Category: tapestry

Forty-Four New Butterflies

Karen

The tapestry is now at forty centimeters, and the lizard is slowly crawling his way around the breast beam. I treat every ten centimeters as a milestone. It’s a good time to examine the work and make additional butterflies. I see that I need forty-four new butterflies to make it through the next ten centimeters! No two butterflies are identical. I vary the combination of yarns for each color set. These subtle color and textural variations add interest and depth to the piece.

Making butterflies for tapestry.
Various wool yarns, light green and white. I combine strands to make a bundle that is approximately equivalent in size to four strands of 6/2 Tuna wool.
Wool butterflies for tapestry of a lizard.
Green and white wool butterflies are each a little bit different.
Butterflies for weaving a tapestry.
Butterflies hang in order on a length of seine twine within easy reach of weaving.
Lizard tapestry in progress.
Color blending and color gradation is possible through the careful selection of prepared butterflies for each section.

Me. It’s all about me. That’s exactly what the tempter wants me to think. Everything should revolve around me. Wait a minute. There’s a tapestry being woven that is much bigger than me. I may be a single wool butterfly. I’m unique. And my colors and textures contribute to the tapestry in important ways. But I mustn’t forget the Grand Weaver. He carefully and deliberately wound these strands of yarn over his loving fingers to create the color he wanted to see in his tapestry. It’s not about me. It’s about the One who holds me in his hands.

May your unique colors contribute to the tapestry.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Lizard Tapestry Disruption

Karen

I started the Lizard tapestry right before our big disruption. Selling your house means that every in-process project instantly becomes vulnerable. Yikes! After a sleepless night, I contacted my friend Joanne Hall. Can this weaving be saved? Yes!, she assured me, as she gave me instructions for dismantling the loom.

Getting ready to dismantle loom for relocation.
Yarn supply is packed up, including all the wool butterflies.
Getting ready to dismantle loom for moving.
Cartoon is removed.

Everything is logical about the process. Undo things, tie parts together, take things apart. And I don’t have to cut off the weaving? No. Remove the beam cords from the cloth beam. It’s that simple.

Lamms and treadles removed for moving the loom.
Lamms and treadles have been taken off.
Moving a loom without ruining a tapestry in progress!
Beam cords are removed from the cloth beam.
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.
Warp beam removed! Hope to put this back together.
Holding the precious bundle!
Taking the loom apart.
Taken apart. Tapestry, reed, and shafts are rolled and bundled up in the fish beach towel.

Now all I have to do is wait…

Relocating my loom.
Everything fits in the car, ready for transport.

All the dust has settled, the house transaction is done, and the loom has been re-located and put back together. It’s the first thing you see when you enter our ground-floor apartment.

Getting ready to re-assemble loom.
New location for the loom is in the living room of our apartment.
Simple Swedish loom assembling.
Simple Swedish loom assembling.
Re-assembling my loom after relocating.
Re-attaching the bolster to hold the warp beam.
Re-assembling loom after relocating.
Tapestry in view.
Using a spare heddle as a cord threader.
Spare Texsolv heddle works as a cord threader (I forgot to pack the “real” cord threader) to re-attach the cords on the cloth beam.

What about the Lizard? Can I resume where I left off? Good news: IT WORKED!

Ready to weave after relocating the loom!
Everything is put back together. Beam cords are re-attached. Yarn is unpacked. Warp is tensioned.
Lizard four-shaft tapestry.
Lizard foot grips the breast beam as weaving resumes!

When have you had to wait? Something you dearly long for is unreachable for a while. Waiting for the Lord is always waiting with hope. I trusted my friend’s advice. So, my hope was strong while I waited to see this lizard take shape again. In a similar way, I can trust the Lord when there is a disruption. Wait with strong hope. Wait for the grace to begin again.

May you wait patiently.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Dismantled Loom

Karen

As June comes to a close, it’s time to sign off for a short while. Meet me right back here the first Friday of August! And head on over to Instagram ( @celloweaver ) to keep up to date with all my daily happenings on and off the loom!

Some things are on hold right now. My “weaving studio” suddenly looks like the spare bedroom it used to be. The big loom is dismantled! Fortunately, it is not a problem for this smart Glimåkra Standard loom to hold onto the warp that I’ve already wound onto the warp beam. The good news is that this cherished loom is being relocated to our Texas hill country home, where it will take the stage as if it were a grand piano.

Preparing loom for dismantling with warp on the loom.
White sheet from my box of old sheets (for scrap rag weft) is used to wrap the warp on the warp beam. It is tied securely with some long fabric strips.
Dismantling my loom for moving.
Shafts are tied together at the ends with seine twine. Fabric strips are tied around to hold the shafts together in a bundle. The bundle of shafts is placed on an old Flintstones beach towel, and then wrapped up like a big burrito and tied up with more fabric strips.
Dismantling the Glimakra Standard.
Piece by piece, loom is dismantled.
Relocating this Glimakra Standard loom.
Fully dismantled, the loom becomes sticks and pieces of wood. Ready for relocation!
Boxes labeled "KEEP WITH LOOM," for loom being relocated.
Loom essentials are in boxes labeled “KEEP WITH LOOM.” The wooden mallet will be one of the first things needed.

Hold. Several meanings for this word come to mind. Sometimes our familiar patterns of daily life are on hold. There’s a pause, a held breath. But during that pause, our plans and threads of normal practices are securely and lovingly wrapped up on a strong beam of hope. Wrap the spare cloth securely over your precious warp ends so that when it’s time, you can unroll the warp and finish dressing the loom for spectacular twelve-shaft double weave towels. Hold fast to Christ as Christ holds all your interrupted threads of being.

PS The Lizard tapestry is in full swing on the not-dismantled Glimåkra Ideal.

Lizard tapestry on Glimakra Ideal loom.
Lizard tapestry on the Ideal loom now has my singular attention. Thirty centimeters complete.

May you have a fantastic July!

Lovingly,
Karen

Lizard in Black and White

Karen

Some things are better seen without color. Hence, an enlarged version of my lizard in black and white. Variances in value are not as easily discerned in the full-color print. These subtle value distinctions bring realism to the lizard tapestry. For this reason, I sort all the yarn into small groups of color and value, which clarifies my choices for each wool butterfly.

Lizard portrait in black and white for tapestry project.
Lizard portrait in black and white shows nuances in color value.

Yarn Sorting Process:
1. Select yarn colors for the tapestry.

2. Group like colors together.

Sorting wool yarn for a tapestry. Tutorial.
Wool yarn, much of which has been accumulated from previous projects.

For each color group (I have seven color groups):
1. Arrange yarn on a white background in value order, from light to dark. Take a picture.

Arranging yarn by color value for tapestry.
Green, from light to dark.

2. Take another picture using the smart phone black and white setting (“Noir” in the filters on my iPhone).

Yarn in order by value. Blog post explanation.
Photo shows that a couple adjustments are needed for the yarn-value order.

3. Adjust yarn to make value order corrections.

Yarn in order by color value. Suggestions on blog post.
Adjustments made.

4. Divide the yarn into three value sections. 1. light, 2. medium, 3. dark.
5. Label baskets to hold each yarn section; i.e., “G 3” for green, dark.

The preparation for a project like this is immense. And tedious. But this is a weaving adventure. Indeed, the results may very well be astounding. That’s my hope.

Yarn for tapestry sorted by color and value. Tutorial.
Little baskets of yarn next to the loom, sorted by color and value.

Life itself is a full color project. Immense and tedious. Rise above these earthly things. Our Grand Weaver sees the value distinctions that we miss with our natural eye. What hope this gives! Trusting him through this real life adventure brings assurance of astounding results. Setting my mind on these “above” things turns troubles into treasures whose values will be evident in the final real tapestry.

May you persevere.

With you,
Karen

Tapestry Reveals Lizard Toes

Karen

I fully intended to weave a floral image for my first four-shaft tapestry. Flowers have interesting and beautiful colors and shapes. However, while I am taking pictures for that very purpose at the garden center near our Texas hill country home, a bright green lizard catches my eye. Stunning in color and detail!

Bright green anole in Texas hill country.
Bright green lizard stops to pose for the camera at the garden center. He strikes a different pose for the image I am using for my tapestry.
Four-shaft tapestry lizard.
Foot of the lizard is seen on the cartoon under the warp near the right-hand side.

This cute little fellow, technically a green anole, is my tapestry subject! With every wool butterfly and placement of weft, I am hoping for a fruitful outcome—a 3’ x 4’ tapestry of a (recognizable) bright green lizard on a wooden post.

Four-shaft tapestry - lizard foot.
Five lizard toes to weave.
Tapestry of a green anole in Texas.
Tapestry woven from the side, meaning the selvedge seen here will be the upper edge of the tapestry when it is hung.
Four-shaft tapestry.
Nearing completion of the first twenty centimeters.

Fruitful. We want to know that the things we say and do have lasting value. We want to live in a way that bears the fruit of positive outcomes, don’t we? When results are slow in coming, or not readily seen, it can be discouraging. It’s time to trust the Lord. Don’t be disheartened. Instead, think of long-term cultivation. What looks uncertain now will be a distinct part of the image when you look back. Any mistakes woven in are proof of our humanness. And that proof reminds all of us that we need a Savior. Keep weaving.

May you see the good fruits from your labor.

Happy weaving,
Karen