Tag: cartoon

Quiet Friday: Cartoon House Cartoon

Karen

The fascinating thing about weaving a transparency is that it feels like color-by-number with yarn. There are similarities to tapestry weaving, for sure. But this seems ten times faster. I found it to be engaging and fun! I echo what my transparency-weaving friend says when it’s time to stop and do something else, “Just one more row…”

Linen warp chain awaits beaming.
Warp chain of 16/2 golden bleached linen, before beaming the warp.
Threading heddles in the Glimakra Standard. Coffee and notes at hand.
Threading heddles in my little playhouse, with project notes by my side, and a cup of coffee on the side cart.
Adding the leveling string to a linen warp.
Leveling string is added with extra care so that abrasion of the linen warp is kept to a minimum.
Butterflies are made from the hefty cotton chenille yarn.
Butterflies are made from the hefty cotton chenille yarn.
Weaving a transparency. Glimakra Standard loom.
Weaving without a cartoon. I am counting warp ends to keep the pattern angle consistent.
Transparency weaving on the loom, with buckram cartoon.
Cartoon has been added. The pattern weft follows the lines drawn on the buckram cartoon, which is pinned in place.
Cartoon removed at the end of the transparency weaving.
Cartoon is removed.
Ending a woven transparency.
Now, for the end of the warp…

New transparency, ready for hanging!

After the main transparency with the zigzags, I had room to play on the remaining warp. I made another cartoon–a “cartoon” house. This gave me a chance to use a few more yarn butterflies, without it being overwhelming. Home. Sweet. Home.

Cartoon for playtime at the end of the warp. Transparency weaving.
“Cartoon” house cartoon. Ready for playtime at the end of the warp.
Weaving a small transparency. Cartoon House.
With several butterflies going at once, the transparency weaving gets even more interesting!
Transparency weaving. Linen warp and weft. Cotton chenille pattern weft.
Now, the actual end of the warp is here.
Cartoon house just off the loom!
Cartoon house just off the loom.
Welcome home! Transparency weaving. Karen Isenhower
Welcome home! Home. Sweet. Home.

May you enjoy the fascination of learning something new.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

With or Without a Cartoon?

Karen

Weaving a transparency could become one of my favorite things to do. I had no idea that drawing a cartoon for this project would make such a difference. Now, I can see vast possibilities with this weaving technique.

Drawing a cartoon on buckram for weaving a transparency.
Buckram, a stiff cotton cloth, is in my sewing supplies, specifically for making bills on caps. It is being used here to make a cartoon for the transparency weaving. The center line will be lined up with the center warp end.

I started the transparency without a cartoon. I wanted to weave a few zigzags back and forth. How hard could that be? I counted warp ends, “under 12 to the right, and then, under 13 to the left.” When I tried to change the angle of the slant, though, it was confusing. I started getting jagged zigs and zags. This cartoon has made a world of difference.

Cartoon in pinned into place under the transparency weaving.
Cartoon is aligned and pinned into place.
Transparency weaving in progress. Cotton chenille over linen.
For each row of the pattern, the cotton chenille weft butterflies go under the raised warp ends that coincide with the lines drawn on the cartoon underneath. One pick of linen background weft follows each pattern row.

How often do we think it will be easier to go our own way? We want to make it up as we go. Wait. There’s a better way. The head designer has drawn out a path. It makes sense to follow those lines. It’s a picture that’s bigger than we are. God created. He did it in such a way that shows his loving attention to those he created. And we get to follow his design. No more striving. No more trying to find our way. His way makes perfect sense. It’s satisfying to place the weft in a thought-out design.

May you see the possibilities.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Tapestry the Slow Way

Karen

I weave small tapestries from the back, using a blunt tapestry needle to go under three warp ends at a time. I love blending the colorful strands of Fåro wool to get the shading I need. Every pick is purposeful; and I turn the little loom over frequently to keep an eye on the front side. If I weave all the way across at once, the selvedges start pulling in, despite bubbling the weft. Going under just a few warps at a time like this is the slow way, but it helps me control the amount of weft being placed across the tapestry.

Small tapestry. Weaving from the back.
Tapestry needle takes the weft under three warp ends at a time. Weft is bubbled and then tapped into place with my fingertips.
Weaving small tapestry on travel loom.
Upper part of cartoon is held out of the way to examine the front of the weaving. Bottom half of cartoon stays in position, being held in place with small magnets.
Small tapestry in progress, "Bridge." Karen Isenhower
Bridge progresses one row at a time.

We can often avoid big problems by saying fewer words. When we keep talking, we lose control of the words that come out of our mouths. Words can hurt or heal. Unlike erring tapestry threads that can be pulled out and woven back in correctly, words can’t be undone. A wise person errs on the side of saying too little. Three warp ends at a time, weave across the row, and check the front frequently to see how the words are coming across.

May you choose your words wisely.

With you,
Karen

Quiet Friday: Rya Rag Rug

Karen

I wasn’t happy with a simple “X” for the design area, but I struggled to come up with something better for this rug. And then, Steve and I went to the symphony. There, on the floor, in the long hallway, was the inspiration I needed for the pattern design on this rug!

Design inspiration for a rug.
Design inspiration is found on the floor on the way to the symphony.

Despite all that went wrong from the start, and how many things I had to undo and do over, I must tell you that I really did enjoy weaving this rug. The rya knots and loops made it fun and interesting. And this unique fluffy rug will always remind me of that sweet symphony date with my honey, when he patiently waited as I pulled out my iPhone to snap a few shots of the floor. Now that’s love.

Counting warp ends on the warping reel.
Counting warp ends on the warping reel.
Dressing the loom starts with pre-sleying the reed.
Dressing the loom starts with pre-sleying the reed.
Ski shuttle and temple for making large rag rug.
Ski shuttle holds doubled weft–fabric cut into 3/4″-wide strips.
Cutting fabric strips for rya knots.
Three different lengths of fabric strips are used for making the rya knots.
Placing rya knots in large rag rug.
Adding more rya knots.
Large rag rug with rya knots and loops.
Loops are made with the help of a wooden dowel.
Rag rug with inlay, using a brown paper cartoon under the warp.
Brown paper cartoon under the warp has the outline for the pattern. Lines on the cartoon, showing where to change the inlay technique, are inked onto the warp as a guide.
Making loops on a rag rug. Fun!
Making loops.
Extra warp width after re-sleying the reed.
After weaving a sample at the very beginning, I re-sleyed the reed, spreading the warp ends further apart. Excess warp ends, because of the increased width, are chained on both sides. Future band loom warps?
Another do-over.
Don’t ask. Almost finished weaving, and another do-over happened.
Cutting off!! Time to celebrate!!
Cutting off! Time to celebrate!!
Handwoven rag rug with rya knots and loops.
Sculpted inlay appearance is achieved by graduated lengths of the rya strips and heights of the loops.

Rag rug with rya and loops. Karen Isenhower

May your design inspiration come from unanticipated places.

Love,
Karen

Rag Rug Rya

Karen

I have an enormous brown paper cartoon hanging under the warp, suspended by a contraption of wood, string, and rubber bands.The pattern area of this rag rug begins with rya knots. The dark colors of the rya pile contrast with a background of whites, off-whites and light prints. The rya knots follow a geometric design that I drew onto the brown paper with a Sharpie.

Rag rug with rya knots.
Brown paper under the warp hangs over a slat which is suspended with seine twine and rubber bands.

As the designer and weaver, I already see the finished rug in my mind’s eye, and understand what is needed to complete it. I am weaving this rag rug for our own home, so naturally I am already thinking about where it will be placed. This makes it personal, and the slow weaving process grants me the opportunity to know this rug, inside and out.

Tightly-woven selvedges on hefty rag rug with rya knots.
Tightly-woven selvedges. Doubled weft gives extra fullness and weight to the rug, as well as contributing to strong rug selvedges.

Yes, it is important for me to know my Maker, but even more important that He knows me. All of life has meaning when God knows you by name. He knows what is needed to give our lives purpose. And the slow process becomes that much more personal as he weaves the design that he has seen all along.

May you accumulate many meaningful moments.

Happy rug weaving,
Karen