Tag: design

Critter Napkins Change of Outcome

Karen

Twelve different critters, designed and woven with checked borders. This is combination drawloom weaving at its best, to create fun napkins that our grandchildren will enjoy using. However, as I unroll the length of 6-shaft broken twill fabric from the drawloom’s cloth beam–critter after critter, a new idea emerges. I’ve been weaving these critter napkins for quite some time, and have never considered another use for these woven animals–all of which have been seen on our Texas Hill Country property at one time or another.

Time for cutting off!
As the critters roll off the cloth beam, a new idea starts rolling off my mind.

Then, as I lay the fabric out across the floor, the fresh idea crystallizes. This would make a spectacular throw!

Armadillo, Fox, Porcupine, Jackrabbit, Whitetail Buck, Wild Turkey, Roadrunner, Longhorn Steer, Texas Spiny Lizard, Ringtail, Raccoon, and Blackbuck Antelope. And then as extra, three dogs from our children’s families – Luna, Toby, and Comet.

Just like that, and the critter napkins go out the window (figuratively speaking). Now I am imagining three panels of four critters each, sewn together into one large piece.

Laying out the washed and dried panels in different configurations to find the most pleasing arrangement.
Three panels of different lengths are arranged strategically. Sample weaving from the beginning and end of the warp will fill in the spaces at the top and bottom of the shorter panels. I am trying to find a woven band (at far end of table) from my “band box” to use for covering seams of the pieced ends.

Yes, this is the best use of this woven treasure that I have had so much delight in designing and weaving! All the fascinating creatures can be seen at once, on the front or on the reverse side.

This is something we can enjoy together with our grandchildren when they are at our home!

I decide to create a couple handwoven bands from the linen and cottolin threads in the critter fabric. These bands will be the perfect complement with which to finish this project.

I am designing stripes to weave a narrow band on my Glimåkra Band Loom that I can use with the Critter Throw. The stripe pattern on the far right is the one I am choosing to use.
Band is black on one edge and midnight blue on the opposite edge. This beautiful band is a joy to weave.
I thought I would weave just part of this warp, and then start on a wider band that will also be used for assembling the Critter Throw. Once I got started on this band, I wanted to keep going. I sat in front of the fireplace fire a few evenings in a row and happily finished off this 9-meter warp.
This is more handwoven narrow band than I need for this project. Much of it will go into my box of handwoven bands. You never know when you’ll need another band for something.
Designing a wider band that corresponds to the narrower band.
This band is about 2 cm wide, which is just right for what I have in mind. When I finish this 5.5-meter warp I will be ready to assemble the Critter Throw!

Handwoven fabric has surprising lessons for us woven in! We might be certain that we know what we are doing. I knew I was weaving critter napkins, and never questioned it. One view of the bigger picture, though, changed everything. God has a bigger picture of our existence than we realize. He invites us to see life from his view through faith in Jesus Christ. In the moment we give him our heart, everything changes, and that’s when we see what we were really made for.

May your changes be for the better.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

End of the Warp – Critter Napkins

Karen

Thank you for following along on this lengthy Critter Napkins project. Twelve critter napkins on the combination drawloom. These are hefty napkins with children in mind. Since showing you the roadrunner a few months ago, I have been busy weaving more critters. I have woven the final five, plus three bonus animals…

Texas Longhorn Steer. Longhorn steer, designed from a photo taken by Steve when the steer was passing through our property. You can see the legs of the humorous wild turkey on the cloth beam below.
Texas Spiny Lizard. This is a common lizard in Texas Hill Country.
Ringtail. Colloquially called “ringtail cat,” the ringtail is a completely nocturnal animal. Because of our game camera we know he has visited our back deck.
Raccoon. Mr. Raccoon tries to go unnoticed, but we have seen him taking figs from the fig tree and bird seed from the bird feeder.
Blackbuck Antelope. The beautiful blackbuck antelope is not native to Texas, but we often see these exotic animals in our area.

I have some warp left. I am pretty sure it is enough to weave one or two more napkins. But can I squeeze out three more? Maybe… I want to try. Luna, Toby, and Comet are the family dogs of our three children’s families. Perfect subjects for finishing out this warp.

Weaving the first two dogs, no problem. But as the back tie-on bar moves closer to the front every time I advance the warp, I begin to wonder if I’ve made a big mistake. The shed is decreasing. The children and grandchildren are all expecting their dogs to be woven. I can’t do two dogs, and not the third. Will I have to tie on warp to finish? Will I have to use a shed stick to open each shed? Or, use a stick shuttle to finish?

It is a true blessing from the Lord to be given a skill to develop, and to be able to use that skill. When I face a challenge in weaving, I know there is a way through it, and I have the skill to work it out. God made a way for each of us to finish well all the way to the end of our life, not through our own skill, but through faith in Jesus Christ. Our warp will be cut from the loom at just the right time. When that time comes, those who are in Jesus Christ will enjoy what we’ve been made for–to be with our Master Weaver forever. I imagine He will handle each woven cloth with delight as it comes off the loom, as a weaver does who has invested everything into the threads that were woven.

Here are the bonus animals–the family dog of each of our three children’s families. I asked the oldest child in the family to write the dog’s name, which I then converted into weaveable letters. I placed the dog’s name frontwards and backwards, so it can be read from either side of the cloth. I was able to reach the end of weaveable warp without using any extreme measures. Joy!

Luna is the fun-loving dog of our daughter Melody’s family. You can see the raccoon wrapping around the cloth beam.
Watch out for Toby’s tail. This happy dog belongs to our son Daniel’s family.
Our son Samuel’s family added cute little Comet to their home just a couple days before Christmas.
Narrow shed at the end, with a view of black dog Toby.

Please watch for my February 1st post. I will give you a complete rundown on all the finished and hemmed critter napkins.

~ February 1st will be the last scheduled blog post for Warped for Good. ~

I am still weaving, so I intend to share what’s going on with my looms here on Warped for Good, but in a spontaneous manner instead of a scheduled post on each first day of the month.

Grateful to have you here,
Karen

Custom Handwoven Curtains and Process Video

Karen

When we renovated our master bathroom last year, I told Steve I would look for some curtains to hang on the windows that would complement the room. He said, “Why don’t you make some handwoven curtains?” So, I did.

We are using white Swedish lace curtains as temporary window coverings. I made these curtains for different sized windows of our previous home. The panels are folded over simple tension rods in the windows.

This is a beautiful way to close out the year. New handwoven curtains custom-made for these windows! 24/2 cotton warp and weft, with 16/2 cotton accent stripes. M’s and O’s in four shafts. I wish I had counted how many quills I wound. It seems like thousands. Steve did a rough calculation of how many times I stretched my arms a very wide stretch to send the shuttle back and forth. Something like 7,000+ times.

I have designed a distinct geometric pattern with uneven stripes to fit the style of our renovated master bathroom.
I am leaving the curtains unpressed, except for hems, to accentuate the interesting texture in the cloth from the M’s and O’s structure.

I hope you are getting ready for Christmas like we are. Christmas reminds me that there is a bigger story than my twelve-month curtains. I get immersed in a project and look ahead to the joy of seeing it come off the loom. The Christmas story is that God’s Son Jesus Christ humbled Himself to come to us as a baby, to grow into a man who would give His life away. Jesus was looking ahead to the joy of seeing us come into harmony with God. Merry Christ-mas to all.

Here is a short slide show video of the process of weaving these curtains, from start to finish. Enjoy!

God’s blessings to you,
Karen

The lyrics to the background music in the video:

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
by Charles Wesley (1744)

1. Come, Thou long expected Jesus,
born to set Thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in Thee.

Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth Thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

2. Born Thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now Thy gracious kingdom bring.

By Thine own eternal Spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by Thine all-sufficient merit,
raise us to Thy glorious throne.

One Napkin at a Time

Karen

Jack the Jackrabbit is ready to hop on over the breast beam. It is time to design the next napkin. I design one at a time and then weave it. We have the armadillo, the porcupine, the gray fox, and the jackrabbit. Up next is a white-tailed deer. Steve took a photo of a white-tailed buck on our property last week. I will use that photo as the basis for my deer design.

Finished to the top of Jack’s ears.
Chart shows row-by-row pulls for pattern-shaft handles and single-unit cords. One draw handle is pulled for each row of the side border.

I enjoy paying attention to the amazing wildlife around us. Some, like the porcupine, are seldom seen, and others, like the white-tailed deer are in view all the time. These napkins will be a record of the critters we have purposely noticed here on the property around our home in Texas Hill Country.

Black border hem finishes off this jackrabbit napkin. The fox looks us as he turns ’round the cloth beam.

We notice what we want to notice. When we make a point to notice the blessings of the Lord we start seeing his hand in less obvious places. When we turn our heart to understand his ways he starts filling in the gaps of our understanding. It’s good to keep a record of the blessings that we notice. Thank you, Lord!

What blessings have you noticed lately? Let us know in the comments.

May you have too many blessings to count.

Happy Weaving,
Karen

Drawloom Porcupine in Four Hours

Karen

After only four hours at the drawloom I have a porcupine! That’s an hour a day, four days in a row.
I enjoy the design-making process. It is rewarding to work out the details on the computer. The next reward is to see the printed version ready to take to the drawloom. When I first see the feet of the critter woven on the loom, I do a happy dance. And now that the porcupine is moving on around the breast beam, this feeling of accomplishment is the greatest reward. Nine more critter napkins to go, with many more rewards. Jackrabbit is next!

Day 1: Teal hem, gold border, black background, and porcupine feet! Happy Dance!
Day 2: Porcupine snout and tail reach into border areas. I use single units in irregular border areas like these, instead of the simpler pattern shafts that I use for the rest of the border areas.
Day 3: Second half of the porcupine is mostly the quills on its back. This is easy single-unit draw cords in combination with simple pattern shaft draw handles for the side borders. (Only 2 draw handles are needed for the side borders.)
Day 4: Finish up the top of the porcupine, the black background, the gold border, and then a blue hem area (not shown). Now I’m hopping off to design the jackrabbit.

Look for daily rewards. What rewards are you seeing lately?

May you be richly rewarded every day.

Happy weaving,
Karen