Tag: creator

What Difference Does the Weft Color Make?

Karen

Does the weft color influence the cloth as it intersects the warp threads? Of course! The distinctive textural quality of this 3-shaft twill with warp floats is enhanced by the colors. In this case, the weft follows the same arrangement as the colors across the warp, making an interesting plaid. What does your influence look like?

3-shaft twill with weft floats. Hand towels. Karen Isenhower
Weft colors coincide with warp colors to create a plaid design. The pattern in the weave structure appears to change according to the weft colors and the angle of view.

Before weaving, the untouched warp colors look well-defined and clean. Introducing the weft, however, changes everything. How can you predict how the weft colors will interact with the warp? Hold tubes of thread next to each other, or wrap different colors on an index card, or even combine threads by twisting them together in your hand. Yet, when the threads become enmeshed in woven cloth, as weft interlaces warp, a new color is revealed.

You and I have strategic influence. How we choose to use that influence makes a difference. As you intersect with people, you bring a unique thread into the picture. The results may be surprising at times, not what others expect. But you are the only you. You have a creator-given purpose. Let your influence make a positive difference. Who knows whether you have not come to these present circumstances for such a time as this?

May you be an influence for good.

(To follow the color planning and sampling for these towels, click HERE and HERE.)

You are loved,
Karen

Bound Rosepath – More Yarn and Time, Please!

Karen

I still had patterns I wanted to try in bound rosepath; but, alas, there is no more Brage wool yarn in my hands. I ran out of weft before I ran out of warp! With five colors of this wool weft, it seemed like the variations on this rosepath threading were limitless. Imagine how it would be if you had two or three times that many colors to work with! You might never find an end to all the design options!

Bound rosepath just off the loom. Karen Isenhower
Brage wool in five colors covers the surface in this weft-faced weave structure, bound rosepath.

I was not ready to stop playing with this interesting weave structure, exploring the possibilites. Indeed, I had several more ideas lined up. If I had all the yarn in the world, I would need all the time in the world, too, because the discovery process is so intriguing. But eventually, I would run out of ideas.

We have heard that God is worthy of unceasing praise. Perhaps that is because there is no end to his love and goodness; and the riches of his mercy and grace are infinite. Maybe there are so many exquisite facets to learn about our creator that it will take eternity to discover them all. We might as well start now.

May you enjoy the intrigue of exploration and discovery.

Weaving onward,
Karen

I Wonder Which Wefts Will Work

Karen

You see the bare warp. How will the finished towels look? We won’t know until the weft is chosen. I will hold an audition for colors and fibers in my stash, and find the most worthy candidates. Questioning and testing in this way, by sampling, helps me discover the best possible options, before committing to the whole 7 1/2 yards (6.8 meters).

Glimakra Ideal being dressed with cotton warp for towels.
Cotton warp as it is being beamed. The threads come over the back beam, and down to the warp beam, as viewed from the back of the Glimakra Ideal loom.

Apparently, human beings are hard-wired for discovery. We like to search things out, understand, and discover hidden treasures of insight and knowledge. Why is that? Why is a weaver interested in figuring out which weft color will show off a warp to its best advantage? We all seem to be made with built-in questions…

We are created to find our maker, to discover who he is and what he is about. Surely, this accounts for our endless quest for answers about everything. In searching for the answers to the deepest questions, we feel our way toward our creator. And we find him waiting for us with open arms. He’s been near all along.

And the winner is… Drum roll, please… Color wrapping #5, will you please stand up! (Click HERE to see what the commotion is about. Be sure to scroll down to read the comments.)
Thank you for your vote. It made me feel good that my first choice received the most votes; and my second choice, #3, received important votes, as well. My husband’s first choice, #2, also received a vote. So, we all win! Yay! (It is not too late for you to leave your opinion. We’d love to know what you think.)

May your questions lead you to joyful discoveries.

With you,
Karen

It’s About Time

Karen

Did you ever have a project that seemed like it would go on forever? Maybe a very long warp, or a slow and delicate weave? I have! (THIS one took forever to weave.) One way or another, though, they all come to an end. Rag rugs are fun to weave because it doesn’t take long to see the finish line, another accomplishment. Time marks the beginning and end of all our activities. Maybe this year seemed longer than it should, with too many troubles. Trouble makes time feel slow. Maybe you didn’t get enough done. Busyness makes time seem fast. As this year ends, time keeps ticking and we will usher in a new year, ready or not.

What would a world be like without time?

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

– Solomon (known as the wisest man in his day)

Rag Rug on the loom. Striped hem is followed by scrap strips to secure the wefts.
Several rows of scrap fabric, woven after the striped end hem, will hold the rug wefts in place after the rug is cut from the loom.

We understand that during this life we are subject to the limits of time. Is that all there is? One season after another? Is there a place where time has no say? “Under heaven,” as Solomon described, time is all we know. Yet don’t you sense, like I do, that there is more? That must be because our creator has designed us with eternity in our hearts. The wonderful mystery is that we touch eternity when we become his, while we are still in this time-bound universe!

May you enjoy a fruitful new year, finding time for the most important things.

Good New Year to you,
Karen

Do You See What I See?

Karen

Thanksgiving 2013 is over and the house is quieter now. I am back to weaving bound rosepath (rosengång). This piece will be a table mat for next year’s Thanksgiving dinner, with the turkey pilgrims facing one side of the table. (Click HERE to see more about weaving the turkey pilgrims.) It makes sense, then, to have pilgrim men facing the other side. This means weaving the pilgrim men upside down. As I am weaving, it is difficult to determine if the upside down image is forming properly. I courageously weave on, hoping I am correctly interpreting the diagram. Faith takes courage like that.

Bound Rosepath Pilgrims on Thanksgiving table mat
A small hand mirror gives an upright view of the woven pilgrim men that are facing away from the orange pilgrim turkeys.

I used Numbers on my iPad to design the bound rosepath pilgrim motif. The image is only seven squares across the graph sheet, and must be entirely symmetrical from side to side. This mere-seven-pixel-wide picture is a design challenge because of its narrow limit.

Bound Rosepath Diagram using iPad Numbers app
iPad screen shot of pilgrim diagram in Numbers (spreadsheet) app.

Putting our faith into action when we don’t know all the answers takes courage. It is like following the diagram when the picture doesn’t make sense. I imagine that kind of faith courage pleases our creator. It was only after I finished weaving the row of pilgrims that I thought of holding up a mirror to see the upright image. Don’t take the easy way out. Don’t shrink back. When you press into the picture with faith, your life becomes a positive reflection of your maker’s skillful design.

May you live with courageous faith.

Peace,
Karen