Tag: design

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

Is it a Rug or Is it Art?

Karen

Spaced rep rag rugs are off the loom! Follow the pictures to see how they came out, and the surprising thing I am doing with one of them. (It was Steve’s idea.)

Short piece at end of warp gives opportunity for exploring design ideas. Specifically, I am changing weft colors separately from changes of treadling pattern.
Cloth beam satisfaction.
Reverse side is always seen first.
Fascinated with how new fabric folds like ribbons on the floor, and how the warping slats look like a game of Pick-up Sticks.
Still looking at the reverse side. Loom cleanup begins.
After cutting off, the piece undergoes finishing. First, I tie warp ends into knots, which takes me about 2 hours per rug. Then I hand hem the rug using 12/6 cotton rug warp. And finally, I give the rug a good steam pressing, which helps even things out, shrink things together a bit, and makes the rug lay flat.
One warp, four rugs. First small rug (not seen) went to my friend Nancy at a Christmas gift exchange. Last small rug (from the end of the warp) has an irregular repeating pattern. The two longer rugs have a place in our home. Did I say “rug?”
If you hang a rag rug on the wall it becomes art. If you hang it on the massive stone fireplace it makes a house a home.

Be different in a good way. Be set apart from things that entertain the world. Find your pleasure in things that please the Lord—like creativity, beauty, and love poured into your home.

May you express yourself in positive ways.

God bless your home,
Karen

End of Warp Is for Unencumbered Play

Karen

I made this rug longer than I had planned. Midway, I decided to increase the number of repeats in the design. This means I don’t know exactly how long this rug will be, so there is a bit of suspense as I wait to see the outcome.

Rug is completed with woven hem, warp thread header, and scrap weft. A few warping slats are inserted as spacers before starting the final stretch. The warping slats highlight the graphic nature of the overall pattern in the rug.
Spacing is needed between rugs so that I have adequate length to tie warp ends into knots. After knotting the ends, the hems of the rug will be folded under and hand-stitched.
End of warp is on the back tie-on bar, seen just above the warp beam. This is enough warp left to get a nice small rug. I have ideas for designing on the fly that are getting me excited about finishing this off!

I have a bit of warp left. It’s a good way to use up some of my cut fabric strips. This is my chance to play around, designing on the fly. That’s an exciting way to end a satisfying set of spaced rep rag rugs. Leave room for unencumbered play. And when you can go no further, end the suspense and see what you’ve got!

May you make room for unencumbered play.

Happy weaving,
Karen