Author: Karen

Handweaver and 'cellist, married to Prince Charming, mother of three superheros and three superhero-in-loves, and Lola to nine little princes and princesses. Life is a handwoven treasure, filled with hidden melodies.

Look at that Cloth Beam!

Karen

There is nothing quite as satisfying as seeing a cloth beam filled up with cloth. There are eleven placemats rolled up on there, plus one more stretching from the breast beam on down. All that’s left to do is cut them off, wash, hem, and press. We’ll have new placemats on our dining room table in no time. Yippee!

Twelve placemats are woven. Now it’s time for some pattern play at the end of the warp.
Empty quills at the end of a weaving project are such a happy sight! This is another reason I enjoy playtime at the end of every warp–I can use up thread on the quills.
Look at that cloth beam! Woo Hoo, cutting off will be fun. And hemming all those placemats…I don’t mind.

May your efforts bring satisfying results.

Happy Weaving,

Karen

Drawloom Porcupine in Four Hours

Karen

After only four hours at the drawloom I have a porcupine! That’s an hour a day, four days in a row.
I enjoy the design-making process. It is rewarding to work out the details on the computer. The next reward is to see the printed version ready to take to the drawloom. When I first see the feet of the critter woven on the loom, I do a happy dance. And now that the porcupine is moving on around the breast beam, this feeling of accomplishment is the greatest reward. Nine more critter napkins to go, with many more rewards. Jackrabbit is next!

Day 1: Teal hem, gold border, black background, and porcupine feet! Happy Dance!
Day 2: Porcupine snout and tail reach into border areas. I use single units in irregular border areas like these, instead of the simpler pattern shafts that I use for the rest of the border areas.
Day 3: Second half of the porcupine is mostly the quills on its back. This is easy single-unit draw cords in combination with simple pattern shaft draw handles for the side borders. (Only 2 draw handles are needed for the side borders.)
Day 4: Finish up the top of the porcupine, the black background, the gold border, and then a blue hem area (not shown). Now I’m hopping off to design the jackrabbit.

Look for daily rewards. What rewards are you seeing lately?

May you be richly rewarded every day.

Happy weaving,
Karen

Bright Yellow Rug Warp?

Karen

Finally, one bright yellow tube of rug warp is coming off the shelf! Bright yellow is subdued by pairing it with tan, making a creamy neutral warp for my next set of rag rugs. I bought the tube of yellow 12/6 cotton for half price on a clearance sale a few years ago. What was I thinking? I haven’t used yellow in a rug warp before, but it looks like this is going to work.

Winding a warp on the warping reel is my kind of fun. This warp chain is ready to take to the loom.
Warp is brought to the loom in three bouts. This series of rag rugs will be an exploration of Jamtlandsdräll.

Keep an ongoing conversation with the Lord. Sometimes it takes a while for us to understand the direction he has for us. It’s like looking at that yellow tube of thread, until finally you gain the courage to take it off the shelf. Right then, you notice the tan thread. The answer has been there all along.

May you enjoy a good long conversation.

With you,
Karen

Eleventh Broken Twill Placemat

Karen

It’s a temptation to hurry up when I am this close to the end of the warp. There is only one more placemat to weave, plus a little extra warp after that. I remind myself that there is no reason to rush. A steady pace helps me avoid careless errors that I’m prone to when I’m in a hurry. I’ll have all twelve placemats soon enough.

Broken twill in two blocks.
Green 22/2 Cottolin warp, and 8/1 tow linen weft in dark blue, green, teal, and black. Orange “cutting line” between placemats.
Glimåkra Julia, using eight shafts and eight treadles. Cloth beam is filling up nicely.
Eleventh placemat out of twelve. One more to go, plus a little bit of extra warp.

The Lord shows us how to live. He directs us in a way that sets a steady pace for life. No need to hurry. Enjoy each moment as a gift from his hand.

May your days be free from hurry.

Happy weaving,
Karen