Kuvikas Squares Meet Stripes

After neglecting this Glimakra Standard loom for a few weeks, I lost my consistency in beating. The first panel, side one of a cushion, has a square-within-a-square pattern. And the squares are not all equal. If I tried to put the same pattern on the back panel, the cushion front and back would not match up at the seams.

Kuvikas (summer and winter).
Each block consists of twenty picks, so there are sixty picks for each row of the square-within-a-square pattern. Consistency in beating is crucial in order to have all the rows of squares equal in size.

Stripes to the rescue! The stripes use one of the four possible kuvikas blocks. I get a coordinating pattern without the fuss of trying to match up the sides. The stripes have a ribbed appearance–simpler than the squares, but still geometric. The patterns are different, but they work together and complement each other.

Kuvikas. Front and back cushion panels.
Two red picks separate the front and back panels of the cushion.
Kuvikas squares and stripes.
Repeating “block one” makes a simple stripe pattern. The square-within-a-square pattern is made by weaving two groups of blocks. Group 1: block two, block one, block two. Group 2: block three, block four, block three.

There are many different gifts in people; and the gifts all come from the same source. Each gift is like a pattern than can be used in a variety of ways, complementing the other patterns around it. Our Grand Weaver sees the whole project, and places the people with the gifts where they best fit in the overall fabric. You are made for a purpose. Your gifts are exactly what the rest of us need.

May your gifts bless those around you.

With purpose,
Karen