Quiet Friday: Lizard Tapestry
- By Karen
- October 26, 2018
- 24 Comments
This is the moment we’ve been waiting for! We finally get to see the whole tapestry. This lizard has given me quite a ride! I have learned plenty. Things I’m happy with myself about, like drawing a cartoon from a photograph, following the cartoon details, making and keeping track of butterflies. And some things I’d like to improve, like choosing colors that give the best contrast, managing the cartoon under the tapestry, and choosing where to pick the floats. I’m eager to do four-shaft tapestry again so I can learn some more!
I wove the fringe into an edging, ending with a small braid. Next, I will tack the edging and braids to the back, clip weft tails on the back, and sew on a backing fabric. And then, I’ll find a special place to hang this Lizard tapestry in our Texas hill country home, just a half mile from the place I saw and photographed the cute little green anole in the first place.

Finishing the ends.

Lizard Tapestry. Next steps are clipping weft tails on the back, adding a backing, and hanging in our Texas hill country home.
May your learning experiences take you for an exciting ride.
Happy Weaving,
Karen
~Change Is Coming~
With Steve’s approaching retirement, I am implementing some adjustments for Warped for Good. Friday posts will become less frequent, and by December you will receive new posts only on Tuesdays. Today is my final Quiet Friday post, something I’ve enjoyed doing once a month for the five and-a-half years Warped for Good has been active.
I invite you to continue joining with me on this weaving journey at Warped for Good!
24 Comments
Leave a Reply
Quiet Friday: Threads of Love
- By Karen
- September 28, 2018
- 18 Comments
Talk about thick and thirsty towels! Double weave makes these hand towels thick. And the linen in the cottolin threads makes them highly absorbent. The colors are fantastic together. When our daughter Melody moves with her little family to Chile, she can set up her new home with these made-for-her towels. My love is woven into every single pick.
I have included two short little videos just for the fun of it. Enjoy!
This project started in my weaving studio in our Houston home, where I beamed the warp.
And then we decided to move! We sold the house and moved into an apartment. The big loom was dismantled, with the towel warp on the back beam. Then, we moved all the pieces to our Texas hill country home.
Recently, I spent a week there to finish dressing the loom and weave all four towels. Whew! (Here’s what I did that week: Testing Color Surprises with My Little Helper and Weaving Deadline)
I wove hanging tabs on my band loom. And I discovered that I could showcase both sides of the colorful towel if I stitch the hanging tab on the side of the towel, off center.
The towels are hemmed and pressed, ready to brighten the day!
May you put threads of love into everything you do.
Love,
Karen
18 Comments
-
They are gorgeous!
-
Those towels are gorgeous!!
-
Beautiful towels and such love went into them. I know your daughter is going to love them as much as she loves you.
-
WOW…I’m blown away. Same warp. Same fill. Different sequence
.Entirely different results. All beautiful.Thank you for sharing the progression.
Nannette
-
Beautiful! I’m always in awe of your weaving.
-
Goodness, those are beautiful towels that exude your love in a very joyful way. Thanks for documenting your process so well and sharing your inspire pictures. The placement of the hanging loops does the trick of showing both sides off it a very neat way. So very wonderful.
-
Just beautiful! When you pin your twill tape marker to the woven piece on the loom, do you unpin the beginning section of tape before it goes rolls around the beam?
-
Those are absolutely beautiful. You can’t help but smile when you look at them.
-
Beautiful!
Can I find directions to this pattern somewhere?
Thanks
Leave a Reply
Quiet Friday: Square Dots
- By Karen
- February 23, 2018
- 16 Comments
It was six weeks ago that I began winding the warp for these towels. The thread for my next Glimåkra Standard project is due to arrive tomorrow. Just like I like it—revolving door weaving. I have no doubt that this set of towels will become family favorites. They are a feast for the eyes, and a tactile delight for the hands. Seeing the color on the reverse side takes my breath away. This whole experience has been the weaving satisfaction that I’ve come to cherish!

Square Dot towels. Ten shafts, ten treadles. Two block five-shaft satin dräll. 8/2 cotton warp. Weft is 8/2 cotton and 22/2 cottolin, and 16/2 linen for the white stripes on the red towel.
I did face difficulties near the end of the warp. The shed started deteriorating with some of the shafts, but I was determined to finish off the last towel to its full length. That meant coaxing the low profile shuttle through for a few inches. Consequently, I did have more errant floats to repair than usual. But, isn’t it wonderful that we can fix just about anything in this weaving adventure?

End of warp. What I didn’t see at the loom is that one shaft in particular was not behaving. There were at least eight floats along that one warp end. After repairs and washing and pressing, the errors are barely noticeable.
I made a warp from thread on leftover quills to weave up some hanging tabs on my band loom for three of the towels. And I found a linen piece in my “band stash” that is perfect for the red and white towel.
Enjoy the slideshow that I made for you with details of the process.
May you weave some family favorites.
Happy Weaving,
Karen
16 Comments
-
Oh, these are lovely! Both sides!
-
Karen, these are beautiful! Your color choices are wonderful.
Does your pattern have a balanced tie-up? I’m ready to try a ten shaft pattern on my ten shaft counterbalance loom, but it would have to be a balanced tie-up in order for me to use the dräll pulleys. Is the pattern readily available? Where would I look?
I enjoy reading your blog posts.
Jenny B -
They are just lovely! I look forward to seeing your next project.
Kay -
That was a great slide show. And yes, the two block satin is such a beautiful weave. And your colors are so nice. Thanks for taking the time to share what you are weaving.
Joanne -
Oh Karen, I love these, my favorite color! Thanks for the slide show, it’s fun to see your whole process!!
-
Such beautiful work AGAIN! You are an inspiration and offer such an open and positive approach to fixing weaving issues. I recently finished an M’s and O’s table cloth with many floats over the last couple of inches of weaving due to a decreasing shed. Like you I was determined to have the whole length of that cloth. I thought I’d fixed all the floats but keep finding them as I use the cloth. Enjoy your new favorites.
-
I’m new to weaving and discovered your blog. It has been very helpful. Thank you for all the good information especially your glossary. But what I have found most wonderful are the words of hope and encouragement to trust in our Lord. I really needed that right now. Blessings to you, Karen.
Leave a Reply
Quiet Friday: Painting with Yarn and Animated Images
- By Karen
- September 22, 2017
- 16 Comments
I have often wished I had the skill of artistic drawing. How wonderful it would be to portray a slice of creation using pencil lines, or pastels, or with watercolors and a paintbrush. Instead, though, I’ve been delighted to find that I can “draw” and “paint” with threads and yarn. By capturing a slice of creation through my iPhone camera lens, the hard part has already been done. All I have to do is translate the photo into a woven image. And what a joy that is!
Here is a glimpse of my process of weaving the Texas hill country Cactus and Bluebonnets transparencies.
(Don’t miss the amazing animated images at the end of this post that my son, Daniel, made of these woven transparency projects!)
May you find joy in what you’ve been given to do.
Happy Weaving,
Karen
16 Comments
-
Wow, love the animations!! Clever son you have.
-
These are so wonderful. Cool animation! Would love to see how you have them displayed.
-
Very cool, what a talent you do have.
Truly Blessed -
Such an inspiration that I’m going to be taking a transparencies class next spring. Can’t wait! Yours are so amazing and beautiful.
-
These are very impressive!! How did you get the pictures to shift like that!!
-
Beautiful jobs, Karen & Daniel!
-
Beautiful work and animation! Truly inspiring. I would like to try it soon.
-
Very beautiful weaving. I want to know if you use the heddles when setting up the loom. How about the pattern sheet underneath?
The lizard is wonderful! It will be right at home in the Texas hill country.
I’m happy for Steve and you! I have so enjoyed your bi-weekly posts as they bring bright spots to my mornings and will continue looking forward to weekly posts.
All the best!
Hi Beth, Your sweet encouragement means so much to me. It’s great having you join with me here!
All the best,
Karen
You captured him beautifully! I love that little lizard half smile. We see them a lot on our deck, and on the tree that grows just a few feet from the patio door.
I will miss the second weekly posts, but hope you and Steve enjoy retirement as much as we do.
Hi Betsy, Of the many critters we’ve seen out here, the little green anole is the cutest, and maybe the most harmless. 🙂
I’m glad to hear you enjoy the retirement season. I think we have a lot to look forward to.
All the best,
Karen
This is so inspiring. I have never even thought of doing tapestry on my big loom!
Love it! How long did it take you? Looks like a LOT of work!
Hi Robin, This was on the loom for five months. Part of that time, though, we had a lot of disruptions, including moving to a new location.
You’re right, it was a lot of work. But I really enjoyed the whole process!
All the best,
Karen
Cute little guy.
Nice job.
Nannette
Hi Nannette, It was fun to look at the cute little guy all the while I was weaving.
Thanks,
Karen
Wishing you all the best in retirement with blessings surrounding both of you. .I have enjoyed the bi-weekly “warping” and learned a lot from you. Never knew that a tapestry could be done on the loom as you shared with us. The lizard will give color and joy wherever he is hung. Will miss you on Friday mornings but look forward to Tuesday’s! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and joy in the weaving of life. God bless!
Hi Rachel, Your kind sentiments mean a lot to me! It’s a real pleasure to have you along on this journey.
All the best,
Karen
Even more beautiful than I was imagining. Best wishes in retirement. So happy for both of you. Your talent and imagination are so inspiring. You have encouraged me to try projects I would not have tried otherwise. Again best wishes
Hi Susie, If I had anything to do with encouraging you to step out of the mold in your weaving, I’m very happy!
Happy weaving,
Karen
Oh Karen, he is fabulous, I just love it!! What a long journey the two of you were on!
Sorry to see you will be with us only once a week now, but I know you and Steve will be having a great time enjoying retirement now!!
Hugs and love to you my friend,
Liberty
Hi Liberty, This was on the loom longer than I’d like to admit, but I enjoyed every part of it!
It’s great to have you on this journey with me.
Your friend,
Karen
Karen,
Your little lizard turned out beautifully! What size is the finished piece? Hope we get to see him at the November WOW meeting.
Hi D’Anne, I haven’t measured it yet, but on the loom it was about 36” x 48”. I’ll bring it to the meeting next week!
Thanks for your sweet encouragement to me!
Karen
Karen,
Where did you learn 4 shaft tapestry? I am fascinated! I will also miss your more frequent posting but I do hope you and yours enjoy retirement!
Hi Tonya, I have not seen very many examples of four-shaft tapestry like this.
I learned it from Joanne Hall, who generously shares her knowledge and experience. Her work is amazing and something I’d like to emulate. I have a long way to go in that regard.
Helena Hernmarck is another person I’m aware of who weaves in a similar style. I’ve studied pictures in a book I have of her work.
I found one other individual on Instagram from Sweden who has examples of this type of four-shaft tapestry. I’m always on the hunt for this kind of tapestry to observe.
Thanks for your kind sentiments,
Karen
Thank you for bringing us along on your lizard tapestry journey! If possible, could you show how you finish it–how close do you trim the tails, how the warp ends are handled, how the backing fabric is attached, how is it hung?
Or just say “Look it up in this ___ book,” because we know you are busy going into another season of life! Looking forward to Tuesdays!
God bless, Lyna
Hi Lyna, It’s my pleasure to have you come with me on this journey! Everything is better with friends along.
I’ll do my best to show the finishing that I do, though I’m still learning that part, too.
I did make a little video a while back that shows the method I use to finish the warp ends. You can see it at the end of this post – Quiet Friday: Little Tapestry Diary.
Thanks for being here,
Karen
It looks wonderful, until I saw your lizard it hadn’t occurred to me that a floor loom could be used for tapestry; one day I might have to try it too.
Hi Rachelle, I like using the floor loom for tapestry. This was my first attempt doing that, and I intend to do it again! Who knows, maybe I’ll have to add another loom just for tapestry. 🙂
Thanks!
Karen
That’s pretty amazing!
Hi Karen, It was a challenging project! Thanks!
All the best,
Karen