Tag: cottolin

What Our World Needs

Karen

I would rather not stop in the middle, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Now, I am picking up where I left off at the halfway point on the towel. After a week away, I am happy to be back at my weaving loom. Project planning, loom dressing, and weaving. It’s a satisfying perpetual cycle.

Cottolin and cotton for a pretty and thirsty modern towel.
Long pattern blocks create ribs across the width of the towel.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas quickly approaching, I am prepared to face continued interruptions. But I will keep coming back to my looms, sneaking in as much weaving time as possible. It’s no secret that I love to weave.

Thick and thin cottolin hand towels on the loom with interesting patterns.
As towel four rolls up on the cloth beam, towel five nears completion.

I feel the same way about praying. It is something I keep coming back to. For someone who loves to pray, prayer itself provides a welcome respite in troubled times. God responds to our heartfelt prayers. He hears and heals. Our world needs that now, more than ever. Perpetual prayer to our Prince of Peace.

May you keep coming back to what you love.

With Christmas in mind,
Karen

In Time for Christmas – Or Not

Karen

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I am excited to have halvdräll up next on the big loom. Warp chains are white cottolin. The weft is white cottolin for the tabby, and red linen for the pattern. Red and white for Christmas. However, if it is not finished by December 25th, there’s always Valentines Day, right? I would love to have this table square ready for Christmas, but I am not willing to make shortcuts on quality to make that happen. It will be finished when it is finished.

Winding a white warp on the warping reel.
Warping reel is used to measure a warp of bleached 22/2 cottolin. A counting tie goes between every 50 ends.
White cottolin and red linen.
Red 16/1 linen pattern weft will add Christmas (or Valentine) flair to the bleached 22/2 cottolin.

Do you ever find yourself being controlled by circumstances instead of convictions? Convictions are firm beliefs that guide our actions. Convictions are like signposts on an unfamiliar path. It’s like having time-tested weaving techniques that help you navigate any new weaving adventure. In time for Christmas, or not.

May you stay on course. 

With Christmas in mind,
Karen

Look Again

Karen

Black and white and a little red all over. Black and white just became classier. Thin red stripes appear to tunnel under long white ridges. Surely there is a designer kitchen for this towel. Right?

Black and white and a little red all over. Towels.
Fringe at the end of one cut weft thread peeks out, revealing the spot where weft threads overlap.

Since the slender red stripes are made with only two picks, I do not have to start and stop the color at the selvedge. The first pick goes all the way across, and the second pick has cut ends that are overlapped in the shed. If you are looking, you can see where the red threads overlap. If you are not looking, you would never notice it. And after the towels are washed, the join will be virtually invisible…unless you know where to look.

We find what we are looking for. If we want to see where a weaver spliced the weft, we study and examine the fabric as much as needed until we find that detail. When we look for signs of our Creator, we find that, too. His wonders are not hidden from us, they are hidden for us. What a delight when our search leads us to the Grand Weaver, Himself.

May your search lead to hidden treasures.

With you,
Karen

Weaving Mistakes I Would Rather Avoid

Karen

I got off to a bad start with this towel. I ripped out the border and started over at least three times. Each time I fixed an error I made a new mistake. And if that wasn’t enough, all the undoing weakened two warp ends, causing them to break. Ugh. Time to walk away and come back later.

Weaving error revealed.
Weaving error is revealed when I snap a pic for Instagram. White weft picks are out of order in the center of the weft border stripes.
Removing a weaving error.
After removing the first error, and weaving a re-designed border, I discover another mistake. Using ultra caution in good lighting, I clip the wefts between the center warp ends back to the error. Then, I carefully pull out each cut weft. And try, try again.

I believe in persistence, but we need to recognize when to give up and stop trying so hard. Could my own insistence on progress get in the way of progress? Yes. Coming back rested, with unclenched hands, I found myself able to complete the task with ease. Where did all the difficulty go?

Hand towels on the loom.
Success at last!

When I insist on my own way to overcome hardships in life, I don’t get very far. My frustrations blind me to my own errors. Relief comes when I acknowledge the limits of my efforts and put my trust in someone greater. The Lord multiplies what we put in his hands. Jesus once fed a crowd with the bread and fish from one person’s lunch basket. He starts with what we give him; and he increases it. As a result, when we come back to face the hardship, much to our surprise, we find our hands able.

May you know when to walk away and start over.

Steadily,
Karen

Quiet Friday: Thick and Thin

Karen

A vote of confidence from someone you look up to can make a world of difference. When I saw Joanne Hall’s exquisite towel made with thick and thin threads, I asked her, “Do you think I can weave something like that?” “Of course you can;” she replied without hesitation, “it’s plain weave.” Keep in mind that I was a complete novice on the floor loom; and I barely knew how to handle one shuttle, much less two! I plunged into the ambitious project and came out with a winner! The blue and cream towel hangs on the oven door in my kitchen as a daily reminder of the powerful impact of an encouraging word. Thank you, Joanne!

Cotton tea towel, thick and thin. Karen Isenhower
First thick and thin towel, completed as a beginning weaver. This is one of Erica de Ruiter’s designs, found in “The Best of Weaver’s Thick’n Thin,” Edited by Madelyn van der Hoogt.

Thick and thin is just as fascinating this time around. It is delightful to revisit a rewarding experience. Who knew that plain weave could be this much fun?

Zebra warp on Glimakra warping reel.
Zebra warp with thick and thin threads on my new Glimakra warping reel. One of three bouts, 10 1/2 meters.
Warping trapeze in action.
View from the crossbar at the top of the warping trapeze, looking down. Ready to untie choke ties and add weights to the warp bouts.
Threading Texsolv heddles.
Thick ends alternate with thin ends as the heddles are threaded. Left hand separates the shafts‘ heddles for ease of threading.
Ready to weave thick and thin towels!
Weaving begins as soon as the warp is tied on and the leveling string is secured. I use the first few inches to check the threading and sett, and to do some sampling.
Border pattern for cottoln towel on the loom.
First border is captured with my iPhone camera so that I can easily reproduce the pattern at the other end of the towel.
Plain weave with three shuttles creates interesting patterns.
I added a second double bobbin shuttle to make it easier and quicker to switch weft colors. Plain weave gets even more interesting with three shuttles!
Thick and thin cottolin towels on the Glimakra Ideal loom.
End of the third towel.
Black and white towels on the loom. Karen Isenhower
View from under the breast beam. I love to see the fabric rolled up on the cloth beam.
Temple in place for weaving black and white cottolin towels.
Temple keeps the fabric at the optimum width for weaving. Red cutting line serves as the separation between the end of one towel and the beginning of the next. Ready to start another fascinating pattern.

May you give a vote of confidence to someone who needs it.

Happy weaving,
Karen