Tag: Christmas

Textured Textiles for Christmas

Karen

This is exactly what I had hoped for! Wet finishing made textured textiles out of flat fabric. One look at these pot holders and you know they have been through the washer and dryer. The rag weave table runner tells the same story. It’s true, wet finishing made positive permanent changes.

Rag weave table runner in M's and O's - on the loom.
Rag weave table runner on the loom. M’s and O’s, with Cottolin warp, and narrow cotton fabric strips for weft.
M's and O's pot holders and table runner cut from the loom.
Time to celebrate cutting the pot holders and table runner from the loom.
Rag weave table runner and string yarn pot holders in M's and O's. Karen Isenhower
Textured textiles, after wet finishing and hemming. Twisted cording was added to pot holders for hanging loops.
Detail of textured textiles. M's and O's with creative treadling.
Creative treadling for two pot holders produced design variations.

Christmas is a true story. Love came down. You have heard the story: Jesus came as a baby, grew up, and gave up his life to save us, all in the name of love. When this Jesus story is written on our hearts it changes everything. This love story is the wet finishing we need. It is the only thing that can truly complete us. Your life already tells a story. It is an open book that people read. When we let the Christmas story of God’s love shape us, the fabric of our life becomes characterized by the texture of love.

May your loved ones enjoy reading “your” book.

(Shoppes at Fleece ‘N Flax in Eureka Springs, Arkansas is carrying a few of my rugs. If you are near the area, drop by the shop and say Hi to Debbie!)

Happy Holy Day,
Karen

Rag Weaving with a Boat Shuttle

Karen

This is a simple way to make a rag weave table runner. The M’s and O’s weave structure provides a great framework. What I like about narrow fabric strips is that you can wind them on quills, just like yarn, and weave with a boat shuttle. It is fast weaving that breezes right along.

Rag weave table runner on the loom. Karen Isenhower
Boat shuttle holds quill with narrow fabric strips to weave table runner. In view below the table runner are pot holders that were woven using unbleached cotton multi-strand yarn.

I could use a small ski shuttle for this, as if I were weaving rag rugs. Or, I could even place the weft across by hand on this narrow-width warp. The most efficient way is the boat shuttle, and the main thing is to get the weft across so weaving can happen. In life and relationships, it is love that needs to get across.

Patience and kindness are universal expressions of love. Love never fails. It started with the patience and kindness of God. As we draw toward Christmas, consider the meaning of the holiday–that God so loved the world. His patience and kindness toward humanity meant sending His son to our world. And that baby, named Jesus, became God’s way of taking love across the gap between heaven and earth.

May you be known for patience and kindness.

Good Christmas to you,
Karen

First Glimpse of the Blanket

Karen

Look at the double-width blanket that is finally forming on the loom! And you have been waiting to see which colors I chose for the weft… First, there were eleven colors to select for the warp (I Forgot the Weft). And then, after dressing the loom (Brave Enough to Weave), I sampled possible weft colors (The Weft Question). That led to questions about the density of the weft and the evenness of the folded edge (Quiet Friday: Blanket Sample Thanksgiving), being my first ever double width attempt. Ta da! Combined teal and blue are the weft winners!

Wool for weft to use in double-width blanket.
Skeins of Borgs 6/2 Tuna Wool for blanket weft. The weft is doubled, so I will wind quills using the two colors together.
Winding wool skeins into balls using old Beka yarn swift.
Wool skeins are first unwrapped and wound into balls using my old Beka yarn swift.

I am pleased with the first glimpse. I feel like I have captured my own personality and it is being woven into the cloth. Like this weft, you will not see the value of your gifts until you unwrap them and use them.

First few inches of double-width wool blanket on the loom.
Very beginning of the wool blanket gives encouraging results. The teal/blue weft begins after the first few picks that space the warp.

Just as cloth reveals the nature of the weaver, gifts reveal the nature of the giver. God has prepared things for us that transcend human perception. Things which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man… If aspects of my personality are embedded in a handwoven blanket, how much more is God’s character woven into the good gifts he imparts to us?

May your journey hold many good gifts to unwrap.

Thinking of Christmas,
Karen

Quiet Friday: Christmas Textiles

Karen

Grateful for a few quiet days before the new year begins, I reflect on the trials and treasures from 2013 and wonder what 2014 will bring. I encourage you to take time to ponder. If you weave some quiet into your schedule you will hear things you’ve never heard before. You will see things you have never noticed. You will love more because you won’t always be at your frazzled end. Even when the world around you is full of noise, you can be quiet on the inside.

Weaving and pondering go well together. All the more reason to weave.

Handwoven mohair throw for softness under the Christmas tree.
Mohair throw, woven in hound’s tooth twill, creates a soft setting under the Christmas tree.
Handwoven cotton towel from The Philippines.
Traditional Filipino cotton towel used as decorative cloth on a side table.
Handwoven design, unique to the Philippines, holds vintage Santa display.
Well-worn and well-used stacking Santas adorn the colorful cloth. The unique Filipino handwoven design of this cloth brings special Christmas cheer to the front room in our home.
Rosepath rag rug and gingerbread boy and girls.
With another Christmas rolled up, gingerbread boy and girls rest on the rosepath rag rug.

May your new year bring dreams come true.

Quietly,
Karen

Christmas Eve Is Here

Karen

This is the season to give thought to the wonder of life, to be grateful for unconditional love, and to recount the story of Christmas. Four years ago Steve began carving wooden figures for a Nativity scene. Every year, each of the five women in his life (daughter and daughters-in-law, his mother, and me) receive a new figure. The new Nativity figure this year is a king bearing gifts for the infant king.

Hand-carved Nativity from Spanish Cedar, backdrop of handwoven goose-eye throw.
Nativity carved from Spanish cedar, by Steve Isenhower. Seen on backdrop of handwoven alpaca throw, in goose-eye twill.

May your days be filled with peace.

Good Christmas Eve to you,
Karen