Tag: time

Welcome to My Loom

Karen

The computer is a worthwhile instrument for creating designs to weave. I like the flexibility and repeatability it gives me for drawloom designs. I’m also using the computer to develop the cartoon for my next pictorial tapestry. The computer work takes time—usually more time than I think it should.

Cottolin bath towels on the loom.
Come in our front door to see what is on the loom. Nearing the end of the first bath towel on this cottolin warp.

When I sit at the loom, though, time slips away unnoticed. This is where I’d rather be.

Cottolin bath towels on the loom.
Deep borders on these towels have treadling changes and contrast-thread inlay for added interest.
Start of the second cottolin bath towel on the loom.
Red cutting line is woven between the first and second towels.
Weaving bath towels on the Glimakra Standard loom.
First bath towel begins to wrap around the cloth beam.

I’m starting the second of four bath towels on my Glimåkra Standard. The loom, with its colored threads and cloth, is the first thing to greet you as you come in our front door. Welcome. Let’s put the computer away for a while and simply enjoy ourselves. There’s no better time than now.

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Previously woven hand towels that match these bath towels have not yet been used. They are presently folded and displayed in a pottery bowl on the dining room table in the next room.

May you make time for making.

Happy Planning and Weaving,
Karen

Handweaving Dilemma

Karen

I am making great progress on my drawloom rag rug, closing in on the final segment. And then, I take a picture and the camera reveals something I had failed to see. A mistake! Here is the dilemma that I’m sure other weavers face, too. It’s an internal dialogue. I can live with the error. Or, can I? No one will notice. Well, I certainly will notice. But I am sooo close to the end. I really don’t want to undo the last forty minutes of weaving. What would you do?

Drawloom rag rug.
Error in the rug escapes my notice.
Mistake in the weaving, exposed by taking a photo.
Photo reveals my mistake.

Back it up. Using the chart that I follow for pulling draw cords, unit by unit, I work my way back until I get to the error. On reflection, doing the task is easier than thinking about doing it.

Removing weft to fix an error.
Backing up.
Single-unit drawloom.
One single unit draw cord makes all the difference. This cord should have been drawn in the affected rows.
Rag weft is taken out to correct an error.
Undone. Weft is removed. The mistake has been taken out.
Drawloom rag rug. Correcting an error.
Ready to start fresh from here.

My feelings can fool me. I don’t feel like going back and correcting my mistake. This is the time to pause and listen. Wisdom is at the door. Wisdom requires thinking, and listening, and time. Time is my friend, if I refrain from hurry. Wisdom is much like the skill of an experienced craftsman—one who understands precision and artistic expression and do-overs. Wisdom knows that patience is powerful. The easiest way to do something often forfeits the greatest rewards.

May you keep your ear at wisdom’s door.

Peace,
Karen

Waiting to Cut Off the Tapestry

Karen

I desperately want to unroll this tapestry so we can see the whole thing. The tapestry and its linen header are finished. But it’s not quite time to cut it off. First, I am weaving the rest of this beautiful linen warp. Not another tapestry, just a lacey rosepath weave using a tomato orange 6/1 tow linen weft.

One more row of weft for this Siblings tapestry!
With one more row of wool weft this tapestry is completed. Ten picks of linen in a plain-weave header follow. After that, a few rows of wool weft (leftover butterflies) are woven to secure the weft.
Linen on linen, with linen hemstitching.
Hemstitching secures the weft for this lacey weave.

It won’t take much time to weave this off, especially compared to the slower process of weaving the tapestry. Hemstitching, which does take time, will help keep this loosely-woven piece from unraveling when the warp is finally cut off. Soon enough, we will enjoy the full view of the completed Siblings tapestry.

View of the messy underside of the tapestry.
View of the messy underside of the tapestry.
Only a short distance remains on this beautiful linen warp.
Only a short distance remains on this beautiful linen warp.

Time. We all have it. And yet none of us knows how much of it we have. How many days have we been given? We don’t know. Time is temporary. Imagine a place where time isn’t measured. That’s heaven. Our short time here is but a pilgrimage to another destination. Our trust in Jesus opens heaven’s doors. In the meantime, the Grand Weaver’s warp will be woven, and not wasted, to the very end.

May you complete your pilgrimage in the time you’ve been given.

Blessings on your journey,
Karen

Drawloom Cords and Handles

Karen

My first drawloom warp used ten pattern shafts, which was plenty. I have now installed the cords and draw handles for all fifty pattern shafts, so the sky’s the limit! (See Process Review: First Drawloom Warp)

Adding draw cords to the drawloom.
Adding draw cords. I stand on the foot beam to reach up to the top of the draw frame to pull cords through the holes.
Draw cords are added in order.
Draw cords are added in order.

Adding all these draw cords and handles is a big job. It involves a cord threader and scissors and time—reaching, going back and forth, measuring, cutting, tying. Over and over. It’s not hard, but it seems endless. Yet for some strange reason this job is entirely enjoyable. I feel like an architect and builder, a dreamer and investor. It’s incredible to step back and see the structure that this effort has produced. And this is merely the set up. Can you imagine the weaving prospects?!

This is how we build good structures in our lives. Intentional, persistent, focused. Listen well. Over and over. The way we speak makes a difference in the way we listen. When we speak with grace, seasoned for the hearer, we ready ourselves to listen. Our cord threader is our unselfish attentiveness to pull someone else’s thoughts and questions toward our understanding. With this beautiful structure we are ready for anything. Accomplished through the grace of God, the sky’s the limit!

Drawloom ready for weaving!
Drawloom with fifty draw handles, a sight to behold.

May your words be seasoned with grace.

Getting ready,
Karen

Tapestry at Full Snail Speed

Karen

I am determined to have this off the loom before it’s time to move again. I know exactly how many “weaving days” I have left in this apartment. Steve’s retirement is just around the corner. His last day at work will be our last day here. And I know exactly how many centimeters I have left to weave on this piece. We already moved the loom once in the middle of this tapestry. Once is enough! I intend to make significant weaving progress every single day.

Measure tape shows progress on the tapestry weaving.
My measure tape shows that I have woven 80 centimeters. I will cross the finish line when I reach 125 centimeters.

Now that the image of the lizard is finished all the way to his toes, no more pretty green, blue, or red butterflies. I am removing anything that clutters my focus. Full (snail) speed ahead!

Weaving a lizard in four-shaft tapestry.
Lizard’s foot tries to grip the breast beam. There is no longer a need for butterflies in the lizard’s colors. Only the background log remains.

Weaving four-shaft tapestry on a Glimakra Ideal loom.
All the green, blue, and red butterflies have been removed. A simple color palette remains–white, yellow, tan, gray, brown, and black.

Faith is that kind of determination. Faith is more than thinking you believe something or someone. It’s pouring yourself into pure-hearted focus to trust fully in God. Faith is being so convinced that Jesus is the answer that you will stop at nothing to reach him. Where there’s that kind of will, there’s a way.

May you reach your most-pressing goal.

Your speedy snail,
Karen