Skeins of Borgs 6/2 Tuna Wool for blanket weft. The weft is doubled, so I will wind quills using the two colors together.Wool skeins are first unwrapped and wound into balls using my old Beka yarn swift.
I am pleased with the first glimpse. I feel like I have captured my own personality and it is being woven into the cloth. Like this weft, you will not see the value of your gifts until you unwrap them and use them.
Very beginning of the wool blanket gives encouraging results. The teal/blue weft begins after the first few picks that space the warp.
Just as cloth reveals the nature of the weaver, gifts reveal the nature of the giver. God has prepared things for us that transcend human perception. Things which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man… If aspects of my personality are embedded in a handwoven blanket, how much more is God’s character woven into the good gifts he imparts to us?
This is how a weaver enjoys a long haul flight. I keep my hands busy. A direct flight from Houston to Tokyo takes about fourteen hours. And then five more hours to Manila. Add layover time, and you have almost a full day of travel. I have been wanting to try the exercises in Kathe Todd-Hooker‘s Tapestry 101. So that is how I spent my travel time to and from The Philippines on our recent visit there. I followed advice I received from Teresa Loveless when I was at Weaving Southwest in New Mexico, to warp my little tapestry loom at a sett of 8 epi, using rug wool for weft. The coarse sett made the weaving easy to see and work with, even in the dim lighting of the airplane. (This is in contrast to last year’s travel tapestry using embroidery floss.) I kept the samplers small, so I could finish by the end of the trip. I ended up with two mini samplers.
Ready to travel with all tapestry weaving supplies in a soft bag that is easy to slip into my flight carry on bag.
Tools:
– Travel-size tapestry loom (with tensioning device, and counter sunk rare earth magnets for holding tapestry needle)
– Warp thread (12/6 cotton seine twine), wound on a couple five-inch quills
– Wool rug yarn assortment (Jason Collingwood Rug Wool, and Borgs 25/1 Mattgarn), wound on five-inch quills
– Blunt tapestry needles (have extras in case you drop one in the dark)
– Travel snips (make sure they meet TSA regulations) on a neck strap (hand woven, of course)
– Clip-on book light (with paper napkin or thin cloth to diffuse the light, and extra batteries)
– Tape measure
– Small clips (you never know when you might need one, like to clip a napkin over the book light)
– Sewing thread and sewing needle (for stitching slits, which I did not do)
– Tapestry resource book (like Tapestry 101, by Kathe Todd-Hooker)
– Bag to hold everything (and a couple small pouches within to keep things organized)
First mini sampler was almost finished by the time we arrived in Manila.Green tea cake roll was a yummy snack at Narita International Airport in Tokyo on the trip home. Maybe this should be a future color scheme for a weaving project?Weaving in the dark. The Starbucks napkin that I saved from Houston came in handy as a light diffuser around the too-bright reading light when other passengers were sleeping.Second mini sampler was almost finished by the time we arrived back home in Houston.Mini tapestry samplers show a compact view of the passage of time.
Steve and I returned this week from travels to The Philippines. We had a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving there with our son’s family in Makati. During our eleven-day visit, I encountered many examples of beautiful handwoven articles and other fascinating textile goods. It probably won’t surprise you that I tucked a few textile treasures in my suitcase to bring home with me. (Remember last year? Quiet Friday: Philippine Textiles)
Lovely cotton hand towels from Beth’s Loomweaving at the Makati Sunday Market.Detail of cotton towel shows that the darker stripes are created with green weft.With an over-abundance of scarves and wraps to choose from (in bargain prices), I escaped with only these few. Some are for gifts; and some are for personal use. All are sources of design and color inspiration.Lightweight table runner or scarf was made by a weaver in Mindanao, the southernmost island of The Philippines. This exquisite example of backstrap weaving is made from very fine cotton, and is completely reversible.Backstrap weaving detail reveals the intricacy of the tapestry-like design.Pillow cover is well-planned and executed, showing striking color combinations in a traditional Filipino weave structure.Detail of pillow cover shows the pointillistic appearance of this weave.Made from the leaves of a pineapple plant, piña fibre was used to weave this sturdy little open plain weave bag.Piña fibre has a natural luster.Not the expected mix of bright colors, this elegant table runner has black weft floats on a white warp of fine cotton. The traditional Filipino weave uses a multi-stranded black cotton (or cotton/poly blend) for the pattern, alternating with the fine white cotton threads for the tabby. This one-sided cloth, similar to overshot, has weft floats only on the top side.Detail of black and white table runner. The patterned black floats almost give the cloth the look and feel of cut velvet.My very favorite treasures from our visit to The Philippines.
May you find textile treasures in your travels.
PS Two more new rag rugs from my latest run of rugs are now in the Etsy shop, if you are interested. These two may be my favorite yet!
This nine-inch-wide (23 cm) warp looks pretty on the loom, but just wait until you see it finished off the loom! With M’s and O’s weave structure, the character of the fabric will change from flat and linear to puckered and textured. The cottolin warp and the cottolin plain weave hems are ordinary, but wet finishing will cause the unbleached cotton mini string yarn (stränggarn) to showcase the interesting structure as threads shrink into place. The finished textured square should be just right for a handy pot holder or hot pad. I will add a woven hanging loop on the corner, as a useful embellishment. A few pot holders will be given as Christmas gifts, and the rest will go on Etsy. (The draft for a project similar to this is found on the 2014 Väv Calendar.)
Weave structure is M’s and O’s. When off the loom and wet finished, everything will draw in, creating textural prominence.
Once this fabric texture changes through the wet finishing process, there is nothing that can make this cloth revert back to its original state. Nothing can separate us from God’s love. When we receive his love, it makes irreversible changes in us. God’s love is inseparable from those who find it. It’s forever a part of who we are.
