Does Your Weaving Show Your Very Own Style?

Karen

Have you developed a style all your own? I can identify some tapestry artists by their work, even before I see their name on the piece. One friend of mine weaves gorgeous silk scarves, and another one makes handtowels with exquisite color. Their woven items consistently showcase their individual style. In our little weaving group we even say, “It looks like you.”

Double binding rag rug on the loom. Karen Isenhower
Rag rug on the loom is almost complete. Moving the temple frequently helps produce tight selvedges, which, in turn, help ensure a finished rug that lays completely flat.

For most, personal style happens over time, by repetition of favored designs or techniques, until particular skills become second nature for the artist. One day they wake up and realize they have developed their very own style. In other cases, the unique style is clearly intentional, and artistically so. Either way, it’s admirable. Eventually, someone may see a rug I’ve woven and say, “That looks like Karen!”

Everything we see that is glorious is a window into the glory of God. Look through the window. The whole earth is filled with the glory of God. If our small artistic attempts are reflected in what we make, is it inconceivable that the wonders in our universe have the Creator’s signature? Everything glorious puts the Grand Weaver’s personal touch on display.

May you find your personal style.

Happy weaving,
Karen

Double Binding Fun

Karen

Do people know how much fun it is to weave rag rugs? Next week I’ll be in Arkansas teaching what I love. This ten-yard warp is giving me ample rehearsal time for explaining double binding techniques. Mostly, though, I want to introduce students to the thrill of rag rug weaving!

Two ski shuttles for weaving double binding rag rugs.
Double binding uses two ski shuttles, because the structure has two layers woven together. Each side of the rag rug is the reverse of the other side.

I am puzzled by weavers who are not fond of weaving rag rugs. “It’s too slow,” I’ve been told. “It doesn’t interest me.” And what about weavers who have never attempted to weave a rag rug? “What?!” I want to say, “You have a weaving loom, and you’ve never tried weaving a rag rug?” That tells you more about me than it does about them. People are drawn to what they know and love, and they see that thing differently than someone who is not drawn to it.

The goodness of God is like that for me. I’m drawn to it. God is good. One famous saying of Jesus is that the pure in heart will see God. That motivates me to examine my own heart. I can’t think of anything better than seeing the goodness of God.

May you be drawn to good things.

(There is one opening left in my double binding rag rug workshop next week at Red Scottie Fibers in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It’s not too late to sign up! If you’re interested, let me know.)

Warped for Good,
Karen

Threads Where They Belong

Karen

Does your mind wander for repetitive tasks? Each of 780 threads must pass through the small eye of a heddle–the correct heddle–to create the cloth that I have in mind. Threading 8/2 cotton in a straight draw, 1-2-3-4, is easy enough that I do it almost without thinking. Precision at this stage, however, is critical.

Threading heddles with Bockens 8/2 cotton.
Each section of 32 threads is tied into an overhand knot after the threading has been double checked for accuracy.

My mind goes in a thousand directions, sometimes, while my fingers continue to place the threads. With my hands on “autopilot,” anything can happen. For this reason, I make it a habit to double check the threading accuracy for each section I finish, thread by thread, saying out loud, “1-2-3-4; 1-2-3-4; …”

Like a thread going through the eye of the correct heddle, I want each of my thoughts to go through the door of truth. Truth is the key to a purposeful life. We get trapped by faulty thinking, but truth brings us to our senses and unlocks the trap. Bringing cohesiveness and clarity to all aspects of life, truth enables us to see the cloth that is being woven. Isn’t it time to stop and double check the threads of our thinking to make sure each thread is going right through the eye of the heddle?

May you fulfill your purpose.

Yours truly,
Karen

Tools Day: Yarn Record Book

Karen

Would you like to keep track of every type of thread and yarn you use? You need something you can refer back to for fiber content, color numbers, sett information, and where you purchased the yarn. I have a simple yarn record system that accomplishes that. Because it is easy to do, I update the records every time I start a new tube of thread or skein of yarn that is not already represented. I call it my Yarn Record Book.

How to Create a Yarn Record Book

1. Gather supplies:

  • Three-ring binder
  • 8 1/2 x 11″ white cardstock
  • Paper cutter or scissors
  • Three-ring hole punch or single-hole punch
  • Small color wheel and other color tools
  • Black fine point Sharpee
  • Pocket pages
  • New spectacular yarn and thread in colors and sizes you have never tried before!

Make a Yarn Record Book Tutorial

2. Cut cardstock. Cut a sheet of white cardstock lengthwise in half.

Making pages for yarn record book.

3. Punch holes. Punch three holes on one long side of the cut cardstock to coincide with three-ring binder, and punch five holes on the opposite side.

Preparing pages for yarn record book. Tutorial.

4. Insert color tools. Place color wheel and other color tools in front inside pocket.

Yarn Record Book Tutorial

Color tools in yarn record book.

5. Add yarn label information. Write information on front of prepared card:

  • Fiber type and size/plies; e.g., Cotton 8/2
  • Brand name
  • Fiber content
  • Where purchased
  • Length and weight

Making Yarn Record Book. How to.

6. Add yarn sample. Cut one meter of the new thread or yarn. (My loom bench, conveniently a meter in width, is my quick measuring guide.) Fold the length in half, in half again, and in half one more time. Push the loop at the fold of the yarn through a hole on the five-hole side of the card and pull the other end of the yarn through. Write the color number above the hole.

Adding yarn to yarn record book.

7. Insert yarn card into notebook. On the back of the card write the date the yarn is added. Include information about how the yarn is to be used, and the intended sett. (Later, if your plans change, or you determine the sett needs adjusting, come back and make notes here to reflect that.) Insert the card in the Yarn Record Book. I arrange fibers in alphabetical order, e.g., alpaca, cotton, linen, wool; and, within each fiber, by size of yarn from finest to coarsest.

Adding project info to yarn record book.

8. Add color cards. Put purchased yarn sample color cards in pocket pages at the end of the notebook.

Yarn samples in yarn record book.

9. Expand. When you accumulate so many types and colors of threads and yarns that your notebook is overflowing, get a bigger notebook!

Yarn Record Book. Karen Isenhower

May you make progress in putting things in order.

Happy Organizing,
Karen

Linen Air Scarves

Karen

This linen scarf is for embellishment, not for warmth. Wear it as a summer shawl, and it will make you feel pretty without adding any weight to your shoulders. Making this scarf was like weaving air, and wearing it is like wearing air.

Linen lace weave scarves just off the loom.
Lace weave scarves, woven with 16/1 linen, just off the loom.
Twisting fringe on linen scarves.
Fringe is trimmed, knotted, twisted, and knotted again. Then, after washing by hand in hot water with mild soap, the scarves are hung to dry.

The wrinkly nature of linen gives character to this netting-like lace weave. In The Big Book of Weaving, this draft is written for a project using paper yarn to make room dividers. I didn’t know if it would work to substitute linen for paper yarn… Or, if the fabric off the loom would work as scarves… Result? Two fabulously light linen scarves, wearable even in Houston.

Linen lace weave scarves. Karen Isenhower
Long and lightweight, the airy fabric is suitable to serve as a scarf, shawl, or even a long sash. Being linen, it embellishes a nice dress, or adds style to comfortable blue jeans.
Fringe detail on linen scarves.
Long fringe, twisted in small sections, accentuates the linen character of the scarves.

Concerns that turn into burdens are like scarves that are too heavy for the present season. We keep wearing the scarf, even though it makes us miserable. Our Heavenly Father is a burden lifter who knows our concerns. He bears our burdens. Though he is great and glorious, he lifts the burdens that are on our shoulders and carries them for us. In place of the burdens, we get to wear peace instead. Light and airy, and wearable with everything… peace.

May your burdens become light as air.

With grace,
Karen