Category: blankets and throws

Transferring Warp Ends Takes Courage

Karen

There are four pairs of overlapping warp chains, with stripes to line up. I created a mess. A few options to consider: 1. Give up. 2. Weave it as is, destroying the design. 3. Use two sets of lease sticks, and expect problems with threading (2,064 ends). 4. Transfer all ends to a single set of lease sticks, arranging threads in order for each stripe.

Eight warp chains...to correct a huge winding error.
Each of four warp chains were duplicated when I realized I had wound only half the correct number of ends in each chain.

Option 4 seems the riskiest. If I lose the cross while transferring threads, I have an even bigger mess. It’s all or nothing. Go for it! Fortunately, my apprentice, Juliana, arrives in the nick of time to give me a hand.

Transferring color stripes to one set of lease sticks.
Lease cross is tied separately for each color “partial” stripe.
Transferring two warp chains to a single set of lease sticks.
Stripes from the two warp chains are transferred to a single set of lease sticks. Now the stripe colors are at their full correct width.
Preparing to transfer warp ends.
For the four center warp chains, each section of color is separated and tied at the cross. It takes an extra set of hands to transfer them in order to the primary set of lease sticks.
Delicate transfer of warp ends accomplished!
All warp ends are now successfully transferred to a single set of lease sticks. Let the loom dressing begin!

It worked! All the threads are successfully transferred to one pair of lease sticks. What a relief! I can beam the warp knowing that all is well. A beautiful double weave throw is imminent.

Pre-sleying the reed at the loom.
Warp is pre-sleyed at the loom. So far, so good.
Double weave warp ready to beam!
Ready to beam! Looking forward to this dressing and weaving experience.

We all have made a mess of our lives, and we know it. We hear of options to fix things, but one seems the riskiest: Transfer everything to God. But what if I mess that up, too? There’s good news. God transfers us. When we place our trust in Jesus Christ, God transfers us from our messy state to his good order. And the result is a weaving that showcases his workmanship—a beautiful you.

May you take a worthy risk.

With you,
Karen

Eight Bouts Is Enough

Karen

A zillion threads—2,064 ends, to be exact. I wound the warp in four bouts. And then, …a sinking feeling! I had wound each bout with exactly half the ends needed. This double weave throw, almost the full weaving width of the loom, needs 1,032 more ends.

Winding a colorful warp.
Winding one bout of the warp.
One warp bout of several.
One bout.
Warp bouts.
Two bouts.
Warp bouts for double weave throw.
Three bouts.
Four warp bouts for double weave throw.
Four bouts. Not enough.

I had counted ends as if there were only one layer. I did all four bouts that way. Yikes! Now I am winding four more identical bouts. I will put the lease sticks through all eight bouts. Somehow. Thoughtful study of the details on my planning sheet would have prevented this major error. But I knew what I was doing, and could remember the important things. Or, so I thought. And I was eager to get started…

Winding a cotton warp.
Winding more warp bouts.
Double weave warp with 2,064 threads!
Eight warp bouts. Ready to begin dressing the loom.

Walk. How we walk through life matters. To walk in a manner pleasing to God we need to know what he wants, and give that our full attention. If I run ahead, eager for the next experience, and neglect to consult the Grand Weaver’s project notes, I’m asking for trouble. The vibrant-colored warp will still get on the loom, but this is called learning the hard way.

May you learn most things the easy way.

Learning,
Karen

Weaving a Gift

Karen

For Christmas, I gave my daughter and two daughters-in-law a piece of paper with options for a custom handwoven article from me. This new project is the start of fulfilling those promises. Marie, my youngest son’s wife, chose a throw in vivid colors.

Christmas gifts to family members this year.
Each recipient gets to customize her gift. As maker, I retain design decisions and final color selections.

Opening a package with new tubes of thread is like Christmas all over again! This shipment brings the 8/2 cotton thread for Marie’s double weave throw, adding to what I already have on hand. From promise to conception of an idea, to collecting threads and dressing the loom, to weaving a gift—it goes from intangible to tangible. Threads turn into cloth!

New yarn shipment excitement!
My apprentice happens to be here when the package arrives! She shares the excitement with me of opening the package to see the new thread colors.
Vibrant colors for a new project on the loom!
Vibrant colors for Marie’s throw.

Love holds us together. Threads of love create a sustainable cloth of connected people. Be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving, as an imitator of God. Not an imposter, who pretends to be god. But an imitator, like a loved child becomes an imitator of their dad. Consciously and subconsciously. Let the character of God become your character. And let the threads of love that he has woven in your life reach into lives he’s given you to touch. Let his promise to you become tangible cloth to others.

May you be wrapped in love today.

With love,
Karen

Handwoven Blankets for Babies

Karen

Handwoven baby blankets are for cuddling babies. It is a pleasure to weave a baby blanket for a dear friend’s first grandchild. As long as I’m dressing the loom, it makes sense to weave more than one. So the second baby blanket is for cuddling my own grand-babies when they come to visit.

Double weave baby blankets. Cutting off!
Double weave baby blankets unrolled from the cloth beam, ready to be cut off.
Hemming double weave baby blanket.
Double weave top and bottom layers are stitched together by hand at the hems. Contrasting thread is used for a decorative embroidered look.
Embroidered edge of handwoven baby blanket.
Whipstitch in contrasting thread.
Handwoven baby blankets super soft for baby's skin.
Blankets are triple washed for softness. Ready to touch baby’s skin.
Double weave baby blanket.
Double weave has reverse pattern on the back.
Double weave baby blanket.
Same warp, different weft.
Handwoven baby blanket for newborn.
Meet Julian, my friend’s new grandson, wrapped in love.
Handwoven baby blanket. (Resting on his great-great-grandmother's quilt.)
Meet Benjamin, our newest grandson, wrapped in love. (Resting on his great-great-grandmother’s quilt.)

A resting baby is a picture of hope. Hope for the next feeding, hope in the mother’s tender love, hope in the father’s secure arms. No arrogance, no illusion of grandeur. Just quiet rest. Hope in the Lord looks like this. Hope for today, the future, and forever. My soul is at rest—in complete rest and trust. Like a resting baby in his mother’s arms. Like a baby wrapped in a blanket woven especially for him.

May you find rest.

Blessed,
Karen

Dots of Sunshine at the Selvedges

Karen

This double-weave cotton baby blanket has sunshine yellow for the bottom layer, and aquamarine for the upper layer. The selvedges are delightfully dotted with specks of the sunshine yellow as the two wefts interlock at the sides.

Double weave cotton baby blanket on the loom.
Second baby blanket on this warp. First blanket used aquamarine weft for the bottom layer. This blanket has aquamarine weft for the top layer.

Weaving with two shuttles always requires extra attention to know which shuttle goes where. And with double weave, especially, I need to know where to set a shuttle down, which shuttle goes across first, which thread goes over or under the other thread, etc. Consistency matters because the proper arrangement of weft threads at the selvedge will appropriately “stitch” the two layers closed. And the final result here is a cohesive baby blanket with decorative edges. Besides looking pretty, the carefully-placed weft threads hold the edges together.

Cotton double weave baby blankets on the loom.
View of cloth under the breast beam reveals the bottom layer of this two-layer cloth.
Sunshine yellow weft thread decorates the selvedge.
Sunshine yellow weft thread creates a decorative stitch at the selvedge.

Love is like that, too. Love holds people together. It stitches our loose edges into a cohesive fabric. It makes us into something that can work together instead of going our own way as separate pieces. Love from you refreshes the hearts of others and puts a delightful decorative edge on all your relationships.

May all those who encounter you know what it is like to be loved.

Love,
Karen