Steve and I returned this week from travels to The Philippines. We had a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving there with our son’s family in Makati. During our eleven-day visit, I encountered many examples of beautiful handwoven articles and other fascinating textile goods. It probably won’t surprise you that I tucked a few textile treasures in my suitcase to bring home with me. (Remember last year? Quiet Friday: Philippine Textiles)
Lovely cotton hand towels from Beth’s Loomweaving at the Makati Sunday Market.Detail of cotton towel shows that the darker stripes are created with green weft.With an over-abundance of scarves and wraps to choose from (in bargain prices), I escaped with only these few. Some are for gifts; and some are for personal use. All are sources of design and color inspiration.Lightweight table runner or scarf was made by a weaver in Mindanao, the southernmost island of The Philippines. This exquisite example of backstrap weaving is made from very fine cotton, and is completely reversible.Backstrap weaving detail reveals the intricacy of the tapestry-like design.Pillow cover is well-planned and executed, showing striking color combinations in a traditional Filipino weave structure.Detail of pillow cover shows the pointillistic appearance of this weave.Made from the leaves of a pineapple plant, piña fibre was used to weave this sturdy little open plain weave bag.Piña fibre has a natural luster.Not the expected mix of bright colors, this elegant table runner has black weft floats on a white warp of fine cotton. The traditional Filipino weave uses a multi-stranded black cotton (or cotton/poly blend) for the pattern, alternating with the fine white cotton threads for the tabby. This one-sided cloth, similar to overshot, has weft floats only on the top side.Detail of black and white table runner. The patterned black floats almost give the cloth the look and feel of cut velvet.My very favorite treasures from our visit to The Philippines.
May you find textile treasures in your travels.
PS Two more new rag rugs from my latest run of rugs are now in the Etsy shop, if you are interested. These two may be my favorite yet!
Those pesky warpends! I am getting loose warp ends on the outer edges again. The last time this happened, it was near the end of the warp, and I rigged up a makeshift solution. (You can read about it and see pictures HERE.) This time, I began having trouble from the start; so, when I finished weaving the first piece, I cut it off, and re-tied the warp. There must be a better way!
Dice weave in linen. First piece is cut from the loom; and warpends are re-tied. Emerald green weft for the second piece produces a lovely teal with the deep blue warp.
How do you handle recurring problems? I get tired of stumbling over the same old thing. I wanted to find a solution to this warp issue, so I started digging through my weaving books to see what I could find. Aha! On page 254 in The Big Book of Weaving, by Laila Lundell, I find helpful advice.
The outer ends of the warp are looser than the rest
(You mean I’m not the first person to have this problem?)
This can be adjusted by pressing an extra slat down at an angle inside the loose sections.
One more secret in the bag of tricks to manage uneven warp tension. Simply insert extra warping slats into the warp against the warp beam. Thank you, Laila!
Seekers find secrets. The seeking itself shows you recognize your own need. This is what prayer is about. Come to God asking, seeking, knocking. These are the prayers he answers. Simple, heartfelt, persistent. Never give up. There are secrets to be found.
With a flick of the wrist, the shuttle glides across the warp. The curved, narrow end of a traditional Swedish boat shuttle slides right into my hand. This dice weave uses one shuttle for the plain weave background, and a second shuttle for the pattern weft.
Dice weave with 16/2 linen warp and weft. The blue plain weave weft and the brown pattern weft are woven on alternating picks in the pattern blocks.
From my bin of shuttles I choose the ones best suited for the warp that is on the loom. When a shuttle fits my hand, as the Swedish ones do, that’s even better. As the weaver, I am usually the only one who sees the shuttles at work, but that makes them no less important. The one purpose of a weaving shuttle is to carry weft thread across the warp, by the weaver’s hand.
How do you find your purpose? Discover your calling by putting others first. Like most people, I would rather put my own self first. But our grand weaver calls us to be last. He calls us to be servants of each other. In that role where we carry the thread without being noticed, we do our most important work. And that is where we finally find our great value in the weaver’s hands.
Properly dressing the loom means no thread out of place, no crossed threads, no missed threads. Every linen end is threaded through a heddle on one of four shafts, following a draft for dice weave (pattern weft on a plain weave background). I insert each thread one by one in a specific order. My fingers are the only tools I use for this task, and I love touching and directing every single thread.
Pattern repeat has twenty-four ends, repeated across the warp.
Someone great is looking after you. Our Father in heaven knows what is going on in your life, details and all. He knows the placement of every single thread in your personality. He knows the ins and outs of our needs, hurts, and desires. Father knows what we need before we ask. And yet, he invites us to ask. That’s a good invitation.
There is just enough morning light in the room to see the slight glimmer on the surface of these tubes of 16/2 linen. Line Linen has a sheen that sets it apart from other fibers; but without enough light in the room you could miss it. I am excited to get started with such exquisite thread. My mind’s eye is already trying to picture the finished cloth.
Two shades of blue will be combined for the 16/2 linen warp. The brown 16/2 linen will be seen as floats in the dice weave fabric that I am planning.
It was late last night before I got a chance to open the box that arrived the day before. You cannot identify colors in the dark. So, in the darkened room I could barely make out the colors of the linen, much less see any brilliance from the sheen that I knew would be there.
Pride is like a blindfold; it wraps over the eyes of your heart. It’s like staying in a darkened room where colors never shine. Pride takes, assumes, expects, demands, and makes itself known. Humility, on the other hand, gives, serves, looks for the betterment of others, and expects nothing in return. Humility is like the morning light that brings out the natural sheen in everyone around you.
May your humility bring light into the room.
Your friend, Karen
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