Tag: cotton

The Surprising Thing about Color

Karen

While weaving this one-color-white fabric, I let colors dream away in my mind. I understand the elegance of simply white, but I find vibrant color combinations invigorating. Nature is full of intriguing mixtures of color, including some outlandish examples of wild color play.

Swedish lace curtains being woven
Woven Swedish lace fabric progresses to the cloth beam, where it is neatly rolled up.

Since this Swedish lace fabric is well underway, it is time to plan my next project. After all, I wouldn’t want my loom to sit idle… smile. I am choosing colors now for the 16/1 linen warp that is up next. Colors are like children playing dress up–they are full of surprises, and they change identity easily. She is Miss Pink while seated next to Mr. White, but the same thread becomes Miss Lavender when she’s beside Mr. Blue. Experience helps predict how colors will work together, but I still get surprises. I never know for sure how colors will behave until they are interlaced in the woven fabric.

I witnessed a gorgeous sunset recently. Saturated colors of purple, red, orange, pink, and yellow produced a tapestry in motion. This joyful display of color is surely nature’s response to the creator. The sky is singing praises that we can see!

May you be delighted with surprising expressions of color.

Joyfully,
Karen

When Love Is Not Easy

Karen

With this big Swedish loom, it is easy for me to get a firm beat. I can swing that hanging beater like nobody’s business! But that doesn’t serve me well for this delicate fabric. The streaks in this cloth are evidence that I’m struggling to get a consistent light beat. It is easy to show love to someone who loves us back, and like swinging the beater on this loom, brings positive momentum we feel good about. But what about the times love isn’t easy? …when a gentle touch takes more effort?

Swedish lace curtains in the making.
Loosely woven fabric is good practice for beating the weft in evenly. The Swedish lace pattern “windows” will become more visible after the first washing.

Anyone can be nice to someone who is nice; but can we show kindness to someone we’re at odds with? Thoughtfulness to the ungrateful, love to people who won’t love back… Not easy! Gentleness toward those with rough edges? That is the test of love.

If I only love those who love me back, I haven’t learned love yet. Love belongs to the greatest and the least, the grateful and the ungrateful. It is demonstrated by the master weaver, whose skilled hand taps each thread in with consistent grace. Never underestimate the gentle strength of love.

May love find its way to you and from you.

Gently,
Karen

Quiet Friday: Dressing the Loom

Karen

Enjoy some peace and quiet today.

Measuring warp ends on warping reel
Counting string at lease cross separates groups of warp ends while measuring warp on warping reel. (Click picture to enlarge)

 

Beaming the warp
Warp bouts, under tension, being beamed. Choke ties, which keep the threads from shifting, are removed as they move close to the breast beam.

 

Lease sticks across the warp
Pair of lease sticks across width of warp keep warp ends in the same order they were wound on the warping reel. (Click picture to enlarge)

 

Texsolv heddles being threaded
Each warp end is threaded through the eye of a heddle.

 

Sleying 22.5 dent per inch reed
After the heddles are threaded, each warp end is pulled through a dent in the reed. This warp has one end per dent. There are 22.5 dents per inch in this reed.

 

Warp tied to front tie-on bar
With the reed placed in the beater, one-inch sections of warp ends are smoothed out and tied onto the front tie-on bar.

 

Sitting under the warp
Like getting into a secret playhouse, I sit under the warp at the back of the loom to attach the lamms and tie up the treadles. This view is looking up from my secret hideout.

 

Perfect shed for weaving
After everything is tied up, the shaft holders removed, and the locking pin taken out, this makes me rejoice — A Perfect Shed!

Let the weaving begin! Come back soon to see the Swedish lace curtains being woven.

Quietly yours,

Karen

If at First You Don’t Succeed, Why Try Again?

Karen

Some of my weaving projects have been flops. Those pieces are tucked in a box, never to see the light of day. Putting my weaving progress out there on this blog feels uncomfortable. Here I am, calling these white threads curtains in advance, but it could turn out to be a big oops! — like bath mat material, or sandpaper (don’t ask Steve about the bath towels). I won’t be able to hide this in a box; because you, my dear friends, are watching me!

Loom threaded for Swedish lace curtains
Ends are threaded through the heddles in an arrangement that produces Swedish lace.

Every time I start a new blog post I face mild panic. What if I don’t have anything to say this time? And what if I can’t discover a new weaving metaphor? Yikes, it’s all so public!

Try, try again. It is possible to exert sweat and tears, but have nothing to show for it in the end. We’d rather not let anyone know. But the creator who sees us does notice, and never calls it failure. Surprisingly, he tells us to go farther out, take a bigger risk, be brave.

Go ahead, try again, he says.

If you say so,…  Okay, I will.

May you embrace the courage to try again, and find success waiting for you!

Willing to try,
Karen

You Can Always Hope

Karen

Starting a new warp is like having a blank slate. I still find it fascinating that one can weave thread into cloth! Every new warp is a time of starting over. No matter what went wrong before, this new set of ends has fresh possibilities. Hope gives a blank slate like that. Anyone can begin again.

Warping the loom for cotton curtains
Over the back beam and around the warp beam, images of white Swedish lace curtains dance in my mind.

Hope can slip away gradually, and we don’t even notice until it is gone. Dreams are put on the shelf, and we tell ourselves if we don’t look, it won’t hurt. Whether we mess up, or others mess us up, we secretly decide to stop trying. One day we look up, and hope is missing. The loom sits empty.

Listen… Can you hear it? There’s a quiet voice speaking strength and courage to you. It’s the whisper of the creator’s love. It brings a strong picture of hope for the future at the very moment all present hope seems to be slipping away. There is always a new warp to wind, and resulting handwoven fabric is around the corner. A brighter day is coming. Don’t stop hoping.

May your dreams and hopes find fulfillment.

Hopefully Yours,
Karen