looms are so adjustable and flexible, otherwise it wouldn’t be possible at all. I’m glad I have Texsolv heddles!
Karen
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Nanette says:
I don’t think this would work with a jack loom with solid frame shafts, do you? But maybe changing the tie up would be easier on that kind of loom, too. Anyway, I was proud that I thought of changing the tie up even before reading the comments! And, actually, couldn’t figure out even with the video just how you did it. I won’t even ask how you happened to make such an error…just thank you for sharing that you did!
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Hi Nanette, You’re right, this wouldn’t work with a jack loom with solid frame shafts, or with metal heddles. Hopefully, you’ll never make this kind of mistake, but changing the tie-up should work.
I don’t know how I made that mistake, either. My brain was just thinking in reverse for those two shafts. It took me quite a while to even see the error, because my brain kept seeing the two sets of heddles in reverse.
Happy weaving,
Karen
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Joanna says:
I’m totally confused, not unusual. Was what you were doing was moving the heddles from S1 forward to S2’s position and S2’s heddles back to the S1 position by putting the heddles on a temporary stick and dragging them forward or backward and then re-inserting the shaft stick? Don’t the heddles and the temporary stick get hung up on the other heddles or the warp? I’m astounded! Very well done indeed.
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Joanna, You described it perfectly! That’s exactly what I did. I only had to put in a temporary stick (a warping slat) on the first shaft heddles. Then I could move the second shaft to the first shaft place. I then repeated the process under the warp. The only things that got in the way were the shaft bar cords that hold the upper shaft bars. I undid them and reconnected after the transfer. And the shaft-to-lamm cords under the warp had to be released, and then reconnected.
I decided to do it when I surveyed the situation and thought, if only I could just slide those heddles forward on the warp, and slide the others back. That got my wheels turning.
Karen
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My Best Weaving Stunt to Date!
- By Karen
- February 10, 2017
- 4 Comments
Do you ever go out on a limb? I’ve been known to play it safe. But not today! My excitement for weaving this kuvikas structure was severely dampened when I saw that the pattern in the cloth was not the pattern I intended. What happened? I had switched the threading for shafts 1 and 2! Consistently, too–all the way across the warp.
While testing weft color options, I realize that this is NOT the pattern for which I thought I had threaded. Even though this pattern does reveal an “I” for “Isenhower,” I had my heart set on a square within a square.
I could leave the threading as is. No one would know. Oh, the arguments I had with myself at this point. “Take it out, and re-thread.” “You’d be crazy to take it out and re-thread.” The crazy self won. (I did find myself asking, “What solution would Becky Ashenden, the weaving solution genius, come up with?”) Here is the stupendous thing: I was able to correct the pattern by doing shaft-bar gymnastics. And no re-threading! What?! (I documented the process and will bring it to you in my Quiet Friday post at the end of the month.)
The sight of these little squares within squares makes me extraordinarily happy! 8/2 cotton tabby weft. Doubled 8/2 Tencel pattern weft. Kuvikas, as this weaver intended it to be.
There are times when we are called to go out on a limb. It’s the right thing to do. But the prospect is overwhelming. We ask, “Who? Me?” And “How, Lord?” Trust the Lord, one step at a time. He will be with you. Marvelous things will happen, catching even you by surprise.
May you know when to go out on a limb.
Happy,
Karen
4 Comments
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Good for you! I bet you did debate long and hard but the square within a square looks wonderful! The other pattern is a bit awkward, as well and not being what you wanted.
Whether to fix a mistake or something that doesn’t look right does come up often with all of us. I am usually in favor of changing it….
Last night I was trying to do decreases in a knitting project and I kept having to rip it out as I wasn’t getting the pattern right…but it’s done now!
What are you making?-
Debbie, Yes, this is a common dilemma for makers, because mistakes happen. Whether to ignore it and move on, or to find a fix. It depends on the degree of the error and the risk involved in the correction. This seemed like a big risk, but I thought it through long and hard before taking the leap. I needed to fix this to be able to enjoy the rest of the weaving.
Right now, I am calling this “yardage,” which is code for “I don’t know what I will make from it.” Perhaps pillows, or a bag of some sort. I do need a bag for my laptop…
All the best,
Karen
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But if you look at the sample, and imagine that you treadled each section the same length, wouldn’t you have a rather nice alternating square within a cress pattern? Considering the error, I’m surprised you got any good pattern! But yes, I always feel better taking out anything I’m not happy with! N.
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Hi Nanette, You’re right, it would have been an alternating square within a cross pattern, and it would have been a pleasant pattern. My husband liked it and would have been happy if I had woven it as is. But I wasn’t going to be satisfied with it. I do feel better now. 🙂
Happy weaving,
Karen
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Copyright © 2017
I’m curious to know what you mean by bubble the warp. I’m unfamiliar with that term.
Hi Cate, Bubbling the weft (not warp) is placing the weft in waves, or bubbles, across the shed. Click here to read my definition in the Weaving Glosssry: Bubbling. And here is a picture of bubbling the weft. I didn’t get a picture of placing the weft for the header, but this is a picture of the hem area of the tapestry.
Karen