Category: tapestry

Little Woven Houses

Karen

There is something warmly appealing about a little brick house with a pitched roof and a red front door. A house, treated properly, after all, is a home. With this month’s tapestry diary I am attempting simple little houses, one at a time. These whimsical dwellings could remind you of houses you’ve known, but my houses are made of wool…

Start of small house small tapestry.
Tapestry diary for this month starts with a little house.

This first little tapestry home has a closed door. The sett is not fine enough for detail that could show an open door, but wouldn’t it be interesting to see what’s behind the front door of the tiny house? For most of us, there are at least a few things that we prefer to keep behind closed doors. We have embarrassing and disorderly things that we would rather not reveal.

Red door on a little brick house.
Red door on a brick house. What is going on inside?

Think of your heart as a house. Our words reveal what we keep behind closed doors. Most of the time we don’t mean for the words to escape, but they always do. The tongue delivers what is in the heart. The remedy is to keep the heart in order. And then we won’t mind opening the door.

May your house be a home.

With heart,
Karen

How I Got Started in Handweaving

Karen

In the early 1980’s Steve and I signed up for a pottery class at Johnson Atelier in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We still have the hand-built pitcher Steve made. The big thing that happened for me, though, besides figuring out that I am not a potter, was the rigid heddle weaving class across the hall. I signed up for that class, and lo and behold, I discovered I was a handweaver at heart! I found myself in an exhilarating new story; and I acquired my first loom–a 32″ Beka rigid heddle. Weaving became my means of creative expression. Now, several chapters (and a few more looms) later, I am still a happy handweaver. It’s part of who I am.

Small tapestry, mounted on linen, with frame made to fit. Karen Isenhower
Practice tapestry piece is mounted on linen. Steve made the frame to fit. The frame is leaning on the crackled raku pitcher Steve made in our pottery class so many years ago.

That is how I want my story to be written on the inside, too. Through a discovery that redirects my whole attention. Let a new story be written! A new creation starts on the inside and makes you a new person. The writer of this terrific new story is God, Himself, who makes everything new.

May you find yourself in a true story.

Happily Weaving,
Karen

Every Tapestry Has a Story to Tell

Karen

I am getting a late start on this month’s tapestry diary, so I am selecting a smaller palette of colors and a narrower warp. This is doodling with yarn, using a few simple shapes and a handful of colors.

Tapestry frame with small monthly tapestry diary.
Tapestry frame hangs where we see it daily. Art in progress.

Here I go blending colors and making color gradations again–in miniature. Three strands of red, and then one of the reds is replaced with orange; next, another red is replaced, making it two oranges and one red; and finally, the last red says goodbye and now the three strands are all orange. And why not insert two rows of yellow blends between each two rows of the red-to-orange gradation? The whole thing is a wordless color story. It requires several colors to do this, each one having its part to play. Some colors work better together than others, but every color has a place. Each color strand is essential to the story.

Two picks of weft create a wavy line.
Two picks of a weft color (or blend) create a wavy line. A single pick of a color creates a dotted line.

You and I are not here to please and satisfy ourselves. We are here to tell a bigger story. We worship God by using our individual gifts to serve and to function in harmony with others. The resulting woven tapestry, when finished, will reveal the skill of our Grand Weaver.

May you blend well in your relationships, using your gifts.

Better together,
Karen

Tapestry Diary Mistake and Remedy

Karen

If you must be in a hurry, then you probably won’t enjoy handweaving. Your hurry up condition will be put to the test even more so with tapestry weaving. And when you make mistakes, the errors can usually be remedied, but it always takes more time. Have patience.

Back of finished small tapestry.
Small tapestry is finished when close inspection reveals a critical omission–there is no twining at the bottom edge of the weaving.

I meant to have this piece finished two months ago, but that’s another story. Now that I have finally woven the last pick I am so eager to take the tapestry off the frame. Wait a minute. What? I forgot to do the twining at the beginning of the tapestry? The twining is essential; it keeps the weft in place when the warp tension is relaxed. Okay, have patience, Karen. Do what needs to be done. Add the twining.

Twining added at bottom of small tapestry.
With little space in which to manipulate threads, the accidentally omitted twining is added in.
Twining added at bottom of small tapestry.
Added twining is pushed into place at the bottom of the small tapestry.
Small tapestry diary. Karen Isenhower
Finished view. Now that the added twining makes a pleasant oultine, I like how the tapestry looks on the frame loom. I may leave it on the frame one more day.

Patience is a virtue. What do you do when your patience is put to the test? Especially with important life issues. Trust in the Lord and be still. Waiting patiently is better than fretting. Is it possible the Lord has some finishing work to do in us, requiring patience, before we move on to the next assignment?

May you find errors while they are still fixable.

Love,
Karen

Tapestry Diary Imaginary Mountains

Karen

Small tapestry weaving has been added back to my evening routine. Tea and tapestry. This quieting-down practice closes my day. I missed that. I didn’t decide to stop my tapestry ritual; I just drifted away as life got complicated, a little at a time, until I wasn’t doing any tapestry at all.

Tapestry diary on frame loom.
Tapestry diary resumes, adding one little mountain each day.
Small tapestry diary progress, woven from the back.
Small tapestry woven from the back.

I am weaving little mountains here–one little mountain each day. I let my imagination create scenes that are hidden from view. There are lush valleys between the peaks, and brush-covered hills too short to be seen. In the imaginary mountains, there are innumerable hiding places. I see myself slipping out of sight to sit on a quiet grassy slope next to a sparkling stream.

Small tapestry diary progress. Karen Isenhower
New mountains are woven, creating more imaginary hiding places.
Daily tapestry practice. Tapestry and tea to close the day.
Daily quiet tapestry and tea provides a peaceful close to each day’s adventures.

When life gets complicated and overwhelming, there is one thing we need. A safe place to hide. The Lord provides a hiding shelter in his presence to those who come to him. This is the place of safety. From our hiding place, we can see across the distance, make plans for the future, and rest up to continue our journey with strength–strength to cross one mountain at a time.

May you find a hiding place when you need it.

Quietly,
Karen