Tag: design

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

Weaving a Few Critters

Karen

I am imagining Texas hill country critters (and birds) that will make their way onto the family napkins I’m getting ready to weave. I am thinking of an armadillo, a jack rabbit, a gray fox, a roadrunner, a Texas longhorn, a Texas spiny lizard, a black-chinned hummingbird, and a few more. Designing each image for the drawloom is fun. Just wait till you see the armadillo!

All the pattern heddles have been threaded.

Preparation makes way for imaginative creativity. This is why I enjoy all the drawloom prep.

Six ground shafts hang in front of the pattern heddles for threading. Heddles on the ground shafts are long-eye heddles, which make threading a breeze.
Threading ground shafts is almost complete. I will move the six shafts to the front of the loom to hang from the countermarch. After that, I can start positioning the pattern shafts. And then…weaving those critters!

Everything we do today is preparing for something tomorrow. Enjoy today. Look forward to tomorrow.

What critters (or birds) would you include if you were designing these napkins? Tell us in the comments!

May your creativity soar in relation to your diligent preparations.

Happy weaving,
Karen

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Advancing the Warp – Sunset and Sunrise

Karen

The Glimåkra Standard makes this project a weaver’s dream. The time-tested loom operates without a glitch, doing everything I direct it to do. These Swedish looms are magnificently designed.

Start of another rug. Multiple rows of stripes for the hem and border.
Weft fabric strips in green, blue, and red.
Pattern develops on the loom.
Central motif of the pattern.
Red stands out in the pattern.
Advancing the warp makes me think of a setting sun. When the sun sets here, it is rising somewhere else.

The sun rises every day. And it sets. Who designed the magnificent operation of the rising and setting of the sun? It’s like the rhythmic opening of the shed for passage of the shuttle. At the Grand Weaver’s direction, the fabric of life advances with every new day. Trust in him.

May you pay attention to the rising sun.

Weave into the sunset,
Karen

What a Little Yellow Can Do

Karen

It’s an ordinary double-binding rag rag in many ways. Standard draft, normal 12/6 cotton rug warp, weaving with two shuttles. Honestly, though, I’m thinking of it as art for the floor. With that in mind, I have a yellow stripe going across the rug. It’s a line of contrast to draw the eye. As the brief glimpse of yellow weaves under the intermittent blocks of red I am satisfied. My plans on paper have revealed themselves on the loom. Something unexpected draws the eye. And I get excited all over again!

Design element at the 1/3 mark.
Yellow stripe makes its way across the rug “under” the red blocks.
Double binding lets me play with design. By changing the color of weft on the shuttles at strategic times, I can create an eye-catching element in the rug. Art for the floor.

Expect the unexpected.

May you find satisfying ways to express creativity.

Happy Weaving,
Karen