A new life in the family is cause for celebration and thanksgiving! I had the privilege of weaving a baby wrap while my daughter carried the new little life inside of her. A wrap being woven to hold Lucia, and a baby being woven in the womb. Beautiful and more beautiful. God’s blessings on Eddie and Melody as they love the gift they have been given.
Important things are happening below the warp on my eight-shaftcountermarch loom. Eight upper lamms, eight lower lamms, and eight treadles beneath the lamms are at work. Shaft cords connect shafts to lamms. Treadle cords connect lamms to treadles. When the loom is all tied up, stepping on a treadle raises some shafts and lowers others, making it possible to send the weft across in a shuttle. And weaving happens.
Everything below the surface matters. When you start weaving, it won’t take long to see if all the connections work. When everything behind the reed and underneath the warp is set up properly, you can expect a pleasant weaving experience.
Joy is evidence of what is happening below the surface. You can see joy on the face of someone who looks to the Lord and trusts in Him. Joy is more than a smile. It’s a radiance that starts on the inside. Trusting in the Lord produces positive connections below the surface. That deep trust is formed through life’s most difficult moments– joy that is cultivated there endures. Like weaving on a countermarch loom, joy depends on true connections.
Threadingheddles on eight shafts requires a different approach than my usual four-shaft routine ( You Can Prevent Threading Errors). With four shafts, the heddles fit nicely between my five fingers. I would need nine fingers on my hand to thread eight shafts in the same manner. The important thing is that every warpend gets inserted through the correct heddle. I have to position my loom bench and adjust the height of the shafts. I need to be able to see and feel the heddle eyes …all the way to the back shafts. I take the warp ends in strict order, as they lay in the lease sticks, and insert each one through the correct heddle.
It can be a struggle to find that little heddle eye on the first shaft, way at the back, but you keep at it until you find it. Temptation is a trap, and we all get caught. There is a way out. All the warp ends have a way out…through the heddles. Look for the exit that God provides. And then run through it. You’ll find yourself in the right place at the right time. And the need for explanations and excuses is gone. With the warp threading completed, we know our Grand Weaver is ready to weave something marvelous.
The big loom is getting dressed. Blocktwill on eight shafts. New yarn for a new project brings excitement. And intimidation. With 12/6 cotton rug warp and string yarn weft, this is going to be a bath mat. Hopefully.
It’s been a couple years since I’ve done an eight-shaft block twill, and this one has some interesting twists. I’m not afraid to try it, though, because I am following a draft from The Big Book of Weaving, by Laila Lundell. I may make mistakes in the process, but my fears about trying this project evaporate as I refer to Laila’s instructions.
There are bigger fears than weaving woes. We face them every day in our families and in our communities, and in our private musings. Fear is a tyrant that holds us with threats and demands. Fear is the language of the pessimist within. Prayer opens us up to freedom from fear. We need clear instructions that give us confidence to face whatever comes. When we pray to the Lord regarding the things we are fearful about, he hears and answers. And he frees us from our fears.
Does this color enhance or detract? Is there enough contrast between background and pattern? Is five centimeters of plain weave between pattern sections too long, or too short? I ask myself questions as I weave a new design. I consider all the technical aspects, as well. Warp tension, treadling finesse, and shuttle shuffling. Attention to detail matters.
Details begin in the planning stage with design, choice of materials, and colors. While weaving rosepath rag rugs, consistency counts. I aim for a consistently firm beat and good, tight selvedges. All of these elements contribute to quality. And as I grow in my weaving skills, overall quality improves.
A person’s character is defined by their motivations. It’s not what you do, but why you do it. It is not enough to look good. I can buy a cheap rug that looks good. But if I could examine how it was made, I might find the shortcuts that diminished its quality. Our inward motivations are revealed in our outward behaviors. The cheap rug fades and comes apart all too quickly. By examining our own motives we build quality of character. The result is not only lovely, but durable, too.