Karen – Page 48 – Warped for Good

Drawlooms in Montana

February 5, 2019February 4, 2019 Karen

Montana is beautiful, with snow-capped mountains and big-sky sunrises! It’s there that I took Joanne Hall’s fantastic drawloom class last week. My confidence level about setting up and weaving on my drawloom shot up 100 per cent! (And Steve got to experience fishing on the ice with Joanne’s husband Ed!) Please continue all the way to the end of this post to read about submitting a question for Joanne to answer.

Gorgeous Montana mountains by Joanne's weaving studio. — View from Hall Lane, in front of Joanne and Ed’s home.

Cathleen and Deborah and I wove on the shaft drawloom, the single unit drawloom, and the Julia loom set up with half-heddle sticks to weave opphämta. What joy! …even in the challenges of learning new things.

Single unit drawloom weaving. — Single unit drawloom has the capability of weaving imagery, and even words, like “Lost Valley,” the name of our Texas hill country home.

Single unit drawloom in Joanne Hall's weaving studio. — Single unit drawloom in Joanne Hall’s weaving studio.

Half-heddle sticks for weaving opphämta. — Joanne demonstrates how to use half-heddle sticks and shows us some opphämta samples.

Shaft drawloom weaving. 6/2 tuna wool warp and weft. — Pattern has Xs that show where to pull the shaft draw handles. The red dot of a straight pin keeps my place as I follow the rows from bottom to top.

Shaft drawloom in Joanne Hall's studio. — Pulled pattern shaft handles are secured in the hook bar.

Weights hang on the pattern units in the drawloom. — Normally, one two-ounce U-shaped weight hangs on each pattern unit. In this case, with 6/2 Tuna wool, two weights hang on each pattern unit.

Drawloom samplers unrolled! 6/2 tuna wool warp and weft. — Wool yardage and samplers are unrolled and cut off the 120cm Glimåkra Standard loom. Oh, the colors and patterns!

Joanne taught us how to understand patterns and drafts, and how to make our own patterns. And we dressed the drawloom—we threaded pattern heddles and ground heddles, and distributed pattern shafts. Boy, did we students make mistakes! But with quiet Joanne, there is always a way to fix anything that matters. She is a picture of grace.

Distributing pattern heddles on the drawloom. — Deb separates pattern heddles that will be placed on the next pattern shaft.

Pointed threading of pattern heddles on the drawloom. — After undoing some beginner errors, we finally have all the pattern heddles in order (pointed threading) on the eleven pattern shafts.

Weights under the drawloom. — One weight hangs on the long heddles of each six-thread pattern unit.

In the loom together! Karen (me), Cathleen, and Deborah enjoy the expertise and kindness of Joanne.

Eight-pointed star on the shaft drawloom at Joanne Hall's drawloom class. — New 16/2 cotton warp on the shaft drawloom. I emptied a few quills to weave the traditional eight-pointed star pattern. Meanwhile, Joanne watched treadles, lamms, and shafts to fine tune the sheds. Everything is *just right!*

Striving to look good to other people, we face unwelcome judgment. Striving to please ourselves, we face demands of perfection. But when our heart strives to please the Lord, we receive grace. Our failures fade in importance as our confidence in his faithfulness grows. Know who you are working for. The imperfect images we weave in the cloth are a humble gift of gratitude back our Grand Weaver.

Wool shaft drawloom sampler. — Wool shaft drawloom sampler, at home now in my drawloom studio.

Shaft drawloom sampler from Joanne Hall's drawloom class. — Reverse side of wool sampler was face up on the loom.

Single unit drawloom sampler. Our *Lost Valley* home, with details that remind us of our 2018 transition year.

Draw cords and handles are in place on the new drawloom. — Draw cords and handles are in place. Forty more will be added soon.

Shaft drawloom is just about ready for first project! — Shaft drawloom is ready. Single unit drawloom parts will be added later.
Please excuse me now while I go wind a warp!

May your imperfections be greeted with grace.

Love and grace,
Karen

~What are your questions? Joanne has answers~

Are you curious about drawlooms? Are you considering a drawloom for yourself? Do you have a drawloom and wish you could ask an expert for help? Please put your question about drawlooms and/or drawloom weaving in the comments below, or send your question to me through Get in Touch. Joanne Hall’s answers to two selected questions will be included in next week’s post. Please submit your question by this Friday, February 8.

Weaving Rhythm Awakening

January 29, 2019January 27, 2019 Karen

All the looms are bare right now. Four empty, quiet looms. But they won’t be quiet for long. I have thread/yarn and plans ready for each loom. I hear a rumbling as the looms begin to wake up. Before long, the weaving rhythm will be fully awakened in this place!

12/6 cotton rug warp in Pear and Brass for rag rugs. — Glimakra 100cm Ideal countermarch loom has moved into the spot vacated by my recently-acquired Glimakra Standard 120cm countermarch loom that we have moved to a new location.
12/6 cotton rug warp in Pear and Brass for Rosepath rag rugs.

6/2 Tuna wool for a 12-shaft double weave blanket. — Glimakra 120cm Standard countermarch loom in its favored position in our home. This loom has not been moved.
6/2 Tuna wool in Lapis Lazuli and Almond for a 12-shaft double weave blanket.

Vavstuga pre-wound warp for towel kit. — Handbuilt little 70cm countermarch loom in its perfect little corner by the windows. Pre-wound warp from Vavstuga (Mary’s Towel Kit) that my dear friend Elisabeth is letting me weave.
22/2 Cottolin in Sapphire and Yellow Ochre for towels.

Moving the Glimakra Standard loom to its new studio space. — Glimakra 120cm Standard countermarch loom…in pieces. We are moving the newest loom in the family to a room that is next to Steve’s carving workshop.

Starting to put together the new drawloom. — Glimakra Standard horizontal countermarch loom is being reassembled in its new *Drawloom Studio!* The drawloom boxes have been opened and parts sorted and organized. Let the fun begin!
The room is undergoing some renovations, too.

New jacks for th horizontal countermarch to fit with the drawloom attachment. — Draw attachment frame obstructs the jacks in the horizontal countermarch on the 120cm Standard loom. So Steve made all new horizontal jacks for the countermarch.

New drawloom! — Loom has an extension added at the back. We put it at its fully extended length to make sure it fits in this room. It does!

New drawloom! Just about ready to start! — Glimakra Standard with Myrehed Combination Drawloom–Shaft draw system and single unit draw system.
Unbleached 16/2 cotton for I-don’t-know-what-yet. But I will soon!
Book pictured is *Drawloom Weaving, An introduction to warping and weaving on a drawloom* by Joanne Hall.

May you see your best dreams unfold.

Happy, Happy Weaving,
Karen

Process Review: Comfy Throw With Fringe

January 22, 2019January 21, 2019 Karen

This throw has fringe. It seems appropriate for a homestyle cotton wrap. Fringe says comfortable, casual, and playful. I do not mind the time it takes to twist the threads to make this tactile edging. It’s a satifying close to a worthwhile project. After all, who can resist running their fingers through soft twisted fringes?

Finished handwoven cotton throw. — Knots on the ends of the fringes are trimmed off after washing and drying the throw.

Reminisce with me through the start-to-finish process of making this eight-shaft undulating twill throw for my lovely daughter-in-law Lindsay.

Eight-shaft undulating twill in 8/2 cotton.

Hemstitching at the end of the cotton throw.

Trimming off the knots at the end of fringes.

Finished 8-shaft twill cotton throw. With fringe!

May you have plenty of fringe benefits.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Hemstitching Thread

January 15, 2019January 14, 2019 Karen

Hemstitching gives a secure and pretty edge for the fringe on this cotton throw. At the beginning of the throw, I measure out a length of the weft thread for the stitching. And now, at the end, I roll off enough thread from the shuttle’s quill to use for the final hemstitching.

Finishing the cotton throw. — Wanting to finish, I weave the final few centimeters of the throw after dark.

Mark on tape shows I've woven to the end. — Mark on the measure tape shows I have woven to the end of the throw.

I’m always afraid of cutting the length of thread too short. So, I measure off four times the width of the warp, with a pinch extra just in case. That’s too long, and I know it. But I do it anyway. And then, I have a very long thread to pull through every stitch, with the tangles and knots that go with it.

Hemstitching a cotton throw. — Hemstitching thread is longer than needed. Three times the width of the warp should be plenty.

In trying to be perfect, I miss perfection by a long shot. If I measure out more than enough of my own goodness, surely I’ll have plenty to enter heaven, right? But the perfection of heaven requires perfection. It’s impossible for me to be good enough, smart enough, or successful enough to reach perfection. Heaven is for the imperfect. We, the imperfect, enter heaven’s perfection by trusting in the only perfect one, Jesus Christ. His goodness, measured out for us, is precisely enough.

May you know when enough is enough.

Happy weaving,
Karen

Weaving History Carries Memories – Year in Review Video

January 8, 2019January 6, 2019 Karen

Transition. Changes. Adventure into the unknown. That describes 2018 for Steve and me. When I review my weaving history for the year, everything on the loom is attached to a memory. Like an old song that awakens our thoughts to past experiences, the Lizard tapestry certainly sparks in me revived memories of our transition season and the moving of looms. See Quiet Friday: Tapestry in Transition.

Removing the warp beam. Relocating the loom. — Steve unscrews a bolster that holds one side of the warp beam so I can remove the warp beam.

I began 2018 with a plan to weave coordinated fabrics for our Texas hill country home—towels, upholstery for bar stools, and placemats, explained in this post: Harmonized Weaving for the New Year. Accomplished! I also committed to weaving a gift for each of my three daughters (daughter and two son’s wives), as described in this post: Weaving a Gift. Accomplished two out of three! The final gift is nearing halfway on the loom right now.

Hemstitching at the beginning of the cotton throw. — Cotton throw has hemstitching at the beginning. The ends will be twisted for fringe when it’s taken from the loom.

Eight-shaft twill in an undulating pattern. Lightweight cotton throw. — Eight-shaft twill in an undulating pattern. Single-shuttle weaving gets me off to a fast start for 2019.

2019 is a continuation of transition, changes, and adventure, as we tiptoe into this retirement chapter. A drawloom is in the forecast, as well as some travel tapestry weaving, and more rag rugs, towels, scarves, and throws. And anything else we can think up. It’s going to be a good year! Thank you for coming along. I’m grateful to have you as a friend.

May you have much to look forward to.

Blessings to you,
Karen