design – Page 23 – Warped for Good

Tools Day: Why You Need Sample Cards

April 8, 2014April 7, 2014 Karen

Make sure you have sample cards from yarn and thread suppliers because you never know when your daughter will get engaged. She finds her perfect wedding dress, and three weeks after that you find your mother-of-the-bride dress. A light and airy dress with a ruffled hem that is perfect for a romantic outdoor wedding under hundred-year-old oak trees. Now, all you need is a light and airy shawl to cover your shoulders. In a specific shade of coral. Then, your friend says, “Why don’t you weave a shawl? You have time.” Really?? Seven weeks before the wedding?! Okay, I can do this. A word of encouragement has amazing impact!

Sample cards make finding the right color easy. — Sifting through yarn and thread samples from Yarn Barn of Kansas to find just the right thread in just the right color(s).

Sample cards for various linen and cotton threads from Bockens. — Sample cards from Bockens, a Swedish company. I use Swedish threads in most of my weaving. There are several good suppliers in the United States. The sources I turn to most are Glimakra USA, Vavstuga, and Lone Star Loom Room.

Yarn Store in a Box from Halcyon Yarn for design and color inspiration. — Yarn Store in a Box from Halcyon Yarn is a visual and tactile delight. I often pull out these cards for design and color inspiration.

I laid out all my sample cards, and quickly found a perfect match on a sample card from Yarn Barn of Kansas. I picked up the phone and called in my order. Three days later I had this beautiful Xie 10/2 Bamboo thread in hand and started winding the warp!

Ready to weave mother-of-the-bride shawl. — Getting ready to weave Mother-of-the-Bride shawl in the perfect shade of coral. I found a delicate huck lace draft for the shawl in “Happy Weaving from VävMagasinet.” I am choosing dark coral for the warp. One shawl is using lighter coral for weft; the second shawl is using hot pink for weft. The best color combination wins!

So, make sure you have sample cards from your favorite suppliers so that you are ready for any happy surprise that comes your way! And, be that encourager that tells a friend, “You can do it!”

May you have what you need at your fingertips.

With Plenty of Time,
Karen

Quiet Friday: Making Rya Knots

March 28, 2014July 21, 2014 Karen

One at a time. Like anything else, you do get faster as you get the hang of it. I select and arrange the colors for the upcoming row, and then I settle into a rhythm. With my right foot pressing the treadle, I use both hands to manipulate both the raised warp ends and the loose wool strands. It is a relaxing and satisfying trek from the right-hand side of the warp to the left, one rya knot at a time.

I am letting the pictures speak for themselves. I forgot to take a picture of the completed rya knot pillow top square while it was still in view on top, so you get to crawl under the breast beam with me at the end to see it from underneath.

May you enjoy taking your sweet time.

Little by little,
Karen

Other popular Quiet Friday posts you may like:

Quiet Friday: Warping Trapeze

Quiet Friday: Rag Rugs

Quiet Friday: Cutest Loom Ever

Keep this Picture in Mind

March 7, 2014March 6, 2014 Karen

Have you thought of using the camera on your phone to help you recall details in your weaving design? I want the simplest way to remember this narrow blue and honey border stripe at the beginning of the towel so I can weave it exactly the same when I get to the other end. What better way than to take a detail snapshot with my iPhone? It’s handy, descriptive, and quick. There are some things that are best remembered with pictures.

Beginning of another towel on the loom. — After the red cutting line, a new towel begins with a honey-colored hem. The narrow blue and honey stripe will be repeated at the other end of the towel.

When our heavenly king walked the earth, he was a living picture of heavenly goodness. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. These threads of royalty stood out in humanity because of the contrast next to common threads of envy, selfishness, and prideful boasting. Considering this living snapshot of true royalty, we, too, can wear the clothes that are fit for a king (or queen)! Better than capturing a design element with our iPhones, is capturing the design for our lives from the heart of our grand weaver.

May you remember the details that matter.

Love,
Karen

What Difference Does the Weft Color Make?

February 14, 2014February 13, 2014 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!

February 4, 2014February 3, 2014 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