It’s a temptation to hurry up when I am this close to the end of the warp. There is only one more placemat to weave, plus a little extra warp after that. I remind myself that there is no reason to rush. A steady pace helps me avoid careless errors that I’m prone to when I’m in a hurry. I’ll have all twelve placemats soon enough.
Broken twill in two blocks.Green 22/2 Cottolin warp, and 8/1 tow linen weft in dark blue, green, teal, and black. Orange “cutting line” between placemats.Glimåkra Julia, using eight shafts and eight treadles. Cloth beam is filling up nicely.Eleventh placemat out of twelve. One more to go, plus a little bit of extra warp.
The Lord shows us how to live. He directs us in a way that sets a steady pace for life. No need to hurry. Enjoy each moment as a gift from his hand.
Gray Fox is complete. Porcupine is the next critter in line. We’ve seen evidence of a porcupine in our backyard, so he belongs in this drawloom parade.
Gray Fox is showing his stride. That bushy tail is impressive. On the drawloom I get to determine exactly where that tail will swish. Where the tail crosses into the side border, I switch from pulling one pattern shaftdraw handle to pulling individual single unitdraw cords. That’s where the complexity of the combination drawloom really shines. It gives me extraordinary flexibility for weaving the designs I have in mind.
Hem area is black. Wide gold checked border goes across the bottom and top of the napkin, and up both sides.Pattern shafts hold the units needed for the horizontal and vertical borders. The vertical border checks are produced with just two pattern shafts. Where the vertical border is interrupted, I am able to choose the single units needed to fill the pattern. (This also means that I use single units directly across on the left border, too.)Just past midway on this napkin.
In some ways I think of the drawloom as a tool of simplicity. Despite the countless cords and shafts, every piece has a simple purpose. Each single unit draw cord, for example, simply lifts a single unit of 6 threads. That’s all it does. Complexity is a matter of perspective.
May you enjoy the simple things you find in complexity.
Spaced rep rag rugs are off the loom! Follow the pictures to see how they came out, and the surprising thing I am doing with one of them. (It was Steve’s idea.)
Short piece at end of warp gives opportunity for exploring design ideas. Specifically, I am changing weft colors separately from changes of treadling pattern.Cloth beam satisfaction.Reverse side is always seen first.Fascinated with how new fabric folds like ribbons on the floor, and how the warping slats look like a game of Pick-up Sticks.Still looking at the reverse side. Loom cleanup begins.After cutting off, the piece undergoes finishing. First, I tie warp ends into knots, which takes me about 2 hours per rug. Then I hand hem the rug using 12/6 cotton rug warp. And finally, I give the rug a good steam pressing, which helps even things out, shrink things together a bit, and makes the rug lay flat.One warp, four rugs. First small rug (not seen) went to my friend Nancy at a Christmas gift exchange. Last small rug (from the end of the warp) has an irregular repeating pattern. The two longer rugs have a place in our home. Did I say “rug?”If you hang a rag rug on the wall it becomes art. If you hang it on the massive stone fireplace it makes a house a home.
Be different in a good way. Be set apart from things that entertain the world. Find your pleasure in things that please the Lord—like creativity, beauty, and love poured into your home.
My husband and I coined the word “lapkin” when our children were young. Lap + napkin = lapkin. We wanted our children to learn the courtesy of placing a napkin on their lap when they were seated for a meal. “Lapkin check!” was a fun game we made of it. The armadillo on the drawloom is a lapkin, if I ever saw one. This thirsty cloth will soak up any drips and spills, smeary hands, or messy mouths that come in contact with it.
Napkin starts with a dark blue hem and gold checkerboard border. I like this view which makes it look like the armadillo feet have really long legs. Single unitdraw cords are pulled (drawn) to raise warp ends that form the pattern in the cloth.Armadillo reaches into one border with its snout, and into the other border with its tail.
Armadillo is the first of a dozen critters that will parade across this loom. Armadillo napkin is the only one of its kind. I’m certain of that. (Fox is up next.)
Simple checkerboard side borders give a fun outline to every napkin.Just a few pattern shafts (six draw handles) are needed for making the horizontal checkerboard border across the width of the napkins.Six-shaft broken twill makes an interesting all-over pattern in the cloth.Teal blue hem ends the Armadillo napkin. Red picks serve as a dividing/cutting line. Fox is next!
Lapkins give us a discreet way to stay tidy at the table. Armadillo, however, doesn’t intend to stay discreet. I’m pretty certain of that, too.
