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Can You Count? 1984 Warp Ends

Karen

If at first you don’t succeed, count, count again! 1984–I’m not talking about the year, nor the book title. I’m talking about the number of 24/2 cotton ends in this 8.5-meter warp. I made it excruciatingly challenging for myself by putting in narrow stripes of 8 ends that are irregularly spaced. It will all be worth it if these curtains come out as I envision them. Time will tell.

After beaming the warp I count all the ends into threading groups. This step is usually straightforward and quick. This time, however (because of my uneven spacing of stripes and because of the fineness of the ends), I miscount the ends once or twice, or three times… I am determined to get all the threads into threading groups before moving on, so I keep at it until all the numbers line up as they should. Whew! Finally!

Counting (and re-counting and re-counting) ends into threading groups.
Threading four shafts in M’s and O’s is refreshingly easy after all the challenges of beaming the warp and counting ends.
System of heddles holding warp ends never ceases to amaze and enchant me.
Bring on the heddles! Two batches of 100 heddles are on each pair of shaft bars, just waiting to be called into action. There are more 100’s in a box beside the loom, which I will add as needed.

Now we are at the fun part. This is smooth sailing and I am caught up in the breeze of it, relaxing into the hours of calmly threading heddles. Before we know it, the shuttle will be flying in here! And I’ll have new curtains in the bathroom. I’m excited about that!

May you press through to the fun part.

For as long as it takes,

Karen

Do You Think about Weaving?

Karen

Nothing beats a new delivery of weaving supplies! Paper plans become active when tubes of thread arrive. First, the Julia is getting dressed, using plans I have written out for placemats. For the Ideal, I’m thinking of a new pictorial tapestry, with a rosepath draft I’ve prepared for that. The imagined tapestry will move forward after I finish the double-binding rag rugs that are on that loom now. Another draft I’m working on is for the next drawloom project. I’m doing the math for napkins in a six-shaft satin variation with three-shaft twill. There’s a lot of thinking going on around here.

Opening a box of weaving supplies is always exciting! Warp thread, weft thread, more 6″ quills, and one more set of 4-shaft shaft holders and pins.
Linen for weft. There is always room for a few more tubes of linen.
Warp chains of 22/2 cottolin are placed through the beater. I have added enough shafts and upper and lower lamms to have eight of each. Just about ready to beam the warp. Reed leaning against the wall will be used for spreading the warp, so it doesn’t matter that it is a bit long for this little Julia loom.

Ideas come and go. But if I can put ideas on paper there’s a good chance they will become something. Everything begins with plans on paper.

May you have an idea of what comes next.

Happy planning,
Karen

Process Review: Butterfly Wing

Karen

Butterfly wing is flittering away. This butterfly study is complete. I still have warp on the loom, so cutting off has to wait. There are one or two more pictorial tapestry studies yet to come. Stay tuned! In the meantime, enjoy the visual review in the slideshow video at the end of this post.

Weaving a tapestry.
Windowed corner is a good place to weave a butterfly wing.
Making wool butterflies for tapestry.
Making butterflies of yarn for the butterfly wing pictorial tapestry. My yarn gets spread out in the process, always grouped by color value.

This study reinforces several important concepts for me.

Tapestry study.
Rolled the warp back a bit to be able to view the complete Butterfly Wing tapestry study.
  • Warp sett determines the amount of detail the cartoon can include.
  • Edges in the design are defined by using high contrast in color values.
  • Solid tapestry techniques, such as meet and separate, provide a good foundation for confident weaving.

Above all, take your time and enjoy the process, grateful for the opportunity.

May your studies be fruitful.

Yours,
Karen

Step Back to See Your Tapestry Details

Karen

The contours of the face are more evident now that the lips are in place. Every cartoon line requires decisions. Shift the color at this warp end?…or, one over? Does this butterfly have too much pink?…maybe it needs more pink? The portrait image happens almost invisibly, thread by thread.

Four-shaft tapestry.
Tapestry detail.
Tapestry portrait.
Tapestry portrait.

I step back often so I can see what I am weaving. Up close, the details are obscure. I step up on the loom bench (very carefully, holding on to the top of the loom) and look through the back end of my binoculars. A distant view of the tapestry comes into focus. It’s encouraging! I can clearly see that the details are working out.

Tapestry portrait in progress.
View from a distance.
Portrait tapestry in progress.
Looking through the back end of the binoculars gives a distant view. I’m looking for distinct lines of contrast and smooth transitions.

We may be too close to our own circumstances to see the details clearly. We make decision after decision, and we hope against hope that things will turn out okay. How can we know what is right? Step away to pray. Slip away with the Lord Jesus to get His view on things. Only when we consult a higher view can we see the bigger tapestry that the Grand Weaver is creating. Prayer, as a conversation with the Lord, helps us see that the details are working out according to his purpose.

May your details become clear.

With purpose,
Karen

Unroll the Cloth Beam of 2020 – Year in Review Video

Karen

Every year my weaving journey is peppered with notable highlights. Here are seven such highlights from 2020: 1. Siblings Tapestry, complete and hanging in our living room. 2. Joanne Hall (my weaving mentor and friend) visited our home in February (while in Texas for her Swedish Art Weaves workshop). 3. New 8-shaft Glimakra Julia countermarch loom. 4. My favorite fabric of the year, Jämtlandsdräll in 6/2 Tuna, woven on the brand-new Julia. 5. Rag rugs woven on the drawloom. 6. Studio tour on Zoom for the San Antonio Handweaver’s Guild In November. 7. Handwoven Christmas tree skirt with Nativity appliqué from handwoven remnants.

Pictorial 4-shaft tapestry.
Last year began with completion of this Siblings tapestry.
Jamtlandsdrall on the Julia with 4 shafts.
Favorite cloth of the year. Jämtlandsdräll on the new Julia.

2021 is beginning with the start of a new pictorial tapestry, an empty loom waiting for a new warp, and a drawloom warp that is near its finish line. Plus, two other looms that are mid-project. I am not expecting any dull moments around here. Thank you for joining me in this ongoing adventure.

Four-shaft pictorial tapestry weaving.
Tapestry for the new year. I am starting with practice weaving for certain sections of the planned tapestry. You can see a pair of eyes on the cartoon under the warp threads.

Unroll the cloth beam with me and go back through time to recall the Warped for Good projects of 2020:

God completes what he begins. My prayer for you is that his finishing work will secure any loose ends.

May you see how far you’ve come.

Happy New Year, friends,
Karen