towels – Page 29 – Warped for Good

Keep this Picture in Mind

March 7, 2014March 6, 2014 Karen

Have you thought of using the camera on your phone to help you recall details in your weaving design? I want the simplest way to remember this narrow blue and honey border stripe at the beginning of the towel so I can weave it exactly the same when I get to the other end. What better way than to take a detail snapshot with my iPhone? It’s handy, descriptive, and quick. There are some things that are best remembered with pictures.

Beginning of another towel on the loom. — After the red cutting line, a new towel begins with a honey-colored hem. The narrow blue and honey stripe will be repeated at the other end of the towel.

When our heavenly king walked the earth, he was a living picture of heavenly goodness. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. These threads of royalty stood out in humanity because of the contrast next to common threads of envy, selfishness, and prideful boasting. Considering this living snapshot of true royalty, we, too, can wear the clothes that are fit for a king (or queen)! Better than capturing a design element with our iPhones, is capturing the design for our lives from the heart of our grand weaver.

May you remember the details that matter.

Love,
Karen

Mistakes Are Not The End

March 4, 2014March 3, 2014 Karen

Five towels down, three to go. Or maybe only two to go. Because of my initial threading error, I had to start over. Now, I am not positive if there is enough warp left for three more towels. (Remember the threading error? I wrote about it HERE.) Mistakes cost us. If the warp runs short before the weaving is done, I will have to blame it on my own mistake.

Cotton three-shaft twill with warp floats. Handtowel, Karen Isenhower — Thin black lines separate rows of color to give this cotton towel a stained glass effect. The thin red line will be the cutting line between towels.

Errors have consequences. Even when the mistake can be fixed, we regret the mistake. “I should’ve-would’ve-could’ve” kind of thinking. The good thing about weaving is, you can usually fix your way out of a mistake. And I can make something out of a smaller woven piece at the end. When someone you love makes a mistake, surely you offer kind help and patient assistance to lead them to a workable solution.

What if you were on the receiving end of that kind of loving attention? Good news. You are on the receiving end of kindness and patience. You do have someone treating you like that. Our creator is rich in kindness and patience toward us, even when we keep making mistakes. Even when we think we may have wasted too much of the warp, he lets us start again and get the best out of what remains.

May seeds of kindness and patience be planted into your life.

With kind regards,
Karen

Look Behind the Knee Beam

February 18, 2014February 17, 2014 Karen

As the cloth cascades over the knee beam, let’s take a sneak peek at the other side. Crouching below the warp behind the shafts, we see the mechanics of weaving. When I sit on my loom bench at the front of the loom, throwing the shuttle, it feels like magic. Thread by thread, fabric just appears. Under the loom you can see it is not magic. It is heddles on shafts, shafts connected to lamms, lamms tied to treadles. It is a system that works behind the scenes while you sit in front and weave. Sometimes we put our trust in what we see out front, neglecting to consider what goes on behind the scenes.

Cotton handtowels on the loom. View from back of loom under the warp. — Red cutting line between towels is seen just to the left of the upper lamms. There are no floats on this back side of the cloth, though the front has warp floats as part of the pattern.

Cut ends of the heddles are in focus, viewed from back of loom under the warp. — Cut ends of the heddles are in focus. The heddles, carrying warp threads, hang on shafts that are just above the camera view.

When I finish a weaving project, I untie and disconnect everything so the loom is ready for the next project. The warp has a purpose while it is on the loom, but when it’s over, it’s over.

Beware of putting your trust in human heroes. Keep in mind that your human heroe’s plans will last only as long as their life. When it’s over, it’s over. Do not put your trust in a person, a leader, a superstar, a human hero, to save the world. Put your trust in the grand weaver who holds the system in his hands.

May you encounter trust-worthiness.

(To see the warp floats on the front of the cloth, click HERE.)

Yours Truly,
Karen

What Difference Does the Weft Color Make?

February 14, 2014February 13, 2014 Karen

Does the weft color influence the cloth as it intersects the warp threads? Of course! The distinctive textural quality of this 3-shaft twill with warp floats is enhanced by the colors. In this case, the weft follows the same arrangement as the colors across the warp, making an interesting plaid. What does your influence look like?

3-shaft twill with weft floats. Hand towels. Karen Isenhower — Weft colors coincide with warp colors to create a plaid design. The pattern in the weave structure appears to change according to the weft colors and the angle of view.

Before weaving, the untouched warp colors look well-defined and clean. Introducing the weft, however, changes everything. How can you predict how the weft colors will interact with the warp? Hold tubes of thread next to each other, or wrap different colors on an index card, or even combine threads by twisting them together in your hand. Yet, when the threads become enmeshed in woven cloth, as weft interlaces warp, a new color is revealed.

You and I have strategic influence. How we choose to use that influence makes a difference. As you intersect with people, you bring a unique thread into the picture. The results may be surprising at times, not what others expect. But you are the only you. You have a creator-given purpose. Let your influence make a positive difference. Who knows whether you have not come to these present circumstances for such a time as this?

May you be an influence for good.

(To follow the color planning and sampling for these towels, click HERE and HERE.)

You are loved,
Karen

Tools Day: Temple Technique

February 11, 2014February 11, 2014 Karen

What is the secret weapon for improving selvedges, preventing draw-in, and getting a more even beat, leading to better quality handwoven fabric? Use of a temple (also known as a stretcher), of course! The temple is a tool that simply holds the woven cloth on the loom at the proper width. I almost always use a temple when I weave because I like the consistency that it brings to my weaving. It may seem counterintuitive to stop frequently to re-set the temple, but I have found that moving the temple becomes part of the rhythm of weaving. The cloth develops inch by inch, and the temple is in sync with that.

How to set a temple:

1. Place the temple upside down on the warp next to the reed. Remove the pin. Expand the temple to the width of the warp, with the center of the teeth aligned with the outside warp thread on each side.

2. Put the pin in aligned holes to hold the width of the temple.

3. Turn the temple right side up, with the pin facing toward you, and the metal slider on the right half of the temple. Place the temple near the fell of the weaving; set the teeth on the left side of the temple into the warp threads near the selvedge.

4. Keeping the left teeth in the cloth, set the temple teeth on the right into the threads near the selvedge on the right side of the cloth.

5. Press down the center of the temple. Move the metal slider toward the center to secure the temple, keeping it flat.

6. Weave. The reed should not touch the temple when you beat. After weaving an inch (or two, or three, depending on what is being woven), release temple by moving the metal slider. Remove temple. Repeat steps 3 through 6 until weaving is complete.

Small pin holes from temple teeth will disappear with wet-finishing. — Two small pin holes from the temple teeth can be seen near the left selvedge of the cloth. These holes will disappear when the cloth is wet finished.

(Compare this three-shaft twill fabric to my first attempt HERE with threading errors.)

May you find the tools that enhance the quality of your work.

Happy Weaving,
Karen