I am well into threading when I realize I neglected to take into account how many heddles I need for this project! I don’t have 2,064 even if I grab all of the heddles from the other loom. This double weave throw project is at a deadend until more heddles appear. I hurriedly place an order for more heddles…
This Glimåkra Standard is one of three looms that share my supply of Texsolv heddles.
Thankfully, the new heddles arrive quickly and the project is alive again.
This is what 1,000 Texsolv heddles looks like! I didn’t want to run out again any time soon.Heddles come in bundles of 100, held together with twist ties. WARNING: DO NOT undo the twist ties before you put the heddles on the shaft bars. You’ll be sorry…Before putting the heddles on the shaft bars, and while they are still tied into bundles, clip the loops at each end.I clip the loops on both ends of the heddles. It is easy to move heddles wherever you want if the loops are cut, including repositioning individual heddles. (It is far easier to clip the loops while the heddles are still tied together.)There are 100 new heddles on each shaft. The heddles that are not used will be tied up and put away in my heddle box, ready for the next time I need more heddles.
Alive. This is the Easter season when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He died, and was made alive again! What makes it even more fantastic is what that means for us. We all have a goodness shortage. And without a source of true goodness, our lifetime self-improvement project is at a dead end. Yet, through faith in the powerful working of God, we are raised with Christ. We are made alive together with him. His true goodness becomes our living source.
Threading progresses. New bundles of heddles stand ready to be used!
Halfway is a milestone when you are threading 2,064 ends. This double weave in two blocks has threading such that I can listen to podcasts without losing my place. It’s a long stretch to the halfway point.
Before threading, I find the center of the warp and the group of ends that are just past center. I drape those ends on the back beam to mark the spot.
Center of the warp is identified. The ends just left of center mark the spot.Sitting in my playhouse to thread the heddles. No hurry.
I’m excited to reach halfway in the threading! It’s a turning point. Now, while they are readily accessible, I position all of the shaft-to-lamm cords to hang down, right at the center of the warp where they belong.
Half of the threading work is done! Only 1,032 ends to go. 🙂Center of the warp. Good time to align the cords that go from the lower shaft bars to the upper lamms.Threading for the double weave throw continues, a few minutes here, an hour there, until all the ends are in heddles.
Have you ever reached a turning point in life, and knew it was time to position things? We try to be good and loving. But we’re never as good as we think. And we end up loving only the people we want to love. We have been separated from God. Our misdeeds push us away from him. Easter is resurrection, but before that is the cross of Christ. God so loved us that he closed the separation between us and him with the cross. That’s the turning point he offers to us, to set things right. Our part is to believe.
I can see the end of the warp! Finishing is in sight. And then, my daughter phones, “Mom! I’m headed to the hospital. This baby is ready!” Weaving suddenly becomes far less important… That was two weeks ago, and little Ari was born. Now, back at the loom, I’ll cross the finish line on this linen upholstery fabric before the day is over.
When the back tie-on bar becomes visible, it’s the beginning of the end. And then, the moment the back tie-on bar comes over the back beam I celebrate. It’s the final stretch!
Linen color-and-weave upholstery fabric.Lease sticks are untied and removed after the back tie-on bar comes over the back beam. Two pairs of lease sticks were used with this striped warp.
We are participants in a great mystery! Christ in us. For those unfamiliar with the tools and methods of handweaving, it’s a mystery how threads can become cloth. But the handweaver knows. The great mystery of God is that Christ may dwell in us. For those who receive him, the peace of Christ rules within. His presence is woven in.
Short distance left to finish weaving this linen fabric.
The anticipation of finished cloth is nothing in relation to the anticipation of a new baby in the family. Imagine the anticipation of our holy Father to see the glorious threads of Christ woven in us.
There are four pairs of overlapping warp chains, with stripes to line up. I created a mess. A few options to consider: 1. Give up. 2. Weave it as is, destroying the design. 3. Use two sets of lease sticks, and expect problems with threading (2,064 ends). 4. Transfer all ends to a single set of lease sticks, arranging threads in order for each stripe.
Each of four warp chains were duplicated when I realized I had wound only half the correct number of ends in each chain.
Option 4 seems the riskiest. If I lose the cross while transferring threads, I have an even bigger mess. It’s all or nothing. Go for it! Fortunately, my apprentice, Juliana, arrives in the nick of time to give me a hand.
Lease cross is tied separately for each color “partial” stripe.Stripes from the two warp chains are transferred to a single set of lease sticks. Now the stripe colors are at their full correct width.For the four center warp chains, each section of color is separated and tied at the cross. It takes an extra set of hands to transfer them in order to the primary set of lease sticks.All warp ends are now successfully transferred to a single set of lease sticks. Let the loom dressing begin!
It worked! All the threads are successfully transferred to one pair of lease sticks. What a relief! I can beam the warp knowing that all is well. A beautiful double weave throw is imminent.
Warp is pre-sleyed at the loom. So far, so good.Ready to beam! Looking forward to this dressing and weaving experience.
We all have made a mess of our lives, and we know it. We hear of options to fix things, but one seems the riskiest: Transfer everything to God. But what if I mess that up, too? There’s good news. God transfers us. When we place our trust in Jesus Christ, God transfers us from our messy state to his good order. And the result is a weaving that showcases his workmanship—a beautiful you.
A zillion threads—2,064 ends, to be exact. I wound the warp in four bouts. And then, …a sinking feeling! I had wound each bout with exactly half the ends needed. This double weave throw, almost the full weaving width of the loom, needs 1,032 more ends.
Winding one bout of the warp.One bout.Two bouts.Three bouts.Four bouts. Not enough.
I had counted ends as if there were only one layer. I did all four bouts that way. Yikes! Now I am winding four more identical bouts. I will put the lease sticks through all eight bouts. Somehow. Thoughtful study of the details on my planning sheet would have prevented this major error. But I knew what I was doing, and could remember the important things. Or, so I thought. And I was eager to get started…
Winding more warp bouts.Eight warp bouts. Ready to begin dressing the loom.
Walk. How we walk through life matters. To walk in a manner pleasing to God we need to know what he wants, and give that our full attention. If I run ahead, eager for the next experience, and neglect to consult the Grand Weaver’s project notes, I’m asking for trouble. The vibrant-colored warpwill still get on the loom, but this is called learning the hard way.
