Tag: cotton

Aiming At Perfection?

Karen

If I show you pictures of the bands and pieces of cloth I have woven, you might think they look perfect. That’s because the photographer (me) stages the photos so you get the best impression of the work. If you look closely enough for imperfections, trust me, you will find them. We all know that only God is perfect, so why are we so consumed with trying to reach perfection?

Cottolin ribbon woven on Glimakra band loom. Karen Isenhower
Nearly five yards of cotton/linen ribbon woven on the Glimåkra band loom. I had to finish this warp so I could start making a band to use for tabs on the towels I recently finished.

We think that if we are good or do enough good things we will make God happy. A lot of people have been practicing; so, if practice makes perfect, why isn’t anyone perfect yet? Most of all, me. How can I stand before my grand weaver and expect him to overlook all my imperfections? My camera tricks are useless.

Off with the old, on with the new. Band loom weaving.
Warp made with a few colors from the towels, this cotton ribbon will be a good match for making hanging tabs for the towels.
Glimakra band loom, weaving hanging tabs to match handwoven towels. Karen Isenhower
Three yards of cotton ribbon, completely in harmony with the towels they will adorn.

Jesus takes my place before God. His perfection covers my imperfect deeds. My simple part is to put my trust in him. His cross took all my failures to the grave. Now, when my grand weaver sees me, he notices the perfection of his original design as seen in Jesus, his son.

Hand-carved marionette and relief carving by Steve Isenhower. Handwoven towel by Karen Isenhower
New towel with hanging loop on display with Steve’s relief carving and hand-carved marionette. (Seven more towels to hem.)

May you be who you were designed to be.

Weaving onward,
Karen

Sharing Threads

Karen

When I started weaving these towels my daughter was not yet engaged. I had color and texture in mind, not bridal shower gifts. Now, with the wedding only a few weeks away, I am fortunate to have a set of handwoven towels to give the new bride! As if I had planned it that way. Next up, a shawl for me to wear at the wedding, but that’s a story for another day.

Towels just off the loom, not yet washed. Karen Isenhower
Just off the loom, cotton towels have been cut apart and edges serged, ready for washing. When washed, the texture of the cloth will “bloom,” showing off the distinctive structure, a 3-shaft twill with warp floats.

There are many things I have given my daughter without trying: my height and stature, similar laugh, interest in world cultures, musical talent, brothers (does that count?)… Melody and I have a lot in common, so I will give her a set of these towels as a symbolic gesture of the threads we already share.

You and I have been given an extraordinary kind of love from our Heavenly Father. The Father has given his kind of love to us, that we should be called his children. Like a daddy, he has passed his traits to his kids. In which case, we like to hear, “You look just like your Daddy.”

May your best traits be found in your children, or in the young people you influence.

With love,
Karen

Made to Fade?

Karen

You will always come back to what you love. I came back to this arrangement of stripes because I love the harmonious way the colors work together. Now used as a weft sequence, this is one of the color wrappings that I did when planning this towel warp. (You can see the rest of the color wrappings HERE.) But really, it’s just towels, it’s just colors, it’s just things that wear out.

Color wrapping used to inspire weft sequence. Karen Isenhower
Color wrapping for possible warp arrangement is now used as weft sequence. Except, since I ran out of light blue thread (remember THIS?), I am using dark blue in its place.

Everything we can touch and everything we can see is in the process of fading. Physical things deteriorate over time; they just do. The handwoven articles I so carefully make may last a human lifetime, or maybe longer. But eventually they will be no more, and any meaning they have now will be lost. (Even with my grandmother’s quilts and rugs, like THESE, I don’t know what they meant to her, and she’s no longer around to ask.) It doesn’t make sense to love things. Sure, we can touch and see them, and our me-first self wants them. But they are all going away.

It does make sense to investigate the non-physical things that never decay. When we align with the desires of our grand weaver and discover the plans he has had from the beginning of time, we are investing in heavenly pursuits that carry rewards that never fade. Ever.

May the work of your hands outlast you.

101 Thanks! Thank you, dear friend, for coming to my virtual weaving studio again and again. If you are one of the small handful (there are about eight or ten of you) that started with me 101 blog posts ago (HERE is the first post), a BIG thank-you to YOU! If you are one of the more recent guests, helping to grow this space to more than 1,200 guests a month, I am HUGELY grateful to YOU, too! You are welcome here. I am so glad you came!

Gratefully Yours,
Karen

Wishes Do Come True

Karen

You have to know what you want before you start. When a handweaver threads the warp, she is deciding in advance what kind of cloth she wants to weave. Your true intentions, like a threaded warp, are revealed in the fabric of your life.

Warp ends at rest behind the reed.
Warp ends at rest behind the reed. Every warp end is carried in the eye of a heddle, which sinks or rises with its shaft (pair of upper and lower shaft bars).

Did you know that your deepest wish shapes your life? When my foot presses a treadle on this Glimåkra countermarch loom, shafts sink and rise, carrying their heddled threads to their proper position for interlacing with the shuttled weft. That’s a fancy way of saying that the way the warp ends were threaded behind the reed becomes evident in the woven cloth in front of the reed.

When our whole-heart desire is to walk as our heavenly king walks, his love is activated in us, and is expressed toward each other. This deep wish to follow his ways forms the intentional threading pattern that makes stunning fabric possible.

(This is still the cotton warp for the rya knots project. HERE is where I threaded these heddles, and HERE is how the rya knots look.)

May your deepest wish come true!

As always,
Karen

Wedding Plans Come to Light

Karen

The next eight-and-a-half weeks may be the most exciting and challenging weeks I have ever known as a mom. My daughter is getting married! How quickly things change. One day your daughter is in a nice relationship; the next day she’s engaged. We already have the dress, the venue, the date, and the photographer. Oh, and the groom worth waiting for! And that’s no small answer to prayer.

Rya knots for pillow. Back of pillow being woven in background weft.
Rya knots that form the top of the pillow turn the corner around the breast beam. The back of the pillow is being woven in the flat pattern of the wool background weft.

Our grand weaver is light. There is absolutely no darkness in him at all. Bright, brilliant, and radiant. That light illumines every step, every decision. The motion of the vibrant rya strands ends in an abrupt line as the weaving moves on to the flat surface of the back fabric of the pillow. The once-hidden intricate pattern behind the rya knots is now in full view, in full light. (For more about that hidden background weft, click HERE.) The source for strength and endurance has already been set into place. Now, it’s time to fearlessly live it out.

May you find light on your path.

Your friend,
Karen